Tag: draft

Stained Glass Scarf Surprise!

Karen

A pleasant surprise arrived in the mail this week—the November/December 2018 issue of Handwoven magazine. Guess what?! My Stained Glass Scarf made it to the front cover!

Stained Glass scarf warp - brilliant blue!
Four shades of blue are carefully arranged to make a brilliant blue 8/2 cotton warp.
Stained Glass scarf - on the cover of Handwoven Nov/Dec 2018.
Two scarves. I wove one to keep, and one to send to the Handwoven editorial team.
Stained Glass scarf/wrap in Handwoven Nov/Dec 2018
Swedish lace adapted from a draft by Else Regensteiner in The Art of Weaving. Her draft was for a tablecloth. I made it into a scarf/wrap instead.
Stained Glass scarf from Handwoven Nov/Dec 2018
Twisting the fringe. This cotton scarf/wrap calls for fringe that is a little bit chunky. I feel like I’m dressed and ready for fun when I wear it!
Handwoven Nov/Dec 2018 - Stained Glass scarf on the cover!
Credit: Cover Photograph by George Boe from Handwoven November/December 2018 magazine. Copyright © F+W Media 2018. Photograph of magazine by Eddie Fernandez.

May your day be filled with pleasant surprises.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Double Weave Throw – Take Two

Karen

Nothing about the original draft is incorrect, but when I wrote it in pencil on my planning sheet, I transposed one. little. thing. The threading key. “X = plum; black square = other colors.” Exact opposite of what is written in the draft from The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell. (See When You Misread the Threading Draft, where I discover my dilemma.)

One little mistake. Big consequences.
Blind to my own mistake, even as I double check my handwritten draft.

Thanks to Fiberworks weaving software I am working out a solution. I adjusted the tie-up, so the treadle tie-ups on the first, third, fifth, and seventh shafts trade places with the tie-ups on the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth shafts. It works. And now, the one little threading error that is clearly visible seems like a breeze to correct!

Ready to weave a cotton double weave throw.
Tie-up adjustments bring the correct warp ends to the surface. Solid stripes of color are set to produce the desired design when woven.
One threading error. No big deal at this point.
One blue warp end stands out like a sore thumb. I’m glad to find this one threading error at this stage in the process.

There are times when my whole perspective needs an adjustment. It’s time for love. Love adjusts our view. At the heart level, love brings about changes in us. It re-sets our attention and motivations. Because God loved us, we can love, too. We don’t see, understand, or know everything now, which shows how incomplete we humans are. But the love that heaven knows is something we get to participate in here and now. Our cloth is far from perfected, but our love adjustments give us a glimpse of cloth from another realm.

May you make necessary adjustments.

Love,
Karen

Eight Bouts Is Enough

Karen

A zillion threads—2,064 ends, to be exact. I wound the warp in four bouts. And then, …a sinking feeling! I had wound each bout with exactly half the ends needed. This double weave throw, almost the full weaving width of the loom, needs 1,032 more ends.

Winding a colorful warp.
Winding one bout of the warp.
One warp bout of several.
One bout.
Warp bouts.
Two bouts.
Warp bouts for double weave throw.
Three bouts.
Four warp bouts for double weave throw.
Four bouts. Not enough.

I had counted ends as if there were only one layer. I did all four bouts that way. Yikes! Now I am winding four more identical bouts. I will put the lease sticks through all eight bouts. Somehow. Thoughtful study of the details on my planning sheet would have prevented this major error. But I knew what I was doing, and could remember the important things. Or, so I thought. And I was eager to get started…

Winding a cotton warp.
Winding more warp bouts.
Double weave warp with 2,064 threads!
Eight warp bouts. Ready to begin dressing the loom.

Walk. How we walk through life matters. To walk in a manner pleasing to God we need to know what he wants, and give that our full attention. If I run ahead, eager for the next experience, and neglect to consult the Grand Weaver’s project notes, I’m asking for trouble. The vibrant-colored warp will still get on the loom, but this is called learning the hard way.

May you learn most things the easy way.

Learning,
Karen

Bold Color and Weave

Karen

Remember the placemats I started on my Texas hill country loom in Colors on Trial? The pattern in the fabric looks nice and pretty. But it doesn’t display the striking color-and-weave effect that I expected. The problem is not the threading, nor the colors.

Color and weave using single weft instead of doubled weft.
Nice and pretty, but lacking the boldness of the planned color-and-weave effect.

Aha! I overlooked an important detail on the treadling draft—the weft is supposed to be doubled. That changes everything! Since there is very little excess warp for this project I need to back up and start over.

Backing up the weaving. Clipping through weft threads. Yikes!
Backing up. After loosening warp tension, I carefully clip the weft threads down the center of the warp. I go at a snail’s pace to avoid accidentally snipping any warp ends.
Backing up. Weft removal, one pick at a time.
Removal, one pick at a time. I press the treadles in reverse order to pull out each row of weft threads.
Weft has been removed. Now ready to start over!
Back to the start. Sufficient weft has been removed. Now I am ready to start over.

I am losing the nice and pretty fabric. But it is being replaced with something better—fabric with a bold color-and-weave effect.

Two double-bobbin shuttles with color and weave.
This is the color-and-weave effect I was looking for! Two double-bobbin shuttles carry the weft threads.
Color and weave for placemats.
First placemat is a “Joseph’s coat” combination of colors. Bold color-and-weave effect has a striking pattern.

I would like my life to be nice and pretty, easy and comfortable. But if I get closer to the Grand Weaver’s intentions, I see something different—a bold strength of purpose. Not necessarily easy. God’s will is better than mine. When we aim to understand his will, we see details that we’ve overlooked. It affects how we walk through life. We take his doubled weft threads to replace our well-meaning attempts. The result is a beautiful display of striking life-changing effects.

May you be mindful of the important details.

With you,
Karen

Counting at the Cross

Karen

I am winding a lovely all-blue warp on my warping reel. When I pause, as I do regularly to count the ends, it is easy to put the winding on hold. I tuck the pair of warp ends under a section of wound warp at one of the vertical posts of the reel. That holds it, and keeps threads under tension until I’m ready to continue where I left off.

Winding a warp on a warping reel.
Pair of warp ends are held secure while I stop to count another section of ends.

I stop after winding each section. I do the counting at the cross, always counting twice. A long twisted cord (one of my choke ties) marks my place, section by section. The count needs to be an exact match, of course, with the number of ends in the pattern draft.

Counting warp ends as I wind a warp on the warping reel.
Long twisted cord helps keep track of how many ends have been counted.
Cotton warp just beamed.
After the warp is beamed, each section is counted again to prepare for threading the loom.

The Christmas season reminds us that Jesus brought grace to earth. From manger to cross. The grace of the Lord Jesus is perfectly complete. Like a planned warp, there is nothing more to add. All the threads have been counted. And they match the divine plan. Any threads of my own effort would be threads that don’t belong. The grace of forgiveness comes purely as a gift.

May your counted ends match the pattern.

Christmas blessings,
Karen