dressing the loom – Page 6

Process Review: Beaming the Warp

October 27, 2020October 25, 2020 Karen

I am making a new ‘cello skirt (a tiered skirt), starting from scratch. The warp is 24/2 cotton, most of it unbleached. Each tier will be edged with a narrow Poppy border. The pattern in the cloth will be a huckaback (huck lace) design, adapted from Little Tablecloth in Huckaback on p.10 in Happy Weaving from VävMagisinet.

Today, I’m beaming the warp. My method includes a combination of things I have learned from these three excellent sources: Learning to Warp Your Loom, by Joanne Hall, Dress Your Loom the Vävstuga Way, by Becky Ashenden, and The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Cutting the loops at the end of the warp.

Newly beamed warp. Complete process pictures.

Do you have any questions about my beaming process? If you warp back to front, like I do, what do you do differently?

May you find yourself beaming.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Handwoven Detail Notes

August 18, 2020August 16, 2020 Karen

It is the smallest of details that set handwoven towels apart from ordinary towels. With that in mind, I am writing some detail notes in the margin of my project notes. Borders: Towel 1 – sea blue, apple green – contrast thread – ultramarine; Towel 2 – ultramarine, sea blue – contrast thread – maize; Towel 3 – apple green, ultramarine – contrast thread – sea blue; Towel 4 – dusty, sea blue – contrast thread – apple green.

Cottolin bath towels coming up! — Beaming the cottolin warp for bath towels.

Warp is tied on and leveling string is attached.

Preparing to weave 7-color bath towels. — Seven different colors of wound quills. All seven colors are in each towel, warp and weft. The weft sequence varies with each towel.

Boat shuttles vie for the starting line, like in a regatta. — One boat shuttle for each color. This reminds me of sailing with my dad and my sisters. Boat captains would vie for the regatta starting line, shouting, *“Starboard!”*

There are seven colors of cottolin in the warp, and the same seven colors in the weft, just like the accompanying hand towels I completed in April. (See Process Review: Jubilation Hand Towels.) Narrow warp-wise and weft-wise stripes of broken twill produce interesting patterns in the cloth. The deep borders I am planning on the bath towels give me a chance to add simple details that only a handweaver can do.

White ribbon shows where to place details on the handwoven bath towel. — After weaving a short section to test the threading, I start the first towel. A red line, as always, denotes the cutting/starting line. I placed marks on the white ribbon at the left that show me where to place details along the length of the towel.

Simple handwoven details make all the difference. — Single ultramarine thread is laid in with the sea blue to outline a change of treadling. A simple handwoven detail.

Have you ever identified a master craftsman by the specific details that show up in the hand-crafted article? In the same way, we can recognize our Maker’s hand through the magnificence of the details we see in each other. You are his masterpiece. Hand-written instructions guide the details. When we come to the Lord as our Maker and Redeemer, we find his hand-written details woven into our hearts, something only the Grand Weaver can do.

May you attend to the details.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Warp Chains Are Beautiful

June 16, 2020June 15, 2020 Karen

The reel spins ‘round, ‘round, ‘round one way, and then ‘round, ‘round, ‘round back the other way. Rhythmic, mesmerizing, and strangely soothing. Counting, as I wind two ends at a time, I find myself whispering “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, ….” The warping reel is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. This warp has seven colors of 22/2 Cottolin for bath towels which are to accompany the hand towels I recently made. I am winding this in four bouts, and there are different color changes in each bout.

Winding a warp for cottolin bath towels. — First bout on the warping reel.

Making cottolin bath towels. — Second bout. Choke ties about every meter keep the ends from shifting as the warp bout is chained and taken to the loom.

Making a warp for handwoven bath towels. Cottolin. — Third bout. Each of the four bouts has nearly the same number of warp ends.

Glimakra warping reel - one of my favorite pieces of equipment! — Fourth bout.

I marvel at the combination of thread colors as I chain each bout off the reel. The warp chains look beautiful. They always do. Warp chains are dreams in the making, where anything is possible. Haven’t you dreamt of handwoven bath towels?

Winding a warp on the Glimakra warping reel. — Came close to running out of thread on some of the tubes. (I did have backup tubes, but not from the same dye lots.)

Beautiful warp chains! — Beautiful warp chains, ready for the loom.

When we listen closely, we can hear the inaudible. Our hearts can hear the softest whisper. “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, …” Even the hairs on our head are numbered by the Grand Weaver who planned our existence. Our days are numbered, as well. And when our heart is listening, we can hear the quiet whisper of the Lord Jesus, “Are you weary and burdened? Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

May you listen for the softest whisper.

Gently,
Karen

My New Glimåkra Julia Loom

May 12, 2020May 11, 2020 Karen

My family of looms just welcomed a new little sister—Julia! This 8-shaft countermarch is Glimåkra’s smallest floor loom. I dressed the loom right away in 6/2 Tuna wool for 4-shaft Jämtlandsdräll to try out the loom. So far, so good. An 8-shaft project using 20/2 Mora wool is up next. Would you believe this is my new portable loom? Surprisingly, the Julia fits in the back of our vehicle, without disassembling. This is the loom you can expect to see with me at future workshops.

My new Glimakra Julia Loom delivered! — One of the boxes delivered to my front door.

Assembling my new Glimakra Julia loom! — Loom assembly in our foyer.

My Julia Observations:

It goes together like you’d expect from a Glimåkra. Instructions are minimal, and quality is high. It’s a well-designed puzzle.
The assembled loom is easy to move around to gain space needed for warping, or simply to change location for any reason.
The breast beam is not removable like it is on my other Glimåkra looms, which makes it a stretch to thread the heddles from the front. However, by hanging the shaft bars from the beater cradle at the very front I can thread the heddles without back strain. (Or, if you are petite and don’t mind climbing over the side, you can put the bench in the loom for threading.)
Tying up lamms and treadles is not much different than it is for my Ideal. Everything is well within reach from the front. It helps to take the lamms off the loom to put in the treadle cords, and then put the lamms back on the loom. With one extra person available, it is entirely feasible to elevate the loom on paint cans, upside-down buckets, or a small table to make tie-ups easier, but I didn’t find it necessary to do that.

Swedish loom corner in the living room. New Glimakra Julia. — Loom that Steve built sits near the windows in our living room. Julia sits nearby. Sister looms.

Glimåkra Standard and Glimåkra Julia in the living room. — Glimåkra Standard sits by the windows at the front of the living room. Julia sits a few steps away. Loom sisters.

Weaving on the Julia is a delight, as it is with my other countermarch looms. Everything works. With four shafts, the sheds are impeccable.
The bench adjusts to the right height.
The hanging beater is well balanced, sturdy, and has a good solid feel. I can move the beater back several times before needing to advance the warp.
I thought the narrower treadles might prove annoying, but I’ve been able to adjust quickly. After weaving a short while, I forget about the treadle size.

Jämtlandsdräll in Tuna wool. — Double-bobbin shuttle for the pattern weft, and new boat shuttle that came with the loom for the ground weave weft. All 6/2 Tuna wool. Jämtlandsdräll.

Steve is the loom assembler in our family. I stand by and give a hand when needed. I hope you can feel our excitement as you watch this short video of us discovering what’s in the boxes and figuring out how it all goes together.

May you enjoy the puzzles that come to your doorstep.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Weaving Ideas – Year in Review Video

January 7, 2020January 6, 2020 Karen

Everything starts with an idea. And some of those ideas become tangible expressions of dreams come true. Who knew that a simple idea in 2012 would lead to a seven-year exploration of weaving through The Big Book of Weaving? (See Weaving through The Big Book.) Who knew that weaving on a drawloom in 2016 at Homestead Fiber Crafts would plant the idea of weaving on a drawloom of my own? (see Quiet Friday: Day at the Drawloom.) And who knew that an idea in 2013 to write about my weaving journey, calling it Warped for Good, would bring friends like you to come and enjoy the journey with me? For these things and so much more, I am truly grateful.

Siblings Tapestry is 3 cm away from completion! — Siblings Tapestry is three centimeters away from completion.

Drawloom rag rug - single-unit. — Single-unit drawloom rag rug is ten centimeters into testing everything–draw cords, sheds, shuttles. After a few more adjustments the actual rag rug weaving will commence.

Your ideas are priceless. That’s because you are priceless. You were made in God’s image, with the ability to imagine wonderful intricacies through creative thinking. In fact, you began as God’s idea. As we walk with him, we become the tangible expression of his dream come true.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit here with me to reminisce over the past weaving year.

May this year bring your best ideas ever.

For you,
Karen