Tag: faith

Where the Weft Is Vulnerable

Karen

The outside rows of a rag rug are vulnerable. Twining secures the weft, making it a good way to begin and end a rag rug. I cut a length of rug warp thread two and a half times the width of the rug. Starting on the left side, with the length of thread folded in half, the top half goes under, and the lower half goes over each successive warp end.

Twining at the end of a rag rug on the loom.
Twining separates the warp ends evenly and secures the weft. At the end of the row I weave in the ends, and then, beat twice with the beater to push the row of twining firmly into place.

Is it really necessary to secure the weft? When the rug is under tension on the loom it seems like everything is holding together just fine. It is tightly woven, with the weft firmly packed in. Yes. It is necessary. The rug will start falling apart the minute it is cut from the loom. Twining keeps the most vulnerable place of the weaving intact.

Faith is the vulnerable spot where you allow yourself to be loved by God. Wrapped in his mercy and his grace, our weakest point is no longer our entry into failure, but where we are kept in his security. Your faith is the point of access, the opening, for your maker to show his strength to make you complete.

May you rest secure.

Etsy Announcement!
My new Etsy WarpedforGood Shop  is open! I would love for you to come and browse. As my tried and true blog friends, your feedback means a lot to me. Please let me know what you think!

You may remember seeing the progress on some of the items in the shop, like the Warp Rep Rug, the Rosepath Rugs, and the Cutest Little Loom Rugs. The rugs you see on the loom now will be posted in my Etsy shop when they are finished!

Your Friend,
Karen

Look Behind the Knee Beam

Karen

As the cloth cascades over the knee beam, let’s take a sneak peek at the other side. Crouching below the warp behind the shafts, we see the mechanics of weaving. When I sit on my loom bench at the front of the loom, throwing the shuttle, it feels like magic. Thread by thread, fabric just appears. Under the loom you can see it is not magic. It is heddles on shafts, shafts connected to lamms, lamms tied to treadles. It is a system that works behind the scenes while you sit in front and weave. Sometimes we put our trust in what we see out front, neglecting to consider what goes on behind the scenes.

Cotton handtowels on the loom. View from back of loom under the warp.
Red cutting line between towels is seen just to the left of the upper lamms. There are no floats on this back side of the cloth, though the front has warp floats as part of the pattern.
Cut ends of the heddles are in focus, viewed from back of loom under the warp.
Cut ends of the heddles are in focus. The heddles, carrying warp threads, hang on shafts that are just above the camera view.

When I finish a weaving project, I untie and disconnect everything so the loom is ready for the next project. The warp has a purpose while it is on the loom, but when it’s over, it’s over.

Beware of putting your trust in human heroes. Keep in mind that your human heroe’s plans will last only as long as their life. When it’s over, it’s over. Do not put your trust in a person, a leader, a superstar, a human hero, to save the world. Put your trust in the grand weaver who holds the system in his hands.

May you encounter trust-worthiness.

(To see the warp floats on the front of the cloth, click HERE.)

Yours Truly,
Karen

Relaxed Rosepath Rag Rugs

Karen

As soon as the cloth is cut from the loom, the threads begin to relax. On the loom, the warp width for these rag rugs was 27 inches (68.5 cm). How quickly everything can change! Now, spread out on the floor, the width has already narrowed to 25 inches (63.5 cm). In a week or two, the width will have narrowed by another 1/2 inch (1.25 cm). [How do I know? THIS CHRISTMAS RUG, cut from this same warp a few weeks ago, is now 24 1/2 inches (62.25 cm) wide.] Since all the looming tension is over, these rugs can just lay back and relax. Haha! That’s how I feel whenever a few demanding weeks or months finally come to a close.

Rosepath Rag Rugs just off the loom!
Not yet cut apart, three new rosepath rag rugs await final finishing. Wefts will be secured by tying warp ends into knots; and hems will be pressed and stitched.

We do need the experiences that stretch us, and we need the relaxed times as well. Life will always have its ups and downs, but there is one thing that brings consistency through it all. Faith. Faith looks back and remembers being rescued; and faith looks forward into the unknown with courage. A life of faith is a life that is full. Not full of stuff or projects, but full of meaning.

Love. Belief. Joy. These are the gifts we bring to our rescuer. Our faith in him is rewarded with his own nearness. So, whether stretched or at ease, we know with confidence that we are loved.

May your faith be renewed.

Love,
Karen

You May Be Looking at the Under Side

Karen

This is not reversible cloth. The colors on the back look pretty, but the design is only on the top. Sometimes we judge our circumstances from the underneath side, not realizing there is a dazzling scene being formed above us.

Bound Rosepath, the pattern is being designed at the loom.
Each row of the design takes four picks, producing a weft-faced cloth. Each shuttle carries a different color; so, at times, there are five shuttles going across for one row. Instead of following a diagram, this time I am designing the pattern as I weave.

The bound rosepath (rosengång) cloth develops slowly. My pace is about 35 millimeters (1.4 inches) per hour. I pay attention to every detail. Five shuttles, many color changes, careful turns at the selvedges. I get up to wind quills, to advance the warp, to repair broken linen warp ends, and to stand back for an overview. You cannot know all of the weaver’s work by looking at the reverse side. It is messy underneath.

We may not have a clear view of what our master weaver is doing, but we can see his consistency. And we have seen his masterful work in the past. Are you in a season that feels confusing? That is precisely when it makes sense to trust someone greater. Be one of the few in our day who sees the goodness of God with the eyes of trust. The finished cloth, the underside of which we see now, will one day be displayed by the maker, and all will be amazed!

May your fears fall away and your trust increase when you face uncertain times.

Believing is seeing,
Karen

Do You See What I See?

Karen

Thanksgiving 2013 is over and the house is quieter now. I am back to weaving bound rosepath (rosengång). This piece will be a table mat for next year’s Thanksgiving dinner, with the turkey pilgrims facing one side of the table. (Click HERE to see more about weaving the turkey pilgrims.) It makes sense, then, to have pilgrim men facing the other side. This means weaving the pilgrim men upside down. As I am weaving, it is difficult to determine if the upside down image is forming properly. I courageously weave on, hoping I am correctly interpreting the diagram. Faith takes courage like that.

Bound Rosepath Pilgrims on Thanksgiving table mat
A small hand mirror gives an upright view of the woven pilgrim men that are facing away from the orange pilgrim turkeys.

I used Numbers on my iPad to design the bound rosepath pilgrim motif. The image is only seven squares across the graph sheet, and must be entirely symmetrical from side to side. This mere-seven-pixel-wide picture is a design challenge because of its narrow limit.

Bound Rosepath Diagram using iPad Numbers app
iPad screen shot of pilgrim diagram in Numbers (spreadsheet) app.

Putting our faith into action when we don’t know all the answers takes courage. It is like following the diagram when the picture doesn’t make sense. I imagine that kind of faith courage pleases our creator. It was only after I finished weaving the row of pilgrims that I thought of holding up a mirror to see the upright image. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t shrink back. When you press into the picture with faith, your life becomes a positive reflection of your maker’s skillful design.

May you live with courageous faith.

Peace,
Karen