Tag: Faro

Now We See the Monksbelt

Karen

When you cut fabric from the loom, and see it, handle it, feel it… It takes your breath away. Every time. You, the weaver, know what went into it. All the effort, corrections, uncertainties, anticipations, and the many joyful hours of throwing shuttles, and designing at the loom to your heart’s content. You keep going, even when the going is long, because of the thrill of making something you can’t find anywhere in the world…except right here.

Monksbelt cutting off party!
Nothing matches the exhilaration of cutting handwoven fabric off the loom!
Monksbelt just off the loom! Karen Isenhower
Sense of wonder arises when you see what threads can make when they are interlaced in a purposeful way. Imagine that! It’s simply threads.

Wisdom points to truth. Truth is a picture of reality, like fabric just cut from the loom. When the fabric is unrolled from the cloth beam, you get a realistic view of what has been woven. You can see it. But wisdom leads you to that moment. That’s why you keep weaving, even when the going is longer than you thought it would be. The voice of wisdom compels you to reach the truth.

Classic Swedish monksbelt, with a colorful twist or two.
Fabric, in classic Swedish monksbelt, with a colorful twist or two.

May you make something that only you can make.

Yours truly,
Karen

Color Inspiration

Karen

The problem with having more than one loom is that you must divide your time between looms. Monksbelt has been on the big loom a little too long, since the baby loom has had most of my attention lately. That means little progress for this extra-slow weave.

Monksbelt on the Glimakra Standard loom.
Two shuttles take turns gliding across the warp.

Now that the baby loom is empty I am getting some good weaving time on the monksbelt. When I look at the loom, the whole task seems too big. But these colors are invigorating. When I pull out a few Fårö wool colors for the next treadling sequence, I forget my complaints about this taking too long. When I sit on the loom bench and start weaving with these colors I am inspired to keep going.

Colorful monksbelt. Karen Isenhower
Red ground weave gives a strong background for graded blues and violets.
Monksbelt on the loom. Progress!
Progress is seen as fabric rounds the cloth beam below.

Your words can be like these colors, giving someone the vitality they need to finish well. Your pleasant words are like honey to a weary soul. Pleasant words go deeper than you think. They bring needed inspiration when someone cannot see the end of a challenge. Your words may be the color palette that inspires your friend or loved one to keep going.

Monksbelt on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Many options for sets of color.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
– Solomon

May your pleasant words reach the weary.

With love,
Karen

Two Types of Weaving

Karen

My attention has been on the other loom for a couple weeks, but I have managed to sneak in to the big loom and add a little bit to this monksbelt project. I would like to have more to show, but this is it. What a contrast between the fast plain weave baby wrap (see Quiet Friday: Woven Baby Wrap) and this very slow two-shuttle monksbelt. I enjoy weaving both. There’s a time for fast; and there’s a time for slow.

Monksbelt on the loom.
White on white puts dramatic space between sections of color.

Each type of weaving produces a specific type of cloth. Very different textures. Very different purposes. Each beautiful in its own way. This reminds me of people, fashioned by the Lord. Individuals suited to specific tasks with purpose and meaning. This is our life discovery, to live the way our maker had in mind when he fashioned us with his hands.

May your life be rich with meaning.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Swedish Overshot Experience

Karen

Experience builds on experience. The more I practice the classic Swedish weave structures, the more freedom I have in the process. Dice weave, halvdräll, and, now, this monksbelt, are all related. These are variations of overshot. I am putting what I know into practice, even though this is the first time I have woven monksbelt on my own loom. (My prior experience with monksbelt was first in a workshop with Joanne Hall, and then, under Becky Ashenden’s tutelage at Vävstuga Swedish Classics.)

Colorful Fårö wool is used for the monksbelt pattern weft.
Colorful Fårö wool is used for the monksbelt pattern weft.

Plan projects from start to finish, dress the loom single-handedly, use complex threading and complicated treadling, and weave with multiple shuttles. Do you relish these challenges? It is possible to weave things that don’t require as much training or practice. You can find a pattern on Pinterest or in a magazine, and do what “everybody” is doing. Not much is required of “everybody” in the crowd.

Classic monksbelt pattern with innovative color variations.
Classic monksbelt patterning is repeated with different color variations.
Swedish overshot, such as monksbelt, uses two shuttles--one for fine thread, and one for the thicker pattern weft. Warp is 16/2 cotton. Ground weave weft is 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is 61 Fårö wool. Sett is 22 1/2 ends per inch. Weft density is 30 pattern picks per inch, with 2 tabby picks in between.
Swedish overshot, such as monksbelt, uses two shuttles–one for fine thread, and one for the thicker pattern weft. Warp is 16/2 cotton. Ground weave weft is 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is 6/1 Fårö wool. Sett is 22 1/2 ends per inch. Weft density is 30 pattern picks per inch, with 2 tabby picks in between.

But some people strive to learn, and practice what they learn, building on previous experience. Consider truth. You are responsible for the truth you know. The more you are taught, the more that is required of you. And as you practice the truth you know, you discover the freedom that comes along in the process.

May you grow in experience.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Monksbelt Grid

Karen

I think of monksbelt as a grid. The grid, created in the threading, has blocks that I get to fill in with color. The only thing I have to do is follow the treadling draft and keep the two shuttles in their proper order. The rest is play. It is amazing what you can do with nine pattern colors, several background colors, and a simple grid. 

Classic monksbelt with a modern look. Karen Isenhower
Swedish monksbelt has two blocks in the pattern. Ground weave and pattern colors are changed in irregular intervals, giving a modern look to a classic weave structure.

A grid is a framework, a structure, that gives boundaries to the space. We need a grid for coloring our decisions, for outlining our beliefs, and for drawing our convictions. Our hearts can be fooled, so don’t trust your heart to tell you what is right. What seems right may be wrong. We need a higher standard for forming the patterns of our life. It makes sense to stay with the grid that the Grand Weaver, our Maker, planned when he dressed the loom. Then, filling in the blocks with color is pure joy.

May you find colors that delight you.

With joy,
Karen