Tag: Glimakra Standard

How Much Further Can I Weave With a Longer Quill?

Karen

How much more thread will a 13cm quill hold than an 11cm quill? In other words, how much further can I weave with the longer quill? I decided to do a simple test to find out. Which size quill should I use for the rest of this project?

Red threads give me precise start and stop points for measuring how far I could weave with one quill. I will pull the red threads out when I cut the fabric from the loom.

First, I mark the beginning of the 11cm quill with a short red thread woven through a few ends on the same row as the first row of weft from that quill. I weave off the thread from that quill and weave in another short red thread on the final row of the quill, putting the second red thread directly above the first red thread. Now, I can measure the distance that the quill’s weft covered the warp, minus the gray weft stripe. I repeat the test with another quill so I can average the difference, if any. I find that both quills cover exactly 6 cm of warp. How’s that for consistency in winding my quills?

I started with 11cm quills because that is the size that fits the shuttle I wanted to use.

Time to test the 13cm quill. I do this exactly the same way, including the repeat test. The result? The 13cm quill covers 7.2 cm of warp. So there is 1.2 cm difference between the shorter quill and the longer quill.

Each quill measured twice. This view is from below the breast beam since I forgot to take a photo before I advanced the warp. This perspective also gives a view of more of the M’s and O’s cloth and the potential for specially-made curtains.

I have a total of 8.6 meters to weave on this curtain fabric (about 1.5 meters already woven). That means winding about 143 quills (11cm), or 119 quills (13cm). Not much difference, really. Still, I’m in favor of winding 24 fewer quills of 24/2 cotton. Aren’t you?

May the math work in your favor.

Happy Weaving, Karen

Extraordinary Animals on the Drawloom

Karen

Armadillo, fox, porcupine, jackrabbit, and deer are leading the critter parade. The twelve napkins will include the most common, the most interesting, and the most unusual animals that visit our backyard here in Texas Hill Country. The white-tailed deer are the most common, by far.

Feet first. The white-tailed buck is taller than he is wide, so his feet touch the bottom border. Pulled single-unit draw cords are seen on the hook bar pegs above the beater.
Just past the midway mark on this napkin, as seen on the measuring ribbon pinned on the side.
Having a large chart beside the loom helps me keep track of each row as the weaving progresses. One pattern shaft draw handle is pulled, which forms the pattern on the side borders. The single unit draw cords form the center image.

This white-tailed buck is one that Steve photographed on our property. I use Affinity Designer on my computer to turn a photo into a silhouette that I can use for my drawloom chart. It is a thrill to see the image emerge in the threads on the loom. From animal in our yard, to photo, to graphic chart, to threads on the loom! The common is made extraordinary.

The draw handles are pulled for the checkerboard pattern that goes across the bottom and top borders of the napkin.
Antlers of the buck reach nearly to the top border. Hem area is teal blue.
Before the buck, there is the jackrabbit. And before the jackrabbit is the porcupine. And the fox and armadillo before that are in hibernation on the cloth beam.

Even more extraordinary is what our Lord Jesus does with a common human like you or me who puts faith in him. As you look at the threads on his loom, you begin to see that it is his image being woven in you.

May your days be extraordinary.

Happy New Year,
Karen

One Napkin at a Time

Karen

Jack the Jackrabbit is ready to hop on over the breast beam. It is time to design the next napkin. I design one at a time and then weave it. We have the armadillo, the porcupine, the gray fox, and the jackrabbit. Up next is a white-tailed deer. Steve took a photo of a white-tailed buck on our property last week. I will use that photo as the basis for my deer design.

Finished to the top of Jack’s ears.
Chart shows row-by-row pulls for pattern-shaft handles and single-unit cords. One draw handle is pulled for each row of the side border.

I enjoy paying attention to the amazing wildlife around us. Some, like the porcupine, are seldom seen, and others, like the white-tailed deer are in view all the time. These napkins will be a record of the critters we have purposely noticed here on the property around our home in Texas Hill Country.

Black border hem finishes off this jackrabbit napkin. The fox looks us as he turns ’round the cloth beam.

We notice what we want to notice. When we make a point to notice the blessings of the Lord we start seeing his hand in less obvious places. When we turn our heart to understand his ways he starts filling in the gaps of our understanding. It’s good to keep a record of the blessings that we notice. Thank you, Lord!

What blessings have you noticed lately? Let us know in the comments.

May you have too many blessings to count.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Weaving Is Stretching Me

Karen

This warp is a triple challenge! 1. Full width (110 cm), 2. Fine threads (24/2 cotton), and 3. Unevenly-spaced narrow stripes. Three hours to wind the warp. Three hours to pre-sley and beam the warp. Seventeen hours to thread heddles, sley the reed, tie on the warp, and tie up the treadles. Why invest this much time and embrace this much difficulty?

1,984 ends have been threaded in heddles, and now are being sleyed through the 90/10 reed. Careful checking and re-checking all through the processes helps prevent errors.
It is a good feeling when all the ends are finally in their places.

Why embrace this challenge? Because I see what no one else sees. I see the curtains that are specially designed for our remodeled bathroom. I understand the draft, the threads, the stripes, and everything that works together in a certain way. I see it. Though not yet visible, I could see it before I started. And so, all the challenges become part of the story, and I’m determined to keep going. I aim to finish strong.

After all is set up, the first testing I do is with shuttles. Which shuttle is best for sending all the way across this wide warp? The medium Glimåkra boat shuttle that holds 11 cm quills is the winner, not the longest, largest, and heaviest shuttles.
Seeing the beauty of this cloth solidifies the hope of seeing special curtains gracing our bathroom windows.
What begins as an M’s and O’s draft for kitchen towels in Väv Magazine, and expands with pictures in a Malin Selander book, and grows with my imagination, is now visible on the loom!
The two biggest challenges that remain: 1. Filling quills. It takes a while to fill a quill with this fine thread. It doesn’t take long at all to empty the quill as I weave. 2. This wide warp stretches my arms to my full arm-length reach. It’s good to be stretched! 🙂

This is a picture of faith. Faith acts on things not seen by others. Faith sees what is not yet visible. With faith in Jesus Christ, all the challenges become part of the story. We go the duration because we have a view of the finished work.

May your challenges stretch your faith in a good way.

Giving Thanks,
Karen

Who Gets the Jackrabbit Napkin? Drawloom Dilemma

Karen

Jackrabbit. This critter is one I would like to see more often. We call him “Jack,” or if there are two of them together, they are known in our family as “Jack and Jackylina.” The jackrabbit makes me smile because of his tall ears and mischievous-looking face. The nice thing is he doesn’t cause any mischief, like some of the other critters around here. He will sit completely still, without a twitch. I’m sure he wants you will think he’s a rock, and pass on by without noticing him. But if you get a little too close, he hops up and quickly dashes away.

When we have all twelve napkins at the dining room table for a family gathering, how will we decide who gets Jack the Jackrabbit? This one could be everyone’s favorite.

Teal blue linen weft. The jackrabbit is one of my favorite critters in our Texas Hill Country area. I like their humorous profile.
Just reached the halfway point on this jackrabbit image. This is all single-unit draw until I get beyond the area where the nose and feet are in the side borders. After that, the borders will be the simpler pattern-shaft draw.

As with the other critter napkins in this series, the borders at top and bottom, and some of the side borders, use the pattern shaft draw system. The jackrabbit in the center and the “broken borders” use the single unit draw system. I am very happy to weave with this Myrehed Combination Drawloom Attachment. The possibilities are endless…and fun!

Happy Weaving!

Karen