Finally, one bright yellow tube of rug warp is coming off the shelf! Bright yellow is subdued by pairing it with tan, making a creamy neutral warp for my next set of rag rugs. I bought the tube of yellow 12/6 cotton for half price on a clearance sale a few years ago. What was I thinking? I haven’t used yellow in a rug warp before, but it looks like this is going to work.
Keep an ongoing conversation with the Lord. Sometimes it takes a while for us to understand the direction he has for us. It’s like looking at that yellow tube of thread, until finally you gain the courage to take it off the shelf. Right then, you notice the tan thread. The answer has been there all along.
Gray Fox is complete. Porcupine is the next critter in line. We’ve seen evidence of a porcupine in our backyard, so he belongs in this drawloom parade.
Gray Fox is showing his stride. That bushy tail is impressive. On the drawloom I get to determine exactly where that tail will swish. Where the tail crosses into the side border, I switch from pulling one pattern shaftdraw handle to pulling individual single unitdraw cords. That’s where the complexity of the combination drawloom really shines. It gives me extraordinary flexibility for weaving the designs I have in mind.
In some ways I think of the drawloom as a tool of simplicity. Despite the countless cords and shafts, every piece has a simple purpose. Each single unit draw cord, for example, simply lifts a single unit of 6 threads. That’s all it does. Complexity is a matter of perspective.
May you enjoy the simple things you find in complexity.
Spaced rep rag rugs are off the loom! Follow the pictures to see how they came out, and the surprising thing I am doing with one of them. (It was Steve’s idea.)
Be different in a good way. Be set apart from things that entertain the world. Find your pleasure in things that please the Lord—like creativity, beauty, and love poured into your home.
My husband and I coined the word “lapkin” when our children were young. Lap + napkin = lapkin. We wanted our children to learn the courtesy of placing a napkin on their lap when they were seated for a meal. “Lapkin check!” was a fun game we made of it. The armadillo on the drawloom is a lapkin, if I ever saw one. This thirsty cloth will soak up any drips and spills, smeary hands, or messy mouths that come in contact with it.
Armadillo is the first of a dozen critters that will parade across this loom. Armadillo napkin is the only one of its kind. I’m certain of that. (Fox is up next.)
Lapkins give us a discreet way to stay tidy at the table. Armadillo, however, doesn’t intend to stay discreet. I’m pretty certain of that, too.