How should I arrange eleven colors of wool for the warp of a double-width blanket? By “intuition?” Why not pull yarn snippets out of a hat in a random sequence? I do have resources on color theory I could consult. Best yet, I like the idea of viewing snapshots to compare various arrangements. This is play!
Eleven colors of Borgs 6/2 Tuna Wool. Trying out different color arrangements for a woven blanket. Back to front – option 1 and option 2.Two more possible arrangements of color. Adjacent colors will be blended together where they touch, to make smooth transitions across the warp. Back to front – option 3 and option 4.
You could make any arrangement work since the colors will be blended from one to the next across the warp. The color that makes the biggest difference, however, is the weft color. Just now, as I write this, I realize that I forgot to purchase yarn for weft. Oops! How did I miss that?
Grace and truth give us a fresh start. Grace gives me choices, and makes something beautiful, even if I get colors in the “wrong” order. Truth kindly shows me what I am missing, and what I need. Grace and truth are brought into our lives through Jesus Christ, and become a framework for life’s fabric. Grace brings forgiveness. And truth brings freedom to begin.
Of the four arrangements of yarn colors pictured, which one do you prefer? I would love to hear what you think. Leave your “vote” for option 1, 2, 3, or 4 (back to front) in the comments.
Can you imagine weaving in a place where you have access to fully-stocked shelves of colors and fibers? Or, imagine someone with excellent color sense setting up a warp-faced project for you to weave, giving you the freedom to simply focus on pattern. This is what it was like at Vävstuga Weaving School for More Swedish Classics.
Set up on a four-shaft loom, band weaving with pick-up is simplified (or complicated, depending on how you see it). Five treadles are used to raise and lower threads. A pick-up stick is used to lift pattern threads, and a band shuttle stick is used to beat in the weft. Being a warp-faced weave, all the color is in the warp, and the weft is mostly hidden.Becky’s Rep Weave in Four Blocks on Eight Shafts. I took this opportunity to experiment with patterns. You might call this “playing with blocks.” Again, being a warp-faced weave, the color is pre-determined by the arrangement of the warp ends. The thin 16/2 cotton weft alternates with a thick weft of mini string yarn, giving the characteristic ribbed surface.
Worry happens when I don’t think I have what it takes to do the job, or when I think I won’t have enough of what I need. When Becky Ashenden prepares the warp, I certainly have no worries about choosing colors. And, with an abundant supply of 16/1 linen, I can combine three shades to produce a gorgeous, rich red, with no fear that the color supply will run out before I finish.
Deep red, burgundy, and coral 16/1 linen are wound together for the pattern weft in Smålandsväv. The warp is 16/2 line linen. This is the project in “More Swedish Classics” that gave me the most pleasure AND the most angst. …but that’s a story for another day.
We have a Father in heaven who knows all the things we need. All he asks is that we get to know him so we can learn to do things his way. It is much like weaving within the guidelines of the studio where we’ve been given the privilege to weave. Is that too much to ask? For his part, then, he sees to it that we have everything we need, giving us access, through his Son, to his great supply closet.
May your needs be amply supplied.
In case you missed, here is what I posted last week while I was at Vävstuga in beautiful New England:Vävstuga Autumn and Vävstuga Autumn II
Once again, Becky graciously allowed me to sit down with her to ask a few key questions. I am excited to share that conversation with you soon! Stay tuned… (Remember last year?)
Those pesky warpends! I am getting loose warp ends on the outer edges again. The last time this happened, it was near the end of the warp, and I rigged up a makeshift solution. (You can read about it and see pictures HERE.) This time, I began having trouble from the start; so, when I finished weaving the first piece, I cut it off, and re-tied the warp. There must be a better way!
Dice weave in linen. First piece is cut from the loom; and warpends are re-tied. Emerald green weft for the second piece produces a lovely teal with the deep blue warp.
How do you handle recurring problems? I get tired of stumbling over the same old thing. I wanted to find a solution to this warp issue, so I started digging through my weaving books to see what I could find. Aha! On page 254 in The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell, I find helpful advice.
The outer ends of the warp are looser than the rest
(You mean I’m not the first person to have this problem?)
This can be adjusted by pressing an extra slat down at an angle inside the loose sections.
One more secret in the bag of tricks to manage uneven warp tension. Simply insert extra warping slats into the warp against the warp beam. Thank you, Laila!
Seekers find secrets. The seeking itself shows you recognize your own need. This is what prayer is about. Come to God asking, seeking, knocking. These are the prayers he answers. Simple, heartfelt, persistent. Never give up. There are secrets to be found.
With a flick of the wrist, the shuttle glides across the warp. The curved, narrow end of a traditional Swedish boat shuttle slides right into my hand. This dice weave uses one shuttle for the plain weave background, and a second shuttle for the pattern weft.
Dice weave with 16/2 linen warp and weft. The blue plain weave weft and the brown pattern weft are woven on alternating picks in the pattern blocks.
From my bin of shuttles I choose the ones best suited for the warp that is on the loom. When a shuttle fits my hand, as the Swedish ones do, that’s even better. As the weaver, I am usually the only one who sees the shuttles at work, but that makes them no less important. The one purpose of a weaving shuttle is to carry weft thread across the warp, by the weaver’s hand.
How do you find your purpose? Discover your calling by putting others first. Like most people, I would rather put my own self first. But our grand weaver calls us to be last. He calls us to be servants of each other. In that role where we carry the thread without being noticed, we do our most important work. And that is where we finally find our great value in the weaver’s hands.
Properly dressing the loom means no thread out of place, no crossed threads, no missed threads. Every linen end is threaded through a heddle on one of four shafts, following a draft for dice weave (pattern weft on a plain weave background). I insert each thread one by one in a specific order. My fingers are the only tools I use for this task, and I love touching and directing every single thread.
Pattern repeat has twenty-four ends, repeated across the warp.
Someone great is looking after you. Our Father in heaven knows what is going on in your life, details and all. He knows the placement of every single thread in your personality. He knows the ins and outs of our needs, hurts, and desires. Father knows what we need before we ask. And yet, he invites us to ask. That’s a good invitation.
