Tag: Glimakra Standard

Now What Are You Counting?

Karen

Have you noticed how much counting there is with weaving? I am constantly counting something! This time it’s rya strands. Wrap three threads around a four-inch cardboard template, counting eighteen times around; cut the ends; repeat. Separate into nine groups of three strands each. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine groups. Tie rya knots–one knot, two knots, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine knots; repeat.

Prepared groups of threads for rya knots.
Åsborya wool, Mora wool, and linen are wrapped together around a template, and then cut. The group of threads is held together in a clothespin until ready to use.

I like to count the good things that touch my life. Family, friends, health, beauty in nature, and pleasant adventures, to name a few. These are the things that shine through, even in difficult times. These are the things worth counting.

Separating threads into "triplets" for rya knots.
Group of natural color threads are separated into wool-wool-linen triplets for rya knots.

Thankfulness to God acknowledges that the good things woven into our lives come from his benevolent hand. God is always inviting us to walk with him. Thankfulness steps us into that inspiring walk.

What are some of the good things you’ve been thankful for lately?

May you have more blessings than you can count.

Thankful for you,
Karen

(There is a discount coupon code on my About page just for you, my reader friends, to use in my Etsy Shop during August, 2014.)

Tools Day: Jury Rigging

Karen

Resourcefulness, make-do ability, outside-the-box thinking, solution-minded questions, and a little stubbornness. These are some of the best things to keep in the weaver’s toolbox. Jury rigging is an old nautical term having to do with sailors improvising the replacement of a damaged mast and sails, using only tools and materials that happen to be on hand. You could call it makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances. That describes what I did this week as I came near the end of the linen warp. And, like a sailor, I was working with wood, strings, and cloth.

Rya knots in linen cloth.
Warp ends on the sides have become looser than the warp that has the rya knots in it. That’s not good. Tension needs to be even across the warp.

I needed to even out the tension across the warp ends, because the outer edges were not taking up at the same rate as the warp in the center, because of the rya knots. The pictures show how I jury rigged a warping slat, empty thread tubes, S-hooks, and 2-pound walking weights to adjust the tension so I could continue weaving.

Jury rigged warp tensioning.
Adding weight to the loose sections of the warp.
Jury rigged warp tensioning
Two-pound walking weights are easy to hang from S-hooks. Using empty thread spools was a short-lived solution. That had to change when I advanced the warp.
Evening out warp tension with weights
Changing the slat so it is over the loose warp ends enables me to hang the weights directly on the slat with S-hooks.
Walking weights to tighten loose warp ends.
View from underneath, walking weights hang from warping slat to increase tension on the loose warp ends.

May you know when to make a temporary, but useful, contraption.

All the best,
Karen

(~My thank-you to you, my reader friends–a discount coupon good during August 2014 toward anything in my Etsy Shop. Find the coupon code on my About Page.~)

Rya, Rya, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Karen

Lay the groundwork; add a row of rya knots. Because of the coarser sett, and the thickness of this doubled linen weft, this rya weaving is progressing faster than the previous one. Tying all 36 knots across the warp is still the slowest part. But I can see progress. I like to see something happening, don’t you?

Rya knots (wool and linen) covering coarse linen cloth.
Green strands of thick Åsborya wool, fine Mora wool, and 16/1 linen, sit in a cluster, ready to be separated. Each rya knot is made of three strands, one of each type of yarn/thread.

I weave about an inch / 2.5 cm of point twill linen background first. It provides a framework to hold the mixed wool and linen rya knots. This means throwing the shuttle at a good pace for a short distance, and then stopping to add another row of rya. Through this moving – stopping – moving – stopping, progress is made. A little green and beige garden is growing on the surface of the linen structure. It is during the slow part that the “growing” happens.

Are you troubled about anything today? Don’t lose hope. If progress seems slow, you may be in a growing season. The Lord rebuilds ruined places and replants desolate fields. It feels slow now, but in time, you will look back and see a garden covering what once was ruins. Keep going, you’re going to make it.

May your garden grow.

(I did finish the previous slow rya project and turned it into three fun pillows. You can find two of them in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop!)

Making progress,
Karen

Rya Over Linen This Time

Karen

Slow and deliberate, rya knot tying is a satisfying exercise of patience. This background cloth feels like coarse canvas. You can imagine how robust the fabric is, with a hefty 8/2 linen warp, and the same, doubled, for weft. Threaded in a point twill, the cloth is simple, but texturally vibrant. The yarn pile, called rya, is made with combined threads of thick Åsborya wool, fine Mora wool, and fine 16/1 linen. (You can see my previous rya project in the post, Are You in a Pretty Mess? And if you want to see exactly how to make rya knots, check out this post –  Quiet Friday: Making Rya Knots.)

Forming rya knots in coarse linen fabric.
Rya knots are formed one at a time by wrapping around, under, and through each pair of raised warp ends. The background is woven between rows of rya knots with doubled linen weft, using a double bobbin shuttle.

I simply step on the “pile” treadle, which raises only shaft four, and tie rya knots around pairs of the raised ends. This process works because the fabric was planned and designed to have rya knots inserted on its surface. In a similar fashion, people are designed to receive God’s helping hand.

God wants to give us the ability to flourish in life. That’s his grace. We are made for that, and it happens when we offer “humble” threads. We must wear the cloth of humility as we interact with each other, revealing our coarse, simple, honest self. This is where God inserts his grace. In this process of his, he patiently makes us his work of art.

May you flourish in the things that matter.

Respectfully yours,
Karen

Tools Day: Lease Sticks

Karen

What can you do with a pair of flat beveled wood sticks, with a hole at each end? Use them for lease sticks, of course! This is an example of efficient simplicity. By slipping these two sticks through the opening of the lease cross made while winding a warp, and tying the ends of the sticks together, all the warp ends stay perfectly in order throughout the process of dressing the loom. After beaming the warp, with the warp still under tension, I tie the back lease stick to the back beam. Then, when threading the heddles, I simply take each thread in order by going to the cross in between the two lease sticks and picking up the next thread. I always weave with the lease sticks in. I don’t remove them until the end of the warp comes over the back beam.

Pairs of lease sticks, various lengths.
I keep several lengths of lease sticks on hand. Some were purchased from Glimakra, and some were fashioned by my skilled hubby.
Striped cotton warp for tea towels. Lease sticks tied to back beam.
Striped warp threaded and ready to weave cotton tea towels. Pair of lease sticks are tied together at the ends with choke ties, and back lease stick is tied to back beam.
8/2 linen warp ready for threading.
Linen warp is ready for threading. Lease sticks are tied together at the ends, and secured to the back beam. This warp is for another rya project.
Threading 8/2 linen warp. Lease sticks show which thread is next.
Threading the last grouping of threads in this 8/2 linen warp. The lease sticks separate the threads in a way that clearly shows which thread is next.

May you encounter simplicity in your creative process.

Happy Weaving,
Karen