glory – Warped for Good

Grand Canyon Weaver

September 27, 2022September 24, 2022 Karen

I like to come prepared when we travel. Prepared to weave, that is. Our recent camping trip to Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim is no exception. Relaxing after a full morning of hiking? That’s tapestry time. Rainy day? No problem. Time to pull out my small tapestry frame and do some tapestry weaving.

Sitting on a log to do a quick sketch. Widforss Trail on a Sunday morning was a wonderful way to worship our Creator.

Ponderosa Pines fill the North Rim Campground. It is refreshing to sit there for some relaxed tapestry weaving. Weaving from the back, meaning the face of the tapestry is facing away from me.

To view the incomparable expanse of the Grand Canyon leaves me in awe. It’s as if the glory of our Creator is on full display. Oh, the colors, textures, and breathtaking drama!

Sunset brings a hush over the vast Grand Canyon. Vibrant colors, phenomenal textures, in an unfolding dramatic ending–this is the language of a weaver.

Weaving inside the Casita Travel Trailer until the skies clear up. Messy back of tapestry because I’m not trimming any more than necessary – fewer scraps to keep track of.

Our hearts turn to recognize God’s authority when we view the wonders of his creation. And, in the awe of it all, we pause to consider the vastness of his personal love, such that the Grand Weaver grants us the pleasure of creating something small with colored bits of yarn. Oh, the wonder of it all!

There is still work to be done. This (second) *Rain Girl* is not in a hurry. She is ready for me anytime I decide to add more colored bits of yarn.

May you come prepared.

With wonder,
Karen

Double-Binding Is My Framework for Floor Art

June 7, 2022June 5, 2022 Karen

I can make an ordinary rug. But it’s more exciting to weave something extraordinary. That’s what I like about making rag rugs. I can infuse them with beautiful patterns and colors. Double binding, in particular, gives me a useful framework for my “floor art.”

Double binding is a framework for creating art for the floor.

The thing I like about double binding is the way two consecutive wefts overlap and interchange in the shed. As the blocks change, the weft on top and the weft underneath change places. Most double-binding rugs, including the ones I have made previously, are simple checkerboard designs. The threading pattern you see here has significantly more block changes than usual. What began as a “what if?” has opened up a new dimension of rag-rug weaving for me! This opens the door to extraordinary.

Red stripe is the mid point for this double-binding rag rug bath mat.

God made you for purpose. It’s no accident that you are endowed with certain skills. When our skills and desires merge in meaningful ways, we enjoy a sense of purpose. Whether it’s weaving, singing, or growing seeds, do what you were made to do. And let all you do point to the glory of your Maker. When he made you, he had extraordinary in mind!

May you live out the purpose for which you were made.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Drawloom Stars and Snowflakes

January 19, 2021January 18, 2021 Karen

I am ending this warp with spectacular stars. Or are they snowflakes? I got a new book of patterns just in time. My friend Cathleen shared her innovative source with me—Selbu Mittens: Discover the Rich History of a Norwegian Knitting Tradition, by Anne Bårdsgård. This book is filled with beautiful charts, perfect for translating into drawloom designs. It has page after page of classic eight-pointed stars, which look like snowflakes to me.

Pattern shaft drawloom. 35 pattern shafts.

The star patterns all have an odd number of squares across the chart. My drawloom is currently set up with an even number of pattern shafts. To compensate, I am offsetting the star and adding a vertical dotted line. For the second row of stars I am flipping the offset and switching to a lighter shade of blue weft. I am also pulling the pattern shaft cords for the background around the star pattern. This reverses the pattern and ground, giving a different perspective of the same design, making the star blue and the background white.

Stars / Snowflakes on the pattern shaft drawloom. — *(Photos by Eddie Fernandez)*

Even when our perspective changes, the foundation stays the same. Truth endures. God speaks truth, even through his created designs. Stars in the heavens and snowflakes on the earth attest to the enduring truth of their Designer’s glory.

May the end of your warp be spectacular.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Cutting Off a Failure

May 21, 2019May 20, 2019 Karen

I made an embarrassing blunder. No wonder this Tuna wool resists all my efforts. It’s the wrong yarn! Tuna is 6/2 wool—twice as thick as the 6/1 wool I should be using. Cowboy Magic won’t solve this sticky problem. (I thought it would, as I expressed in this post: Tame the Wool.)

The yarn is gorgeous, but my frustration level is pushing me to throw in the towel. I tried hard to make this work. I was so convinced I had the right yarn that I missed it even when reader Joan left a gentle comment asking if 6/1 Fårö yarn would work (I’m sorry for not listening, Joan). There is nothing left but to cut off this failure.

Cutting off out of frustration. — Every shed is a struggle. It seems impossible to get a clean shed with this “sticky” yarn. (It’s not the yarn’s fault, though.)

Cutting off a failure. Ouch! — Failed piece is cut off. There are unwanted floats everywhere, and the fabric is like cardboard because of the tight sett.

Cutting off a failed double weave project. Ugh. — Bottom of the double weave has even more unwanted floats than the top layer.

In this lowest moment a thought occurs to me. Re-sley the reed. An ounce of hope rises.

Re-sleying to a coarser sett. Hoping for success. — Reed is changed from 50/10 metric to 40/10 metric. This spreads the warp an additional 19.9 cm (7 3/4″).

Wool for a double weave blanket. Second try. — Sleying is complete and the new reed is placed in the beater.

Wool warp for a double weave blanket. — Warp is tied on and leveling string is tightened. On your mark, get ready, get set…

I re-sley to a coarser reed and tie back on. I hold my breath and step on the treadles. It works. And it’s gorgeous!

Double weave wool blanket on 12 shafts. Glimakra Standard. — Go! Night and day difference in being able to clear each shed.

Double weave at its finest. Wool blanket. — Double weave at its finest.

Weaving into the sunset! — Weaving into the sunset.

Double weave Tuna wool blanket on Glimakra Standard. Success! — Clean lines of double weave, with a (very) few unwanted floats that will be easy to fix later.

Double weave wool blanket. Success after starting over! — This is now a pleasure to weave!

Have you experienced great disappointment and loss of hope? Sometimes our own failure brings us to that point. The Lord makes things new. We come to Jesus with our failed attempts, and he exchanges our used rags of effort with his clean cloth of righteousness. In his forgiveness, the failure is cut off and removed. Our threads are re-sleyed and re-tied to make us gloriously new.

May you know when to cut off and start over.

Love,
Karen

Process Review: Twelve Placemats

December 25, 2018January 21, 2019 Karen

Twelve placemats just came off the loom! Now, for the finishing work. Measuring, examining, repairing, washing and drying, and hemming. Soon they will be ready to dress the table for a home-cooked meal. Mmmm… The focus is on food and fellowship. The placemats are there to catch the drips and crumbs. And then, washed and made ready for the next meal.

Christmas. While our focus is on food and fellowship, a beautiful mystery plays out right in front of us. A baby named Jesus entered the world. Christmas celebrates this. Jesus came to take away our offenses, catching our drips and crumbs. The mystery of God is glorious. This is the mystery: Jesus takes our stains, and we who trust in him come out washed and made ready for glory. This is good news, for which a weary world rejoices!

May your table be dressed for good times.

Have a glorious Christmas,
Karen