Warp wound onto the back beam, as seen through the beater, only adds to the expectant delight. The new warp is tied on and the treadles are tied up. The next step is to wind a quill with linen thread to put in the ready boat shuttle! This is joyous anticipation for a handweaver.
Immanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ. He came to live among us. The one who came to save us lives among us. He delights in us, loves us, and rejoices over us. Imagine that! The Lord rejoices over you. The Grand Weaver delights in his creations. Why are we surprised?
Did you notice I didn’themstitch these alpaca scarves on the loom? Instead, small overhand knots secure the weft. The knots provide a base for lattice fringe on one scarf, and for twisted fringe on another.
Purple mohair thread marks the right side of the fabric. The thread is added before the fabric is cut from the loom. Six warpends at a time are formed into overhand knots that cinch up to the edge of the scarf.Three offset rows of overhand knots form the lattice fringe.Knots at the tips of the fringe will be trimmed off after washing and drying.
Tying knots for lattice fringe is meticulous. And twisting the fringe is not much faster. But it’s not about how long it takes. I’m not a production weaver. I’m a one-of-a-kind weaver who enjoys the process of turning threads into unique cloth, no matter how long it takes. After the fringes are done, I will hand wash the scarves and let them hang to dry. Slow and steady, the scarves take shape. From the very beginning, I work with the end in mind–handcrafted artisan designer scarves.
By inserting a long straight pin through the center of each knot as it is formed, I can pierce the foam board at the spot where I want the knot to end up–right at the woven edge of the scarf.Twisted fringe dangles from the edge of the soft scarf.
Time is a gift. Time to make things. Time to finish what we make. And time to undergo our own finishing. Look up. The one who made us takes the time to do the finishing we need. Our Maker doesn’t rush or hurry. He has a beautiful end in mind. We look up to heaven as we pray, acknowledging that our Grand Weaver is on his throne. We can be thankful that our times are in his hands.
Winding a warp like this is intricate work because of the frequent color changes. These narrow warp stripes provide the perfect canvas for plattväv accents. The simple weftfloat pattern, woven across the width every five centimeters, adds embroidered-like stitches to the cloth. Everything else is a breeze. It’s plain weave.
Cottolin warp and 16/1 linen tabbyweft, with doubled 16/1 linen pattern weft.
It’s good to have a plain weave project every now and then. It’s a reminder of how freeing it is to let the boat shuttle fly back and forth between your hands. Rag rug weaving isn’t like that. Soft alpaca scarf weaving isn’t like that. I’m zipping along, …only stopping to move the temple, advance the warp, and add the black linen accents. No worries here.
Two red picks are woven for the cutting line that separates the towels. First towel is seen wrapping around the cloth beam.
Consider all that has been prepared for us to have a meaningful life. Why should I worry? Who wound the intricate warp and put it on the loom? Doesn’t the Grand Weaver know what it takes to complete his design? We enter the Lord’s place of rest through the door of trust. True rest is worry free. Let the shuttle fly. Let the weft floats embellish the cloth. Come enter the place of rest.
This is a stash-busting rug, using leftover cut strips from previous rugs. Like my other rag rugs, I start with a plan. Then, I get out my fabric and make my color selections. It’s plainrosepath, without tabbypicks in between, perfect for a stash buster. Snip, snip, snip. Fabric snippets are taped to my idea sheet. These are my blueprints–weaving draft, treadling order, and idea sheet with fabric snippets. I am weaving!
I can, and do, make adjustments at the loom. But I keep one question in mind. Will my choices along the way fit with the overall design of the rug? My idea sheet serves as a guiding compass. It’s a reminder of the big picture that forms a cohesive design.
Idea sheet hangs from the beater clip on the Glimakra Ideal loom. The treadling pattern, penciled on graph paper, and fabric snippets provide a quick reference while weaving.
Guiding principles shape our lives and enable us to make wise decisions. A compass sets the course. Use a true compass. Live in a way that pleases God. This is a valid compass for all choices and decisions. The Grand Weaver has the comprehensive design. Amazingly, He weaves our leftover fabric strips into his design, and uses them to make something useful and beautiful.
This is my favoriterosepath rag rug of all time! (Have I said that before?) I like the unexpected color changes that occur in the design. While the main rosepath pattern is woven in a yellow batik, the background tabby changes from pink to a mixed print, and then a single brown stripe outlining solid blue.
Single row of dark brown tabby serves to outline the central rosepath motif.
The other thing I like about this design is the repeated uneven plain weaveweft stripes–three rows green and two rows black. The ideas for color changes and uneven stripes came from looking at rugs in my Swedish weaving books. I have another rug to weave on this warp before we get to see this “favorite” spread out on the floor.
Every weft, including the rosepath pattern weft, goes around the selvedgewarpends. The inactive yellow batik fabric strip is carried up the selvedge through the active wefts.
Designs start with ideas. Who designed the intricate workings of the human body, or had the idea of putting planets together in a solar system? The universe is amazing, with every explicit detail honoring the Creator. Designed to operate on the faithful love of the Lord, this universe is a divine idea brought to life. With the glimpses we see of his perfect design, we can’t help but give our Grand Weaver the admiration he deserves.
