Tag: heart

Wishes Do Come True

Karen

You have to know what you want before you start. When a handweaver threads the warp, she is deciding in advance what kind of cloth she wants to weave. Your true intentions, like a threaded warp, are revealed in the fabric of your life.

Warp ends at rest behind the reed.
Warp ends at rest behind the reed. Every warp end is carried in the eye of a heddle, which sinks or rises with its shaft (pair of upper and lower shaft bars).

Did you know that your deepest wish shapes your life? When my foot presses a treadle on this Glimåkra countermarch loom, shafts sink and rise, carrying their heddled threads to their proper position for interlacing with the shuttled weft. That’s a fancy way of saying that the way the warp ends were threaded behind the reed becomes evident in the woven cloth in front of the reed.

When our whole-heart desire is to walk as our heavenly king walks, his love is activated in us, and is expressed toward each other. This deep wish to follow his ways forms the intentional threading pattern that makes stunning fabric possible.

(This is still the cotton warp for the rya knots project. HERE is where I threaded these heddles, and HERE is how the rya knots look.)

May your deepest wish come true!

As always,
Karen

Is Wet Finishing Really Necessary?

Karen

Oh, how I wish you could feel these hand towels! They are soft. When I take a run of towels off the loom, I first cut them apart and serge the ends; and then I throw them in the washer and dryer for wet finishing. This cottolin and linen fabric went in stiff and scratchy… (Click HERE to see how it looked before wet finishing.) But after the rigor of agitation, spinning, and heat, the towels are perfectly soft and absorbent! Our own hearts can be stiff and scratchy, and not very soft, can’t they?

Handwoven towels in classic M's and O's weave structure. Soft and durable. Tabs are linen, woven on band loom.
Cottolin warp and weft, with some 6/1 tow linen weft stripes. These durable hand towels will stand the test of time, getting softer and softer with use. I wove the hanging tabs, 100% linen, on my band loom.

It’s hard to admit I need help sometimes, because I would rather think I am good enough to make it on my own. Admitting need is a first step toward a softened heart. Maybe a little turmoil in life is like being thrown in the washer and dryer–we come out softer because we realize how needy we are.

Classic towels almost too pretty to be used; but oh, they must be used!
Soft and pliable towels, neatly folded. Almost too pretty to use; but oh, they must be used to be truly appreciated.

My purpose for these towels is to use them as towels (or, more specifically, for gift recipients to use them). The towels became useful when they became soft and pliable. That’s how I want to be in the master weaver’s hands. How about you?

May you receive delightful gifts that are soft to the touch.

Softly and tenderly,
Karen

Tension! Who Needs It?

Karen

A warp that has not been properly wound on at the start will be full of problems every inch of the way, compromising the quality of the finished cloth. One thing that helps ensure an evenly wound warp is tension. I lay warp chains on the floor in front of the loom, weighted down with bricks and walking weights. The weights provide resistance for winding the warp over the back beam onto the warp beam, giving tight and even tension. People need tension, too.

Glmakra Ideal with striped cottolin warp for classic Swedish towels.
Looking toward the warp beam at the back of the loom, from under the tightly wound Cottolin warp.

Given a choice, I would like no tension, thank you. Just give me some slack. Do you know that the tension you and I would rather avoid could be the very thing that makes us shine?

Tension is uncomfortable, stretches our limits, and can bring out the worst in us. It tests us. But testing has positive results. Our maker knows that. His testing of our hearts reveals our true identity by confirming our deeply held convictions. Any loose or broken threads hidden in the warp become apparent, so they can be repaired or replaced. And we are made ready for the rest of the weaving.

May you find gold and silver threads shining in your warp as you become refined through testing.

Your friend,
Karen

Have you ever been refined through tension?

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Keep it Simple Sweetie

Karen

A simple solution for keeping the guide string out of the way when winding a warp: Eliminate the guide string! Okay, use a guide string, but not while measuring the warp. After I select the appropriate length guide string, I line it up on the warping reel. And then — this is the simple part — I place a little piece of blue tape (fold under one edge for easy removal) on the inside of each vertical post at the spot where the guide string passes. Remove the guide string and wind the warp, following the little blue tape markers! Simple.

Rag rug warp for Glimakra Ideal loom. Read about simple solution to eliminate guide string.
New rag rug warp for little Glimakra Ideal loom. Little pieces of blue tape mark the winding path for the warp.

It is easy to complicate things. In my efforts to simplify, I occasionaly reach an impasse by trying too hard to get the perfect solution, and lose sight of the main thing.

Talking with our creator is one of the simplest things we can do. When we get caught up with trying to say the right words, we can make it so complicated that we totally miss having the conversation. Simply saying what is on your heart touches our creator. And I’m convinced he bends down to listen …just like a father.

May you find simple words to express your heart.

Simply,
Karen