Tag: husband

Tapestry Portrait Beginning

Karen

I started with a photograph of seventeen-month-old Lucia sitting in her grandad’s lap after eating lunch at Culver’s. Her pouty bottom lip and her serious brown eyes caught my attention. It seems an impossible task to replicate the charming expression in yarn, but it doesn’t hurt to try. I enlarged the picture, and then cropped it to fit a four-by-six-inch “canvas” of 12/6 cotton warp. I also reversed the image, since I am weaving this tapestry from the back. The weft is one, two, or three strands of Fårö wool yarn, depending on the degree of detail.

Grandad and granddaughter.
Steve and Lucia enjoying each other.

Here is my beginning attempt at a portrait, accomplished during our car ride home from Texas hill country, after spending time with Lucia and her cousins for the Christmas holidays.

Travel tapestry loom is warped before hitting the road.
Loom is warped before hitting the road.
Tapestry portrait in progress.
Shapes are slowly filled in with yarn. Paint stick serves to hold the cartoon in place.
On the road with a little tapestry weaving.
On the road with a little tapestry weaving.
Attempting to weave a tapestry portrait.
Beginning the blue and white polka-dotted dress. Inlaid magnets hold the blunt tapestry needle.
Weaving a tapestry portrait in the car.
Dusk has arrived, so it is time to put the weaving away for now. Good lighting is a must.
Checking progress on a small tapestry loom.
Before putting the loom in the bag, I turn it over to look at the right side of the weaving. Progress!

May you attempt the impossible.

All the best,
Karen

What a Cellist Weaves

Karen

I approach weaving like a musician. The looms are instruments, and everything is practice. When I was twelve years old I fell in love with the ‘cello and began learning to play the instrument. Over time, I discovered the value of mindful practice, the need for which is ongoing. It’s not perfection I’m after, but intent to apply all I’ve learned.

Glimakra band loom.
Finished woven band. 12/6 cotton for warp and 16/1 linen for weft.
Band loom woven cord for cello endpin stop.
Small slider is added to make the cord’s length adjustable.

This once, my weaving and ‘cello playing overlap. My husband designed this cello endpin stop for me! I got to weave a cord on my band loom that connects the pieces together. (I showed you the beginning steps in Finer Weft for a Stronger Cord.)

Hand-crafted cello endpin stop, with handwoven band.
Hand-crafted ‘cello endpin stop.
Hand-crafted cello endpin stop.
‘Cello and me.

What if our interactions with people are opportunities to practice real love? It’s no big deal if I love those who love me. Or, do good when I know someone will return the favor. Or, lend to someone who will pay me back. Real love is loving those who don’t love you back. That takes practice. When we love, do good, and give, expecting nothing in return, we start to resemble God’s character. No, we won’t attain His perfection, but when we apply all He’s taught us, we begin to look like His children. For He loved us long before we loved Him back.

May you practice real love.

Love,
Karen

Sweet Little Loom with a View!

Karen

Steve thought I should have another loom, so he used his carpentry skills to build a 27-inch Swedish-style four-shaft countermarch loom! It’s beautiful. It’s incredible! In preparation for retirement in a few years, we found a place in beautiful Texas hill country to call (our future) home. For now, it’s a place to gather with children and grandchildren on occasional weekends. And a place to put a sweet little loom.

Making weaving loom parts.
Making weaving loom parts.
Making weaving loom parts. Treadles.
Six treadles ready.
Putting the new little handbuilt loom together!
Final Touch. Tightening the cradles for the top of the hanging beater.
Maiden warp for a new sweet little loom.
Putting on the maiden warp of 12/9 cotton seine twine.
Ready to take the loom apart to move it.
Loom is ready to be disassembled. Warp is wrapped up on the warp beam. Blue duffel bags will hold all the loom parts except for the side frames and the beater, to be transported to the new location.

And it only gets better. We situated the petite loom by the corner windows in the living room. At the loom, I have the best seat in the house, with an amazing view of God’s creation. The loom tells me my husband knows me very well. And the view tells me the Lord knows me, too.

Loom with a view! Texas hill country.
Threading heddles while enjoying the hill country view!
Grandchildren, loom, view... heaven on earth!
Can there be a better setting? Grandchildren playing, loom, view…
Sweet little loom with a view!
Sweet little loom with a view! Heavenly!

None of us can come to God on our own terms. Not by our wisdom. Not by our strength. Only through humility do we find God. Humility opens our heart to God. That’s when we see how much He has done to get our attention to tell us He knows us and loves us. My special loom with a view is an example of what it’s like to be known and deeply loved.

May you know you are loved.

Blessings,
Karen

Tools Day: Ski Shuttles

Karen

Patterned rag rugs always use at least two shuttles. I often have four or five filled ski shuttles at the loom. A low profile ski shuttle is an excellent choice for weaving patterned rag rugs. Why?

  1. It fits pleasantly in the hand.
  2. It holds a large amount of fabric weft without being bulky.
  3. The wide base glides smoothly across the warp.
  4. The low profile fits easily through the narrower shed of a tight warp that is common for rug weaving. (Beware of ski shuttles that are taller, and may not fit as easily through a tight shed.)
  5. It is slender enough to send it out of the shed to go over or under outer warp ends, when needed.
Basket of ski shuttles ready for the next rag rug!
Basket of ski shuttles that are ready for the next rosepath rag rug!

My ski shuttles are made by Glimåkra, except for the beautiful cherry wood ski shuttle my husband made for me.

Hand crafted cherry wood ski shuttle, and rosepath rag rug just off the loom.
Newly completed rosepath rag rug is ready to be hemmed. Cherry wood ski shuttle is hand crafted by Steve Isenhower.

 

Ski Shuttle Dimensions (Glimåkra Single Ski)
Height: 1 1/4″ (3 cm)
Width: 2″ (5 cm)
Length: 19 1/2″ (50 cm) and 25″ (64 cm)

Why I like low profile ski shuttles for weaving rag rugs.
Weaving width determines which ski shuttle length to use. The shorter shuttle works with any weaving width. The longer shuttle works only for wider weaving widths (30″ or more) and for spaces with plenty of clearance at the sides of the loom. The low profile of the shuttles is seen in relation to the height of the reed in the beater.

 

How to Wind a Ski Shuttle

1 — Hold ski shuttle vertically. Start with one tapered end of the fabric strip coming across the top of the ski shuttle. Hold the tapered end with your thumb while you start winding the fabric strip onto the shuttle with your other hand.

How to wind a ski shuttle.

 

2 — Continue wrapping the fabric strip around the length of the shuttle, straightening the fabric as you go.

How to wind a ski shuttle for rag rugs.

 

3 — Finish winding when you have a tail of fabric remaining.

How to wind a ski shuttle.

May your shuttles be a good fit for your hands.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tools Day: Narrow Shelf

Karen

It’s not easy to keep a table top cleared off. Little things accumulate that intrude on the work space. The wonderful maple work table Steve made for my weaving room a couple years ago provides a needed surface for multiple uses. I do my project planning here; and I weigh out my yarns here; and I wind quills here. It’s time to create a space for the little things, to get them off the table. Steve to the rescue! He built a narrow shelf to go on the wall behind the work table. Pencils, snips, pins and needles, quills with a little bit of thread, and the like. Pegs below the shelf give me a convenient place to hang a few essentials–small scissors, Gingher thread clippers on a cord, a few choke ties, tape measure, and my Väv Calendar.

Hand-crafted maple shelf compliments the maple work table below.
Hand-crafted maple shelf compliments the maple work table below. Frequently used items are within arm’s reach.
Hand-crafted maple shelf above weaving work table.
Re-purposed vessels make colorful holders for small items.

Now, I am ready for anything!

May your creative space work in your favor.

All the best,
Karen