Tag: Jesus

Rosepath Whispers

Karen

This fifth rag rug on the warp has the same classic rosepath design as the others. This rug, however, has rosepath as a whispered hint instead of the usual bold statement. Colorful beauty? Yes. Yet, it’s quiet. Restful.

*Rosepath Whispers* rag rug.
Hints of rosepath pattern.
Rosepath Whispers rag rug.
Design plan sits nearby for reference as I weave.

The rosepath pattern is fully present, but soft-spoken. In the pattern areas, there is only slight contrast between the pattern weft and ground weave weft. The print fabric that is used for some of the pattern weft leaves spots of color, which also helps to blend the pattern into the background. The hint of a pattern makes you take a second look to see what is really there.

Winnie the Pooh is going into this rag rug.
Winnie the Pooh fabric is used for some of the ground weave weft.
Texture from rosepath pattern.
Texture of the raised rosepath pattern is clearly seen from the edge.

A restful person is like that, making us want to take a second look to see what’s behind that demeanor. Rest is a form of trust. Trusting God’s grace means believing that God will give us what we need. And that brings rest, the kind that is on the inside. Deep inside, where the pattern of grace is fully present, our being is transformed. And whatever is on the inside will show on the outside. Colorful beauty? Yes; and quiet, too. Restful.

May you be restful on the inside.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tapestry Promise

Karen

You will see the front of the Siblings tapestry. I promise. When I cut a tapestry from the loom the weaving is finished. But the tapestry is not complete until the finishing is finished. And I have substantial handwork yet to do before this tapestry is ready for display.

Cutting off a new tapestry!
Cutting off the tapestry.
Back of the Siblings tapestry.
View of the back of the tapestry. Non-distinct imagery.

I am securing the ends in a woven edging. Then, I will trim weft tails, stitch things down around the perimeter, and put on a backing. Additional hand-stitching work will stabilize the whole piece. When you see the Siblings tapestry again, you will see it in full view on the wall right behind my loom.

Woven edging on the new tapestry.
Warp ends are woven together along the edge, and will end with a short braid.
Tapestry just off the loom. Finishing process.
Edge will be folded under and stitched down before the backing is added.

Hope is built on promise. Do not forget God’s promise. Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And, Jesus expresses the promise to His followers, I will be with you always. We see the tapestry of life from the human side, the unfinished side. Hope, paired with patience, takes us through the uncertain future. We have assurance of the Lord’s grace, His meticulous handwork, bringing His work to completion. In the meantime, we give Him our burdens and He gives us rest. As promised.

May your hope be strong.

With you,
Karen

Waiting to Cut Off the Tapestry

Karen

I desperately want to unroll this tapestry so we can see the whole thing. The tapestry and its linen header are finished. But it’s not quite time to cut it off. First, I am weaving the rest of this beautiful linen warp. Not another tapestry, just a lacey rosepath weave using a tomato orange 6/1 tow linen weft.

One more row of weft for this Siblings tapestry!
With one more row of wool weft this tapestry is completed. Ten picks of linen in a plain-weave header follow. After that, a few rows of wool weft (leftover butterflies) are woven to secure the weft.
Linen on linen, with linen hemstitching.
Hemstitching secures the weft for this lacey weave.

It won’t take much time to weave this off, especially compared to the slower process of weaving the tapestry. Hemstitching, which does take time, will help keep this loosely-woven piece from unraveling when the warp is finally cut off. Soon enough, we will enjoy the full view of the completed Siblings tapestry.

View of the messy underside of the tapestry.
View of the messy underside of the tapestry.
Only a short distance remains on this beautiful linen warp.
Only a short distance remains on this beautiful linen warp.

Time. We all have it. And yet none of us knows how much of it we have. How many days have we been given? We don’t know. Time is temporary. Imagine a place where time isn’t measured. That’s heaven. Our short time here is but a pilgrimage to another destination. Our trust in Jesus opens heaven’s doors. In the meantime, the Grand Weaver’s warp will be woven, and not wasted, to the very end.

May you complete your pilgrimage in the time you’ve been given.

Blessings on your journey,
Karen

Looms Quietly Waiting

Karen

Merry Christmas Eve to you. Looms are quietly waiting to resume their rhythm. Meanwhile, songs of joy and hope fill the air because the Savior of the world is born.

Pictorial tapestry on Glimakra Standard loom. Only 6 cm remaining.
1. The Standard
Pictorial tapestry, with only 6 centimeters of the cartoon remaining.
Rosepath rag rug completed on the Glimakra Ideal loom.
2. The Ideal
Second rosepath rag rug completed. Two short rugs yet to be woven on this warp.
Wool handwoven scarves.
3. The Little Loom
First of two scarves is started. I am using the Stardust draft by Mona Nielsen, published in Happy Weaving, from Vävmagasinet, but with yarn and colors of my choosing.
Drawloom getting set up for weaving rag rugs with single unit drawloom.
4. The Drawloom
Warp is threaded and tied-on. Single-unit draw cords have been prepared. Next step: Attaching draw cords to pattern units. And then, tie up treadles and start weaving!

May your night be silent and holy, calm and bright.

Happy Holy-days,
Karen

I Forgot to Tie the Cross

Karen

It’s not a good feeling when you discover that you did not tie the lease cross on one of the warp bouts. When you wind a warp, it’s the cross that keeps the ends in proper order. I carefully tie both sides of the cross before removing the bout from the warping reel. This time, though, I inadvertently tied only part of the cross, which is, essentially, not tying the cross at all.

Realigning threads at the cross.
Working from right to left, I separate one pair of ends at a time to try to recreate the proper order of the warp ends. After every few strands, I insert the lease sticks and tie the cross. Fortunately, the bout on the left was tied properly before it left the warping reel.
Ready to pre-sley the reed and beam the warp.
Ready to pre-sley the reed and beam the warp.

I make my best guess to recreate the thread order, inserting the lease sticks little by little. And as I beam the warp there are several twists that threaten the whole process, getting hung up at the reed. But I coax the warp through at a snail’s pace, not forcing anything.

New wool warp being beamed.
I beam the warp and stop frequently to check the yarn for twists on the front side of the reed. No combing my fingers through the warp, which could lead to uneven warp tension. I lightly flick any twist-ups in front of the reed with my fingers to help keep them moving.

Eventually, the warp is successfully beamed. What a relief!

New warp ready for threading.
Now that the warp is beamed, there is no more concern about misaligned ends. The ends are now in the proper order as they appear on the lease sticks.

Things that matter become misaligned when we or those around us mess up. Some of the ensuing twists and conflicts spell disaster. It’s not a good feeling. We start to imagine that we’re alone and forgotten. You are not forgotten. Baby Jesus of the real Christmas story grew to manhood for a clear purpose. He came in pursuit of you and me, gently calling, never forcing, ever loving us, to put our threads back in order again through his cross. What a relief!

May your threads be put in order.

Good Christmas,
Karen