Linen puts elegance in the picture. That’s why I am using 16/2 linen to make hanging loops for my three Christmas Snowflake banners. Before I hang the festive banners, though, I am embracing Thanksgiving. More than a food-filled holiday, Givingthanks is a treasure-filled way of living.
Short warping sticks on the warp beam of the Glimåkra Band Loom help the linen warp threads wind on with even tension. Blue basket underneath catches the warping sticks as they fall when I advance the warp.Band made with 16/2 linen, warp and weft, is a sturdy band. The saturated blue shows off the glimmering luster of linen.I like to weave as far as I possibly can, sometimes squeezing the last few weft picks through an increasingly smaller shed. Until it is nearly impossible to do one more pick.Weaving to the end.Cutting off reveals a lustrous woven band, perfect for the Christmas Snowflake Banners.
Our heavenly Father’s faithfulness is displayed like a banner in our lives when we attach the elegance of a thankful heart to everything we encounter. This season of gratitude extends for a lifetime.
Christmas Snowflake Banners, woven on the drawloom. Each banner will have three or more loops at the top edge, through which a rod will be inserted for suspending the festive banners for display.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give him thanks. Praise his name. For the LORD is good. His loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.
I am starting to see a fig. This tapestry is a short story about fresh figs and a cup of coffee. My full attention is on weaving while I’m at the loom. I’m always looking for the moment that a recognizable image forms in the woven wool and linen cloth. Attention flows from desire. And when I am weaving, there is no other place I’d rather be.
When I look through my monocular I get a distinct view of the first part of the fig.Colors of wool (primarily 6/2 Tuna and 6/1 Fårö) are combined in butterflies to represent color values and hues that will become an image of a cut fig–mostly recognizable from a distance. An exciting challenge!
When our affections are set on the Lord Jesus, there is no other place we’d rather be than sitting in prayerful conversation with him. And, I imagine he is delighted when he sees his own image formed in us.
Repeat good practices to form good habits. Since weaving is filled with repetition I try to be attentive to the effects of my techniques. With every touch of my hand – picking up a shuttle, straightening a line of weft, tightening the ratchet just so after advancing the warp – I have the end in mind. Quality is the goal. Consistency is the key. And, consistency emerges from good habits.
Tied back on after cutting offsample rug.Midway on the first section of the rug. Two more full pattern repeats will follow.Tidy selvedges. The fabric weft is turned under twice and pulled snugly against the outer warpends.After a series of weft stripes the second pattern repeat is being woven with red fabric strips for weft.
With every touch of our Grand Weaver’s hand, he has the end in mind. Little children were brought to Jesus for him to lay his hands on them and pray. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And he placed his hands on them… Consistency is the key. Jesus welcomes all who come to him with childlike faith. His consistency emerges out of his goodness.
This is the fourth and final towel in my Snowflake series. Right now in Texas hill country it is extremely hot and dry, so these few gentle snowflakes are a welcome sight, even if only made of thread. We look forward to cooler days and moisture from the heavens.
Concluding the lower border of the towel. Warp is 16/2 cotton. Weft is half-bleached 16/1 line linen, except for the wide blue border, which is 16/2 line linen, and narrow 16/1 linen red stripe.
This Myrehed combination drawloom attachment functions as a thread lifter. When I pull a draw handle for a pattern shaft, a series of thread units are raised. When I pull a draw cord for a single unit, one unit of threads is raised. I am using 45 pattern shafts for the repeated snowflake border designs on these towels. The center area of each towel has small and large snowflake designs at varying intervals. These irregular designs are created using 148 single units. It’s because of all those liftedwarp ends that we can create woven snowflakes.
Temple in position. Three pulled draw handles lift thread units at the side borders. Several pulled single-unit draw cords (black cords and white cords) lift single units for an off-center large snowflake design.Lifted warp ends.
We expect to have worries in this life. Daily needs come as repeated patterns. Other disturbances come at irregular intervals. Worry is eliminated in God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom has a worry lifter–Jesus. He invites us to give him our worries and trust him to care for us. Imagine the one-of-a-kind design that emerges when worries are lifted!
I am constantly improving my methods of operating the drawloom. I pull and release draw handles and draw cords, check for errors, and throw the shuttle for each unit of threads (six times per unit with the current setup). Everything is in order. And, while I’m actively absorbed with this mental and physical choreography, I experience freedom from every other care.
Hem of towel is bleached 16/1 linen weft, and then green 16/2 linen weft. The pattern area of the towel is woven with royal blue 16/1 linen weft.Solid row of pattern across the warp requires that all pattern shaft draw handles are pulled. It always seems thrilling to me to see all the handles down at once!Lower border of the towel is the easy part. Pattern shafts are used for making a repeated pattern, and no single unit cords are involved.Pattern shaft draw handles are now relegated to the side borders. The center body of the towel uses single unit draw cords to create non-repeated pattern. The single units give me freedom to design a (planned) random snowfall expression.Snowflake Towel 01 is wrapping around the cloth beam. Snowflake Towel 02 is going over the knee beam. Snowflake Towel 03 is being woven. Snowflake Towel 04 will be the final towel on this warp. (But, who knows what I’ll be able to weave after that to the very end of the warp?)
These snowflake patterns are delightful to weave. There is enough consistency with the border pattern shafts to make it simple. And there is enough (planned) random snowflakes using single units and pattern shafts to keep it engaging. All I have to do is follow the graphed chart. As I weave, the snowflakes emerge, as if by magic. But it’s not really magic, is it?
Standard procedure is to always have a temple in place. I have rubber bands on the first and last draw handles for the side border pattern, and on the center handle for the border pattern (not pulled in this photo).Everything works together! …for the good of the fabric being woven.Sometimes one single unit is enough to make the next row of pattern.I keep the chart at eye level and constantly refer to it. Closely following the chart is the only way I can hope to weave something worthwhile on the combination drawloom.
If you believe in Jesus you must walk with him. And as you do, you come to know the truth. Truth is found by walking in it. The pattern on the chart is true, and gives direction. The delight comes as we see the real-time results emerge in our own hearts. That’s freedom in its purest form.
