Twelve green placemats are on the dining room table. Green 22/2 cottolin warp and 8/1 tow linen weft in four colors done in a two-block broken twill, woven on the Julia with eight shafts. I am deeply satisfied with the results. Now, all I need to do is to invite everyone over for a big family meal!
End of warp. Cutting off process begins.Fabric unrolls from the cloth beam. Warping slats go every which way onto the treadles.When I first unroll the cloth from a project that has been on the loom for a while, it is almost always “Love at first sight.” Then, I begin to question myself and wonder if the whole thing is a big mistake. The final stage is the most realistic and I am deeply satisfied with the results (usually).Into the washing machine. The placemats have been cut apart, edges secured with the serger, and serger tails threaded back in. I carefully monitor the washing machine and remove the cloth before it hits a full spin cycle. Then, into the dryer it goes, just until damp, and then I press them till dry. This is a long time at the ironing board.Twelve placemats ready to go! Machine hemmed and pressed.The four linen weft colors give the placemats a softly graded look. Each one has the same two-block pattern, but each one is different because of the variance of the weft colors. Blue, green, teal, black.Setting the table in the dining room.Let’s eat!
I am lining things up to start my next big project that will grace our home. I’ll let you know as soon as I start winding the warp!
May you finish what you’ve started, no matter how long it takes.
There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a cloth beam filled up with cloth. There are eleven placemats rolled up on there, plus one more stretching from the breast beam on down. All that’s left to do is cut them off, wash, hem, and press. We’ll have new placemats on our dining room table in no time. Yippee!
Twelve placemats are woven. Now it’s time for some pattern play at the end of the warp.Empty quills at the end of a weaving project are such a happy sight! This is another reason I enjoy playtime at the end of every warp–I can use up thread on the quills.Look at that cloth beam! Woo Hoo, cutting off will be fun. And hemming all those placemats…I don’t mind.
Change is an essential element of weaving. How many times do we change the warp on our looms? Or change the sett, the pattern, the color sequence? Change is the rhythm of life.
Weaving 8-shaft broken twill on the Julia is a relaxing way to wind down the day.
After next week, April 11, Warped for Good is starting in a new direction. Instead of posting exclusively on Tuesdays I am switching to a more spontaneous approach. I will keep sharing highlights from my weaving journey, enjoying, as always, your thoughtful feedback in the comments.
Next week you will see the completed small tapestries from my hand-built loom. Soon after that, look for finished spaced rep rag rugs from the Standard. And the crazy critter napkins that are coming up on the drawloom will show my not-so-serious side. There is no shortage of weaving projects around here! I am looking forward to robust interaction with you as we enter this new rhythm.
Six out of twelve placemats are woven. It’s fun to think about seeing the placemats all spread out on the dining room table.
I haven’t decided what to put on the Julia after the placemats are finished. Is there a weaving project you’d like to see? I’m open to suggestions.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Warped for Good emails are ending after April 11. Please bookmark this site so you can come right here and enjoy this weaving journey with me. Think about setting a reminder for yourself to come and see what’s happening on these looms.
Four down, eight to go. It doesn’t take long to weave a placemat.
End of third placemat. Block pattern extends into the hem area.
I weave a two-pick stripe between placemats. The stripe is always in the red or orange family of colors (unless the item being woven is red or orange). The red stripe is my cutting line, and two picks helps me cut on the straight and narrow. I once got confused about where to separate two towels that I had woven, and I cut in the wrong place. Yikes! That’s when I instituted the red thread rule.
Orange linen thread is used for the cutting line. Two picks make a clear path for cutting placemats apart after all the placemats are off the loom.Ending the fourth placemat. Eight placemats to go!
Our lifetime has a distinct red thread rule. A true beginning and end. Life is brief. It doesn’t take long to weave a placemat. But while it’s on the loom, it has the weaver’s full attention. And so also, the Grand Weaver is attentive to all the threads of your life.
Two-block broken twill is a soothing pattern to weave because of its regular rhythm. Even though this is eight shafts, it is not complicated. Simple is good.
Four colors of weft are arranged in a repeated order. Warp is 22/2 cottolin. Weft is 8/1 tow linen. This is the second of twelve placemats on this warp on the Glimåkra Julia.
Instead of assigning a different solid color to each placemat, I am using all four weft colors in each one. The colors are arranged in an order that gives the appearance of gradated color. 8/1 tow linen: blue, then green, then teal, then black; repeat, repeat, repeat. There is no set number of picks for each color. Instead, I am changing from one color to the next in an irregular fashion, letting each color softly flow into the next. Regular two-block pattern; irregular color changes.
Keep it simple. The Lord’s pattern for our lives is not complicated. The Lord goes before us. As we follow him, all those irregular changes that happen in our lives turn into a lovely display of softly flowing gradated color. We can rest in that. From this color to the next…
