Tag: lease sticks

Quiet Friday: Weaving Linen Air

Karen

Linen lace weaving. It’s like weaving air. 16/1 linen warp and weft, with uneven sleying and careful weaving. “Beating“ is not the right word this time; let’s call it “placing the weft.” Gentle, gentle, gentle, easy does it. No temple needed. Indeed, what would you hook the temple into? There is almost nothing there.

Linen on the warping reel.
Winding the 16/1 linen warp on the warping reel.
Linen warp chain, ready to dress the loom.
Wound warp is chained and placed over the breast beam and through the beater in preparation for dressing the loom.
Lease sticks with linen.
Lease sticks.
Dressing the loom with linen singles.
Ends are counted and grouped before threading.
Uneven sleying of the reed with linen singles.
Reed is sleyed unevenly, sometimes called “crammed and spaced.”

I did weave a sample, trying out different colors and sizes of weft. The weave is so airy; honestly, I was not sure if the fabric would hold its shape off the loom. To wet finish, I first soaked the sample for 20 minutes in hot water with mild soap. Then, I washed it by hand, lifting and lowering the net-like cloth repeatedly in the water. I rolled it in a towel and gently squeezed to remove moisture. Lastly, I laid it out flat to dry.

Half bow keeps linen from slipping, while allowing adjustments.
Half bow-tie makes sure the linen will not slip. Adjustments are easy, if necessary, after weaving a few inches.
Tying up treadles in the "playhouse" under the warp.
Treadle tie-up happens in the “playhouse” under the warp in the back. Sunlight through the linen reveals “invisible” hairy fibers.
Sample weaving. Linen lace.
Sample.
Linen sample, not yet wet finished.
Sample, not yet wet finished.
Linen sample in black and white.
Black and white view shows cloth structure.

Result? It came through beautifully, with the lace weave intact. Linen, there is something about you that is exquisite and delightful, yet a bit mischievous and sly. I like you.

Linen sample after wet finishing. Karen Isenhower
After wet finishing and drying, the linen sample shows a glimpse of scarves to come.
Weaving linen air. Karen Isenhower
Weaving linen air.

May all your concerns be as light as air.

Happy Linen Weaving,
Karen

Dressed with Colors in Linen

Karen

Are you wondering which color arrangement I chose for the linen lace scarves? It wasn’t an easy decision. After weighing all the opinions and advice, color-wrapped card #7 won. I added a neutral stripe on both sides to frame the color sequence, and I varied the width of the stripes, thanks to Fibonacci. The result is that you can hardly distinguish where each stripe begins and ends. The stripes blend into each other, with the magenta stripes grabbing the most attention. (Visit Tools Day: Color Wrapping and Color Wrapping Take Two to follow the discussion about choosing the color arrangement for this warp.)

Dressing the loom with linen.
Linen on the warp beam. The colors blend from one end to the other, framed by bands of unbleached and golden bleached threads on each side. Lease sticks, tied to the back beam, maintain the order of the threads.

It makes sense to think things through before committing a linen warp to the loom. My excitement builds as the loom is dressed. We will soon see the woven results when I experiment with weft options. I am secretly hoping for iridescence. I can imagine it, but I won’t see it until the weaving happens, and the light catches the airy interlaced threads.

Threading the loom with linen.
Each thread is inserted through the eye of a heddle.

Color choices are inconsequential compared to other choices we make, but commitment is something many decisions have in common. We are invited into a personal walk with Jesus Christ. It is no small thing to consider an agreement with the Master. Like dressing a loom, it is a commitment. The excitement comes when you realize that iridescence and other mysteries may come true before your very eyes.

May you have a life filled with the glow of iridescence.

For good,
Karen

It Begins with a Warp Chain

Karen

I have new warp excitement! Having a new warp chain ready for the loom is much like coming into a season of gift giving. Every step of dressing the loom is like meticulously wrapping the gift, with some things completely hidden away. When the weaving begins, the gift is opened, little by little. The final unwrapping happens when the warp is cut from the loom, and all the delights are fully revealed.

Cottolin warp chain.
Cottolin warp chain ready for dressing the loom.
Spreading the warp, pre-sleying the reed.
Spreading the warp by pre-sleying the reed.
Beaming on a new cottolin warp.
Spread warp is ready to be beamed on.

Peace, grace, hope, and love. These are the gifts I wish for you, friend. These gifts are ready to be unwrapped! Watch the fabric develop before your eyes as you weave, and enjoy the wonder of opening the gifts.

May you receive gifts that are better than you expected.

Love,
Karen

The Weft Question

Karen

I keep wondering about the weft that I forgot to purchase for this blanket. The heddles are threaded and the reed is sleyed; everything is ready…except the weft. As it turns out, I am glad I Forgot the Weft, because now I can try different options on the actual warp before committing to one single color.

Threading heddles for double weave wool blanket.
Ends are grouped into bundles of 32 threads each at the back beam. Pre-counting into groups helps prevent threading errors. Each heddle holds two threads. As a group of ends are threaded, I re-check the threading, and then tie the bundle into a slip knot.
Two set of lease sticks for double weave blanket.
Two sets of lease sticks, secured at the back beam, keep the two double weave layers separate and in order. The reed is cradled in place horizontally in front of the shafts for easy sleying, four ends per dent.

I am testing eight of the eleven warp colors, plus one more that I had in my stash. Nine colors. Think of it as nine questions. This one? This one? This one?… I am looking for weft that compliments the warp all the way across, showing off the warp gradation that spans both layers of the double weave. When the weft is woven in, rather than just held up for comparison, I find the answer unfolding before my eyes.

Double weave, finding the right weft.
Barely an inch of each color, but it is enough for a favorite to stand out for me.

Questions are good. Be ready to ask genuine questions about life. Genuine, like weaving the threads, rather than simply laying threads on the surface for consideration. The Lord specifically answers a seeking heart. In this journey of discovery, the answers unfold. Those looking for truth will find it.

Which weft color would you choose (last picture, options 1 – 9, left to right)? The weft is doubled, so you can choose one color, or two colors combined. (I will reveal my choice later. The yarn arrived today!)
Leave your answer in the comments.

May you be asked good questions.

Discovering,
Karen

Tools Day: Lease Sticks

Karen

What can you do with a pair of flat beveled wood sticks, with a hole at each end? Use them for lease sticks, of course! This is an example of efficient simplicity. By slipping these two sticks through the opening of the lease cross made while winding a warp, and tying the ends of the sticks together, all the warp ends stay perfectly in order throughout the process of dressing the loom. After beaming the warp, with the warp still under tension, I tie the back lease stick to the back beam. Then, when threading the heddles, I simply take each thread in order by going to the cross in between the two lease sticks and picking up the next thread. I always weave with the lease sticks in. I don’t remove them until the end of the warp comes over the back beam.

Pairs of lease sticks, various lengths.
I keep several lengths of lease sticks on hand. Some were purchased from Glimakra, and some were fashioned by my skilled hubby.
Striped cotton warp for tea towels. Lease sticks tied to back beam.
Striped warp threaded and ready to weave cotton tea towels. Pair of lease sticks are tied together at the ends with choke ties, and back lease stick is tied to back beam.
8/2 linen warp ready for threading.
Linen warp is ready for threading. Lease sticks are tied together at the ends, and secured to the back beam. This warp is for another rya project.
Threading 8/2 linen warp. Lease sticks show which thread is next.
Threading the last grouping of threads in this 8/2 linen warp. The lease sticks separate the threads in a way that clearly shows which thread is next.

May you encounter simplicity in your creative process.

Happy Weaving,
Karen