Tag: life

Pattern in the Kuvikas

Karen

Each time I remove the temple I step back to review the progress. What does it look like now? It still looks like stripes. Four picks complete one row. The stripes lengthen, pick by pick. I hadn’t originally planned stripes, but seeing the results makes me hopeful.

Kuvikas stripes.
Lengthwise stripes on a solid-color warp are possible with a block weave, such as this kuvikas (summer and winter).

Every fabric has a structure–the particular way that warp and weft threads crisscross each other. This eight-shaft kuvikas structure sets the stage for weaving block patterns, like the square-within-a-square pattern or these stripes. It’s how the loom is set up. This loom is set up to weave kuvikas.

Love my double-bobbin shuttle!
Tencel pattern weft is in the double-bobbin shuttle. The regular boat shuttle carries 8/2 cotton for the tabby weft.

Truth is a constant. It doesn’t change with the wind. It isn’t subject to our whims. It’s how things are. Truth is the structure of creation’s fabric through good times and bad. Imagine the despair of Jesus’ closest followers as they watch him, their friend and Teacher, die in agony on a cross. Where is truth in this despair?

Kuvikas - Weaving lengthwise stripes on a solid-color warp.
Each complete row of pattern is made with four picks–tabby, pattern, tabby, pattern.

And then the unimaginable happens. Jesus comes back to them alive! This is the truth of God’s redemptive love–He died for us. Truth awakens hope. Speak truth to your soul. Wait in hope, for glorious fabric is being woven on His loom.

May you never lose hope.

With joy,
Karen

In My Rigid Heddle Days

Karen

My grandmother made a sweet little pinafore that my sisters and I wore when we were babies–each in our own time. Several years ago I came across that simple little “apron,” and made a pattern from it. My first granddaughter received the little pinafore from me almost six years ago, made from fabric I wove on my rigid heddle loom. Now, this little pink and green pinafore is being handed down to my expectant daughter, for her little baby girl, due this summer. And her baby will have the prettiest handwoven burping towel (or light little blanket) any baby has ever had. Nothing is too good for a grandbaby, right?

Baby girl pinafore made from handwoven fabric. Rigid heddle loom.
Fabric woven on a rigid heddle loom is used to make a baby girl’s pinafore. The pinafore pattern came from my grandmother’s handiwork. The background quilt shows more of my grandmother’s skill with fabric, needle, and thread.
Baby towel and baby pinafore. Handwoven.
Handwoven towel and pinafore. Fit for a little princess.

I want to give something more important than things to my grandchildren. I want to give them the stories of the wonders God has performed in my lifetime. The stories that connect one generation to another. The stories that are woven from ancient stories. Pass down the ancient stories. Weave the threads that the child can wear for life.

May your children’s children remember your stories.

Blessings,
Karen

Sley, Sley Again

Karen

I have never re-sleyed a warp after weaving the sample. Until now. It’s a drastic measure; but it’s better than fighting with the warp the whole way. I’m doing inlay on a rag rug, with rya knots and other techniques. It didn’t take long to see that the ends needed to be spaced further apart. But this is why we sample, right?

Beginning sample of rag rug weaving with rya knots.
Rya knots quickly add bulk to the rag rug sample. Three rows of rag knots are already creating a little hill in the weft.
Cutting off a sample piece. Painter's tape as cutting template.
Four inches are marked on a piece of painter’s tape to use as a template for cutting the warp. I want enough length on the sample piece being cut off to be able to tie the ends in square knots.

It was not an easy decision to re-sley. I had anticipated an enjoyable day of rag rug weaving. Instead, I spent the day cutting off, pulling the ends out of the reed, switching reeds, re-sleying, dealing with extra warp width, tying back on, and beginning a new sample. Is this called learning the hard way? Nope. This is simply called learning.

Rag rug sample with inlay techniques.
Warp has been re-sleyed and is ready for weaving a new sample. First sample piece includes rya knots, loop technique, and HV technique on weft rep, using fabric strips for weft and weft inlay.
Rag rug sample, trying out rya knots.
After re-sleying, I start a second sample. I am happy to see that the rya knots fit into place without adding excessive bulk to the weaving.

Weaving, relationships, and purposeful living. Learning takes time–a lifetime. I want the Lord to teach me how to live. Even when it means messy beginnings and do-overs that use up my day. We have a lot to learn. Lord, teach me, and lead me on your path. More than a prayer in crisis, this is a lifetime prayer for a lifetime of learning.

May you know when to start a do-over.

Still learning,
Karen

One Treadle Short

Karen

I faced a dead end with this six-shaft weave. The draft requires seven treadles in order to include true plain weave. And I do want plain weave for the hems. That is a problem. This loom has only six treadles. So these double binding twill rag rugs were put on hold while I thought about it.

And then I had an idea. What if… I tie the sixth treadle as if it were the seventh treadle, enabling me to weave the plain weave hem. And then, undo the treadle and re-tie it as the sixth treadle for weaving the body of the rug? It works! Essentially, I created seven treadles out of six. What seemed like a dead end became the point of discovering something new.

Changing treadle tie-up to make six treadles into seven.
With this tie-up, the fifth and sixth treadles (counting right to left) are able to weave an even plain weave. The sixth treadle is actually tied up as the seventh treadle, which is only needed for the plain weave hems at the beginning and end of the rug, paired with treadle five. To change the treadle tie-up, the upper and lower lamms for the first and second shafts (counting back to front) need to be switched. That’s all.
Changing treadle tie-up to make six treadles into seven.
Treadle tie-up now follows the draft as written for the first six treadles to produce the twill weave for the body of the rug.
Underneath view of Vavstuga treadle tie-up system. Makes changing tie-ups a breeze.
Under-the-treadle view of the Vävstuga treadle tie-up system. This tie-up system with beads and pointed dowels (or knitting needles) makes changing the tie-up a breeze.

Can you imagine the dead end the friends and family of Jesus felt when they saw his body go limp on the cross? ……………………………………………………………………………………

Easter is about the excitement of knowing Someone who died and came back to life. In the Easter story, the angel tells the women who arrive at the tomb, “I know you seek Jesus, the Crucified. He is now Jesus, the Risen.” For these women, this moment changed everything. What had seemed like a dreadful dead end became the point of discovering new life. Indeed, even now, a dead end is often the starting point of finding new life in the Risen one.

May you discover something new.

Blessings,
Karen

Beautiful to the Last Inch

Karen

This blanket won’t be as long as I wanted it to be. My sample at the beginning used more warp than I had expected. But the sample was necessary. I will squeeze out the last possible inch, throwing (or pushing) the shuttle as far as I can. The warp will come over the back beam before I know it, and the end will be the end. (Quiet Friday: Blanket Sample Thanksgiving)

Double-width blanket no.2 on the loom.
Changing the weft color every 18 centimeters / 7 inches produces blocks of color across the warp for the first half of the blanket.

This blanket on the second half of the warp will be more colorful than the first. For the weft, I decided to use the bits of remaining wool warp yarn, combining pairs of colors, to weave blocks of color across the blanket. It is satisfying to use up the yarn, even though it feels like a risk to step away from the usual in order to be original. The remaining fragments of wool will be used at some other time, like memories that are held, and then woven into new things.

Wool warp leftovers.
All that is left of eleven colors (22 skeins) of wool warp yarn, after using it up for the blanket weft.

Make the most of life now. That means using up your best efforts. Be original. Make every day count by giving of yourself. Look carefully at the life that has been given to you, and be who God created you to be.

In loving memory of Linda Kemper, dear friend and fellow handweaver, who made the most of life here. We will miss her. Home with Jesus.

May you fully live.

Assured,
Karen