I have often wished I had the skill of artistic drawing. How wonderful it would be to portray a slice of creation using pencil lines, or pastels, or with watercolors and a paintbrush. Instead, though, I’ve been delighted to find that I can “draw” and “paint” with threads and yarn. By capturing a slice of creation through my iPhone camera lens, the hard part has already been done. All I have to do is translate the photo into a woven image. And what a joy that is!
Here is a glimpse of my process of weaving the Texas hill country Cactus and Bluebonnetstransparencies.
(Don’t miss the amazing animated images at the end of this post that my son, Daniel, made of these woven transparency projects!)
I hope this isn’t cheating, but I added a teeny bit of embroidery to the finished bluebonnets. One thing I learned with this transparency is that an image that looks flat can be improved with a hint of shadows.
I’m thankful for my husband’s artful eye. He helped me identify the “off-screen sunlight” that would produce natural shadows. I am adding a few darker stitches to the right-hand side of some of the lighter areas, and a touch at the sides and lower end of the flower stems. My hope is to give the picture a bit more depth.
A single strand of mora wool in a darker shade is used to embroider some outline stitches on the right side of some of the bluebonnet petals.
Shadows tell us something: There is a light source. Find out where the light is coming from. That is what it’s like for those seeking God. There are shadows everywhere you look. We see the shadows–the effects of a shining light. And we want to find the source.
Hint of shadows helps give shape to the otherwise flat transparency.
Go on a search and exploration expedition. Start with small shadows that you see, the circumstances and blessings that hint at an outside light source. Such seekers may discover that God is just off-screen, waiting to be found.
A folded piece of paper and a seven-inch tail from a yarn butterfly become an answer to a small technical problem. When using a cartoon, like I am for this transparency, it’s imperative to identify the center warpend so I can align the dotted-line center of the cartoon with that one end. Finding the center warp end is my technical problem. The paper and yarn work together as the tool that helps remove the guesswork.
I check the alignment of the cartoon about every inch, and move up the pins that hold the cartoon in place.
With these bluebonnets, if the cartoon slides to the right or left by even one warp end it distorts the picture. It’s not enough to eyeball it. I need a way to make sure I am finding, and marking, the exact center end every time.
How to Find and Mark the Center Warp End
Supplies:
Pencil
Subscription card from a magazine, folded in half lengthwise
Seven-inch tail from a yarn butterfly, or a strand of yarn
Measure the width of the beater and use a pencil to mark the exact center with a vertical line.
Hold the folded edge of the card against the vertical pencil line on the beater, with the bottom edge of the card almost touching the warp.
3. Slip the yarn tail under the center warp end, as identified by the bottom corner of the card.
4. Check the alignment of the center line of the cartoon with the center warp end.
5. Slide the yarn from the reed to the fell line to check the entire length of the alignment. Reposition the cartoon, if needed.
Ready for one last alignment!
May you find a solution that eliminates guesswork.
I promised a baby blanket to a dear friend whose first grandchild is coming soon. That’s why I am working on this transparency with extra focus. I need the loom. After being away from home longer than expected, I am now trying to make up for lost time.
Flower stems rise out of the “ground.”Weaving from the back. All weft turns are on the back, leaving little bumps and ridges, while the underneath front side stays smooth.
Some sections take an hour or more to weave an inch. But I am finding transparency weaving to be pure enjoyment. I don’t mind lingering. And, if it weren’t for that baby blanket I would slow down even more. This is handweaving at its best. This is good. All I do is select the threads and put them in place, and the woven image magically appears.
Four strands of 20/2 Mora wool for each butterfly, giving ample opportunity for color blending.Even a simple design like this requires many little butterflies to complete the image (sixteen for this row).Cartoon is held in place with three pins. The dotted line on the cartoon is aligned with the center warpend. I love the small spaces of linen between some of the flower petals.
In reality, good things don’t appear by magic, do they? Even with the loom, a plan is made, warpends are lined up, and the handweaver puts many skills into action. When we experience good in life, it isn’t happenstance or magic. The Lord is good. He is the source of goodness. And it’s by His grace that we are able to see his goodness. Thank you, Lord.
Rya knots and loops of threads look chaotic at first. These linen rya knots will never be tame, but that’s to be expected. Linen butterflies have created a swath of wild rya “flowers” planted in a smooth linen “lawn.”
Continuous weft bundle forms loops between rya knots.Loops are clipped. Green butterfly is for the background plain weave weft.
Each section of rya starts with a butterfly made of several strands of linen in assorted weights and colors. I tie each rya knot on a pair of warpends, leaving a loop between knots. There are two to three passes of plain weave between each row of knots. When I finish a butterfly, I go back and clip all the loops. After the loops are cut, I trim the tops of the threads to even out the rya “flower garden.”
Tops of the rya threads are trimmed. I intentionally leave a few shorter and longer threads, for interest.Linen rya knots on a weft-faced linen background. Wild linen “flowers” growing out of a smooth linen “lawn.”
When things around us look a mess and don’t make sense, full of knots and loops, there is one thing we must do. Keep holding on to faith. Fight to keep your faith strong. Faith in Christ Jesus will carry you through uncertainty and will reveal the first ray of hope. The loops will be clipped, the threads will be trimmed. A garden of color will emerge. Faith waits for that.
