Tag: linen

Weaving Experience

Karen

It is possible to ruin hours and hours of handweaving efforts with a careless or ignorant misstep after the cloth is cut from the loom. Wet finishing intimidates me for that reason. Besides my own limited experience, I rely on instructions from advanced weavers, and any other research I can find. In the end, I take the plunge and hope for the best. If the worst happens, I take notes and chalk it up as a learning experience.

Halvdräll table squares just off the Glimakra Standard loom.
Just off the loom, four halvdräll cottolin and linen table squares await measuring for record keeping.
Linen pattern weft is characteristically wiry before wet finishing.
Linen pattern weft is characteristically wiry before wet finishing. Cottolin warp and background weft is somewhat stiff before it gets washed.
Halvdräll table squares with linen pattern weft. Karen Isenhower
Pieces are separated at the cutting lines, and cut ends of the cloth are secured with the serger. Then the cloth is placed in the top-loading washing machine, gentle cycle, with Eucalan delicate wash, with warm wash and cold rinse settings, adding several Color Catchers, and omitting the spin cycle. After rolling the wet pieces in clean towels to remove moisture, they are laid flat to dry. While still damp, they are pressed with a hot iron on the back side. And the linen comes out showing its true beauty!
Halvdräll table squares with linen pattern weft.
Waiting to be hemmed.

Wisdom is gained by those who pursue it. What is wisdom? Wisdom is truth being applied to real life situations. The wise become wiser still by listening with the intent to hear the meaning. Listening and learning. And then wisdom leads you to take action, often irreversible, because you believe the outcome will be right and good. How delightful when the wet-finished fabric exceeds your highest hopes!

May you become wiser than you are today.

In pursuit,
Karen

Happy Weaving New Year!

Karen

January 1st is more than just another day, isn’t it? It’s a time to review the past year and bring new dreams into the year ahead. This pivot point calls for gratitude. I am especially grateful for friends like you who walk with me on this weaving journey!

Thick and thin cottolin towels on this warp. One towel to go!
Thick and thin cottolin towels on this warp. One towel to go!
The end is near! The end of the warp, that is. Halvdräll on the loom.
The end is near! The end of the warp, that is. Almost ready for the final border of the halvdräll table square. There will be just enough warp left for a short sample piece.

First up in the new year I have thick and thin towels to finish, and the halvdräll is oh so close to the end of the warp (didn’t quite make it for Christmas). And one little girl is off the small tapestry loom, waiting for final finishing, mounting, and framing.

Little girl small tapestry.
Little girl small tapestry. After finishing the ends, the piece will be mounted on linen-covered foam board and placed in a frame.

Thank you for walking with me through 2015!

May you bring big dreams into the new year!

Joyful New Year,
Karen

Three Out of Four

Karen

I mark “mid” on my measuring ribbon. The ribbon is held in place on the fabric with two flat-head pins that I leap-frog up the ribbon as the warp advances. Imagine my surprise when the mid mark touched the exact halfway point of the table square being woven! The linen halvdräll pattern has a specific number of repeats for each of two blocks, with the halfway point of the table square at the center of the middle block II. How did I get that kind of precision for three of the four table squares on this warp? Honestly, it surprised me each time. I think it is the loom. Maybe I am finally learning to weave without interfering with the streamline functioning of this Swedish loom. (To see the one table square that didn’t make the mid-mark precision, look carefully at the first photo in Embedded with Elegance.)

Precisely hitting the midway mark!
Center of the block II pattern hits the mid mark with precision.
Middle of the table square hits the mark!
Second time to hit the mid mark on the dot!
Midway exactly! Halvdräll with linen pattern threads.
Halfway on the measuring ribbon. The border and hem are marked at the end of the ribbon.

A promise fulfilled is like a treasure unearthed. You hope for it, and might even expect it; but it’s a joyful thing when you experience it. We wait for a promise like we wait to see the “mid” mark on the ribbon. The Lord’s promise is a vast treasure. It’s a treasure worth watching for.

May you unearth splendid treasures in the new year.

Happy year end,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Linen Dice Weave Pillows

Karen

The linen on my loom last spring was a secret project. I only showed hints of what I was doing. Now that the “secret” linen project is published, let’s go back to see some of the process. Complete instructions for weaving and sewing these Linen Dice Weave pillows are in the January/February 2016 issue of Handwoven magazine. Read how it all came about in Caught by Surprise – in a Good Way.

Linen arrives!
Linen arrives!
Ready to pre-sley the reed with linen.
Ready to pre-sley the reed.
Warping trapeze in action to beam linen warp.
Warping trapeze in action to beam the linen warp.
Linen, ready to be threaded in the heddles.
Ready to thread the heddles.
Linen dice weave on the loom.
First pillow.
Linen dice weave as seen through the warp.
Linen dice weave as seen through the warp.
Linen dice weave coming around the cloth beam. Karen Isenhower
Coming around the cloth beam.
Linen dice weave on the loom.
Ending the pattern.
Dice weave in linen on the loom.
Dice weave.
Cutting off celebration!
Cutting off celebration!
Assembling handwoven linen pillows.
Assembling pillows.
Two sets of handwoven linen dice weave pillows
Two sets of linen dice weave pillows.
Linen dice weave pillows. Karen Isenhower
Linen dice weave pillows ready to send.

May you and those you love make meaningful memories on this Christmas day.

Merry Weaving Christmas,
Karen

Embedded with Elegance

Karen

In the afternoon light the linen takes on a golden appearance. The halvdräll pattern in the cloth is no less distinguishable in these low-contrast weft colors. In fact, the pattern seems more embedded in the fabric now than it did with the vibrant red weft in Weaving Christmas. Natural unbleached linen over white bleached cottolin brings monochrome elegance to this table square.

Elegant monochrome halvdräll on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Unbleached and half bleached 16/1 linen are combined for the pattern weft. Bleached 22/2 cottolin is used for the warp and for the tabby weft.
Halvdräll on the loom. View of the back of the cloth.
View of the back of the halvdräll cloth under the advancing warp.

God has a life plan for us that reveals His glory. His instruction gives me wisdom, insight, and understanding for life. It is much like following a halvdräll weaving draft to produce halvdräll fabric, and witnessing the fabric at its best as it glistens in the afternoon sunshine.

 

May you enjoy the wonder of Christmas.

Happy Halvdräll,
Karen