What do you do when you are away from your looms for a week? Portable weaving, of course. I thought about bringing my band loom, but fitting the band loom in the car turned out to be more of a hassle than it is worth. So the band loom stayed home.
I have my inkle loom with me instead, as well as my small tapestry frame. Steve is taking a woodcarving class from Dylan Goodson this week at the Texas Woodcarvers Guild Seminar; and while he is in class I am keeping my hands busy with portable weaving.
Steve beginning to shape his relief carving, following the finished example by his instructor, Dylan Goodson.First inkleband of the week is linen.Cottolin warp for the second narrow inkle band.Second inkle band almost finished.Start of a small tapestry of a little girl, derived from a picture in a children’s book.Time to put on one more inkle warp!Adding more details to the relief carving. Good carving takes time and patience. Like weaving.
This linen scarf is for embellishment, not for warmth. Wear it as a summer shawl, and it will make you feel pretty without adding any weight to your shoulders. Making this scarf was like weaving air, and wearing it is like wearing air.
Lace weave scarves, woven with 16/1 linen, just off the loom.Fringe is trimmed, knotted, twisted, and knotted again. Then, after washing by hand in hot water with mild soap, the scarves are hung to dry.
The wrinkly nature of linen gives character to this netting-like lace weave. In The Big Book of Weaving, this draft is written for a project using paper yarn to make room dividers. I didn’t know if it would work to substitute linen for paper yarn… Or, if the fabric off the loom would work as scarves… Result? Two fabulously light linen scarves, wearable even in Houston.
Long and lightweight, the airy fabric is suitable to serve as a scarf, shawl, or even a long sash. Being linen, it embellishes a nice dress, or adds style to comfortable blue jeans.Long fringe, twisted in small sections, accentuates the linen character of the scarves.
Concerns that turn into burdens are like scarves that are too heavy for the present season. We keep wearing the scarf, even though it makes us miserable. Our Heavenly Father is a burden lifter who knows our concerns. He bears our burdens. Though he is great and glorious, he lifts the burdens that are on our shoulders and carries them for us. In place of the burdens, we get to wear peace instead. Light and airy, and wearable with everything… peace.
What is your experience with linen? I know weavers who love it, and others who completely avoid it. Linen has remarkable qualities. Strength, durability, natural beauty. It took me several attempts, though, to become comfortable using linen as warp. Linen has indeed given me more than my share of broken warp ends! But truly, those struggles have been part of the learning process. The more I weave with linen, the more I love this natural fiber. I am beginning to understand how to work with it, instead of against it. In fact, weaving these lace-weave scarves with single-ply linen warp and weft has been a joy. And only two broken selvedge ends this time!
Linen lace-weave scarves as seen on the cloth beam. Fringe between the scarves is left unwoven. The separated stripes are caused by the hemstitching at the end of one scarf and at the beginning of the next one.
It takes effort and experience to understand some things. The love of Christ is like that. The love of Christ is extraordinary. It takes inner determination to discover the beauty of this unconditional love. Some things are simply worth the effort.
In the early 1980’s Steve and I signed up for a pottery class at Johnson Atelier in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We still have the hand-built pitcher Steve made. The big thing that happened for me, though, besides figuring out that I am not a potter, was the rigid heddle weaving class across the hall. I signed up for that class, and lo and behold, I discovered I was a handweaver at heart! I found myself in an exhilarating new story; and I acquired my first loom–a 32″ Beka rigid heddle. Weaving became my means of creative expression. Now, several chapters (and a few more looms) later, I am still a happy handweaver. It’s part of who I am.
Practice tapestry piece is mounted on linen. Steve made the frame to fit. The frame is leaning on the crackled raku pitcher Steve made in our pottery class so many years ago.
That is how I want my story to be written on the inside, too. Through a discovery that redirects my whole attention. Let a new story be written! A new creation starts on the inside and makes you a new person. The writer of this terrific new story is God, Himself, who makes everything new.
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.
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-tie makes sure the linen will not slip. Adjustments are easy, if necessary, after weaving a few inches.Treadletie-up happens in the “playhouse” under the warp in the back. Sunlight through the linen reveals “invisible” hairy fibers.Sample.Sample, not yet wet finished.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.
After wet finishing and drying, the linen sample shows a glimpse of scarves to come.Weaving linen air.
