The best things take time. Time (years) to know what you want to learn. Time to study, time to practice, time to put into practice what you’ve studied. By the time you finish a work of art you have invested more hours than most observers will ever realize. If you have ever made anything, you know the most common question you are asked: How long did it take you to make that? Answer: A lifetime, really.
Time is the greatest gift. We always have enough time. How will we invest it?
May your lifetime reveal the good investments you’ve made.
Linen puts elegance in the picture. That’s why I am using 16/2 linen to make hanging loops for my three Christmas Snowflake banners. Before I hang the festive banners, though, I am embracing Thanksgiving. More than a food-filled holiday, Givingthanks is a treasure-filled way of living.
Our heavenly Father’s faithfulness is displayed like a banner in our lives when we attach the elegance of a thankful heart to everything we encounter. This season of gratitude extends for a lifetime.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give him thanks. Praise his name. For the LORD is good. His loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.
I am starting to see a fig. This tapestry is a short story about fresh figs and a cup of coffee. My full attention is on weaving while I’m at the loom. I’m always looking for the moment that a recognizable image forms in the woven wool and linen cloth. Attention flows from desire. And when I am weaving, there is no other place I’d rather be.
When our affections are set on the Lord Jesus, there is no other place we’d rather be than sitting in prayerful conversation with him. And, I imagine he is delighted when he sees his own image formed in us.
I started this warp as a place to test some tapestry techniques. I have studied, practiced, and evaluated my own results from techniques used by various tapestry artists. What I have learned is that I prefer the techniques that I am already familiar with, that I learned from my friend Joanne Hall. I am ready to dive in one more time on this warp to refine my own approach to pictorial tapestry weaving.
This little hand-built loom has been sitting idle long enough. It’s time to start again. Starting takes courage. The cartoon is almost ready. Soon, this little loom will be back in action as my favorite place to be immersed in color and yarn.
I reached the end of the drawloomwarp on Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning, before Steve and I finished loading up the Casita travel trailer, I cut the warp off the loom. I grabbed a handful of thrums, chained them so they wouldn’t tangle, and threw the bundle into a small bag along with my cowgirl band heddle. And off we went for a short little getaway!
Relaxing under shade trees at the campground, I weave what I need for the four towels’ hanging tabs.
Back home, after the towels are wet finished and hemmed, I have an “a-ha!” moment: Only one of these cloths shall be used as a towel. The other three cloths will serve as Christmas Snowflake banners.
Christmas Snowflake banners. Revisit the process with me, start to finish: