Tag: security

Weaving Windows of Time

Karen

The 8/2 cotton threads are doubled, and form an outline around the delicate 20/2 cotton threads, creating this Swedish lace. I see the 8/2 outline as a window frame around panes of glass. A repeating geometric pattern like this is a visual impression of the cycles that form our backdrop for life. The sun rises and sets; seasons follow their sequence; years come and go. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Handwoven Swedish lace using double bobbin shuttle
By using a double bobbin shuttle, the thicker outline threads are placed in the shed together without twisting.

Life hands us constant changes, but one thing we can always expect is a new day. We have been given a lifetime of tomorrows. Even when we are not able to see the sun because of clouds, the sun still rises.

In that consistency of tomorrow, no matter what the present day offers, there is a knowing that runs deep in every soul. In moments of solitude we feel it: The creator loves me. No matter what. New every morning.

May your soul be refreshed today and tomorrow, and the day after that, and so on…

Lovingly,
Karen

The One Thing You Cannot Control

Karen

Pick after pick, the weaving continues. We won’t see the effect of this Swedish lace weave until it is off the loom and gently washed. That is when the lace magic happens. (See Laura Fry’s expert advice, such as this post, about wet finishing.) In the meantime, I keep throwing the shuttle, expecting a good outcome. Life is pick after pick, too. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, much less, next year. But we optimists do hope for the best.

Handwoven Swedish Lace on the loom
Swedish lace forms where the weft crosses these open spaces in the warp.

The future is unknown and uncertain, even in the best of times. And insecurity is that much greater when facing difficult circumstances. When I try to figure it all out, or attempt to manage everything, I realize how little I am actually able to control.

The great paradox is that when I give up my control to the one who created me, I gain everythng that matters. A few years ago I met James, a wise old stranger (an angel in disguise?) on a flight to Kansas City. James told me his approach to life. His words were a gift I still cherish today. He said, I don’t know what the future holds; but I put my life in the hands of the one who does.

May your pick after pick yield beautiful results.

Still weaving,
Karen

Hidden Strength

Karen

There are some things people don’t know about me. In fact, there are some things I don’t know about myself. Is that true about you, too? When we come unraveled a bit we find out what’s in the hidden places in our hearts.

warp rep rug selvedges
Alternating thick and thin wefts are covered by 2,760 warp threads. View is from the side to show turned weft threads at the edge.

The weft in this warp rep rug is mostly hidden in between the warp threads, and is only revealed at the selvedges. If we think of our hearts as a weaving like this, we could say the selvedges are the parts we let others see. But the hidden part of this weft is the part that makes the cloth strong enough to be a rug. A rug that will be walked on!

There’s a sense of security in knowing that someone bigger than myself sees what is hidden in the fabric of my life. When I do come unraveled, My creator takes those inner threads and weaves them perfectly back into place.

May your hidden beauty be your strength today.

Safely hidden,

Karen