Tag: shuttle

Shuttle Catching

Karen

I am already a quarter of the way on this baby wrap. Simple plain weave with one shuttle is fast and uncomplicated, making this the perfect setting to improve weaving technique. Surely, I can gain efficiency by examining some of my practices.

First quarter woven on baby wrap.
Twill tape has marks that show 1/4, Mid (1/2), and 3/4 of the length of woven baby wrap. The first quarter used about seven full quills of light blue weft.

Under scrutiny, I see that I am not consistent in how I catch the shuttle. It makes a difference where I make contact with the shuttle as it glides into my hand. I often have to reposition the shuttle in my hand to prepare it for the return throw. That’s not very efficient. Solution? Look at the hand that is catching the shuttle. All I have to do is turn my head to look, and the hand does the job. It’s amazing how that works. It pays to pay attention.

Beginning sample comes around the cloth beam. Baby wrap.
Beginning sample meets the cloth beam. View is from the front of the loom, looking under the breast beam.

Following Jesus can be compared to finding a breakthrough in weaving technique. It’s more than just meeting him, and trying to go the right way. That is weaving by habit, doing it like I’ve always done it. Jesus gives all to those who give him all. Breakthrough comes when I give up my habits to find a better way–his way.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

– Jim Elliot

May your eyes help your hands.

With love,
Karen

Diminishing Shed

Karen

This table runner is the last item on the zebra warp; and I am pausing before I tackle the ending. I like how the woven checkerboard underneath shows when you look through the warp! With the end of the warp just ahead I am wondering, “How many more centimeters can I weave?” (Read about the Zebra Warp.)

Checkerboard above and beneath. Cottolin table runner on the loom.
Checkerboard above and beneath.
Finishing up black and white cottolin table runner.
I decided to weave the last item as a table runner instead of a handtowel after conferring with Instagram friends. (Join me on Instagram! @celloweaver)

There is a potential hazard at the end of the warp. I want the final border of this table runner to match the border at the beginning. If I start the border too soon, good warp goes to waste, unwoven at the end. But if I start the border too late, I may have trouble finishing it. The shed height begins to diminish as the warp nears the end, until the shed finally becomes too short for a regular boat shuttle to pass through. (I have been known to gingerly “squeeze” and jiggle the shuttle through for the last few picks.)

Diminishing shed at the end of the warp. Cottolin table runner at the hem.
Starting the final hem. Barely enough height in the shed for the double-bobbin shuttle. The three centimeters I need for the hem seems like a long way to go at this point.
Ten towels and a table runner! Karen Isenhower
Woven all the way! Ten towels and a table runner!

Long before I start weaving the border, I am committed to finish, no matter how tight a shed I face at the end. I made that decision when I dressed the loom with this zebra warp way back when. Following Jesus is like that. It’s more than tagging along. It’s total commitment all the way to the end.

May you see where you’ve been as you look ahead.

Happy weaving,
Karen

In the Challenge of Halvdräll

Karen

It is sampling time! Before I weave the first table square with all red pattern weft, I am testing other options. I have several colors of 16/1 linen left from the linen lace weave scarves (Linen Air Scarves). Just what I need!

Linen stash - considering weft options.
Linen in various colors line up as pattern weft options.

This uses a doubled weft. Besides doubled red, there is red with magenta, doubled royal blue, royal blue with periwinkle blue, lime green with periwinkle blue, lime green with unbleached, and unbleached with half bleached. But another reason for this sample is to practice the halvdräll before weaving the “real thing.” This isn’t plain weave, after all. Weaving with two shuttles and being attentive to a changing treadling pattern is quite a challenge. Why is it, then, that I experience such satisfaction weaving this halvdräll? As I’m immersed in weaving, everything else fades away.

Linen quills ready for sampling.
Sample quills for testing color combinations. Each quill is wound with doubled 16/1 linen.
Beginning halvdräll - sampling weft colors.
Temple is moved out of the way to observe how the first picks are working out.
Halvdräll, sampling linen pattern weft colors.
Seven color duos make an interesting sample piece. From bottom to top – Doubled red, red/magenta, doubled royal blue, royal blue/periwinkle blue, lime green/periwinkle blue, lime green/unbleached, unbleached/half bleached, doubled red.

When the world is not making sense, when we’re too busy for our own good, when things are out of control… We need a place of refuge–right in the challenge. My loom bench is a place of refuge like that, where my mind is occupied and my hands are usefully engaged. You find refuge in the place you trust. Take refuge in the Lord. Immersed in his peace and comfort, our soul finds rest in him–right in the challenge.

May your practice prepare you for the real thing.

Merry Weaving Christmas,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Thick and Thin

Karen

A vote of confidence from someone you look up to can make a world of difference. When I saw Joanne Hall’s exquisite towel made with thick and thin threads, I asked her, “Do you think I can weave something like that?” “Of course you can;” she replied without hesitation, “it’s plain weave.” Keep in mind that I was a complete novice on the floor loom; and I barely knew how to handle one shuttle, much less two! I plunged into the ambitious project and came out with a winner! The blue and cream towel hangs on the oven door in my kitchen as a daily reminder of the powerful impact of an encouraging word. Thank you, Joanne!

Cotton tea towel, thick and thin. Karen Isenhower
First thick and thin towel, completed as a beginning weaver. This is one of Erica de Ruiter’s designs, found in “The Best of Weaver’s Thick’n Thin,” Edited by Madelyn van der Hoogt.

Thick and thin is just as fascinating this time around. It is delightful to revisit a rewarding experience. Who knew that plain weave could be this much fun?

Zebra warp on Glimakra warping reel.
Zebra warp with thick and thin threads on my new Glimakra warping reel. One of three bouts, 10 1/2 meters.
Warping trapeze in action.
View from the crossbar at the top of the warping trapeze, looking down. Ready to untie choke ties and add weights to the warp bouts.
Threading Texsolv heddles.
Thick ends alternate with thin ends as the heddles are threaded. Left hand separates the shafts‘ heddles for ease of threading.
Ready to weave thick and thin towels!
Weaving begins as soon as the warp is tied on and the leveling string is secured. I use the first few inches to check the threading and sett, and to do some sampling.
Border pattern for cottoln towel on the loom.
First border is captured with my iPhone camera so that I can easily reproduce the pattern at the other end of the towel.
Plain weave with three shuttles creates interesting patterns.
I added a second double bobbin shuttle to make it easier and quicker to switch weft colors. Plain weave gets even more interesting with three shuttles!
Thick and thin cottolin towels on the Glimakra Ideal loom.
End of the third towel.
Black and white towels on the loom. Karen Isenhower
View from under the breast beam. I love to see the fabric rolled up on the cloth beam.
Temple in place for weaving black and white cottolin towels.
Temple keeps the fabric at the optimum width for weaving. Red cutting line serves as the separation between the end of one towel and the beginning of the next. Ready to start another fascinating pattern.

May you give a vote of confidence to someone who needs it.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Plain Weave Can Get Complicated

Karen

This pattern is not as complicated as it looks. Remember, this is plain weave with only two treadles. How can plain weave look so intricate? Using two sizes of threads does the trick. Really, it’s that simple.

Thick and thin is not as complicated as it looks.
Pattern blocks have alternating thick and thin threads. Two thin thread picks in a row change the blocks.

The treadling is the easiest it can be. The shuttles, on the other hand, are more complicated. With two shuttles, you must interlock wefts around the outer warp ends. When the order of the shuttles is reversed every few centimeters, as it is here, it keeps you on your toes. And then there is the double bobbin shuttle. Are you able to wind two quills that have nearly equal amounts of thread? Not to mention catching a shuttle that has two quills unwinding.

We look at the detail and busyness around us and see our lives as intricately complicated. But zoom out and take the view from heaven. From that perspective, a thousand years goes by in one day. Humans come and go, generation after generation. My seemingly complex life is simple plain weave with the grand weaver skillfully throwing the shuttles to make meaningful patterns. Let this breath of time that we call life leave a mark of virtue that lasts for generations.

May you leave a lasting impact for the good of others.

Happily Weaving,
Karen