Two of my looms are getting the lion’s share of my attention right now. That doesn’t keep me from sneaking out to the drawloom, though, for an hour here, an hour there. Those hours add up. I have everything threaded and sleyed. The reed is in the beater now, and I’m tying on the warp.
Pattern heddles have been threaded. Ground heddles are being threaded. 888 16/2 cotton ends on six ground shafts.Moving the reed and threaded ground shafts to the front of the loom is tricky. Having a second pair of hands (Steve’s) definitely helps.
148 single unitlift heddles and 45 pattern shafts are waiting in the wings. I’m setting up the combination drawloom again for maximum flexibility in designing. That also means I’ll have abundant possibilities for weaving. Oh, what exuberant escapades await! This anticipation keeps me skipping down the path of preparation, ever so steadily, as I dream of entering that magical world of drawloom weaving once again.
I like to tie all the ends into small sections (about 1 inch at the reed) first. Then I tie them on the front tie-on bar, starting right of center, and then alternate left, right, and so on.
There is a door into an invisible kingdom. You may have seen it as a child. The door to God’s invisible kingdom is open. With childlike trust we give our heart to Jesus and his kingdom comes alive. In the here and now, as our preparation continues, we are ever mindful of the abundant existence of the ever after. What exuberance awaits!
“With so many looms, how do you decide what to weave every day?,” I was asked. The answer lies in my Weaving Rhythm. I have five floor looms. I happily aspire to meet the challenge of keeping all of them active.
Glossary
Weaving Rhythm ~ A pattern created across time, through a regular succession of weaving-related tasks.
Arrange individual tasks to keep each loom consistently moving forward in the weaving continuum.
Weaving Continuum ~ The cycle for each loom that is continually repeated.
When the first few centimeters are woven on a new project, begin planning the next project. When finishing is completed for the current project, wind a new warp and dress the loom for the next project.
First Things First ~ Prioritize daily tasks to maintain the Weaving Rhythm.
Finishing
Dressing
Weaving
Do some finishing work first. Do some loom-dressing tasks next. The reward, then, is sitting at one of the dressed looms and freely weaving for the pleasure of it.
Glimåkra Standard, 120cm (47″), vertical countermarch. My first floor loom. Weaving the third of four bath towels, 6-shaft broken and reverse twill, 22/2 cottolin warp and weft.Glimåkra two-treadleband loom. Weaving hanging tabs for bath towels. 22/2 cottolin warp and weft.Glimåkra Ideal, 100cm (39″), horizontal countermarch. My second floor loom. Dressing the loom in 24/2 cotton, five-shaft huckaback, for fabric to make a tiered skirt. Ready to start sleying the reed.Loom that Steve built, 70cm (27″), horizontal countermarch. My third floor loom. Weaving the header for a pictorial tapestrysample, four-shaft rosepath, 16/2 linen warp, Tuna/Fårö wool and 6/1 tow linen weft.Glimåkra Julia, 70cm (27″), horizontal countermarch. This is my fifth (and final?) floor loom. Weaving the first of two scarves, eight-shaft deflected double weave, 8/1 Mora wool warp and weft.Glimåkra Standard, 120cm (47″), horizontal countermarch, with Myrehed combination drawloom attachment. This is my fourth floor loom. Weaving some lettering for the seventh pattern on this sample warp, six-shaft irregular satin, 16/2 cotton warp, 16/1 linen weft. 35 pattern shafts, 132 single unit draw cords.
Give Thanks ~ Live with a thankful heart.
Every day I thank the Lord for granting me the joy of being in this handweaving journey. And I thank him for bringing friends like you along with me.
I canned my first-ever batch of jam last summer. Jars of yummy peach jam were on my mind when I started planning designs for this sample warp on the combination drawloom. Much to my delight, Joanne Hall has included my Jam Jars design in her updated edition of Drawloom Weaving, recently released.
Beginning another variation of the Jam Jars design.Earlier version of Jam Jars, with “Peach” spelled out in cursive letters.Simple lettering is possible with the pattern shafts. 30 pattern shafts for the jam jar design, including “JAM”, and 5 pattern shafts for the side borders.Drawloom Weaving, 2nd edition, by Joanne Hall. An essential resource for anyone interested in drawloom weaving.
I am weaving several versions of the jam jars. Each variation has a different set of borders as I test my understanding of the Myrehed combination attachment. I am studying the versatility of this drawloom. Pattern shafts enable pattern repeats for the jam jars and side borders. Single unitsmake it possible to weave the peaches in the corners and “Peachy” across the top. Can you tell if the border across the bottom is made with pattern shafts? Or, is it made with single units?
Everything is Peachy!
Depth of understanding comes from study. Practice makes it real. Go all in; make mistakes, un-do and re-make; have What-now? moments and Aha! moments. Make deliberate observations. It’s all part of the process. That’s what forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ is like. Forgiveness is good news. When we receive his forgiveness he sets us on a path to study, learn, and understand his grace. The depth of which will take an eternity to understand.
I’m curious. How much difference will it make to change the direction of the design? I wove the first Windmill and Taildragger from the side. (See Time Lapse: Windmill and Taildragger on the Drawloom.) This second one, I am weaving from bottom to top. For one thing, I know I can enlarge the image if I turn it upright, giving me more distinct details.
Windmill and Taildragger – Version 1, from the side. Beginning of Windmill and Taildragger – Version 2, upright.More detail is possible with the expanded size of the image. Center image and lower border use single-unitdraw cords. Five pattern shafts are used for the side borders.Temple maintains the correct weaving width. Side view of drawloom with Myrehed combination attachment.
This second Windmill and Taildragger is indeed larger, with smoother detail lines. No surprise. What does surprise me is how much simpler this one is to weave! The single-unit pulls are more manageable now that the design is turned in a lengthwise direction. Enlargement, clarity, and ease—all from a single design adjustment.
Single-unit draw cords seen in the weaving of the windmill’s blades.Windmill and Taildragger – Version 2Version 1 and Version 2 – Windmill and Taildragger
Spoken wishes express our needs. Our wishes are sincere, but hold no power in themselves. What if we turn the direction of our wishes? When we turn those expressions upward to God they become prayer. Prayer is an expression of belief. Jesus invites us to tell him our needs through prayer. Prayer enlarges and clarifies our hopes. You may be surprised how simple it is to take your needs to the Lord in prayer.
Come, look over my shoulder as I weave a windmill and taildragger image on the drawloom. The central design is woven using 103 single-unitdraw cords. I have a simple motif for the borders that uses only three pattern shafts. In the video below, watch as the three draw handles for those pattern shafts appear and disappear throughout the weaving.
Draw cords are used to raise single units of threads to create the image, one row at a time.Woven from the side.
I recorded my weaving in time-lapse form so you can watch three hours of effort compressed into three-and-a-half minutes. In the video you will see my hand pulling the draw cords, and then touching all the pulled cords from right to left to double check my work. That double checking saved me from dreaded do-overs.
When our good friends, Jerry and Jan, saw my drawloom they brought this picture to my attention. — Forty years ago Jerry discovered the silhouetted windmill and airplane tucked away on a back page in an old issue of Flying magazine. Because of his affinity for airplanes and windmills he cut out the tiny picture and saved it. Years later, Jan found the picture and had it enlarged and framed. — After learning about my loom’s pictorial capability, Jerry and Jan wondered aloud if this special image could be woven on a drawloom…
