Tag: stamping

What If it Is Not as You Expected?

Karen

The stamped fabric print is subtle and ethereal. The print goes through to the reverse side, too, which shows that the color is saturating the threads. Thankfully, there is more than just surface color, which means I can expect the woven-in print to last for the life of the fabric.

Printed warp on the loom.
View from below the woven fabric. The face of the fabric is seen rolling onto the cloth beam.

I had hoped for brighter colors, but with this fabric paint the intensity of color fades as the paint dries. And then, when the weft crosses the print it reduces the brightness even more, of course. That said, I am not disappointed. It is different from what I expected, but it will still make a pretty tiered skirt.

Stamped warp on the loom.
Stamped warp is transformed as it crosses the fell line.

Prayer can be different from what we expect, too. Believing and praying brings amazing results. It’s not always the results we had in mind, though. The truly amazing thing is this: The prayers of believing people are somehow combined with the power of God to bring about his will. It’s his good will that gets printed deep into the fabric of our lives. Disappointment gives way to thankfulness as we see results over time that are more than just color on the surface.

May your disappointments be few.

With you,
Karen

How Hard Is it to Stamp the Warp?

Karen

To stamp the warp, I stand on the foot beam at the front of the loom and reach over the beater. A six-inch board hangs just below the warp on loops of Texsolv cord, behind the beater, as the platform for the stamping and painting. A strip of blue painter’s tape stuck onto the backside of the beater divides the warp into three sections–A, B and C. The sections denote three tiers of a tiered skirt for which this fabric is intended to be used.

Warp painting and stamping on the loom.
Back of the beater is marked with blue tape that shows the A, B, and C sections of the warp.

I was concerned that this would be hard to do–thinning the paint, reaching over, stamping in sections, letting it dry before advancing the warp, and so on. But it is not nearly as hard as I anticipated. It’s not actually hard at all.

Painting and stamping warp on the loom. Karen Isenhower
When I step on the foot beam at the front of the loom, and reach over the beater, with paint palette (disposable plastic picnic plate) in one hand, and stamp or paintbrush in the other, this is my view.

Similarly, at times it seems hard to do the right thing, even though I know that loving God means walking in his ways. Simply thinking something is hard to do, though, is not reason enough to avoid doing it. And, more often than not, we find that doing the right thing is not hard to do, after all.

May you do the right thing.

Love,
Karen