This warp is a triple challenge! 1. Full width (110 cm), 2. Fine threads (24/2 cotton), and 3. Unevenly-spaced narrow stripes. Three hours to wind the warp. Three hours to pre-sley and beam the warp. Seventeen hours to threadheddles, sley the reed, tie on the warp, and tie up the treadles. Why invest this much time and embrace this much difficulty?
1,984 ends have been threaded in heddles, and now are being sleyed through the 90/10 reed. Careful checking and re-checking all through the processes helps prevent errors.It is a good feeling when all the ends are finally in their places.
Why embrace this challenge? Because I see what no one else sees. I see the curtains that are specially designed for our remodeled bathroom. I understand the draft, the threads, the stripes, and everything that works together in a certain way. I see it. Though not yet visible, I could see it before I started. And so, all the challenges become part of the story, and I’m determined to keep going. I aim to finish strong.
After all is set up, the first testing I do is with shuttles. Which shuttle is best for sending all the way across this wide warp? The medium Glimåkra boat shuttle that holds 11 cm quills is the winner, not the longest, largest, and heaviest shuttles.Seeing the beauty of this cloth solidifies the hope of seeing special curtains gracing our bathroom windows.What begins as an M’s and O’sdraft for kitchen towels in Väv Magazine, and expands with pictures in a Malin Selander book, and grows with my imagination, is now visible on the loom!The two biggest challenges that remain: 1. Filling quills. It takes a while to fill a quill with this fine thread. It doesn’t take long at all to empty the quill as I weave. 2. This wide warp stretches my arms to my full arm-length reach. It’s good to be stretched! 🙂
This is a picture of faith. Faith acts on things not seen by others. Faith sees what is not yet visible. With faith in Jesus Christ, all the challenges become part of the story. We go the duration because we have a view of the finished work.
May your challenges stretch your faith in a good way.
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.
Short warping sticks on the warp beam of the Glimåkra Band Loom help the linen warp threads wind on with even tension. Blue basket underneath catches the warping sticks as they fall when I advance the warp.Band made with 16/2 linen, warp and weft, is a sturdy band. The saturated blue shows off the glimmering luster of linen.I like to weave as far as I possibly can, sometimes squeezing the last few weft picks through an increasingly smaller shed. Until it is nearly impossible to do one more pick.Weaving to the end.Cutting off reveals a lustrous woven band, perfect for the Christmas Snowflake Banners.
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.
Christmas Snowflake Banners, woven on the drawloom. Each banner will have three or more loops at the top edge, through which a rod will be inserted for suspending the festive banners for display.
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.
Would you believe me if I told you I had the exact length of fabric needed to cut out the three tiers for this skirt, with not a millimeter to spare? It’s true. Despite a profusion of fitting conundrums, detail studies, do-overs, ripping outs, mind-bending problem solving, and to-the-thread close calls, I never considered giving up. That’s not true. I did think of throwing in the towel. But, thankfully, my cheerleader husband won’t let me take that option.
Measure thrice, cut once. When I changed the skirt pattern, my original measurements no longer applied. I made paper patterns for the tiers. That’s when I discovered just how close the length of fabric was to the length needed.
I have a deeper respect now for my friends whose sweet spot is garment design and construction. This Tiers of Joy experience has reminded me that handweaving is my sweet spot. It’s the thing I do that makes me say, “I was made for this.” When I’m at the loom I am soaring. What is your sweet spot? Let the breath of God make you soar.
Happily, I have a memorable handwoven skirt to wear on my date with Steve to the Symphony of the Hills Christmas concert next week.
Here’s a short slideshow video of this thread-to-garment story:
I am giving thanks for you! I’m glad you and I get to walk through this weaving (and sewing) journey together.
“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.
The Park ranger had told Steve and me that if we were willing to drive six more rugged miles we would witness a spectacular overview of the Fresno Canyon that few people get to see. This is an opportunity we wouldn’t dare miss. And the park ranger was right. Oh, what a view! From this high point above the valley the view is phenomenal! I welled up with emotion as I looked over the glorious beauty of God’s creation.
The memory of that scene is in this small tapestry. Most of my small-tapestry weaving happens when we travel, where we make even more memories, which I store up in my heart. I pull from these stored treasures to weave tapestries that reawaken the fond memories.
Fresno Canyon photo printed in black and white is used for the cartoon. Instead of an exact picture of the image, I aim for a representation of the memory, expressed with color.During a brief rainstorm while at Caprock Canyons State Park, Steve and I relax in the Casita with our handcrafts. Wood carving and tapestry weaving.Warp is blue 12/6 cotton. Weft is triple strands of 6/1 Fårö wool. I use the tapestry needle to weave.Weaving in the sunshine at Davis Mountains State Park after returning from a hike.Finished weaving one Texas landscape while enjoying another.Warp ends are woven and braided.Linen is cut to size and pressed. Narrow rod sleeves are sewn into place.Linen backing is hand-stitched to the back of the small tapestry.Steve designed a simple frame for the small tapestry.Finished Fresno Canyon tapestry. A treasured memory kept and framed.
