It is no small matter to have this much setup completed on the drawloom. Now that I think of it, all of it is the fun part! Yes, I am looking forward to getting the single unit cords ready and distributing the pattern shafts. And yes, I am super eager to be sitting on the loom bench reaching for draw cords and pull handles, but I can wait.
Just look at that flatness! This is what I appreciate about the leveling string–it makes the warp ready for weft right at the beginning.
I am taking my time, determined to enjoy every intricate part of the process. I’m deeply grateful to know the satisfaction of being a weaver. Patience is built in.
I am imagining Texas hill country critters (and birds) that will make their way onto the family napkins I’m getting ready to weave. I am thinking of an armadillo, a jack rabbit, a gray fox, a roadrunner, a Texas longhorn, a Texas spiny lizard, a black-chinned hummingbird, and a few more. Designing each image for the drawloom is fun. Just wait till you see the armadillo!
Preparation makes way for imaginative creativity. This is why I enjoy all the drawloom prep.
Six ground shafts hang in front of the pattern heddles for threading. Heddles on the ground shafts are long-eye heddles, which make threading a breeze.Threading ground shafts is almost complete. I will move the six shafts to the front of the loom to hang from the countermarch. After that, I can start positioning the pattern shafts. And then…weaving those critters!
Everything we do today is preparing for something tomorrow. Enjoy today. Look forward to tomorrow.
What critters (or birds) would you include if you were designing these napkins? Tell us in the comments!
May your creativity soar in relation to your diligent preparations.
Happy weaving, Karen
IMPORTANT NEWS for Those Who Receive Warped for Good by Email: Email subscriptions are ending April 11, 2023. Warped for Good posts will not arrive by email after that date. Stay tuned! I will tell more about this change next week. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Warped for Good is the story of my weaving journey and is NOT ending! I will continue to share my weaving adventures right here.
It’s good for a handweaver to flow in creativity. That’s where designs, colors, and out-of-the-box thinking thrive. Add the virtue of persistence, and those creative ideas become tangible articles of cloth. Making things takes more persistence than it does creativity.
Threadingpattern heddles is a repetitive task that I enjoy. I find greater joy, though, in the actual weaving phase of the project. That is when I get to sit at this marvelous instrument and challenge my hands and feet to work together to make the glorious sounds of a loom producing patterned cloth. It does take persistence to get to that point. Even when weaving, my focus is on the outcome – creative napkins for our family meals. The end purpose not only drives my persistence to the finish line, it brings enjoyment to each necessary task along the way.
Will be napkins with fun designs. Green, with gold borders, and various linen weft colors.Near the halfway point of threading pattern heddles. Six ends per unit.
You and I are God’s creative work. He is persistent in the forming of our character, desiring to weave the image of Christ in us. His end purpose brings meaning to all the steps it takes to complete the fabric. Imagine his enjoyment every time we allow his hands to do each necessary task.
How easy is it to threadheddles on the Glimåkra Julia? It may surprise you that I like to put my loom bench inside the Julia, and then sit there to do the threading. It’s comfortable for me. Watch the video below to see how I get in and get out of the small space.
Climbing into my little “playhouse” for threadingheddles.Sitting in the Julia loom is a comfortable way for me to thread the heddles. I like to keep the shafts low so I can see the back beam, and keep my shoulders relaxed, as well. I look down through the shafts to see the heddles as I thread them.
Don’t worry, that’s not the only way to thread this petite loom. In the video I also show how to bring the shafts forward so you can comfortably thread the heddles while sitting on the loom bench in front of the loom.
Heddles are threaded. It won’t be long now till we see some woven fabric!
Enjoy!
May you find ways to keep doing what you love to do.
Spaced rep rag rugs have a graphic vibrancy that grabs my attention. Like regular rep weave, spaced rep is warp dominant. Unlike regular rep weave, the warp in spaced rep doesn’t completely cover the weft. That’s where rag weaving comes in, because the fabric-strip weft shows between the warps. The rag weft provides just enough color variation to satisfy a rag rug weaver like me.
Warp (12/6 cotton) is beamed and threaded. Ready to tie on.Oh, the exhilaration of a new warp on the loom!
The pattern for this rug comes from Älskade Trasmattor, by Hallgren and Hallén, p. 87. The threading has dark and light ends that alternate, with four distinct blocks (five, if you count the plain weave block). And thick weft (fabric strips) alternates with thin weft (12/6 cotton rug warp), with four different treadling sequences. All of these factors work together to make the geometric pattern in the rug. It sounds complicated. Truly, though, it is merely a collection of simple systems that all work together. And the possibilities are endless.
Spaced rep rag rug. Pattern from Älskade Trasmattor, by Hallgren and Hallén, is modified for the floor space I have in mind.Geometric pattern is primarily seen in the warp threads. The dark fabric strips for weft highlight the pattern even more.Cherry wood ski shuttle by Steve for the fabric weft, and an open-bottom boat shuttle for the warp thread weft.
You are intricately and wonderfully made. To people who know you, no doubt, you look complicated. Your maker, however, knows your simple systems that all work together. The Lord knows you by name. His plan for you follows a masterful design. In the grand weaver’s hands, the possibilities are endless!
May the pattern of your life set you apart.
Happy Weaving, and welcome back to my studio, Karen
