Do you ever go out on a limb? I’ve been known to play it safe. But not today! My excitement for weaving this kuvikas structure was severely dampened when I saw that the pattern in the cloth was not the pattern I intended. What happened? I had switched the threading for shafts 1 and 2! Consistently, too–all the way across the warp.
While testing weft color options, I realize that this is NOT the pattern for which I thought I had threaded. Even though this pattern does reveal an “I” for “Isenhower,” I had my heart set on a square within a square.
I could leave the threading as is. No one would know. Oh, the arguments I had with myself at this point. “Take it out, and re-thread.” “You’d be crazy to take it out and re-thread.” The crazy self won. (I did find myself asking, “What solution would Becky Ashenden, the weaving solution genius, come up with?”) Here is the stupendous thing: I was able to correct the pattern by doing shaft-bar gymnastics. And no re-threading! What?! (I documented the process and will bring it to you in my Quiet Friday post at the end of the month.)
The sight of these little squares within squares makes me extraordinarily happy! 8/2 cotton tabby weft. Doubled 8/2 Tencel pattern weft. Kuvikas, as this weaver intended it to be.
There are times when we are called to go out on a limb. It’s the right thing to do. But the prospect is overwhelming. We ask, “Who? Me?” And “How, Lord?” Trust the Lord, one step at a time. He will be with you. Marvelous things will happen, catching even you by surprise.
Knots show up in the warp. It’s a normal part of weaving. Weaving over the knot is almost never a good idea. You have to deal with the little obstacle. This is why it is handy to know how to splice the warp. Thankfully, it’s not hard to do. There are a few standard variations on how to perform this operation. I use a method that I first came across here, by Kirsten Froberg, that makes sense to me. And, hooray, there are no tails to weave in later!
I made a new video to demonstrate how I do it. You can watch it below…
Spliced area of the warp happens to land in the hems of two adjoining towels. Pink weftpicks serve as a cutting line between the towels.Ending the splice. There are no tails to weave in later with this method.
After back surgery, I wondered how-in-the-world I would be able to tie up my countermarch looms. After a four-week ban on bending over, I was eager to weave, but not eager to do anything that might strain or injure my back.
Two simple maneuvers made it possible for me to tie up the lamms and the treadles on both of my Glimäkra countermarch looms:
Remove the lamms. Treadle cords are added while sitting in a comfortable position.
Detach the treadles. Bring treadles closer to the front of the loom for attaching treadle cords.
And two important practices kept me from over-reaching and overdoing it:
Sit on a low stool instead of the back of the loom or the floor.
Take frequent breaks to stand up, stretch, and walk around.
Tools:
Low stool for sitting
Rolling cart (IKEA cart) or small table
Plank of wood, longer than the loom is wide (one plank of warping trapeze, 1″ x 5″)
Treadle cords, Texsolv pins, other tie-up supplies
Length of cord to hold treadle up (Texsolv cord that’s used for hanging the reed for sleying)
The 120 cm (47″) Standard loom has open space in the loom, making it easy to get within arm’s reach of most things; but the challenge increases with the number of shafts–eight for this tie up.
Lamms are removed, 2 at a time, and placed on the cart to add the treadle cords, all the while sitting on a comfortable stool.
After all 8 lower lamms have the treadle cords added, the lamms are reinserted in the loom, 2 at a time.
Treadle rod is removed to detach the treadles. Wood plank keeps the treadles from sliding back while treadle cords are attached at the front of the loom.
Cord acts as a sling to hold the treadle up to a comfortable height.
The raised treadle helps with visibility, and enables the use of both hands, especially helpful for the “Vavstuga method” of tying up treadles with knitting needles (I use sharpened dowels). After treadles are tied up, re-attach the treadles at the back of the loom.
The 100 cm (39″) Ideal loom requires more reaching. Tying lamms to the shafts is a challenge for short arms, like mine. With four shafts, and only three treadles for this tie up, the rest of the process isn’t difficult.
Threaded for striped towels. Glimäkra Ideal has smaller spaces in which to work than in the Standard loom.
Upper lamms are placed on the cart. I hold the weaving draft in my lap as I add the treadle cords to the lamms.
Lower lamms are removed as the pin is pulled out. After the treadle cords are added, the lamms are reinserted.
Detached treadles lay on the floor. They easily pivot up at the front of the loom for attaching treadle cords.
The great thing about Texsolv heddles is that they are easy to move around. If you know how to tie them together, it is simple to add heddles, remove heddles, or switch heddles to different shafts. When I’m getting ready to thread the loom, I get my box of bundled heddles and put it on the cart right beside the loom. Then, I can easily add heddles if needed. And when threading is finished, I tie any unused heddles into bundles and put them in the heddle box, ready for the next project.
Tie Texsolv Heddle Bundles on One Shaft
Step 1 Take a cord (I use my choke tie cords) through the heddles below the heddle eyes.
Step 2 Wrap the cord one time around, below the heddle eyes.
Step 3 Cross diagonally up with the cord, and take the cord through the heddles above the heddle eyes.
Step 4 Wrap the cord one time around, above the heddle eyes.
Step 5 Join the two ends of the cord with a bow knot.
Tie Texsolv Heddle Bundles on More than One Shaft
Step 1 Take the cord through the heddles below the heddle eyes, right to left, one shaft at a time, front shaft to back shaft.
Step 2 Take the end of the cord from the back shaft, and wrap the cord around one time through the heddles, below the heddle eyes, right to left, one shaft at a time, front shaft to back shaft.
Step 3 Cross diagonally up with the cord, and take the cord through the heddles above the heddle eyes, from right to left, one shaft at a time, front shaft to back shaft.
Steps 4 & 5 Wrap the cord one time around, above the heddle eyes, from right to left, one shaft at a time, front shaft to back shaft. Join the two ends of the cord with a bow knot.
Remove Heddles from Shafts
Step 1 Remove shaft pin from the lower shafts, and slip the bottom of the heddles off the shafts. Replace the shaft pin.
Step 2 Remove shaft pin from the upper shafts, and slip the top of the heddles off the shafts. Replace the shaft pin.
Step 3 Place tied heddle bundles in the heddle box. Put the box away, ready for the next project.
May you always have enough heddles when and where you need them.
There are three completed rosepath rag rugs on the loom, with warp remaining for at least one more rug. Since I don’t know how soon I will be able to weave the remainder, cutting off the completed rugs makes sense. After hemming, I will have three new rugs for Etsy. (Don’t miss the new Quick Tip video at the end of this post!)
As the warpends are cut, they are tied into one-inch groupings to simplify tying back on to the tie-on bar.Warping slats are used as spacers between rugs. Some of my slats are barely wide enough for this warp.
I look forward to full weaving days again, with both looms dressed, and shuttles zooming. That rag rug warp still on the loom will be a reward worth waiting for.
One rug has warp end knots, and is ready for pressing and hemming.Rosepath in two variations.Broad rosepath pattern lends elegance to this rag rug.
Last week, when I awoke from surgery, the relentless pain I had been experiencing in my left leg and lower back was gone. Completely gone! It made me think of heaven. Ancient writings tell us that the lame will leap like a deer, and that sorrow and sighing will flee away. There’s no place for pain in heaven. All the people there have been healed and restored. That’s a reward worth waiting for. And I won’t be surprised if there are at least a few in heaven who are weaving away to their heart’s content.
