Tag: truth

Who Says Plain Weave Must Be Plain?

Karen

Do you see the lengthwise raised ridges in this linen fabric? Don’t be fooled. The plain weave panel of this fabric is as flat as can be. Optical illusion. I have two slightly different colors of linen in the warp, unbleached and golden bleached. Instead of strictly alternating the colors, I threaded the warp ends “as they came,” to bring depth and interest to the plain weave fabric.

Dice weave on the loom. View from under the weaving.
View from under the weaving, the cloth is seen going over the knee beam. This dice weave, with 16/2 linen, has colorful squares of weft pattern floats. A panel of plain weave follows the patterned cloth.

We can be fooled by what we see. Lines and colors work together to create a false impression. Coming close enough to touch and examine is the best way to help the eyes see what is real. How many things do we misunderstand because we fail to come near enough to truly examine the evidence? We assume that a distant view is reliable.

Humility sets the stage for learning. It removes distance between us and what we need to learn. Instead of trusting only what we see, we step nearer to touch and examine the real thing. The humble are teachable. They know there are things they don’t know, and they are on a quest to learn. With weaving, and with matters of greater importance, like faith and truth, we must come close enough to touch and to learn.

May you hold valued fabric in your hands.

With much to learn,
Karen

Hand-Hemmed Rag Rug

Karen

A good rug lasts many, many years. The finest rugs outlast their owners, being handed down as useable heirlooms, like the two aged rag rugs I have that were woven long ago by my grandmother’s neighbor. I get excited about making colorful rugs that are meant to be walked on for years and years.

Finishing rag rug warp ends before hemming.
First step after cutting the rug from the loom is pulling out scrap rag weft with a long tapestry needle, and securing warp ends by tying groups of ends into square knots. Walking weights (again!) hold the rug in place.

I am hemming this rug by hand, using 12/6 cotton seine twine rug warp and a tapestry needle. This makes a tidy hem, with nearly invisible stitching. I secure the ends of the hemming thread by weaving them back and forth into the woven hem with the tapestry needle. (Refer to Related Posts in the sidebar to see other ways I finish rug hems.)

Hand-stitched rag rug hem.
After trimming the warp ends to 1/2 inch, the hem is folded under twice and pressed. Hem is stitched down, including the selvedge sides, with short stitches in the rug warp.

Pursue truth. That means doing what it takes to find answers. It’s as simple as examining what we are walking on. What are we basing our life on? It means seeing the created and looking for the Creator. Taking a closer look at a unique rug that catches our attention, we see evidence of the weaver and the stitching hand. Discovering truth is like finding a handmade rug that is intriguing enough to put on display, yet is placed on the floor to satisfy our needs for daily living. It gives our feet a sure place to walk, and it’s worthy of being handed down for generations.

Finished double-binding twill rag rug. Karen Isenhower
Finished double-binding twill rag rug.

May you experience a satisfying walk through life in all respects.

(This rug is called “Improvisation,” and you can find it in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop.)

Weaving rugs,
Karen

The Weft Question

Karen

I keep wondering about the weft that I forgot to purchase for this blanket. The heddles are threaded and the reed is sleyed; everything is ready…except the weft. As it turns out, I am glad I Forgot the Weft, because now I can try different options on the actual warp before committing to one single color.

Threading heddles for double weave wool blanket.
Ends are grouped into bundles of 32 threads each at the back beam. Pre-counting into groups helps prevent threading errors. Each heddle holds two threads. As a group of ends are threaded, I re-check the threading, and then tie the bundle into a slip knot.
Two set of lease sticks for double weave blanket.
Two sets of lease sticks, secured at the back beam, keep the two double weave layers separate and in order. The reed is cradled in place horizontally in front of the shafts for easy sleying, four ends per dent.

I am testing eight of the eleven warp colors, plus one more that I had in my stash. Nine colors. Think of it as nine questions. This one? This one? This one?… I am looking for weft that compliments the warp all the way across, showing off the warp gradation that spans both layers of the double weave. When the weft is woven in, rather than just held up for comparison, I find the answer unfolding before my eyes.

Double weave, finding the right weft.
Barely an inch of each color, but it is enough for a favorite to stand out for me.

Questions are good. Be ready to ask genuine questions about life. Genuine, like weaving the threads, rather than simply laying threads on the surface for consideration. The Lord specifically answers a seeking heart. In this journey of discovery, the answers unfold. Those looking for truth will find it.

Which weft color would you choose (last picture, options 1 – 9, left to right)? The weft is doubled, so you can choose one color, or two colors combined. (I will reveal my choice later. The yarn arrived today!)
Leave your answer in the comments.

May you be asked good questions.

Discovering,
Karen

I Forgot the Weft

Karen

How should I arrange eleven colors of wool for the warp of a double-width blanket? By “intuition?” Why not pull yarn snippets out of a hat in a random sequence? I do have resources on color theory I could consult. Best yet, I like the idea of viewing snapshots to compare various arrangements. This is play!

Eleven colors of wool to weave a blanket.
Eleven colors of Borgs 6/2 Tuna Wool. Trying out different color arrangements for a woven blanket. Back to front – option 1 and option 2.
Possible color arrangements for eleven-color wool blanket.
Two more possible arrangements of color. Adjacent colors will be blended together where they touch, to make smooth transitions across the warp. Back to front – option 3 and option 4.

You could make any arrangement work since the colors will be blended from one to the next across the warp. The color that makes the biggest difference, however, is the weft color. Just now, as I write this, I realize that I forgot to purchase yarn for weft. Oops! How did I miss that?

Grace and truth give us a fresh start. Grace gives me choices, and makes something beautiful, even if I get colors in the “wrong” order. Truth kindly shows me what I am missing, and what I need. Grace and truth are brought into our lives through Jesus Christ, and become a framework for life’s fabric. Grace brings forgiveness. And truth brings freedom to begin.

Of the four arrangements of yarn colors pictured, which one do you prefer? I would love to hear what you think. Leave your “vote” for option 1, 2, 3, or 4 (back to front) in the comments.

May your mistakes be met with grace and truth.

Yours Truly,
Karen

The Pleasant Surprise of Dots

Karen

Honestly, I didn’t know it would come out dotted. If I wanted dotted cloth, I could use surface design, like paint, embroidery, or beading. Instead, I got the pleasant surprise of dots that are woven into the fabric itself!

Wet-finishing differences in huck lace.
Huck lace weft floats, as seen in unwashed cloth (on the left), hand-washed cloth, (center), and machine-washed cloth (on the right).

These shawls have a dark coral warp. The unwashed piece on the left is the one I intend to wear to my daughter’s wedding. You can see the light coral weft in the little weft floats of the huck lace. The other two pieces have a hot pink weft, which gives the cloth a (difficult to photograph) pink-ish coral color. The one in the center was hand washed. Notice that the pink weft floats are barely distinguishable from the rest of the fabric. The piece on the right was washed on the gentle cycle in the washing machine (omitting the spin cycle). Look at the pink dots! They were there all along, but they became subtle, but noticeable, punctuation marks in the cloth through agitation in the washing machine.

Like the dots that are woven into this fabric, truth is woven into our universe. Truth is. And truth is discoverable. It is there all along, but we don’t always understand it or see it. Sometimes, it is when we go through life’s agitations that truth rises to the surface as a pleasant surprise.

May truth be your favorite surprise.

Discovering with you,
Karen