I finished off the linen warp by making a front and back panel for a small shoulder bag. A monksbelt pattern is scattered like flowers on the front. The back has various stripe patterns in weft-facedplain weave. I wove a shoulder strap on my band loom using 6/2 Tuna wool for warp and 12/6 cotton for weft.
Half-heddle sticks and batten in front of the back beam, for weaving monksbelt patterns.Pick-up stick in front of the reed is being used to weave a monksbelt flower “petal.”Back panel has varying stripe patterns.Cutting off.Narrow wool band for the bag shoulder strap.
The bag has simple construction, mostly hand-stitched. In one of my remnant bins I found a piece of wool fabric that I wove several years ago. It’s perfect for the sides and bottom of the bag. The lining uses pieces from fabric that went into my latest rag rugs, and has pockets, of course.
Overhand knots secure the warp ends.Ready to assemble all the parts.Handwoven wool pieces are hand-stitched together.Bag construction continues with stitching the back in place.Magnet closure is added to the lining before stitching the lining in place. Knots and fringe outline the top of the bag.
This bag with Monksbelt Flowers is for carrying sweet memories, happy moments, and heavenly dreams.
Pockets in the lining.
Resources: Swedish Art Weaves workshop with Joanne Hall; Heirlooms of Skåne Weaving Techniques, by Gunvor Johansson; Väv Scandinavian Weaving Magazine, 2/2013.
This is the time for my annual pause for the month of July. I appreciate you joining me in this weaving journey!
I look forward to being back with you again Tuesday, August 4. In the meantime, joyfully draw living water from the source, Jesus Christ.
Once I get going, it’s not easy to put this Lucia tapestry portrait down. Each new row is another chance to turn it over and see how she’s coming along. A long car drive gives me a good stretch of weaving time. While Steve drives, I weave on my small tapestry frame. As a result, I am making considerable progress on Lucia this week.
Detailed cartoon gives direction for color blending and color changes. Magnets along the side of the frame loom hold the tapestry needle that I use for the weaving.
I am trying to withhold judgment until it is finished. And a close-up view shows details of the yarn, but doesn’t give a good perspective of the portrait overall. I am learning quite a bit through this process, un-weaving when necessary, and moving forward ever so slowly.
Lucia portrait. Three strands of Fårö wool for weft gives good options for color blending.
Beloved. Lucia is one of my beloved granddaughters. No matter what details happen in her life, she has my affection. Your beloved is someone you care for deeply, earnestly desiring their highest good. Spouse, children, friends, blog readers…those you choose to give yourself to. You want them to “be loved,” not only by you but by the Master tapestry weaver. To know the Grand Weaver’s love is to know you are loved in detail. It includes forgiveness, which looks a lot like un-weaving. He knows exactly how to weave the portrait of you, his beloved.
Rya knots and loops of threads look chaotic at first. These linen rya knots will never be tame, but that’s to be expected. Linen butterflies have created a swath of wild rya “flowers” planted in a smooth linen “lawn.”
Continuous weft bundle forms loops between rya knots.
Each section of rya starts with a butterfly made of several strands of linen in assorted weights and colors. I tie each rya knot on a pair of warpends, leaving a loop between knots. There are two to three passes of plain weave between each row of knots. When I finish a butterfly, I go back and clip all the loops. After the loops are cut, I trim the tops of the threads to even out the rya “flower garden.”
Tops of the rya threads are trimmed. I intentionally leave a few shorter and longer threads, for interest.
Linen rya knots on a weft-faced linen background. Wild linen “flowers” growing out of a smooth linen “lawn.”
When things around us look a mess and don’t make sense, full of knots and loops, there is one thing we must do. Keep holding on to faith. Fight to keep your faith strong. Faith in Christ Jesus will carry you through uncertainty and will reveal the first ray of hope. The loops will be clipped, the threads will be trimmed. A garden of color will emerge. Faith waits for that.
Is there such a thing as too many handbags, pocketbooks, tote bags, and purses? Of course not. Naturally, my favorite handbags are made from handwoven fabric. Linings made from remnants, handwoven bands used for shoulder straps, hidden zippers, and, of course pockets–these are the details that other people will seldom notice. Yet these are the details that make me smile every time I use one of these bags.
Nineteen handwoven handbags. Various sizes, fibers, styles, and purposes. And colors. Lots of colors!
…You know that box of handwoven bits and pieces? Those weavings from the end of the warp, and the “scraps” from various projects? Hmm… looks like I might need to make another handbag or two.
Here is my collection of handwoven handbags, divided into a few categories. Plus, a short video just for the fun of it!
Wool, novelty chenille yarn, crochet cotton, and narrow fabric strips are used for weft in these bags. Buttons are from my grandma’s button jar. The small rag-weave pocketbook has a permanent home in my daily handbag. The fabric for these bags was woven on my Beka 32″ rigid heddle loom.
Linings are from remnants of other sewing projects. Bag handles were woven on my inkle loom.
Travel Finds
Trips to The Philippines yielded interesting woven goods by artisans there. The green stripe tote bag is woven from native plant material, and the teal and burgundy purse is a beautiful example of ikat weaving. The colorful weft-faced woven shoulder bag and the purple bag with lovely weft-float patterning came from travel to Chile.
Project Carriers
Large tote bag, woven with 1/4″ fabric strips for weft, carries my “show and tell” when I go to my weaving study group. It’s known as the “Mary Poppins Bag.” Rag-rug bag in the center has straps, woven on the band loom, that were woven into the bag. This bag carries my portable tapestry weaving. The rag rug bag on the right carries my one-and-only crochet project.
Special Use
Linen bag has beads woven into the fabric. It is lined with satin. Rag-weave purse is simply a flat piece folded in half, with lining and pockets added to the inside. The blue bag is wool, woven in a weft-cord technique. The fabric was partially fulled to produce the ribbed texture.
Lining for this bag is made from extra fabric after weaving cotton/linen fabric for cushions, and the pocket is a remnant from a two-block twill tencel scarf.
Daily Use Favorites
Representing some of my “firsts.” The brown and blue small shoulder bag is from one of my first cottolin towel projects. This is what I did when the last piece was too short to use for a towel. The green and turquoise clutch has remnants of my first ever handwoven towel, my first rosepath rag rug, and my first big rep weave project! The blue shoulder bag is the bag I use every day. It’s a remnant from the baby wrap I wove for my daughter’s first baby. It’s lined with a remnant from an Easter dress I made for her when she was a little girl.
I noticed that a warpend was starting to fray, but I kept on weaving. I thought I could make it past the weak spot. Well, I was wrong. The warp end broke. So much for happy weaving! A broken warp end at the selvedge is no fun, especially on a weft-faced piece like this. Looking back, I wish I had taken time to splice in a new length of thread when I first noticed the weakness. But at the time, I didn’t want to be bothered with that. I just wanted to weave.
Weaving right along. I start to notice some abrasion on the warpend at the right selvedge. I’ll be extra careful. I can keep weaving and enjoy myself, right???
Warp end on the right selvedge frayed to the breaking point. Gone! The weaving must be removed far enough back to reach at least 1/2″ of the warp end in front of the break. That reaches back into the red portion–the first section of the sampler.
Pin is inserted to secure a new selvedge warp end. The fourth end from the right showed some fraying, so I am splicing in a new piece of 12/9 cotton warp. Learned my lesson.
Original selvedge warp end is now being spliced back in (green flathead pin). Second splice is complete, with thread tail hanging out, to be trimmed after this is off the loom.
Two sections of the tapestry and inlay sampler are complete.
We tell ourselves if we do what we want, we will be happy. That’s a delusion. Happiness will fail you. It doesn’t last. I was only happy weaving until the thread broke. There is something better than happiness. Faithfulness. It’s better to be faithful in the moment, even if it puts a delay on being happy. Faithfulness lasts. Next time, I hope to choose the long satisfaction of faithfulness over the short-lived gain of happiness.
