When does a Work in Progress (WIP) become an Unfinished Object (UFO)?

When does a Work in Progress (WIP) become an Unfinished Object (UFO)?

In the Summer of Tapestry course we were chatting about the magic drawer concept* and I started thinking about the line between a Work in Progress (WIP) and an Unfinished Object (UFO). And if something is in the UFO category, does that mean it will never be finished?

I’ve definitely had WIPs and UFOs in my tapestry life and I also have a lot of knitting ones.

In tapestry weaving, these unfinished projects can lay around for years sometimes. This is the disadvantage of having a lot of looms. If I lose interest in a project and have something else I want to weave, I just get out another loom. In my knitting world, I just buy another set of needles if I don’t have an empty pair of the right size. This leads to a very large knitting needle collection though no one would know because at least half of them are still in as-yet-unfinished projects.

Don't Call it Art by Austin Kleon

Don't Call it Art by Austin Kleon

Read this book if you ever question why you make things, second guess your worth as a maker or creative, need some kind support to believe in yourself, or think you can’t make art because a thousand reasons that are frankly, bullsh*t.

Don’t Call it Art was published in June by Penguin Random House. The subtitle is 10 ways to create like a kid again (and boy do we need to remember to emulate small children when it comes to making art).

I loved this book and will likely read it many more times. In Kleon style, it is a quick read with lots of graphics and rabbit holes (he loves to mention other authors and thus has caused me to buy more books every time one of his comes out. So sneaky.) He credits his kids Owen and Jules Kleon on the title page as they contributed all the illustrations Austin didn’t make himself.

Petting lambs and adding to my churro roving stash | Navajo churro sheep

Petting lambs and adding to my churro roving stash | Navajo churro sheep

I recently visited a small sheep farm in Montezuma County, Colorado that raises churro sheep, Arriola Sunshine Farm. Not only are the sheep churro, but the breeder Cindy Dvergsten is invested in genetics and making sure this endangered breed of sheep doesn’t die out. It almost did after the livestock reduction campaigns* on the Navajo reservation. In the 1970s and 80s, a professor at Utah State University, Dr. Lyle McNeal, worked to bring the breed back from the brink of extinction.

Cindy of Arriola Sunshine Farm remains concerned about the future of these sheep. There are still a very small number of registered sheep that are recognized as pure churro. Her flock is one of those adding to the number of registered animals with pure churro genetics. If you’re a spinner or just interested in saving endangered sheep breeds, the Livestock Conservancy Shave ‘em to Save ‘em is a great program.

I was able to go and see Cindy and Mike’s flock in nearby Arriola, CO this week at Arriola Sunshine Farm.

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What do you do with your sketch tapestries?

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What do you do with your sketch tapestries?

This question used to really bother me but now I love it because it gives me an opportunity to think about why I weave tapestry at all. The answer also relates to almost everything else I do for fun: knitting, drawing, birding, hiking, reading…

For me weaving my tapestry diary or sketch tapestries is all about the process. My tiny tapestry diary or sketch tapestry pieces are often just 2-4 inches and they’re too small to hang on the wall without being mounted. It is about slowing down, paying attention, and making something with my hands. I’m the same with knitting. I have piles of shawls I’ve knit because I love the process. I can’t possibly wear them all so sometimes I give them away, but the making of them is all that I really care about.

The color of things: tapestry weavers use color to explore

The color of things: tapestry weavers use color to explore

I’ve been talking about sketch tapestry and weaving simple things about our experiences for awhile here. I always do this time of year because I run an online class called Summer of Tapestry. I thought you might like to see some of the warm-up tapestries the class has been weaving. The header photo of this post is a color tapestry I wove after seeing a lazuli bunting at my bird feeder for a few days.

The warm-up for this class is always about color. Honestly, I think you could have a weaving practice where you just wove the color of things you experienced without much attention to form and you’d have a marvelous collection of tapestry memories. I challenge the group to focus on the colors of something interesting and weave them without worrying too much about the forms they’re using. Stripes, eccentric weaving, or simple forms make the weaving easy and allow us to focus mostly on color. The results can be really beautiful and the weaving is simple and fun.

Creative time: sketch tapestry or tapestry diary?

Creative time: sketch tapestry or tapestry diary?

I pulled out my tapestry diary this week to reminisce about some of the small sketch tapestries I’ve done over the last ten years. I teach a class using this idea of sketch tapestry every year and I also needed to find a couple examples for the class.

I had so much fun looking through my weavings that I made a little video for my Patreon supporters. I’ve excerpted a bit of that below for you all as well. If you want to see the full video, it is available on my Patreon for paid subscribers.