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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.

Be curious. Wandering, tapestry, and simplification | Summer of Tapestry 2026

Be curious. Wandering, tapestry, and simplification | Summer of Tapestry 2026

Summer of Tapestry 2026 is ready for registration. This is the fifth year I’ve taught this class and every year it is my favorite. I think that is because this practice of weaving quick things from something that caught my eye has been so beneficial to my life. Seeing people all over the world join in and share their experiences and woven renditions of their adventures is heartening and makes me feel like I’m part of a global fiber community. I call this practice sketch tapestry.

The rest of this post is about this practice and the course. If you’re ready to join, just click the button below!

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Weaving the colors of our experiences: a free mini-course

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Weaving the colors of our experiences: a free mini-course

I’ve been a sketch tapestry practitioner since 2016. I started making these small pieces which reference something I experienced when I was at an artist residency at Petrified Forest National Park. I had so much fun weaving simple things each day of that month-long residency that I have devoted blocks of time to doing them ever since.

Read the rest of this post for more about the free mini-course and sketch tapestry in general!

A new non-tensioned lap loom for me! A look at Everlea Looms

A new non-tensioned lap loom for me! A look at Everlea Looms

Last fall sometime I purchased a couple new looms from Everlea Looms in Canada. I had seen a few students using these looms and had others ask me about them, so I wanted to try one for myself. I ordered the 11 inch and the 8 inch versions. In the video I review the larger loom and talk about what I like about it.

You'll notice that there are two of the smaller looms in the video. Jana at Everlea sent me a bonus loom that I didn't pay for (thank you Jana!). But I want to make sure you know that I am not being paid to review or talk about this loom. I purchased the original two because I genuinely wanted to try them and am always looking for substitutes for my Hokett looms.* I showed the second smaller loom at the end of the video and it is made with lovely hardwoods. Both kinds of wood seem excellent for weaving tools, at least in the hands of Everlea Loom's maker!