After finishing the big design at Hambidge, I moved on to some small weaving projects. Of course I wasn't able to bring a big loom to this residency, so I worked on my galvanized pipe loom, a Mirrix, and a Hokett loom.
One of the things I wanted to work out was how to do a four-selvedge weaving that was shaped. Of course you can use a home-made pin loom to do this, but I don't like weaving that way as you don't have a shed. I wanted to use the method that I learned from Sarah Swett using a jig.
This is the fussiest warp I have ever put on, but it did work. After a talk with Tommye Scanlin this week, I have another idea to make this easier. We'll see if I can perfect it. Here is the first try. The orange is flyline backing which makes up the supplemental warps. This is a fussy material to work with, but since it is a braided fiber instead of spun and plied, it behaves better than using warp does. The supplemental warps can be pulled out at the end and used again.
Rebecca Mezoff, Four-selvedge tapestry weaving
I spent some time weaving down by the creeks that run through the Hambidge property. Sitting by a creek, listening to the frogs and the water while weaving on a little loom is one of the best ways to spend a bit of a life.
The last couple days I wove this little piece. It is called, "Pete pulls a rabbit out of the hat." Unfortunately, the real Pete didn't actually manage to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the long run, so a second tapestry will have to be made. In the finishing I need to clean up a few things. In the next version I will also use a slit instead of a warp wrap for the bottom of the nose. This version makes him look like he has a mustache. That bow tie also needs a little accenting.
Rebecca Mezoff, Pete pulls a rabbit out of the hat