“Reckoning with myself” is just my way of saying that I’m working on stuff. In Part 1 I was musing about space to work and a few tapestry designs I’m still working on. I still don’t have an answer about the big tapestries,* but I can say that I spent a fun weekend enlarging the cartoon for one of them using my projector and a roll of paper my grandmother had labeled like this:
Many things from my grandmother’s weaving studio came to me when she could no longer weave anymore including this roll of 48 inch wide paper.
My grandmother labeled absolutely everything. Her books are completely marked up and every tool she ever used is written on in Sharpie. I now am grateful she did it because it reminds me of her quirky personality (and also that she was a bit fearful of her tools disappearing—everything also has MEZOFF emblazoned on it. Good thing that is my name too.)
It was very satisfying to draw this cartoon large. I love seeing the image full size, in this case over 6 feet square. It gives me a much better feel for the size of the tapestry. And drawing it myself allowed me to think about each of the lines and reconsider any that seemed ill-advised for this medium. All of that is to say, that taking action was a good way of facing down the gremlins about design decisions. If you’re interested in enlarging cartoons this way yourself, you’ll need some kind of digital projector, large enough paper for your design, and enough patience to fool with the projector and computer image to get it the right size on the wall!
Along with the large format tapestries, I’ve been working hard to clear off some languishing projects. The pink one below had been on this loom for over two years. I know that because it appears in the Fringeless online course which debuted July of 2018. Finally it is done and this loom can go on to other projects. This little piece “ Be” will be joining my tapestry diary.
Weaving a tapestry diary piece that has been on this loom for two years while watching a course about birdwatching.
Fringeless four-selvedge tapestry diary piece. “Be”.
The next piece to fall from the loom was this little buzzard. I wove this as a gift for a friend who collects buzzards. It was the first full piece I’d woven on the Schacht Arras Tapestry Loom and I really enjoyed weaving on this beautiful new product from Schacht Spindle Company (more about this loom coming soon). The tapestry was entertaining though it certainly has its issues. She’ll look just fine steamed and mounted. I’m looking forward to warping this loom for a bigger piece now that I know it works so well. I’m ready to commit to a project I really care about.**
The first full piece I’ve woven on the Schacht Arras Tapestry Loom.
Rebecca Mezoff, Buzzard. A gift for a friend who collects buzzards.
This last piece is still on the loom. I wrote about the Cameron Peak Fire tapestry in THIS post last week. I wove on this piece in yesterday’s Change the Shed episode and if you want to watch the recording of that to hear me talk about struggling with design and color choices in terms of value, you can see the recording HERE. I anticipate doing another set of related tapestry diary pieces where I find some hope for recovery after this fire is over. It continues to grow with the latest numbers over 21,000 acres (and no infrared last night, so that is two days old).
Cameron Peak Fire tapestry diary piece in progress. weaversbazaar 18/2 wool, 12 epi, 20/6 cotton seine twine warp, Mirrix loom.
Continued progress on the Cameron Peak Fire tapestry diary piece.
I will admit to feeling quite unsatisfied by the top image here. I loved the fire imagery on the bottom half, but the top is supposed to be a before image and it just isn’t doing it for me. I think I probably should have reached for something more abstract. But in the spirit of this diary, I’ll finish this and perhaps try again. I need some parts on this loom for another project, so I’ll cut this off and warp another loom for the second part.
It feels great to finish these little pieces and clean off looms. It helps me feel ready to move on.
Are you weaving? Do you have rogue projects languishing on looms around your studio that you could finish off?
*That 40 pounds of Harrisville Koehler Singles that I panic-bought came in. I’m just going to be happy I have it and know that I have enough yarn to last me at least another year even if I weave a lot of big tapestries. And when have you seen me manage that in recent years?
**Not that I didn’t care about Buzzard! He was a ton of fun to play with. I just have new ideas I am itching to try out a bit larger.