Moreno and Mezoff. I think we might be a force to be reckoned with!
Jillian Moreno is so many things, but one of her outstanding skills is her teaching ability. She is an author, editor, creative, and someone who makes things happen. She wrote Yarnitecture but did you know she also wrote two books about knitting before that? She has so many tricks up her sleeve for helping newer spinners make the yarns they want to make.
This week we experienced that magic at a retreat she and I taught together in Taos, NM which we called Spinning for Tapestry. We played with different breeds, ways of spinning and plying, and color as we made some excellent and not so excellent tapestry yarns.
The participants came from all over the US and Canada and we greatly enjoyed our time at Mabel Dodge Luhan House. I’m quite sure we all went home a few pounds heavier and happier from the marvelous food.
The Workshop
We met each morning in this beautiful yoga studio room to talk about how to make yarns for tapestry. Then we had various studio spaces in two buildings where people could work on their own ideas, coming back here now and then for demos and questions.
Spinning for Tapestry retreat with Rebecca Mezoff and Jillian Moreno
Jillian talked about everything from choosing the right sheep breed for tapestry yarn to ply, draft, grist, and color. All of it matters and the results with various combinations were fun to see.
Everyone at the retreat had different goals, but many people wanted to improve their spinning skills. And it was evident that they did. Five solid days of spinning will take your technique a long way! And it doesn’t hurt to have a brilliant teacher like Jillian on hand to tell you to “move that hand back a little” or “take the pressure off here” or whatever other magic she made.
For example, Karen was using a borrowed wheel that was a lot more difficult to her use than her home wheel but her yarn improved dramatically in just few days.
Karen’s first spin at the bottom and her spin three days later at the top.
Some people came to the retreat with excellent spinning skills and they wanted to focus on tapestry weaving. Other people came with lots of tapestry knowledge and they wanted to improve their spinning. I’d say everyone learned things in both areas and it was a joy to see the results. A few people even worked on spinning the right tapestry warp.
Nancy’s spinning still on the niddy noddy
Paula’s spinning drying on her task light
Bronwen did a lot of testing of handspun warps with some great results! Look at how the yellow changes color with a darker warp for example.
Keeping track of what you did
One of the things we really wanted to emphasize was that you need to keep track of what you are doing when you’re sampling. There are many ways to do this and we all chose our own during the retreat. Jillian loves larger shipping tags for yarn samples and notes and many people used that approach. Others used embroidery floss holders with numbers and notes in a notebook. I saw other people using cards with holes punched in them for yarn samples or hang tags on skeins.
Teri kept track by using tags along with samples wrapped on embroidery floss holders
I think this is Miriam’s system (correct me if I have the wrong person!). These are the big shipping tags that Jillian favors.
Tapestry weaving
There was a lot of weaving happening. Mostly we wove samples of the yarns we were making. The goal was to go home with the ability and knowledge to make just the yarn you were looking for, not to go home with a completed handspun tapestry. Many samples were made. If we’d had another week perhaps we could all have woven small finished tapestries as well!
Lois, Stephanie, and Paula working on some warping challenges.
I do love seeing my book in use! Cori did some wonderful weaving!
There were a variety of looms used though most people had a Mirrix Saffron or Chloe or a small tabletop tapestry loom. There were Hoketts, Handywoman shop looms, and a few copper pipe looms in the mix.
Stephanie’s weaving on a copper pipe loom. Her spinning was done on spindles and she proved you can do it without a wheel! (I am curious to see what comes off her wheel when she gets home though.)
Karen’s beautiful sampling on a Saffron loom. Love the tags!
I brought a couple tapestries to this retreat. I rarely do this as I don’t want to keep track of valuable artwork when teaching, but this seemed like the time to bring them as I wanted people to have an idea of what a larger format tapestry fabric felt like. I brought my Emergence V tapestry and a piece by my teacher James Koehler that I own.
The tapestry on the table is my Emergence V: The Center Place and the one on the floor is James Koehler’s Koshare Windows V.
Color in spinning
My goals in spinning for tapestry are often centered around wanting to make creative yarns in terms of color and we focused on this for the last couple days of the retreat. Jillian wanted to save color until last because it grabs so many of us so hard, we forget all the other things we need to practice (like structure?).We started with this selection (the solid colors are corriedale and the braids are Northern Lights).
The next day the pile had decreased significantly… spinning spinning spinning
The color pile is decreasing!
By the end of the workshop it was all gone, either spun up or packaged to take home for their “sampling stash.”
Pink. That was the last color to go.
Going, going, gone
Tapestry samples
And here is a little bit of the tapestry work.
Sample of various breeds and structures by Elaine Hoffman
Sample of various breeds and structures by Tina Jackson
Lisa Mitchell’s handspun sample with pick and pick shaping as well. There is some sari silk in there!
Lois Geer and her handspun sample
Lois was working on the spinning here but also various tapestry techniques.
Making friends and helping each other
I love watching how people connect around fiber. The most important reason I teach retreats and workshops in person is that it renews my faith in humanity because fiber people are so willing to help each other out.
Here Sally is helping Cori learn some basic spinning techniques on her Hansen espinner.
Sally teaching Cori how to spin on the espinner.
Rebecca, Amy, Jillian, and Bronwen
Taos Wools Visit
We had a visit to Taos Wools in Arroyo Seco. The magical dyeing of Joe Barry was on full display. He also had churro fleeces from local shepherds, marvelous tapestries, and he gave us a dye demonstration. Any time you’re in the Taos area, visiting this shop just north of Taos is a must! (Enabler note: He does a lot of mail order if you can’t wait to go in person.)
Going to a shop like this with a bunch of fellow weavers and knitters is so fun because all the conversations sounds something like, “which of these colors should I put together?” or “You HAVE to feel this!” or “should I use manta or chica for my next tapestry and can I blend the weights?” (Yes is the answer). Joe is wearing a red sweatshirt in the photo below. He owns the shop and gallery, does all the dyeing, coordinates classes held there, and is one of the kindest people I know.
Jackie, Joe, and Bronwen reveling in the yarn
The group definitely came away with some fiber. But it shall be known (if her husband asks) that Paula absolutely does not have a churro fleece in her hand that she may or may not have purchased.
Paula, Tina, and Cori with a few Taos Wools purchases.
I love seeing all the amazing tapestries from local artists in the gallery at Taos Wools. You can go there to learn to weave on a Rio Grande walking loom as well. I definitely miss my walking loom and one day will get another one. In the photo, there are baskets on the ends of the treadles so people in the shop don’t trip over them, but those are what you stand on to change the shed and you work standing up. It is a marvelous way to weave.
Gallery and studio at Taos Wools
Joe Barry gave us a dye demonstration. He has moved his dye operation to the space beside the shop so he can be two places at once and so that we can see how he makes the wonderful colors.
Taos Wools in Arroyo Seco, NM. Joe Barry does his dyeing outside the shop. The yarn is all hand-dyed right here!
And of course Jillian and I had to have some Taos Cow ice cream while in Arroyo Seco. I believe that is mint chip for me and piñon caramel for Jillian.
The group
What a fun group of people! It takes a sense of adventure to get to Taos, NM in January and these people had it. They were funny and helpful to each other and they had so much creativity. Below is the group photo.
The group! L to R back two rows are: Tina, Jillian, Amy, Teri, Stephanie, Elaine, Candy, Lois, Karen, Lisa, Jackie, Miriam, Kim, Sally. Front row: Bronwen, Nancy, Cori, Dagmar, Paula, Rebecca. Not pictured: The other Sally and Caroline.
Moreno and Mezoff
Bibs day. Turns out many of us were fans of overalls. My friend Ramona who inspired me to get my first pair (pictured below) could not attend the retreat so this photo is for her. Next year we’ll get a photo of all the overall-wearers!
Jillian Moreno and Rebecca Mezoff rocking their overalls at the Taos 2024 Spinning for Tapestry retreat.
Books by Jillian Moreno and Rebecca Mezoff at the Spinning for Tapestry retreat in Taos
Going home
And then everybody went back their separate ways with hopes of meeting again for more fiber fun. I was excited that Highway 64 between Tres Piedras and Chama was open as this cuts off a significant distance for me. But I did have about 10 miles of this!
Until we meet again, keep spinning and weaving!
You can find Jillian Moreno’s world on her website HERE. (Hint: Her Patreon is fantastic. She does sample alongs and so much wonderful teaching there for so little cost! I have learned a lot just from her Patreon teaching.) And if you want a fabulous spinning book, get Yarnitecture.
I have some information about spinning for tapestry in my Summer of Tapestry 2023 class and I do recommend those classes if you’re interested in learning to use your handspun for tapestry (the first year was 2022, then 2023, and we’ll have another in 2024). If you want to learn to make the yarn, you’re going to want to jump into Jillian’s spinning world or come to our next retreat in 2025.
There were so many marvelous examples of yarns and weaving at the retreat I can’t begin to add them all here. I’ll put some on my Instagram account this week if you’re curious to see more details about spinning for tapestry. We’ll do this retreat again in 2025, so watch for the dates and location!