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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.
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!
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!
My original plan when I was "young" was to be a birder when I retired.* I am pretty sure I may never retire unless forced to, so I've come to the realization that embracing birding right now is the thing to do.
After all, the world feels like it is exploding before our eyes and though we do what we can, marching with 800 of our neighbors with modified Burger King crowns on our heads doesn’t quite take away the helpless feeling. A birding app, a field guide, and a pair of binoculars have helped me ground myself when I feel like all the molecules in my body are going to fly apart never to be reunited.** The bird feeder, bird bath, and a friend who likes to go birding help too.
This tendency to peer through the windshield (as a passenger of course) and yell, WESTERN KINGBIRD!, started a year ago with the Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival.
Has this year felt like forever already? I feel like time expands and contracts depending on my mental state. I’ve not had any big adventures this year beyond the retreat I taught in Taos in January, but I have been doing some weaving of small tapestries as well as bird watching and drawing. Here is the year from my studio so far in pictures.
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.
I’m enjoying the slow return of summer here in Colorado. Summer always means Summer of Tapestry for me. This online class came from my sketch tapestry practice and as I’ve been building this year’s class, I’ve been looking back at some of the pieces that meant something to me in years past.
I love this simple practice of spending some time observing, making notes, and weaving a simple, quick tapestry from what I observed. Most of these tapestries are small and the intention is that they don’t take long to make. My goal is to learn to appreciate what is around me and use the weaving to find a calm space in a chaotic world. I have to say that I’ve needed it more than ever this week.
