Tapestry Diary

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Moving your chair a few degrees: changing your perspective

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Moving your chair a few degrees: changing your perspective

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.

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Practicing color: simplifying by focusing on color

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Practicing color: simplifying by focusing on color

Using colors we observe around us as subjects for our weaving or other artwork is something I find endlessly engaging. It has the power to pull even the biggest perfectionists among us away from self-criticism and dump us right into the joy of experiencing the color of almost anything.

Last week I on the blog I released a free mini-course where I talk about my sketch tapestry practice. Sketch tapestry is just my word for a practice of taking some time to observe something, make some notes about it, and then weave a simple tapestry about what I experienced.

The mini-course focuses on the colors of something. You can find the post, download your handout, and watch the videos from here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2025/5/8/practicing-color-a-free-mini-course

This week I wanted to focus on what you all are weaving. I haven’t seen a lot of finished tapestries yet, but I’m hoping many more of you will jump in and post your color weavings. Below are a few of the examples I’ve seen so far along with my own mini-course tapestry about a cactus flower.

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Practicing color: a free mini-course

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Practicing color: a free mini-course

Every year I run a class I call Summer of Tapestry. It revolves around a practice I’ve had for many years of bringing a small loom with me when I’m hiking or traveling and weaving something about what I experienced or saw. I call the practice sketch tapestry because my goal is to capture something interesting about the experience, not to replicate what I saw in a realistic way.

I find that the practice of really looking at something and then weaving about it makes me pay attention instead of just rushing blindly through the experience and more generally, my life. The inspirations I’ve woven something about are things that I remember months and years later.

Weaving outside: Cows, thunderstorms, and puppies

Weaving outside: Cows, thunderstorms, and puppies

In August I took a couple weeks off and went car camping. My intention was to do some backpacking the second week but the thunderstorms in Colorado have been fierce this year and there is nothing worse than camping at 11,000 feet with lightening hitting all around. In fact, the big piñon tree behind our house got hit a few weeks ago. I thought the strike sounded frighteningly close to my bedroom.

So car camping it was. I had some on-foot adventures and some driving adventures where I pretended my Subaru Crosstrek was a truck and I definitely did some weaving. Between all that, I read quite a few books since I was stuck under the awning or in the tent for quite a lot of time in the rain.

I spent some time weaving Mt. Hesperus.

Weaving the lake: sketch tapestry adventures

Weaving the lake: sketch tapestry adventures

Twin Lakes is a lovely spot on the Colorado Trail in central Colorado. I’ve hiked through there many times on the trail, usually resupplying at the store there. I’ve also done a trail crew based near there working on the Colorado Trail and had some fun times camping and snowshoeing in the area.

Places I return to over and over again often get woven about. This little sketch tapestry is one I did in 2022 and since I didn’t finish it on the trip where it was started, I wove some of it on Change the Shed, the free YouTube program I do a couple times a month.

Your summer adventure kit | Tapestry looms, tools, and materials

Your summer adventure kit | Tapestry looms, tools, and materials

This week on Change the Shed I talked about my travel tapestry kit. I’ve definitely talked about this before on Change the Shed as well as on the blog, but since many of you here are new to my summer shenanigans, here is what I’m currently using for the kit I take with me when I leave the studio.

I do have different items in the kit depending on what I’m doing. If I’m backpacking, I’m bringing a kit that is hopefully less than 8 ounces and includes a Turkish spindle and flick carder. If I’m traveling by car, I might have significantly more gear and larger looms with me depending on how much time I’ll have to weave.