Blog
In the Change the Shed episode on 2/11/26 which I showed in the video above, I had a moment where my brain couldn't remember which way to twist the two different yarns I was using. One yarn was a bundle of 2-ply yarns from weaversbazaar, the other was a bundle of Harrisville Koehler singles I had dyed. If you're going to twist your weft bundle, these two yarns need a different twist direction. I explain that in the video here including what S and Z twist means.
Many years ago I wove rugs on my shafted floor looms. I first bought rug yarn from Halcyon and then when I moved back home to New Mexico, I used rug yarn from Clasgens and then churro rug yarn which is particularly wonderful. I love how quickly rug-weight textiles weave up and how suited they are to tapestry techniques.
When I became the apprentice of James Koehler, I left rug weaving behind and focused on wall tapestries. But it is true that the very same techniques I use for my art tapestries can be used to make more functional rug-weight textiles. Of course rugs can also be hung on the wall and often are!*
In tapestry, we often want a very particular color. In the video below I talk about the example of finding a skin tone for a tiny piece of a tapestry I’m weaving on Change the Shed.* It turns out, skin tones are tricky!**
Color or sample cards can be useful for finding the colors you’re looking for in any commercial yarn. …
As tapestry weavers we have the advantage of being able to blend colors to get the hue or effect we want. I show this in a small way in the video here. It is quite astounding what can be done with weft bundling and color in terms of changing the hue you see when thin wefts are mixed together in the bundle. Of course a working knowledge of color theory can help you know what to put together to shift a hue in the direction you want to go.***
Earlier this month I had the good fortune of spending five days in Arroyo Seco and Arroyo Hondo. These are villages just north of Taos, New Mexico. Arroyo Seco is home to Taos Wools and I was teaching a three-day workshop on color gradation for them.
I made a video of the trip which includes more images from the workshop as well as some scenery and thoughts from my drive home through El Rito and Abiquiu, NM. I took a hike up Chimney Rock at Ghost Ranch intending to do some drawing at the top, but it was snowing! Check out the video for the whole adventure.
Tapestry weaving can seem like a pursuit that requires A LOT. A lot of equipment, materials, and knowledge.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Weaving tapestry can be quite simple and your materials and equipment do not have to be complicated. If you want to learn tapestry weaving, below are some suggestions for how to get started. There are also many resources for people already deep into the tapestry experience, but this post is mostly for people who are pretty new to tapestry weaving.
While at Harrisville Designs (HD), I took another tour of the mill. I never miss a mill tour as I learn more about making yarn every time I go. The mill manager Sarah took my tapestry class on yet another great tour of the Harrisville Designs spinning mill. I made another video in 2013 about the mill which you can see on YouTube HERE. In that video, the mill was in a different building some distance from the rest of Harrisville Designs. In that video you can see the now-retired long-term mill manager Babs talking to us about the process.
They had to move the mill a few years ago due to a flood and if you want to hear some stories from very nervous mill workers, ask about moving this equipment! HD moved their equipment from the late 1800s and early 1900s to one of the original mill buildings. It is interesting to see the video linked above from 2013 because they’ve also updated their washing and skeining systems since then.
I’ve been waiting for Tierra Wools to reopen. I have found myself driving between my new home in southwestern Colorado and Taos or Santa Fe, NM fairly often and this route takes me right past Tierra Wools. They close for the winter so every time I’d go by and see the gate across the driveway I’d think, April 1. April 1. April 1.
