There are some things that feel very festive to me. I don't suppose you'll be surprised to hear that most of them have to do with yarn in some way.
Here are some of my favorite things... just in case you're looking for a new weaving or yarn-related toy for Christmas.
1. Education. This will always top my list. And of course I think an online tapestry course from yours truly would be a fantastic holiday gift! You can find the options HERE. I teach a comprehensive beginning course called Warp and Weft: Learning the Structure of Tapestry and a new course this fall, Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry.
2. A tapestry. Many many tapestry weavers are artists. Most of us do not have adequate representation in the art world for reasons that would take a book to enumerate. If you need a new piece of art for your home or business, a tapestry is an excellent choice. We all have our favorite artists. Find yours and buy a piece of art! You can start by browsing the artist pages on the American Tapestry Alliance website. The UK has a similar group (The British Tapestry Group). Tapestry is a durable medium, easy to ship, easy to clean, and only requires that you hang it out of direct sunshine (like all fine art). It is warm and inviting. Fiber is an important part of being human. You can see my tapestries HERE.
Rebecca Mezoff, (Barn Burned Down) Now I Can See The Moon, 5 x 17 inches, hand-dyed wool tapestry |
- A Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks. I am in love with this book. I'm already reading it a second time. He is an excellent writer.
- In the Footsteps of Sheep by Debbie Zawinski. This one made me want to grab a spindle, a tiny loom, and hit the hills in search of sheep. I wrote more about both of these books in THIS blog post.
- Traditional Weavers of Guatemala: Their Stories, Their Lives by Deborah Chandler and Teresa Cordon. Photography by Joe Coca. This book is gorgeous. It was a fascinating read about the lives of weavers in Guatemala. It made me want to go there today and meet them in person.
- The Practical Spinner's Guide to Wool by Kate Larson. This is a new Interweave release. If you've met Kate, you know she is a talented spinner with a deep knowledge of sheep, fleece, yarn, and traditional knitting and weaving patterns. If you're a spinner, you'll want to read this.
- If you need a great novel, the last one I read was, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian. Fort Collins Reads picked it as their 2015 book and I went to hear Chris and his daughter speak. The book is written from the perspective of a teenager who is orphaned in a nuclear meltdown in Vermont. It is one of those books you can't put down.
Hokett looms, 4 x 6 inch tiny in 8-dent |
- Threads Thru Time (I noticed tonight there are a few on their site right now. Grab one quick!)
- Magpie Woodworks (You will likely be put on a waiting list, but John is working hard to make more forks.)
6. Yarn. Now I really wouldn't want someone else to pick out yarn for me. I bought my mom some knitting yarn for her birthday this fall and held my breath for weeks. Fortunately I picked well and she knit it up into a beautiful shawl. But unless you are really in tune with your loved-one's yarn needs, you might want to consider a gift certificate. These are some of my favorite tapestry yarns.
- Weavers Bazaar. This stuff is gorgeous. This is a small business run by two tapestry weavers and they know what they are doing. Their palette packs are wonderful. Yes, they are in England, but the shipping overseas is not nearly as bad as you just assumed it would be.
- ALV. This is a beautiful yarn made in Norway. It is sold by Kathe Todd-Hooker in the USA.
- Harrisville Highland. I often recommend beginners start with this yarn. I still use Harrisville yarns for all of my tapestries and my students use it in my workshops. It is made by a wonderful small mill in New Hampshire. I wrote a blog post about the mill if you like such things!
- If you're a rug weaver, consider Weaving Southwest's yarn. It comes in gorgeous hand-dyed colors. They still dye in big tubs heated by fire like Rachel Brown, the original owner and matriarch of contemporary tapestry in the American Southwest, used to do. Check out their website for some great photos.
- I sell a weft yarn sample card which gives you more ideas of yarn you might like for tapestry. It comes with a printed handout which details my opinion on each yarn's pros and cons.
- And here are a few other ideas in blog post format: a post by me AND a fun guest post by Cheryl Riniker
- My favorite loom for tapestry is a big one. Harrisville Designs makes the Harrisville rug loom. This is a countermarche loom with a warp extender and a worm gear. It really really rocks.
- If you are not up for a huge floor loom, there are many other options. I talk about them in two blog posts from this year: Low warp looms AND High warp looms
- If you're looking for a small loom but want something bigger and faster than the Hokett looms I mentioned above, you want a Mirrix. They are the very best portable tapestry looms made.
Mirrix looms (A 12 inch, two 16 inchers, and a 22 inch); tapestry by Cornelia Theimer Gardella (remember #2 above?!!) |
8. A magazine subscription or a membership
- The American Tapestry Alliance is a wonderful organization, based in the USA but with membership worldwide. Their resources, digital quarterly magazine, and other membership perks are well worth it. Membership per year is quite inexpensive and they have student rates.
- Fiber Art Now is a beautiful fiber art quarterly publication. A subscription to this magazine would be a Christmas gift that kept delighting all year long.