Tapestry Diary

The light will come back

The light will come back

I’ve done various holiday tapestry projects over the years. And I’m not nearly done with this year’s holiday messing-about. In fact I’ve hardly gotten started. I have two holiday-themed four selvedge tapestries in the works and another wild idea for a decoration using four selvedge tapestry which came from Sarah Swett’s tapestry bracelets. But I wanted to share the links from past holidays just in case you are anything like me and wanted to join in the fun but just never found the time.

In 2017 I decided to experiment with weaving with sock yarn. A whole fleet of little holiday trees emerged. There was an instruction sheet that went along with this post and you can still download it.

Bootsy: a yarn-y love story

Bootsy: a yarn-y love story

Bootsy is a penguin. She has a friend who is aptly named Penguin. They are the heroines of a (slightly modified) book distributed by Chick-fil-A called Penguin in Love, written by Salina Yoon.*

This little board book was given to Emily and I for our anniversary last summer by good friends. Surprisingly, there were only two pronouns that had to be changed in the whole book to make all characters female. The story features two penguins, Bootsy and Penguin who were both missing their yarn. They set off to find their it, knitting for warmth until inclement weather separates them. The story does not address the apparent paradox that they set off on a journey to find their missing yarn but had enough yarn to knit and keep warm. They both keep knitting while floating on ice floes and climbing snowy mountains and eventually they knit themselves back together.

As part of my tapestry diary, I wove a sketch inspired by Bootsy.** I think there may be two more little tapestries in the Penguin series.

Black warp on Black Friday

Black warp on Black Friday

As you know, I’ve been messing about with four selvedge warping this year. I was in one of my favorite yarn shops recently and they had a cone of the warp I like in black. Black Friday. Black warp. Why not? I’m not a shopper, so today was mostly a weaving day.

To be honest, it was Robyn Spady’s idea (Robyn is a fiercely talented teacher, weaver, and the editor of Heddlecraft). She was weaving black warps today and challenged other weavers to do the same. I’m not sure she realized a tapestry weaver would jump in, but the timing was great for me.

Weaving the sky: a studio visit

Weaving the sky: a studio visit

I’ve been squeezing in more time for weaving this month. One thing I played with was a yarn from Mountain Meadow Wool, a small mill in Wyoming who uses domestic sheep and does their own dyeing. Gist Yarn & Fiber carries this yarn and I got a couple skeins to play with. I did not actually choose the colors, so when this purple-blue arrived, I was thrilled as it is in my favorite color family. The yarn is dyed unevenly on purpose. This is something I accomplish regularly in the dye studio accidentally, but somehow this yarn which is blotchy on purpose is full of charm.

I enjoyed this tiny four selvedge tapestry which wove up in a flash. The blue and brown is Mountain Meadow and the light blue “S” is two strands of Weaver’s Bazaar. I was playing with how skinny I could make the “S” by using the doubled warp of the four selvedge warping and it was quite effective for the verticals. I did not split the warps in the curves and I think next time I will try that also. The thin Weavers Bazaar 18/2 yarn used next to this worsted wool makes a nice contrast in texture and reflectance.

Here is a little video I made as I put in the last picks and took it off the loom. Welcome to my super messy studio!

Weaving the fall chamisa bloom

Weaving the fall chamisa bloom

I’ve been doing a little weaving. There are seasons where I don’t have enough time to play with yarn and the last few months have felt like that. So I spent four solid days last weekend weaving and I finished a piece. A fairly large piece actually. It is a wonderful thing to completely give yourself over to making something for several days in a row. I had enough of a plan to get me going and I had previously dyed the yarn. Sitting at the loom, despite the ache in my rear after the first day, was marvelous. I made some decisions and added some elements as I saw the thing unfold and in the end I was quite pleased with it. I can’t show it to you right now, but I’ll give you the details after I learn the fate of the show submission.

Weaving for days in a row reminded me of how brittle I start to feel when I don’t weave. My fiber crafting with knitting and spinning here and there helps, but there is no substitute for making art. So until the next large piece is started, more tapestry diary work it is.

Inhale

Inhale

A vacation.

It does not seem like taking some time off should be difficult. Humans need rest.

But I do find it difficult to absent myself completely from my business. It turns out in two weeks there were no monumental tapestry emergencies, my website went back up, and I enjoyed watching my brain relax its anxious grip on whatever it perceives as reality in that moment.

I picked up Krista Suh's book, DIY Rules for a WTF World in a yarn shop recently and it seemed like great deck reading. Right at the beginning of the book. . . .

Weaving on the road

Weaving on the road

Summer is a great time for tapestry weaving and travel. I packed up an overly large bag (or two) of yarn, spindles, and looms and had a few days car camping at 11,000 feet with friends.

Some four selvedge weaving was done on this trip... the first completed on the ride there. One of my favorite views is this one coming out of South Park when you first see Mt. Princeton.