Tapestry Weaving

Dwella is here along with a new online course, Introduction to rug weaving

Dwella is here along with a new online course, Introduction to rug weaving

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!*

Wedge weaving with Array: Indiana and a little loom (plus a bonus dog story)

Wedge weaving with Array: Indiana and a little loom (plus a bonus dog story)

In July I took a road trip.

To Indiana.

It wasn’t really planned but an opportunity came up for my wife and we decided to drive. I admit that I wasn’t looking forward to the part of the drive between the last of the Colorado Rockies and our friend’s swimming pool,* but it turned out to be just fine! Nebraska and Iowa are surprisingly beautiful and I had some fun with my little loom along the way.

Ack!! My sheds are wrong AGAIN! What am I doing wrong?

Ack!! My sheds are wrong AGAIN! What am I doing wrong?

The good news is that you’re not doing anything wrong!

“My sheds are all messed up again! What am I doing wrong?!”

Does that sound familiar? The good news is that you’re not doing anything wrong! Shedding problems in tapestry weaving will always happen. Isn’t that a relief to know?

The other good news is that there are a handful of ways to fix shedding problems and once you understand what those are and when to use them, you can fix your shedding problems quickly and easily. Because the not as good news is, they’ll ALWAYS happen. There is no way you can plan your way out of shedding issues for an entire tapestry, so let’s just start by accepting that they will happen and that we have to know how to fix them.

Practicing color: simplifying by focusing on color

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.

Practicing color: a free mini-course

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.

Artist residencies. Allowing yourself time plus an opportunity for you

Artist residencies. Allowing yourself time plus an opportunity for you

Time set aside to let your creative self relax and find new ideas is critical for any artist. It is also critical for any human in my opinion. We’re all creative beings and there is nothing more rejuvenating than spending some quiet time exploring a landscape and your own ideas. An artist residency is a great way to do that. At the end of this post I’m going to talk about an artist residency called Fortnight that I run in southwestern Colorado. But first I want to share some about the artist residencies I’ve been lucky enough to make time for.

Spark your creativity this summer with Summer of Tapestry 2025

Spark your creativity this summer with Summer of Tapestry 2025

Spark your creativity this summer. 

In this live multi-week workshop I encourage you to go on your own adventures and document them through small, informal tapestries. 

Weaving from my surroundings has taught me to pay attention and enjoy the process of experiencing something real and making art about it. I always take a notebook and loom with me as I spend time outside in the summer.