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“I am an absolute beginner. I have just purchased two tapestry looms and Rebecca's book, The Art of Tapestry Weaving. I wish to take a course, Weaving on Little Looms or the newest course, Introduction to Tapestry Weaving. I can't decide. Which would be the right course?: —Marilyn
Marilyn’s question is a good one! I want to clarify the difference in these two classes and help you choose the one you might want to start with.
Gist Yarn produces a wonderful podcast called Weave. I was interviewed for one of the earliest episodes and last week, we did an updated episode. We talked about my weaving life, my teaching philosophy, and a bit about a new tapestry yarn that is now available for pre-order. The yarn is called Array. I wrote more about the yarn which I’ve been testing for at least a year HERE.
You can listen to the podcast episode HERE or wherever you get your podcasts! It is episode 140.
GIST Yarn is a wonderful small company based in Boston. Started by the brilliant Sarah Resnick, it is a yarn and weaving company that values materials sourced in the United States. Sarah and her team are committed to supporting local agriculture, mills, and dye houses and their weaving yarns are gorgeous.
I have admired Sarah’s business for many years now and was thrilled when she asked me about a new project she was thinking about, a tapestry yarn made from US wool in a US mill.
If you’re a tapestry weaving, you know that there aren’t all that many yarns that come in a wide range of colors that include gradations. This holy grail of tapestry coloring, having light, medium, and dark versions of the same hue, only exists in a few yarn lines and none of them currently are made in the USA.
I’ve done a few different posts over the years about my summer travel fiber kit. This year I’m taking it on a long backpacking trip so it has to be especially streamlined and lightweight. I’ll be hiking the Colorado Trail this summer for about 5 weeks. At least I hope so. You never know whether a long trail will actually happen end to end. So many things can take you off trail from injury to illness to weather. But I’m going to give it a try.
I’ve given myself a 6 ounce weight limit for this fiber kit with an additional few ounces for a drawing/journaling kit. So half a pound total for my entertainment on trail (plus I bring Kindle books on my phone which I need for camera and back-up navigation).*
In this week’s episode of Change the Shed, I cut off the Handbasket tapestry. I am reasonably pleased with this tapestry in large part because it was so much fun to weave! I wove much of it on Change the Shed over the last 9 months. Those of you who follow that program have seen it grow, experienced the decisions I made moment to moment, and in the live event yesterday, heard me talk about the things I might do differently as well as what I liked about it.
Jilly Edwards is an artist working in woven tapestry from the UK. She currently maintains a studio in Bristol. I was able to interview her for my online course, Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver, Season 2 this spring. Jilly is an inspiring artist who is keen to share her knowledge and work with the rest of the tapestry world. I spoke with her for several hours and as always when I write or talk to Jilly, I felt like I’d just had a heart to heart with the dearest of friends.
A very common struggle among newer tapestry weavers is to keep the weaving square. This is all about weft tension or how much weft is going into your tapestry at any one time. Too much weft and the piece will get wider, too little and it’ll get narrower. I find that most students have more trouble with the tapestry getting narrower as they work. The changes can be subtle! It is easy to weave a whole piece not realizing that over the course of it you’ve drawn in a half an inch or more. The only fool-proof way I’ve found to make sure this isn’t happening is to make myself measure the width of the tapestry frequently.
