Tapestry looms: Matching loom choice to what you want to weave

Tapestry looms: Matching loom choice to what you want to weave

The American Tapestry Alliance’s media tour kicks off today. This year they’re holding it on Instagram and I am kicking off the week with a day of posts about tapestry looms. You can see the posts on my Instagram feed HERE. You do not have to have an Instagram account to go there and look at them. All the information about the next days of the tour is in those posts and also at the end of this email with links.

I wanted to talk some about choosing a tapestry loom. Most people who jump into tapestry outside of a university fiber art program start with small tapestry looms. I’ve written articles on this blog about looms (three of them are HERE, HERE, and HERE) which focus on what looms are out there and why some are better than others for tapestry weaving.

Today is my day on the tour and I wanted to use this blog post to provide more information and links. The video in this post is one I did for the Instagram stories today.

Designing for tapestry

Designing for tapestry

A tapestry weaver’s task is to weave an image at the same time they’re creating a stable fabric. As a creator of images, many tapestry weavers are challenged by the process of designing. And part of that challenge has to do with that fact that we’re creating the fabric as the same time as the image so the work has to be structurally sound.

Some of us want to make fine art-level tapestries that hang in galleries and eventually someone’s home or office. And some of us want to enjoy the practice of the craft and don’t care one bit if anyone even sees their work. I think what matters most is whether or not the creator’s needs from the medium are met by their practice.

The thing that is true for of both of those kinds of creator is that design plays a part in engaging with this medium. Because we are creating something based in image, how we design that image is important.

The new class opens Monday, Jan 13th!!! Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver

The new class opens Monday, Jan 13th!!! Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver

A new online experience starts on Monday. My new course, Design Solutions for the Artist/Weaver begins Monday, January 13, 2020. This class has been something I’ve been working on for about a year and a half and I’m so thrilled to say that it is ready.

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Habits not resolutions: Weave every day.

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Habits not resolutions: Weave every day.

Historically speaking, I think we can safely say that I’m rubbish at New Year’s Day resolutions.

I remember a New Year’s Day when I was a pre-teen deciding that I was going to write a letter to someone every single day of the year. This was in the 80s before the internet though I probably had learned to type on my electric typewriter by then. But my resolution was to put pen to paper and hand-write someone a letter. Every. Single. Day.

I made it to January 8th.

As humans we certainly love to make grand promises to ourselves of how we’re going to change our lives starting with this one day which marks a new calendar year. But it is just another day and we are still the same people we were on December 31st (though hopefully a little more sober).

Tapestry Translations: Stories from around the world

Tapestry Translations: Stories from around the world

The American Tapestry Alliance (ATA) puts on an unjuried small format show every two years. It is always displayed alongside the Handweavers Guild of America’s big event, Convergence. In 2020, Convergence will be in Knoxville.

ATA has announced this year’s show. The title is Renditions 2020 and all the information about it can be found HERE.

This is my favorite ATA show just because the diversity of submissions is so outstanding. It is a really fun show to see in person, so make sure if you’re at Convergence in Knoxville in the summer of 2020 that you go and see it! And if you live close enough, it is worth the drive to see this show. You can see some photos I took of the show in Providence, RI in 2016 in THIS blog post.

Returning to beginners status

Returning to beginners status

I have some dear friends who made the monumental decision to have a baby. There were medical complications but eventually, the little tyke was conceived and he arrived in the world a month and a half ago now. I love to make things for babies. Cute, soft things that I usually knit. I know that they’re mostly impractical and I assume, though I’m not a mom myself, that frazzled parents really like stuff they can throw in the washing machine.

I was going to knit a beautiful blanket for this kid. I could imagine myself choosing the yarn, casting on, working away. And then I looked at my fall schedule and thought about how I was going to disappoint myself because there was no way I was going to finish the blanket I had in my head before the kid was born.

Then it occurred to me. “I’m a weaver! I could absolutely weave a blanket. I’m sure it would go faster and it would be more baby-friendly.”

I’m not sure why it took me so long to think of that. And in a moment of serendipity, my friends at GIST Yarn happened to send an email about a kit for a baby blanket that same day saving me the trouble of researching yarns and patterns. Bingo, it was ordered in a heartbeat. It arrived a few days later and my head was filled with visions of what a gorgeous blanket I was going to turn out. Because, after all, I’m a weaver and how hard could a plain weave blanket be?. (It is the Echo baby blanket kit and the yarn is lovely.)

Travels of one tapestry postcard

Travels of one tapestry postcard

The postcard I wove for the Here and There project did make it to Michigan. I wrote about the adventures of making it HERE.

I love sending real mail. Cards or letters with stamps on them and maybe some artwork. Perhaps tapestry postcards are something I’ll do again.

Here and There online exhibit

The postcard exchange was through the American Tapestry Alliance and you can see the whole online show on the ATA website HERE.

Dorothy Clews (hopefully with a team of helpers!) did a tremendous amount of work to make this postcard exchange happen. In her curators intro she talked about subverting the postal system by sending these pieces of art naked through the mail—sometimes around the world.