Threads of Life by Clare Hunter

Threads of Life by Clare Hunter

Sometimes when I am really looking forward to a book written in the UK, I order it from there. Threads of Life by Clare Hunter was one I wanted to read and so in 2019 when it was first published in the UK, I bought the hardcover version. Which of course completely explains why I just finished reading the book I couldn’t wait to read so much I had it shipped from Europe in late 2021.

On the plus side, it is marvelous to read the book in the language it was originally written in. Because they change things for the US versions. Did you know this? There is an English translation for the USA. I don’t know if this is always the case, but it was true of James Rebank’s books. I have also bought his books in the UK version because they Americanize the language and in his case, even change the title (!) for the US version. Can Americans not learn how the British say things? Isn’t it good for us to remember that color can be spelled with a U in it and that the particularly British turn of phrase is fun to come across? Aren’t we smart enough to read books which are, for heaven’s sake also written in English, exactly as they were written?

Wellness and the loom: Taking care of our bodies

Wellness and the loom: Taking care of our bodies

Many of you know that I am an occupational therapist. I used to teach a class at conferences called Creating Without Pain which was about ergonomics for fiber creatives. It has been a long time since I offered that class but a wonderful wellness practitioner reminded me of the importance of that knowledge recently.

Missy Graff Ballone runs a business called Wellness for Makers. Missy is a yoga instructor and massage therapist along with a maker. She has a lot of wisdom about how we use our bodies and how we can keep ourselves healthy and pain-free as we make, whatever our creative field is. She works with all kinds of people who work with their hands and bodies to create art and I have found her workshops and podcast so valuable in my own work and life.

Missy interviewed me for her podcast, Wellness for Makers, and that episode went live this week. You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts, or if you’re not a podcast listener, you can just listen online by clicking the button below. It is episode 51 and is called “Weaving Occupational Therapy Into Art with Rebecca Mezoff.”

A southwestern wander: walking, drawing, and a few yarn shops

A southwestern wander: walking, drawing, and a few yarn shops

In December I had a trip to New Mexico. Armed with COVID tests, we were able to visit my parents in the town I grew up in. Gallup, NM is a place that almost defies description, but if you know it, you can probably explain a few of the peculiarities of my personality!

Home is Gallup

While home I was finally able to visit Weaving in Beauty. This yarn shop/weaving resource is on Coal Ave and has been there several years now. I was beyond impressed with the shop and what they do and carry. They’re there in part to provide fiber tools and materials to local weavers and spinners and in this economically depressed are of the country, I was impressed at how low they could keep the prices of their materials and tools. That is truly a service to the makers in the area (and to those of you who order from them online!)

Using an eccentric outline to shift the shed on Change the Shed

Using an eccentric outline to shift the shed on Change the Shed

I’ve been doing Change the Shed for one year and almost 10 months now. I started this free live program at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. There are now over 70 episodes and I’ve really enjoyed communicating with other tapestry weavers about what we’re working on and talking some about whatever my current project is.

The clip below was just one moment from today’s meet-up. I was explaining how I often use an eccentric outline to shift the shed when adding just one butterfly. It is a good example of the sorts of things I talk about on this program.

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Questions from the book: Headers and Finishing

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Questions from the book: Headers and Finishing

Lately I’ve seen a lot of questions in the online course and in my email from people asking about headers and finishing such as the one below from Hannah.

“I have purchased your book The Art of Tapestry Weaving and I am at the section about hemmed headers. I am at the end of my piece and am doing the header steps in reverse, but I'm not sure what to do after weaving the 1/2 inch of waste yarn. I will be grateful for your guidance. I'm truly loving the book. It's so good, thorough, and informative!” —Hannah via email

Thank you for this question Hannah. For anyone who doesn’t have The Art of Tapestry Weaving, I present two different ways to do headers in the book. There is a simple double half-hitch header that is very useful and a hemmed header which is the one I use on my large-format pieces.

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The wildflower tapestry: weaving on the big loom

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The wildflower tapestry: weaving on the big loom

I’m back to weaving on my favorite loom. I had a few ideas for tapestries while hiking the 500-mile Colorado Trail last summer and one of them is taking shape on the Harrisville Rug Loom.

In the spirit of curiosity and adventurousness that the Colorado Trail hike only strengthened, I am doing some experimenting with this tapestry. Perhaps not drastically so since the forms I like to weave are clearly present. I’m just using different materials than I usually do. It is the first time I’ve ever woven a large tapestry with yarn that I didn’t dye myself.*

For the last 15 years of my tapestry weaving career, on large tapestries I have used Harrisville Koehler Singles or Harrisville Highland dyed by me. That allows me to make the gradations I love and to make virtually any color I can think up. In this tapestry I’m using 100% commercially dyed yarns. I have found that a little shocking sometimes. For example, the photo below where I’m adding the Daffodil color on top of Indigo was one such moment. I would probably never dye this bright yellow color, but there is it. It is an experiment and I’m withholding judgement until it is all finished. If I don’t like it, the sheep are making more wool as we speak.