Change the Shed Episodes June through September, 2020
Group 3

Episode groups

Group 1: March 27, 2020 through April 17, 2020
Group 2: April 20, 2020 through May 27, 2020
Group 3: June through September, 2020
Group 4: October through December, 2020
Group 5: January through June, 2021
Group 6: July through December, 2021
Group 7: January through June, 2022
Group 8: July through December, 2022
Group 9: January through June, 2023
Group 10: July through December, 2023
Group 11: January through June, 2024

Return to main Change the Shed page

Many episodes have photos or links for more information about what I was talking about under the summary. Donation button for Change the Shed is on the top of THIS page if you’re interested in helping support the technology and time taken to make this free program happen. Thank you!

Wednesday, June 3, 2020 is HERE. This is where the Listen tapestry became “Listen”. Before this it was just a doodle. George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis since the last episode and I started to weave “listen” because it was the only thing I could do right that moment.

White Fragility by Robin Diangelo

It is THIS book.

Jilly Edwards, tapestry weaver

Her Instagram account is here: https://www.instagram.com/_jillyedwards/
Her website is here: http://www.jillyedwards.co.uk/

Jilly is participating in the #artistsupportpledge and selling a small tapestry every day on her Instagram account.

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 is HERE. I talk about the new Schacht Arras tapestry loom. I show the loom and talk about what I like about it. Weaving on the Buzzard tapestry (just started) which is a gift for a friend who likes these birds.

Yarn sources

Clark asked about more local sources for tapestry yarn (specifically Detroit area).

Tapestry yarns are hard to find in yarn shops. There area few needlework yarns that are good and if you have an embroidery shop or a place that carries these yarns, that might be something you’d find in person (Appleton crewel is from the UK but is sold in the USA and Paternayan, recently bankrupt but the same yarn is now being sold as Colonial Needle Persian).

This blog post talks about what makes a good tapestry yarn. (Also, these are my opinions and there are other yarns out there that people love, so don’t be afraid to experiment.) I did update this post in May of 2020, so if you haven’t looked lately, there are a few adjustments which are noted as updates.
https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2018/1/5/what-makes-a-good-tapestry-yarn

The post talks about where various yarns can be purchased. The tricky thing with a new yarn is really knowing what it will be like. If you’re considering a new yarn, maybe buy just a couple skeins and try it out before investing in a big order.

Schacht Arras tapestry loom

It weighs 10 pounds! (Grin)

Whew! I’m still learning a lot about the world of sales. I apologize for any mis-steps in terms of how dealers and discounts work. It is true that Schacht is offering a discount on this loom through ATA and it may be true that you need to order the loom from Schacht to get it. The American Tapestry Alliance is a wonderful organization and I recommend membership regardless of any discounts you might get by being a member. Schacht is a small company making fantastic products and I also recommend supporting them no matter whether you purchase the loom through Schacht or from your local weaving shop. Our local shops also need support. You get to choose where you spend your dollars, but you can’t go wrong with any of those options.

The Schacht Arras tapestry loom can be found on the Schacht website HERE. They also have a couple good videos about how to put it together and how to warp it. I won’t be making such videos because Schacht has done a great job. You can find them on that linked page under the tab labeled “Manuals.”

Wednesday, June 17, 2020 is HERE. Working on the Rainbow piece which I started years ago on a copper pipe loom. I talked a little bit about warm and cool colors. I was using weft interlocks for the joins.

Centinela Traditional Arts

Lisa and Irvin Trujillo run this business in Chimayo, NM: Centinela Traditional Arts. Someone asked how to learn more about Rio Grande weaving and Lisa’s recent book, A Chimayo Weaver’s Guidebook is a great reference to learn more about it. They have an older book about their history and work which is well worth purchasing also, Centinela Weavers of Chimayo: Unfolding Tradition.

Tierra Wools

If you want to take a course in Rio Grande weaving, take a look at Tierra Wools in Chama, NM. They just moved from Los Ojos down the road, and I don’t know when they might be open for classes, but it is a great organization.

Leashes

Someone asked if I had any information about leashes. There is an appendix in my new book (out in October, The Art of Tapestry Weaving) that shows two ways to make them. This very old blog post does have an image at the end of the leashes on my Gobelin LeClerc loom. I learned too do them from Archie and Susan’s videos which is referenced in the post: https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2012/04/warping-leclerc-gobelin-loom.html

Wednesday, June 24, 2020 is HERE. I was weaving on a piece on a copper pipe loom. This was a piece that had been knocking around my studio for awhile and I got it out to finish it. Changing the design, pride flag motif.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020 is HERE. Continuing the pride flag piece. A variety of shapes with a pride flag motif. Curves and angles in this part.

Tapestry books coming out soon

  • The Anatomy of a Tapestry by Jean Pierre Larochette and Yadin Larochette (from Schiffer, available on Amazon)

  • The Art is the Cloth by Micala Sidore (on Amazon, out very soon)

  • Tommye Scanlin’s two books: The Nature of Things (essays about her artistic life from University of North Georgia Press, out September) and a book that doesn’t have a final title yet about designing for tapestry out next spring from Schiffer.

  • Mary Zicafoose, Ikat. Out this summer (about ikat but she is a tapestry weaver so I anticipate it will have some ikat tapestry ideas in it).

  • An important one I forgot to mention is a new book from Thrums Publishing by Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas, a how-to book about Navajo weaving. The title is How to Weave a Navajo Rug. I don’t know the release date, but everything by Thrums is amazing and these two teachers are fantastic. They wrote Spider Woman’s Children.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020 is HERE. I talked about the dye projects I’ve been working on. I wove on a small 12 epi tapestry on the Schacht Arras Tapestry Loom. The Buzzard tapestry. This tapestry is a gift for someone who likes buzzards.

Spindle spinning resources

  • Abby Franquemont’s book is a classic: Respect the Spindle.

  • Maggie Casey’s book is also fantastic and she talks about spindle spinning in one chapter. Start Spinning.

  • I think Spin Off Magazine might have some free resources for spindle spinning, so check their site through Long Thread Media.

Renditions blog posts

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 is HERE. I worked on a couple pieces on a tiny Hokett loom and a Handywoman Shop loom (the Windows series). I showed how I warp a narrow piece on the Handywoman loom including twining to space the warp. I also was working on a small Fringeless piece on a pipe loom.

Tapestry diary information

Here are a couple blog posts about my tapestry diary. Any tiny tapestry I weave is probably destined for this collection of explorations.

  • My artist in residence tapestries from Petrified Forest National Park are HERE.

  • You can see more images from that residency in this self-published book on Blurb. You don’t have to purchase it to look at all the pages, though you’re certainly welcome to!

  • How I wove one tapestry diary piece about a cabin that burned at one of the places I teach tapestry retreats.

  • Search the sidebar of my blog for “tapestry diary” for more!

tapestry Tools

Wednesday, August 12, 2020 is HERE. I worked on a Fringeless four-selvedge piece on a Mirrix: the BE tapestry which has languished on that loom for a couple years now. This is a Fringeless four-selvedge tapestry.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 is HERE. This is the one where I show a sample for a new big tapestry done on a large Mirrix and talk too much about the Cameron Peak Fire. I talked about blowing up the cartoon for a six foot square tapestry for which this sample was woven. Showed some of my design book for this big tapestry as well as some specially-dyed yarns I was playing with. Also showed the acetate I use for my large format cartoons.

Anatomy of a Tapestry, new book by Jean Pierre Larochette and Yadin Larochette

If you haven’t seen this book, I talked about it again here. I wrote a blog post about it HERE.

Weaving from the front versus the back

I talk about this a lot in my online courses including Warp and Weft (not as much in Little Looms). My main statement about this is that whether you are looking at the front or back of the tapestry as you’re weaving has a lot to do with what you want to create—what is the subject matter? What materials are you using? What loom? All those things matter. And of course the tradition that taught you to weave also matters.

Cameron Peak Fire tapestry diary piece, Rebecca Mezoff. 3 x 6 inches when done. This is about half of it.

My Instagram account for the tapestry diary piece I talked about 8/19/20

I’ll post the fire piece about the Cameron Peak Fire on Instagram as I work on it and on my blog soon. Here is a current photo though. The photo isn’t great, but you get the idea. There will be a second panel above this.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 is HERE. I worked on the Cameron Peak Fire tapestry diary piece including some chat about choosing values. I talked about my conception for these small pieces about the Colorado wildfire near my house and showed the cartoons.

Fire Watching

I didn’t mention this in the 8/26 episode, but at the end I did talk about the place that I teach tapestry retreats in Pingree Park as well as how close the fire is getting to Rocky Mountain National Park. If you’re interested in watching the Cameron Peak Fire in northern Colorado, this link is the best: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6964/ The fire is currently at 21,000+ acres.

Damascus Fiber Art School lecture series

You can find all the information about the free tapestry lecture series on their website at: http://www.damascusfiberartsschool.com Please send a donation to support the school. It is full of amazing tapestry weavers and well worth supporting at whatever level you’re able.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020 is HERE. I was working on a new Cameron Peak Fire tapestry diary piece envisioning regrowth. This is the one where I had the field of wildflowers done with silk and demi-duites.

Molly Elkind’s Damascus lecture

Damascus Fiber Arts School Lectures continue to be fantastic. I talked about Molly’s episode about mounting small tapestries. The other episode last week by Sandy Kennard about color in tapestry was also fantastic.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020 is HERE. I showed my new book and then talked through a new weaving done on the Schacht Arras Tapestry Loom. This is the beginning of the Handbasket piece.

The Art of Tapestry Weaving

My new book. More information is on my website HERE. You can pre-order wherever books are sold (I am not selling this book! Please get it from your local bookstore.)

Wednesday, September 30 is HERE. I started a new fire tapestry diary piece on a Mirrix Big Sister loom and was showing how I use demi-duites to make the little dots for flowers in silk.

Acrylic mirrors used to see the other side of your work

To see the back side on a Mirrix or another loom with a continuous warp (or even on a floor loom), these sheet acrylic mirrors are safe, lightweight, and inexpensive. A student (thanks Jim!) introduced me to them and Marla mentioned it in this week’s CTS. I just happened to have this one sitting there though it had not occurred to me to use it. This is the one I think I have.

Norwegian yarns

There are some gorgeous Scandinavian yarns out there. The mill I was talking about was THIS one in Norway. Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk.

You can order Frid in the USA from Norsk Fjord Fibers. And ALV is available from Between and Etc.

The Nature of Things, Tommye Scanlin’s new book

This book is fantastic. I highly recommend it. This is the Amazon link, but it is available from other sellers and probably you can order it from your local bookstore. (As an aside, if you do use Amazon, you can choose a not-for-profit to donate a portion of the proceeds to and the American Tapestry Alliance is one such beneficiary. The Amazon program is called Amazon Smile and that link might show up that way.)

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