Change the Shed Episodes January through June, 2022
Group 7

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

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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!

January 5, 2022 is HERE. Welcome to Change the Shed in 2022. Today I worked on the wildflower tapestry again. I showed how to fill in shapes, why you might start doing that with an eccentric pick, and more split weft outlines. We talked some about rigid heddle looms and how to find more information about tapestry looms on my blog under categories. You can find my blog at https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog where there is a category list.

Warp and Weft vs. Little Looms online course

I talked about the difference between these two courses and how you’d choose depending on what your goals are.

Fårö yarn

I know I’m rubbish at saying the name of this yarn. It is the yarn I’m using for the white background on this tapestry. According to THIS guide, I’m not even remotely close. And I’ll just admit that I’m unlikely to get there either unless I live in Sweden for awhile. I do apologize profusely.

Rigid Heddle Looms for tapestry??

I talked about rigid heddle looms for tapestry. There are some that are better than others. The Schacht Cricket loom I was referencing can be seen HERE. We also talked about other kinds of looms and you can find the Loom category on my blog HERE.

Saturday January 15, 2022 is HERE. This day I worked on the wildflower tapestry again. I’m getting close to the end of this one. There was talk about outlines and how to get your sheds working correctly when you’ve messed them up or just added an odd number of wefts into the center of your work.

CJM Woodcraft needle holder

I briefly showed this fun tool I use on my looms and also with my knitting. You can find them HERE. (Yes, he also has small wooden looms. I haven’t tried them, but they’re there!)

Wednesday, January 19th is HERE. I filled in a narrow area of white, talked about split weft outlines and why I use them, and showed the pirn winder I’m using for Aubusson bones. I started the new color which is yellow and realized (thanks Mary!) that I forgot the outline yet again. Multi-tasking is a myth! I’ll be taking out the yellow I put in at the end of the video and adding that dark outline.

Remembering low-warp weaving in France

I mentioned watching the weavers at the Beauvais in France and you can see more about my France tapestry tour on my blog under this category: https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog?category=France%20Tapestry%20Tour. I was not allowed to post photos from the Beauvais though I took a ton of them for my own reference. THIS is the post specifically about the Beauvais which is one of the state-sponsored workshops that are part of the Gobelin. At the workshop in Beauvais they weave on low-warp Aubusson looms and in Paris in the Gobelin workshop they weave on high-warp Gobelin looms. There is an extension of the Beauvais workshop in Paris at that same location.

Wednesday February 2, 2022 is HERE. Today I wove on a new loom to me, a frame loom sold by weaversbazaar in the UK and made by Andrew Dickinson. I was testing the weaversbazaar heavy yarn with a 12/12 cotton seine twine warp and talk some about these choices and how materials affect your work. I also showed the Wildflowers tapestry which is now off the loom.

Front vs. Back

I mentioned a blog post about weaving from the front versus the back. I have lots of reasons for both which I go over many other places, but this blog post is a good summary.

weaversbazaar yarn and tools

I was using the heavy yarn from weaversbazaar in the UK today. The loom I was using is a frame loom I also purchased from them. Their website is HERE. Andrew Dickinson is the loom maker and he also made the hand tip I showed briefly.

Textiles and Tea from HGA with Susan Martin Maffei

Susan Martin Maffei is an artist who has been working in tapestry most of her life. Her wisdom about this medium is deep and she shares much of it in this episode of Textiles and Tea with the Handweavers Guild of America from 2-1-22. You can watch it on their Facebook page HERE.

February 16, 2022 is HERE. Today I worked on the same sample using weaversbazaar heavy yarn on a frame that is new to me. I talked a lot about ridging, why it happens, and how to fix it and avoid it.

Warp and Weft: Learning the Structure of Tapestry Weaving

This course talks about ridging and why it happens in more depth. More information is HERE.

March 2, 2022 is HERE. Today I worked on a new Fringeless four-selvedge tapestry. I talked about shedding, why I was making the choices I was in terms of how I wove the forms, and how I might change things for a different look. Materials also figure heavily in this formula.

Live Shedding workshop on March 12th

I’m doing a live workshop this month and you can find more information HERE (and if you’re seeing this after this workshop has happened, that page will have information about future offerings).

Fringeless: Four Selvedge Warping with Sarah C. Swett

I mentioned this online course that I did with Sarah Swett. You can find more information and register here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/fringeless

March 16, 2022 is HERE. Today I talked about artist residencies. I’m going on one soon and I wanted to encourage all of you to consider your own time away to make art. I talked about the three past residencies I did and then told you where I’m going on the next one. I then talked about the equipment and materials I’ll be bringing since what I can bring is quite limited.

Petrified Forest National Park artist residency book

I made a little book about my residency and the tapestries I wove there in 2016. You can purchase the book or a downloadable PDF HERE (this is not my shop!) from Blurb Publications. You can also go there and look at the whole book if you just want to see it, no purchase necessary.

Links to the equipment I talked about in this CTS episode

Mirrix Saffron Loom: https://mirrixlooms.com/collections/looms/products/the-saffron-pocket-loom
Copper Pipe loom (I made it): https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2016/10/23/making-your-own-tapestry-loom-out-of-copper-pipe; Or there are extensive instructions for many kinds of pipe looms in the Fringeless class.
Nylon threaded rod I used in this pipe loom: (I haven’t used this extensively yet so I can’t guarantee that this rod will hold up to the tension! I’ll let you know after this residency.)
Sketch Looms: https://sketchlooms.com/
Stephen Willette shed stick: He sells these on Etsy HERE and his website is HERE.
IST Turkish Spindle: I got mine from The Woolery HERE.
IST Cocobola Spindle: I got mine from The Woolery HERE.
Watercolor kits: I got the round and square tiny kits on Etsy and unfortunately I can’t find the shop I bought them from. If you search “watercolor travel” on Etsy you’ll find lots of small options.
The cardboard 3-ring binder with spinning notes pages: These are by Kate Larson. https://katelarsontextiles.com/about/ It does not look to me like she is selling them at the moment though I have purchased from her directly before. She is now the editor of Spin Off and is likely too busy to run an online shop! She also has adorable sheep.
Katrinkles Niddy Noddy: https://www.katrinkles.com/
Fringeless four-selvedge warping: This online class is taught mostly by Sarah C. Swett and has lots of pipe loom plans in addition to all her amazing teaching about this method of warping. https://rebeccamezoff.com/fringeless

Wednesday, May 11 is HERE. Today I talked about my artist residency at the Icelandic Textile Center in Blönduós. I showed the tapestries I wove from handspun Icelandic fleece as well as some photos from the trip.

Icelandic Textile Center

This is where my residency was. Their website has lots of information and some videos.

Cornelia Theimer Gardella

I mentioned my friend Cornelia who was at this residency with me. Her work can be seen HERE.

Fleece information

I recommend Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius’ book The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook for all things sheepy.

Istex

I will have a blog post about this yarn production facility on 5-12-22. They make the Lopi yarn I talked about. Their website is HERE.

Mini-mills in Iceland

I mentioned two mini-mills. They are the Gilhagi Farm that I talked about in THIS blog post and Uppspuni where the yarn I showed from our farmer friend Johanna was spun.

Icelandic cloak tapestry

The video I mentioned, Auour the Deepminded that has the sound of the warp-weighed loom rocks and the images of the vararfell cloack is HERE.

What makes a good tapestry yarn?

I mentioned this blog post about how to choose a good yarn for tapestry.

Handknitting Association of Iceland

I mentioned this shop a few times. If you’re in Reykjavik, this shop is right downtown and has all the flavors of Lopi as well as a few other yarns. They also have sweaters knitted by Icelandic crafters.

Wednesday May 25, 2022 is HERE. I worked on the sample with weaversbazaar heavy yarn again. I talked some about matching warp size and weft size and mentioned some resources for learning more about that.

weaversbazaar yarns: https://www.weaversbazaar.com/ They also sell the loom I was working on.

Rebecca’s online classes are all here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/online-learning

I specifically mentioned Warp and Weft and Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms.

The short workshops she was talking about are listed on the website HERE and can be found on the course platform HERE.

The Fringeless warping I was talking about at the very end with the Iceland piece on it is referring to the online class I did with Sarah C. Swett called Fringeless. More about that HERE.

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 is HERE. I worked on a new tapestry based on my work at my Icelandic artist residency. The design came from some of the windows I saw in industrial buildings plus broken windows in a lighthouse. I am using an Icelandic yarn from the Gilhagi Farm mini-mill for the weft and a Fringeless four-selvedge warp.

Weft interlocks

I talked about the James Koehler interlock I’m using and why I call it that. You can find a YouTube video about it HERE or I go over it in the Warp and Weft online course.

Milissa Ellison Dewey’s skinny minnie tapestry bobbins

The bobbins I was using were made by Milissa. She uses Facebook a lot HERE. Or her website with email to order bobbins is HERE.

Resources page

I talked about the resources page on my website which I do try to keep up to date. It is HERE.

My blog posts about Iceland

I have a list of blog posts about my residency and visit to Iceland and they’re all in the category Iceland AIR. I’m still adding them and the one this week will be all about an impressive tapestry (embroidery really) I witnessed there. I talk about the Gilhagi Farm in one of the posts. They made the yarn I’m weaving with today.

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 is HERE. Today I showed two different four-selvedge pieces woven on a galvanized pipe loom and a copper pipe loom. I talked a fair bit about these looms and also about the Fringeless four-selvedge method of warping and why you might like it as much as I do.

Pipe loom plans and options

Fringeless Four-Selvedge Warping with Sarah C. Swett. This is the online class I made with Sarah which goes into depth about how to do this kind of warping. It includes lots of loom plans and how to use this method on various looms.

Archie Brennan’s loom plans are on Susan Martin Maffei’s website HERE.

Iceland’s Gilhagi Farm and mini-mill

The lamb singles I’m weaving with on the copper pipe loom are from this farm. I talked about my visit there HERE and their website is HERE.

People using large scaffolding or black pipe looms

Susan Martin Maffei and Sarah C. Swett are the people I mentioned in the video.

My book: The Art of Tapestry Weaving

You can purchase my book wherever books are sold but may I recommend getting it from your local bookstore or from an online shop that benefits independent bookstores like bookshop.org. You can also get a signed copy directly from me in my shop HERE.

Classes for the summer

Summer of Tapestry information is here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/summer-of-tapestry

Dye class information is here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/dyeing-with-acid-wool-dye

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