I'm a conference spouse this week. I figured that the internet at Snowbird would be at least as good as ours at home (it's better) and that I could just as easily work from a room with a view as from my studio. Who knew being the one who was NOT teaching or presenting could be so great?! I feel like I'm on vacation even though I'm still working.
But, it turns out having this view outside the 12-foot wide floor-to-ceiling window is just a tad distracting for someone who loves hiking as much as I do.
It is day 3 and I've taken three big hikes. But I've also done some weaving and work on the upcoming Fringeless online class. I choose to believe that exercise and beautiful views makes my brain work at least three times faster.
I wanted to test Brown Sheep Company's wool warp for use in four selvedge tapestries. To get a shed the entire way in this technique, the warp is doubled. I wanted to see if this particular wool warp worked as well as the 20/6 cotton seine twine I'd been using.
I warped it up and started the weaving yesterday on the deck of the hotel, Mt. Baldy in the background. But I couldn't stand it. I had edited video all morning and I just had to go hiking. So I stuck the loom in my pack and hoofed it four miles up for a little more weaving. It goes faster at 10,000 feet!
Four selvedge tapestry at 8,000 feet in the Wasatch Range
Four selvedge tapestry at 10,000 feet in the Wasatch Range
I like this warp for four-selvedge. The weft here is Harrisville Koehler singles, so the fuzzy wool weft grabs that wool warp in a really nice way. The two strands of Brown Sheep warp* is fatter than the 20/6 cotton seine twine and I had to go with a thinner weft.
And in an interesting aside, look at the photo below. That lavender color is the same throughout the piece. Color theory!! What surrounds a particular color matters. (Or we could say that colors affect each other.)
Four selvedge on Brown Sheep warp. That lavender background color is the SAME throughout! 8 epi.
I would guess that hiking will continue tomorrow. Today we hiked to the top of Hidden Peak. Four miles and 3,000 feet up including a ridge walk with a lot more exposure than I like. There is a reason that even though I live in Colorado and love to hike I am not a peak bagger. I will tell you it is because I don't care about making a list of 14ers I've climbed, but really it is because I hate exposure. Today I just kept my eyes on the trail and sat down when I needed to take a photo.
Stow aways.
American Fork Twin Peaks and Salt Lake City to the right.
The snow just melted off these higher trails this week. The flowers are fantastic.
Rebecca Mezoff, Wasatch flowers, American Fork Twin Peaks
It is possible that after all that, we had pizza at the top and took the tram back down. It is possible.
I'm back to the weaving. I have another four selvedge warp that needs to get finished off before I get home in a couple days. Tapestry diary piece about Utah is what I'm thinking right now...
Stay tuned for more information about the four selvedge class tomorrow.
* Brown Sheep Company's wool warp comes in one size and it is hard to find. I called the company and they said that if you have a shop that carries their products, they can order the warp for you. Alternatively, call the company directly. It seems comparable in size to 12/6 cotton seine twine.
UPDATE: Thanks to Marcus Lee who sent me this link for a shop in Minnesota that has this Brown Sheep Company warp on their website. You can order it from Earthsong Fibers HERE.