Summer is a great time for tapestry weaving and travel. Last weekend I packed an overly large bag (or two three) of yarn, spindles, and looms and had a few days car camping at 11,000 feet with friends.
Some four selvedge weaving* was done on this trip... the first completed on the ride there. One of my favorite views is this one coming out of South Park when you first see Mt. Princeton. It is a massive 14,000 foot peak and I love the welcome it gives to my favorite areas of Colorado. Follow this immediately with some gluten free pizza at Eddyline in Buena Vista, a realization that Cottonwood pass was closed and we had a couple hour re-route to get to our destination (including some swearing from yours truly), and the piece was finished.
Mt. Princeton appears! Collegiate peaks, Colorado.
This little piece is handspun with some hemp yarn I picked up in Santa Fe a few weeks ago. The hemp weaves really nicely with this fat warp from the four selvedge warping. Also I feel hemp is a nod to Colorado's newest industry, the recreational dispensary.
Rebecca Mezoff, handspun black CVM drum carded with a little bit of bright pink Corriedale, hemp yarn, wool warp, 2 x 2 inches
We did get to our chosen camp spot several hours later and it was amazing. The road was rough and I was pleased that I was driving a Subaru instead of the old Volkswagon Golf (three busted oil pans? I think a Subaru was always the car for me, unless it is a Toyota pickup).
And there was zero chance of any cell reception.
Rebecca Mezoff, four selvedge weaving, 11,000 feet in Colorado
I wanted to test out the copper pipe loom that was glued together instead of soldered. I must admit that since the loom lived in the car which was in the shade and I wove on it in temperatures of about 50-60 degrees F, it hasn't had enough testing yet. I want to see how long the Gorilla glue will hold given fluctuating temperatures as well as hard use. So far it has held but I'll bang it around a little harder on the next trip.
I wove this piece on that copper pipe loom though I failed to get a photo of it being woven. It was raining buckets when I was working on it and I was huddled under a canopy with three other people eating hummus and laughing. The piece was woven with handspun naturally colored brown BFL 2-ply on a brown wool warp. The turquoise is silk. I call it Mirror Lake and of course it is for my tapestry diary.
Rebecca Mezoff, Mirror Lake, 2 x 3.75 inches, wool, silk, four selvedge tapestry
Copper pipe loom warped for four selvedge weaving with PVC jig and brown wool warp.
Morning spinning
I've been spinning for tapestry weaving a lot lately. The yarn is for small pieces and is mostly made on drop spindles. My Hepty spindle was put to good use making the fifth variation of this black CVM fleece mixed with a small amount of other colors. In the above photo I was winding two plies together on a plying stick before adding the ply twist. Probably I was also shivering in a wool hat waiting for the sun to get to the campsite.**
Black CVM fleece drum carded with five different colors of dyed fleece. Violet, blue-green, bright green, yellow, hot pink.
That last bit went into this little tapestry. Started on the picnic table, finished on the car ride home. (That is the advantage of living with someone who is willing to do a lot of the driving. Weaving time.)
This piece is called Redacted: Nature. It is for my tapestry diary. The Redacted pieces come from my frustration with the way society covers up or obfuscates things (climate change for example).
Rebecca Mezoff, Redacted: Nature, 2 x 2 inches, handspun wool, Weaver's Bazaar wool, Brown Sheep wool warp
Mirror Lake. Best campsite EVER. And I'll never go back. (ATVs from 11 am to dark. Dust and noise were constant.)
Critters everywhere. Mostly this kind.
Morning views, Mirror Lake.
Campsite matriarch, Maya. She was keeping tabs on the chipmunks and she was very very good at it.
It rained quite a lot, but with friends, a spindle, and a loom, it didn't really matter.
I love this state and its huge mountains and its people who love to hike and climb in them. There is nothing better than a little camping equipment and a loom-- even in the rain.
Where are you exploring this summer? (Or winter if you live in the southern hemisphere.)
*Interested in four selvedge warping for tapestry? Check THIS out.
**Hat made of handspun wool if it matters. No photo is available.