Tapestry Weaving

Dessert in the desert

Dessert in the desert

I just got home from my last travel teaching trip for the year. It is fun to visit different places and meet new people, but there is nothing quite like home. Especially for an introvert. 

I taught tapestry techniques in Las Vegas, NV and Las Cruces, NM. I was fascinated by the desert landscape and the amazing plants I saw in both places even in the city. I enjoyed hearing all the different ideas the participants had about fiber and tapestry weaving. And I'll admit that I enjoyed the warm weather (even though the people there thought it was freezing at 65 degrees).

How to mount small tapestries so they look great and sell well

How to mount small tapestries so they look great and sell well

My studio table has been covered with mounting projects for a few weeks now. I sold a handful of small-format tapestries and not all of them were mounted. I also finished a small tapestry that was a donation to Petrified Forest National Park from my artist residency last November. (Read about that HERE.)

I have been posting photos on Instagram as I worked on this but thought I'd show you the steps all in one place.

Bunchy warps near your selvedges? This is why.

Bunchy warps near your selvedges? This is why.

Today I had five people ask the same question in my online classes. Granted, this question is one I get at least a few times a week, but today was a red letter day. When that happens, it is time to put some answers out to the wider world because I know some of the rest of you experience this also.

The question is: Why do my warps bunch up a half inch to an inch in from the selvedge?

August's Tapestry Camp

August's Tapestry Camp

The second Colorado retreat went well. It was different from the first (details here) but also a great deal of fun with lots of adventuring and creativity. It is always fascinating to me to observe how a different mix of people changes the dynamic of a particular workshop. I've taught a lot of workshops in the last six years and every one is different. Even when the material I am teaching is very similar, the outcomes can be wildly different.

High mountain weaving at Tapestry Camp!

High mountain weaving at Tapestry Camp!

We had an amazing time in the July retreat at CSU Mountain Campus. What a group! We laughed, learned from each other, shared ideas, hiked some trails, watched the hummingbirds, looked for moose (no luck), searched out flowers, watched the clouds, and saw the brilliant stars.

Here is a bit of a photo essay from the week.

,

My Hokett kit

,
My Hokett kit

I get questions fairly often from people who know I backpack with a loom and want to know what I take. What I pack does vary depending on whether I am going backpacking or car camping or traveling to teach somewhere. 

As a lightweight backpacker, my total pack weight before food and water is between 13 and 18 pounds. The lighter the better as food and water can add another ten pounds to the total. Hiking becomes miserable with more weight than that. So any craft that I bring into the backcountry has to be both small and light.