Let your hands take over from your brain for a bit

Let your hands take over from your brain for a bit

Have you ever found that state where you lose track of time, completely immersed in something? Where time seems to expand endlessly and your world is simple and completely about whatever you’re doing? For me that happens with hands-on making. It happens with tapestry weaving but also drawing, knitting, and other art or craft I might be engaged in.*

I recently read Michelle Obama’s newest book, The Light We Carry. It is a delightful read. Near the beginning of this book, she talks about knitting.

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In celebration of Woven Color

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In celebration of Woven Color

I’ve found myself doing some lectures for weaving groups again recently and so I’ve been talking about my teacher, James Koehler again. I was his apprentice and I do like to talk about this model of learning.

James passed away unexpectedly on March 4, 2011. I often do put up a blog post on the anniversary of his death to celebrate his life and especially his work as a tapestry artist. James was a devoted teacher and I think he would want to know that his book, Woven Color, has inspired people to weave tapestry or at least to think about how an artist comes to that profession and where their work comes from.

My favorite stories about wool

My favorite stories about wool

I have some book recommendations for you. This post was going to be about one book which just came out, Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein. (It is clearly NOT the world’s ugliest sweater.)

And then just as I finished reading the book, I saw this marvelous review by Jillian Moreno on Modern Daily Knitting. And right then I decided I would let Jillian tell you about Unraveling and I would give you a list of my favorite books that tell stories about wool. I love every one of these books, have read them all more than once, and will likely read them again (okay, I haven’t read Peggy’s book a second time yet, but I just finished it… give me a few months). They’re all written by masterful writers in story-form. They’ll grab your attention and maybe even make you laugh or cry a little.

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No more floppy selvedges! This is the knot to use.

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No more floppy selvedges! This is the knot to use.

There are only a few things that I’d say regularly frustrate new tapestry weavers and one of them is the final knot on the warping bar of a continuously warped tapestry loom. If that last knot doesn’t hold tightly, then your edge selvedge will be loose which affects your weaving. Using a double half-hitch knot allows you to adjust the tension on that last warp with a knot that will hold.

Continuous warping

What does that mean? A continuous warp is one which wraps around the outside of a tensioned frame loom. Some common examples of this type of loom are the Schacht Arras and most Mirrix looms. These looms use a warping bar. The bar gives you a place to tie the beginning and ending warp securely as well as a rigid structure to help you turn the tapestry around the loom without distorting it. This type of loom can produce a tapestry that is longer than the loom is high.

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Tapestry weaving on a budget

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Tapestry weaving on a budget

Historically tapestry weaving was a trade. In the middle ages (and even through present times), weavers were skilled technicians weaving large designs created usually by painters. Today tapestry weaving has become an art form that is often practiced at smaller scales by people who are designing and weaving their own work.

Tapestry has a wealthy past as patrons funded the workshops that wove those large tapestries for their castles and country homes. Today tapestry weaving can be for everyone.

It is true that purchasing equipment and materials for any new art form can be pricey. There are many tapestry looms for sale that for many people are just too expensive to consider. And tapestry yarns can also feel out of reach when you have to purchase large amounts in many colors. But there are less expensive ways to find the materials and equipment needed.

Weaving tapestry in Taos; time at Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Weaving tapestry in Taos; time at Mabel Dodge Luhan House

I’ve spent the last week weaving with a fantastic group of people at my retreat in Taos, New Mexico. I love teaching in my home state and I especially love spending time at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos.

Lest you think this is some high end hotel, let me tell you a bit about the place. My Taos retreats are held in the former home of Mabel Dodge Luhan, a renowned author, artist, and socialite, who spent the last decades of her life gathering people around her in this house far from her roots in Buffalo, New York. Though some of Mabel’s actions can be seen as problematic today, it is undeniable that she did manage to get many artists to come and spend time in Taos. They created works of art that made Taos into the artistic center it now is.

I love spending a week in the house, eating in Mabel’s dining room, watching the fire in her living room, and sleeping tucked snugly into small adobe rooms….

The Icelandic Windows Tapestry

The Icelandic Windows Tapestry

While teaching in Taos in November I finally finished the Icelandic Windows tapestry. Since I am back in Taos teaching another retreat, I thought it was time to post something about it!

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What are you most attracted to when it comes to design inspiration? Is it color that grabs you first? A shape? The way something in the scene is repeating? Figuring that out can help you simplify your designs until they are perfect for tapestry weaving.