January 1st is more than just another day, isn’t it? It’s a time to review the past year and bring new dreams into the year ahead. This pivot point calls for gratitude. I am especially grateful for friends like you who walk with me on this weaving journey!
Thick and thin cottolin towels on this warp. One towel to go!The end is near! The end of the warp, that is. Almost ready for the final border of the halvdräll table square. There will be just enough warp left for a short sample piece.
First up in the new year I have thick and thin towels to finish, and the halvdräll is oh so close to the end of the warp (didn’t quite make it for Christmas). And one little girl is off the small tapestry loom, waiting for final finishing, mounting, and framing.
Little girl small tapestry. After finishing the ends, the piece will be mounted on linen-covered foam board and placed in a frame.
Tapestry in the evening is a pleasant way to end the day. It does not need to be fast. I am not in a hurry. No need to be. The little girl is taking her sweet time. With innocence, she is daydreaming, wondering about things, and purely enjoying the moment. At least, that’s what I imagine she is doing.
Little girl small tapestry grows a line at a time, evening by evening.
I dream of doing four-shafttapestry with rosepaththreading on my floor loom. I’m not there yet. It is an ambitious goal. I am inching my way toward that goal by facing little problems on my tiny frame loom and working out solutions as I go. Learning to follow a cartoon is part of the process.
Little girl is being woven from the back, one row across at a time. The weft is Borgs Fåro wool, a single-ply that packs together nicely for tapestry weaving.
I derived the cartoon for this tapestry from a picture in a children’s book. The cartoon, held in place behind the warp threads, is my constant guide. As I make ongoing judgments about colors and other details, the cartoon keeps me on course and shows me the desired outcome.
Life is full of choices. If I purposely align myself with integrity, like a tapestry weaver following a cartoon, I have a guideline for decisions. But if I carelessly keep things in my path that tempt me, it’s like covering up parts of the cartoon with random post-it notes. The picture gets obscured. Our surroundings can set the stage for making good choices. And one good choice leads to another good choice. That’s the beauty of practicing with small things. When the time comes for four-shaft tapestry, I’ll be ready.
What do you do when you are away from your looms for a week? Portable weaving, of course. I thought about bringing my band loom, but fitting the band loom in the car turned out to be more of a hassle than it is worth. So the band loom stayed home.
I have my inkle loom with me instead, as well as my small tapestry frame. Steve is taking a woodcarving class from Dylan Goodson this week at the Texas Woodcarvers Guild Seminar; and while he is in class I am keeping my hands busy with portable weaving.
Steve beginning to shape his relief carving, following the finished example by his instructor, Dylan Goodson.First inkleband of the week is linen.Cottolin warp for the second narrow inkle band.Second inkle band almost finished.Start of a small tapestry of a little girl, derived from a picture in a children’s book.Time to put on one more inkle warp!Adding more details to the relief carving. Good carving takes time and patience. Like weaving.
This little chapel tapestry is growing line by line. I am weaving from the back, left to right, a single line at a time, following a cartoon. I create shades of color by blending three strands of soft Fåro wool in seemingly thousands of combinations.
Weaving small chapel while waiting for my delayed flight at the airport. Chapel steeple in cartoon presents a challenge.
I knew all along that the slim spire of the steeple would be a challenge. Will I have to leave off the uppermost thin line and cross? Honestly, leave the cross off the chapel? I don’t think so. Maybe wrap around a single warpend with half-hitches, and weave the short horizontal line over just three warps… Hmm, that doesn’t work–too robust for this little chapel spire.
First attempt to weave the steeple cross. Bulky and distracting.
Take it out.
Black yarn that formed the cross is removed, leaving a gap.
Weave through the empty spaces.
Some of the sky is removed in order to sufficiently weave over the gap.Closing the gap by weaving existing threads across, and weaving removed threads back in.
Study the scene…
Chapel steeple without a cross.
Aha! …Embroider a single-thread cross.
Single strand of Fåro wool is used to backstitch a cross on the steeple top.
Yes, that works.
Elevated cross on the chapel’s steeple gives meaning to the woven scene.
Keep your eyes on the destination. If a cross is needed on the tip of the spire, keep trying until you find a way. With your heart set on the destination, the Lord gives strength for the journey. Don’t give up when things are not working out. Take a step back to view the whole scene, and you will see how the cross completes the picture.
