Thursday, April 2, 2009

Tapestry Sampler: Tying Up Loose Ends


Project Details:

Project Plan: Tapestry sampler from Kirsten Glasbrook's Tapestry Weaving

Loom: Rigid heddle loom

Warp : Cotton twine that I tie around cardboard I'm recycling
Weft:
  • 3 colors of blue Lopi leftover from a cardigan I knit,
  • orange variegated yarn from a scarf I knit,
  • grey handspun purchased in South America
  • 3 colors of Halcyon rug yarn

Sett: 3 epi (Threading every third dent in a 10 dent reed)
PPI: 17
Total warp ends: 18

Width: 5 inches (12.5 cm)
Length: 13.5 inches (34 cm)

Finishing: Cut, cut ends on back to 1 inch length, use tapestry needle to weave in a few loose ends, tie a quick fringe.

What I learned:
  • A rigid heddle loom isn't all that bad for weaving tapestry.
  • By about the 10th time I repeated it, I could tie a soumak without consulting the book!
  • How to weave tapestry - at least at a beginner level
  • I like weaving tapestry
  • I don't need to be able to draw or paint to be able to design a tapestry. My photography and some work with Photoshop could probably serve me very well in that pursuit.




What I'd do differently:
  • The messy way I left the back at the top section of the tapestry takes up a lot of space. Otherwise, I'd consider folding this piece in half and making it into a little pouch - but all the yarn criss-crossing back there makes that section too thick for that.

What I loved about this project:
  • I loved that tapestry book - so clear, so beautiful, so easy to understand, and the techniques built upon each other, so I actually learned....didn't just follow along retaining nothing!
  • I liked how much I got to touch the yarn.
  • I especially liked weaving with that Lopi yarn.
  • Even though I felt like I might need to apologize for my random choice of colors, by the end of the project I liked them together.
  • Finishing a project that's been in the works for years definitely frees up energy!
  • Unlike many weavers, I enjoy slow, meditative work sometimes. I've done all kinds of needlework and hand-quilting and knitting - so tapestry doesn't seem any slower than those crafts.
  • Keeping the promise to myself that I would finish this project.


Related Posts:
UFO Strategy
Tapestry re-start
Milestones
The Long Story of the Middle of the Tapestry Sampler

6 comments:

charlotte said...

Congratulations on the finished project! I love the colors of your sampler. When reading this post, I am really tempted to try tapestry, it looks fun.

Life Looms Large said...

I recommend giving it a try!! I enjoyed it and have my eyes out for my next tapestry subject!!!

Sue

Jennifer said...

I love your entry on the piece - maybe as a catalog to yourself. In my wedge weave class she did show us a way to make the piece reversible so the ends did not have to be dealt with. Essentially, when one comes to the end of a piece of yarn, separate the ply and drop each between differen warps toward the side you are working on. The before you weave over them, stitich them in down the warp. With splitting the ply it makes it small enough not to make the piece bumpy. Just a thought and looking forward to the next tapestry!

Life Looms Large said...

Thanks for the tips on how to make a tapestry reversible. I was messy on this one, but that was OK because I was just learning.

Due, in part, to your encouragement, I already have an idea for another tapestry that I would want to be reversible....I'm still mulling over whether tapestry is the answer for this particular question... But you know I'll be blogging about it once it's more sorted out.

Sue

Theresa said...

Sue,
What a sweet piece and you sure learned a lot.
I'm finding it inspirational enough to give it another go at some point.

Dorothy said...

Oh well done, the sampler looks very neat.

I have the book but haven't woven my sampler yet, I got distracted and went in other directions.