November Is A Woven Memory

November is a woven memory and the diary for this month is complete.  I have noticed that my color has become more saturated and intense with each month since September and I am not sure why but it is interesting.  One of the things that make the diaries fun to look back on is the little codes that each one has. Numbers of things for the days or symbols for the daily events, places and people in my life. These things tend to make it fun for me to look back on but others who are not privy to these private milestones seem to like looking at the diaries too. As the end of the year approaches and I am thinking of how I will approach the tapestry diary project for next year all of these things are on my mind.

November Racing By, Tapestry Gifts?

 Ever since we returned from Texas time has been spinning by. I am sure I'm not the only one to notice this.  Work on the tapestry diary has been progressing but I have been keeping it simple and thinking more about color than content these days. Here is a picture from a couple of days ago.

This time of year I start to think about gifts. I probably should have started thinking about them before now but there it is. Thankfully with all the jewelry projects I  have some gifts ready to go.

I have to admit when I think about making some quick but still nice gifts tapestry is not the first thing that comes to mind.  I think I may have found a way though.

Tapestry and bead pins have been on the loom recently. I was thinking of small pieces of tapestry that could be worn on a coat, jacket or scarf to lend a little color to the season and I have been experimenting with it.

Here are some details of the first ones I have done.

These are made similar to the tapestry bead cuff with brass shapes between the tapestry and the ultra suede backing and then stitched with beads around the edges.

If I wasn't so busy otherwise I could really have some fun with this idea.

 Here is a detail of another one...

and the third.  I wove all three on the same warp. They are about 1 1/2 inches by 2 1/4 inches, set at 10 ends per inch.

I have also been spending a little time learning some new to me jewelry techniques.  I have learned about some pearl knotting, wire wrapping and chain making and hope to be adding a few more metal working skills to my bag of tricks.

 My projects so far have been along the lines of learning exercises.

Here is my first pearl knotting adventure with some wire wrapping. I made all of the components from sterling wire, except for the purchased clasp.

I couldn't decide if this looked better on the light background or the dark.

More wire wrapping practice...

and finally some chain making.

I am hoping to be adding some additional metal working skills over the next few months.

Where am I going with this?  Right now I am seeing a loom woven necklace of hand painted silk warp with a section of knotted beads and amethysts and a hand made silver clasp. It is a lovely vision. We will see.

On the tapestry front, plans for the new year are forming. As of now I am envisioning a much simplified tapestry diary which will leave time for some serious progress on the Mango Hunters.

Kid n Ewe and Vikings Too

I recently returned from taking the Fiber Studio on the road to Boerne, Texas for the Kid n Ewe show where I shared a booth with Gwen Witherspoon from Fiber Clouds and WIM ( Weaving at Indian Meridian). Thankfully my friend Lynn Tedder also went along to help out and we had a wonderful time.

Packing for a show like this is an art in itself and finding a spot to put the clothes was pretty difficult. Recently we have installed a roof top carrier which should make it easier next time.

Once we arrived there was the task of setting up in one of three spacious buildings on the Kendall County Fairgrounds.  After some planning we set to the task and a few hours later our booth was coming together.

Beautiful fibers hand dyed by Gwen and woven scarves, tools and luxury fibers from Donna Hilton at WIM.
















I had some of my tapestries on display and my mascot Lizzy hand woven
by Jeannine Glaves was presiding over the booth.

I had a number of bracelets made on my Mirrix Looms as well as a necklace and some pins that were new for this show.










We had a pretty busy first day with setting up and keeping open till 6pm. The next morning we woke to the most beautiful Texas morning.  I took a few minutes to snap some pictures of the Live Oak trees across from our motel.

I loved the negative shapes in this one.

The next morning at the booth we got right to work. Here is Lynn warping her Mirrix 12 inch loom with two tapestry bead cuff projects.

One of my favorite parts of a show like this is demonstrating the tapestry and jewelry I like to do on my Mirrix Looms.  We had lots of interest in the tapestries, Miyuki beads, Ymmyarns and John Moss bobbins.

Another exciting thing about doing shows is the opportunity to meet other vendors. In fact you never know who might come by to see you. I was able to meet an online friend that shares my interest in weaving tapestry diaries. It was so nice to meet you in person Lydia!






Toward the end of the show I also met a group of women from Viking Invasion. They are a group of re-enactors led by the Texas Elag who share an interest in bringing Viking era history to life. They bought several Ymmyarns for the scenes they are reproducing from the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.


They shared some pictures of the project with me. These are not tapestry but cloths embroidered on linen with colored woolen yarns.













Here they are in period costume demonstrating the project.
















Here is a close up of the stitching.

Here are some of the finished panels. They were such a fun, and interesting group. I really enjoyed meeting the "Viking Girls"!

Right next door to our booth was the Buffalo Gold booth and they had all kinds of products made with Buffalo fiber. I was particularly interested in the hats and since we were in Texas after all I decided to splurge on a felted buffalo cowboy hat.

Even before I returned home I started thinking about the beaded hat band I could make on my Mirrix loom and here it is.















I thought it turned out pretty well and now I also have a buffalo fedora that needs a hatband.

Back in Oklahoma but still feeling pretty comfy in my cowboy hat.

October Tapestry Diary, 2012

 The October portion of this years tapestry diary is complete!  It has been a very full month and I was happy to finish on time.  When I returned from Colorado I felt that I needed to weave Pikes Peak and so I got a little behind on my days and had to catch up towards the end but I am so glad to have a woven reminder of my trip. We actually drove to the summit on the 15th and so when I returned home I wove that scene before I continued with the diary. There is a detail below.

Also this month I taught a fiber /bead bracelet class and on the 27th went to a Halloween Tea at the Dragonmoon Tea House . Two friends and I dressed as witches so I decided to weave a witches hat for that event.

Here is the detail of Pikes Peak and a great reminder of the trip.
Lately when I weave my landscapes I have been thinking about how directional lines in a drawing help so much to define and invigorate areas of the landscape and so I have been experimenting with this approach in my weaving as well.





Finally I am putting another photo of the sampler from the workshop I took with Kathe Todd Hooker hosted by the Pikes Peak Weavers Guild in Colorado Springs. I have to admit that I was thinking of my diary as I was weaving the sampler and it felt like my diary away from home at the time.

My plan for November has yet to evolve but if I just keep weaving I am sure I will go somewhere with it.