New blogger joins us...

I've invited Jennifer Peavey to become an author to our Tapestry Share blog. I met Jennifer last July when I was demonstrating tapestry at the Southern Highland Craft Guild summer fair in Asheville. She was intrigued with the pipe loom I was using and later in the fall took my tapestry class at Arrowmont. Here's a link from my blog last October in which Jennifer and the other class members are shown: http://tapestry13.blogspot.com/2008/10/lots-of-accomplishments-today.html

She's since then built a couple of Archie pipe looms and taken a wedge weave class with Connie Lippert. She also has a blog up and running... here's a link to that-- http://jenniferpeavey.blogspot.com/

Welcome, Jennifer! And I hope you and all the other blog authors will begin to post whenever you have time. I'd love to see what's going on in your tapestry lives!

Tommye

Good Earth Day morning to all of you!

As my first celebration of Earth Day, I've just opened up our blog "Tapestry Share" for public viewing. The five of you who were with me for the recent CHG class are authors to the blog--if you want to be--and can also add posts and photos. I'm the blog administrator and can add to the side bar (web links and other gadgets). If there's anything you'd like to have there, please send it along to me and I'll be happy to put it there.

OK... so how does making our blog public celebrate Earth Day!? Well, maybe it doesn't really but seemed appropriate. Spring is in full bloom; Earth Day seems to be a time to stop and reflect about the precious nature of life. Of course, how we humans either contribute to or harm the vitality of the world in which we live is to be considered. But I like to use it as a day of reflection about the kind of life that I live in the world, as well. Part of my way of living is to share what I do. Since I don't do much except weaving that's what I have to share! So... back to celebrating Earth Day!

Here are a few photos of past tapestries in which I acknowledged, as best I could, a small bit of my continuing gratitude to the Earth for giving life to us all. I hope to be seeing and reading about your continuing journeys in tapestry very soon!

How are things going with everyone?

New growth is springing up all around here in north Georgia. I hope everyone weathered the storms of last week without damage. We saw a bit of hail, lots of lightening and heavy rain but all was OK.

If any of you read my blog you'll know that my tapestry making is at a lull right now. I've got several loose ends that I'm tying up before I can really concentrate on tapestry again. I continue to work on my year-long tapestry diary but that only takes about five minutes to do each day. I'm also working on a piece on my floor loom, a weft-faced piece but not tapestry. I'm combining fabric strips (cut from handwoven fabric that I've had around for years--bits from yardage I used to weave way back in the 1980s) with weft scraps from past tapestries. I'm also adding rya to the piece. The weaving is for an upcoming Piedmont Craftsmen exhibit about recycling and for it I thought I'd recycle some of my own weaving and yarn ends as my contribution to the show.

My teaching at NGCSU is also coming to an end. Next Wednesday, the 22nd, will be final critique day. I'm looking forward to my "re-retirement" from the university so I can really concentrate on my studio time and also my short classes. My next scheduled class at the Folk School is in early August. The Penland class for next summer isn't scheduled yet but I'll be glad to get up there for a couple of weeks in 2010.

And, now... a question for you. I wonder if you'd mind if I open this blog up for public viewing. It would make it much easier to open, for one thing, since you wouldn't have to sign in through your google account to read it. I would also like to continue to have past students (you and others, as well) as authors of the blog, as now. But no one else... others could read it and make comments but not post.

Let me know what you think about that.

OK... let's see what today brings! Judith Krone and Lynn Pollard are coming to NGCSU this morning to help Jo-Marie Karst and me with our AVL loom. It's been disassembled for about five years now, as the weaving studio has gone through several moves of location. Before I leave my teaching duties at the university, one of my goals is to have this loom operational again. Wish us luck! Send us good electronic vibes!!

Tommye

The Greek Girl Who Became a Boy

Hi Fellow Weavers,

(Although I am not sure I am a weaver yet!) Here is one my last two tapestries, actually I should say 3 because this is the 2nd version of this Greek Youth. I will not be sharing the first version!!He was done from a photo of a girl but thought (s)he looked more masculine than the photo. And the girl was so very pretty too. Oh, well. Reminds me of the poor baby in 1985 who suffered from the malfunctioning circumciser at Northside... I was pregnant at the time and prayed for a girl because of that story! Boy, girl, tapestry. I used a lazy line in the blue! Can you see it?

Here is the last one I have done using only one strand of wool. The Greek Youth used 2. I think I like one better, I have a hard time keeping more than 1 taut. I only had to take her head off once but am a little disappointed at the results. I though she would look fabulous but I find her a little boring. I am thinking of my next one, think I will crib some designs by Seguay (spelling?) from the New York Public Library website. If you haven't been there to see their digital image library, you need to go. It is wonderful. It was the souce for both of these people but no way would you be able to recongnize them.

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=all

Thanks Tommye, for your encouragement. You must be the best teacher ever. I know your college students will miss you!

Lauren

you go, girl (Lauren!)

Lauren...the new tapestry looks very good! About the short ends your husband brought home--those would be PERFECT for rya knots. That's a pile technique that's done as the piece is woven. The knot is similar to what's used for latch hook but you'd create the "canvas" as you weave. There are several passes of weaving between rows of knots. It's described in several books or I can show you more about it. That small out-of-print book called Step by Step Weaving shows the method (that's the book from which I printed the continuous warping diagram). Peter Collingwood's book, Techniques of Rug Weaving also shows how to do it.

Tommye