I tried to write this last night, after the third day of tapestry weaving, but I was exhausted! We all shared similar stories, even Tommye. We were all exhausted but happy.
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| Barbara's log cabin |
The third day, we left our samplers behind and made our own designs. Barbara made a log cabin; Cindy made a row of houses a la Charleston; Shirley wove an abstract design in bright and soft colors; Sally made a beautiful ocean with fish.
I drew a few designs, some with a leaf, some with a few leaves, but what I really wanted to weave was a sunflower. I asked Tommye if she thought it was too complicated and she said no, showing where I should build up first before adding features. I started tentatively at first, then took off. The petals just kind of revealed themselves.
When I got to the seeds in the center, it was not so easy. I knew I wanted to do "pick and pick" but when I started, the mechanics stopped me. I could do it easily across full rows, as I did in my sampler, but in a circle, the whole thing changes. Where to start? Where to change colors? Tommye had me change one of my color blends, since it wasn't enough contrast, and then slowly led me through the first inch. It started to make sense, and I quickly made it to the top of my drawing. With two hours to go, Tommye said I could probably finish the circle and make the tapestry larger, so I kept on.
One thing I didn't expect about tapestry was how sore it makes one's neck! By the time I got to putting in the petals around the seeds, my neck was so sore! When I put the green background in, I started going in the wrong direction with some of the other colors, and I just didn't care! I wanted that sucker done! If I'd been at home, it would have been stopping time, to finish another day, but we didn't have the choice! So It's kind of a mess, kindly concealed now with its row of half hitches.
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| Cindy's tapestries |
But I'm hooked! I am already thinking about where I could reassemble my Navajo loom and start a new warp before I forget all the lessons I've learned.
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| Cindy weaving |
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| Barbara at work |
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| Sally's fish! |
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| Shirley cutting off |
When I got to the seeds in the center, it was not so easy. I knew I wanted to do "pick and pick" but when I started, the mechanics stopped me. I could do it easily across full rows, as I did in my sampler, but in a circle, the whole thing changes. Where to start? Where to change colors? Tommye had me change one of my color blends, since it wasn't enough contrast, and then slowly led me through the first inch. It started to make sense, and I quickly made it to the top of my drawing. With two hours to go, Tommye said I could probably finish the circle and make the tapestry larger, so I kept on. 
Comments
Your sunflower looks great!