The Frame Appears

Here is what I have been working on diligently for the last week or so.

Pictured is the bottom of the frame for my Van Gogh inspired piece. The white paper simply covers up the hem so as not to take away from the design. I really like how it is coming out. The colors are right on to the colors I wanted. The design is good. The weaving is slow and extremely technical.

If you look carefully, you will see an error. Now that I have pointed out that there is an error in the execution of the design I am sure you will study the photo more carefully. People are like that! It's funny about weaving mazes. It takes about three or four rows of the maze to be completed before any error really stands out and says "hello".

I have a couple more rows before I start getting to the outlines of the upper body. There are 72 rows in this piece with each 'row' having four round trip passes. It is a pleasant interlude have a large section of a single color. Plus, I don't even have to have my cartoon attached to the weaving.

Here is the maze all fixed. The error has disappeared. I felt like a surgeon with my needles, scissors and tweezers. Easy come...easy go.

An Ostrich Sett at 12 epi

I finished up this piece this morning. This was a test piece using a sett of 12 epi with 12/12 cotton seine and two weft threads of the silk I use. I have been sampling different setts with different types of warp and different numbers of wefts.

Interestingly, there was absolutely no pull in on this piece. At least no pull in while it is on the loom. I have room for one more piece on this warp so I really won't know the true pull-in until I finish another little tapestry.

This was one of those pieces I just wanted to be done with. I realized quite soon after I had started that I could use more than 2 wefts on this combination of warp and sett. Plus, I really want to get weaving on my Van Gogh piece but I promised myself I would sample the various permutations prior to starting.

So I figure I will set up for the last little tapestry; tweak the cartoon and give a quick try at 3 and 4 strands to see which looks best. I think that will only require perhaps a inch of weaving...then I will leave the rest the weaving on this piece for my Friday Tapestry Group meetings.

Progress

I have been working for the last couple of weeks on my upcoming tapestry which is inspired by Van Gogh and the year of my birth. This is a portrait of my Mom. She loved Van Gogh and had prints by him all over our house when I was growing up.

I thought I had finished the cartoon a couple of weeks ago...but since then I have changed the size, the colors, the width of the maze encircling the portrait as well as the size of the portrait. Here is the resulting cartoon....in black and white. It should be quite challenging to weave.

I have a loom already warped and ready to roll. It is 14 inches by 18 inches before any pull-in. As I weave the hem I can finalize the color choices as well perhaps dye a couple more skeins of sea foam green. I should also finish my other two samples to ensure I have the optimal number of threads for the 12 epi sett I selected.

Hmmm...sounds like I have a lot of work to do! Once completed my DOH is going to make a beautiful Van Gogh type frame for the piece - like the ones you would see in the Getty...but home made.