What’s on Elaine’s Loom
starting another tapestry
Coming back from Mexico this year I was truly inspired by the sea. “I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely seas and the sky” as written by John Masefield…the words ran like a ditty in my head. At night I could hear the surf pounding away. In the morning I would check to see what changes were made on the beach…had the sand shifted yet again, what gifts were left on the beach for me to discover. I photographed and photographed and have a wonderful visual to remember the beach upon returning to our cold, wet Spring here back home. So I decided to weave the sea, the beach, the sky, the waves, the way the sand is pulled away when the waves go back out to sea. I spent so much time seeking out the patterns that mother nature made. I wanted to keep those memories alive and am choosing to do so with tapestry. The piece shown above is woven at 12 epi with a combination of Paternayan Crewel and a finer wool merino to depict the patterns in the sand. It is 20″ wide by 48″ high. Obviously I am starting in the sand…I will update my progress for those of you interested in following along. The loom is a new one that Don Bontron made for me to try out. It has warp and cloth beams, treadles, and 2 harnesses with texsolv heddles. It is small in height and has a weaving width of 24″. The treadles are easy to use and the loom does not take up much floor space.
what's on my floor loom?
Mostly I weave tapestry these days, but sometimes I like to throw a shuttle and weave on a regular floor or table loom. I threaded this loom for cushion covers in 2/8 cottons in a variety of colours…rust, gold, orange, yellow, green. It is threaded in rosepath and woven as twill….very relaxing, meditative activity in the summer months. And lots faster than tapestry!
