An end to a year and a tapestry

 

 

I'm amazed that 2021 is nearly done. It's been quite a year, hasn't it? COVID-19 didn't fade away as hoped but there has been hope found with the vaccinations and boosters. Daily life didn't return to pre-2020 "normal" but new normal paths have been found. 

When I look back at 2021 I'm glad to know that my second book, Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond: Planning and Weaving with Confidence, was released this summer. And it's already into a second printing! I've written a few articles and have another book project that I've started. And, in spite of having about two months of forced down time with surgery and recovery, I've been able to weave two larger tapestries this year as well as a few smaller ones. I sometimes think I haven't gotten much done in 2021 but I have to remind myself that I did accomplish these things (and a few more) and I'm glad to have been able to do so.

My 2021 tapestry diary will be ending in a few days and I'll be tying on the warp to begin with 2022 on January 1, the 14th year of my ongoing daily practice. I'd like to be around long enough to weave at least twenty of these things! Then I'll hope for a few more.

This was at the end of November before I added the leaf for December.

Here are a few photos of the just-completed tapestry. I finished weaving the large one just a few days ago. The smaller one was on the same warp but I ended the weaving for that a month or so back. Both were cut off at the same time.

This was taken on December 15--I still had several inches to fill in on the design part and then the hem remaining to weave.

I cut it off the loom last Sunday, December 19.

And, here it is--hanging up just after the cut off, loose ends and all.

Here's the smaller tapestry that I wove beside the larger one.

I'm calling the large tapestry "Revelation" right now; the title might change later but if you've ever spotted the tiny flowers of kudzu you'll probably relate to the thought. Those beautiful flowers are usually hard see amongst the thousands of leaves of the vine. They begin to bloom in late summer and are out for maybe a month or so. Maybe next time you're walking by a mound of kudzu in late July or August you'll have a revelation of your own.