QuietTime

Joel and I recently returned home from two and a half weeks on the road, through Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Most of the time we were in Colorado, visiting friends and family in Ft. Collins, Denver, and Ridgway. It was great to reconnect with loved ones in their home towns and explore places new to us.
And then we headed to New Mexico for some quiet time at Monastery of Christ in the Desert — a Benedictine monastery deep in the Rio Chama valley, west of Abiquiu and thirteen miles off of the interstate highway 84.
The public is welcome to visit, and they also welcome guests who want to share the silence and beauty and spirit of their home. We stayed three nights, two full days of quiet time: the monks request guests to maintain silence.  It was sublime.
This was Joel’s first visit, my second.  I was there last fall, and spent one afternoon collecting botanical treasures so that I might create a weaving to commemorate my visit.  I did create that weaving, and then I realized it was for the monks, not for me.  “Along the Rio Chama”, my gift to them in gratitude for the great gift of quiet time that they provide for all who seek it there.
Here is my photo collage of the Monastery and “Along the Rio

My First Triptych

Yikes!  I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since my last blog post!
On the other hand, I’ve been weaving so much and involved in several weaving related activities that I’m amazed it’s only been just under three months since my last blog post!
In April there was the 17th Annual Ramona Artists Studio Tour (the first in which I participated) and a workshop on dying wool yarns using natural dyes, and then taking those yarns to weave a small tapestry.  Both were fun and opened new doors for me.
In May I wove a blanket in an intricate overshot design in wool and mohair at Weaving Works in Santa Ysabel on one of Beryl’s larger floor looms, and I helped out with a workshop she had for several women new to weaving.  At home I finished up a botanical weaving that I had started way back in February on my rigid heddle loom.  I had also used that project for demonstration during the studio tour.
On June 2nd I finished my first triptych, having started it on March 10th.  I worked on it in between these other projects.
I had extra warp on my larger floor loom, left over from a series of throws that I had woven as gifts for family and friends.  I was ready to try something new, and I thought “a triptych!”  since the sett was a good 45” wide
So here’s the photo journal for this botanical weaving, which measures approximately 22”L x 47”W.  I used sage branches and grasses and wildflowers and seed pods along with the yarns.
It now hangs in the home of a friend: he had expressed an interest in my work and wanted something big, so I emailed him photos when it was finished.
Please let me know if there’s something you would like for me to weave for you❤️

What’s in a Name?

My most recent weaving, which I completed last week and hung at 2Create Art Gallery in Ramona, was woven with more spontaneity and whimsy than any that I have ever done.  My eight-shaft loom was warped and ready to weave; the deer weed I had gathered a few years ago and stored in the garage beckoned; and thrums from a series of textiles I had woven last fall was in a prominent resting spot in my studio.  All came together in a moment, and I was weaving a pattern of yarns and botanicals that magically captured the joy I was feeling in that moment.  Ah...the thrill of the loom!
I couldn’t quite settle on a title for this one.  Perhaps it speaks for itself......  26”x21”. $265
Update 12/11:  upon reflection, I like the title “Ancient Pattern”.

Mesa Seasons

Here’s the scoop on the tapestry/rug weaving I mentioned in my February post....
Skylar Farr is a talented weaver who learned the craft from his mother Beryl Warnes. Together they are Julian Weaving Works.
Skylar is embarking on a new phase in his weaving career, namely teaching, and I had the good fortune of being his first student!
Here are photos from those demanding and delightful four-plus days of my workshop with Skylar, including the finished rug.
“Mesa Seasons” measures approximately 44”square, not including the fringe.

Greetings! To continue on the theme of my previous post:
 a delicate table scarf for my friend Molly, in celebration of her birthday:

And another botanical weaving, in which I used a few tapestry techniques, including soumak, which is a kind of knotting, and hatching. The colors in this piece are mostly subtle blues on a ground of brick red, with Cleveland sage branches among other botanicals.  I named it “Chaparral Blues”.  It’s a metaphor for California’s disappearing heritage landscape. It is currently on display at 2Create Gallery in Ramona. 43”x27”. $310.
Update 12/11:  I have re-titled this botanical weaving “Selah”.  The inspiration for this new and more fitting title came from an article my friend Cecile sent. Roughly translated from the Book of Psalms, it means stopping to look, looking beyond the obvious, to recognize the deep connection which exists in all of creation. I believe if we each can do this, we will see the preciousness of our environment, and rather than mourn the loss of natural places, we will act to restore and preserve its integrity and beauty.

More than three months, five blankets, one table scarf, one botanical weaving, and one tapestry/rug weaving since my last post.  Meanwhile, I’ve been pondering the essential need we all have of comfort and beauty in our life.
Weaving gives me time to ponder, about personal connections, about the comfort of family and friends, and the comfort I feel as I weave something of beauty for someone special in my life, something that will also bring comfort to them.
Beauty itself brings comfort, in a woven wall hanging, in a delicate table scarf, in a colorful tapestry.
My wish for you, and for everyone on Earth, is that you know comfort and beauty in your daily life.
Here are glimpses of some of what I’ve recently woven: more to follow in a day or two or three.....
Blankets for friends and family:

Sunday at Julian Academy of Handweaving

Three friends and I spent last Sunday weaving in Santa Ysabel. Beryl Warnes moved her weaving studio and shop and school to Santa Ysabel years ago, when she outgrew her space in Julian.
In addition to conducting three day workshops, Beryl sets up looms by appointment, for would-be weavers to weave for a day, and is on hand to help with selection of materials and design, as well as basic instruction on how to weave.
Her forty-plus years of weaving expertise and love of weaving contribute to a spirited day of creativity, and everyone leaves with the satisfaction of having woven something beautiful, that will be enjoyed for many years.
Here are the three weavers at their looms:  Annie, Peg, and Alex. Silly me...I didn’t think to take photos of their finished pieces!  The fourth photo is of the blanket I started, which I will finish before the month is out.