Do What Feels Good!

Every year I play this little game with myself and set a “theme”  for the year- usually relating in some way to tapestry. The past several years have had something to do with Learning.  Either making classes or participating in them. Discovery was a theme one year.  Color still another.

Last year, after my trip to Scotland, it took me a long time to bounce back, which felt like a wake-up call of some sort. The last time I’d had a call like that resulted in my giving up knitting and coming back to tapestry! It felt like one of those kinds of callings. Something out of whack. Something in need of a change.

And so Change became my “theme” …

To implement that Change, I began to adapt the motto “Do What Feels Good” in my head.

Funny, sometime in early January, a friend told me about a 30-day yoga practice called “Yoga with Adrienne” that I started following. Her main website is “Find What Feels Good” (highly recommended). So maybe that’s what prompted my new motto.

But back to my Changes so far this year. 

Along with feel good things, I took charge and sought out some important things I’d been wanting to do for years. I bought myself an Oura Ring. I started seriously learning Photoshop techniques for tapestry design. More on that in future posts. I’ve made traveling plans to meet up with my college room mate I haven’t seen since 1978! And I’ve got two tickets to Peru in October for my husband and I … and Yes! I’m finally signed up for a Maximo Laura workshop!.

And my weaving practice? How has it changed?

I just wrote those two questions without knowing an answer- but my gut feeling is - mmmm…it’s looser. More natural.

So far, I’ve finished two weavings this year. One being the piece I’ve had on my Shannock for way too long to admit. Here’s the statement I recently wrote about it.

“Immersion Through Time” is the first weaving I’ve done on my 6 foot Shannock. I wanted to get to know the loom so warped it full width with plans to do several wide, but short tapestries. The design went through multiple iterations before taking off, and inevitably the weave took over. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. My loosely defined “cartoon” existed as only a rounded border and 2 curved lines defining the basic composition. Early drawings included a few rock-like shapes in the foreground. I had no idea how it would begin or where it would end. Ultimately, once finished, I have to admit it looks suspiciously like my surroundings.

Immersion Through Time, 72” wide by 12/5” high; cotton seine twine warp, various wool wefts, linen, paper.

An impossibly difficult shape to photograph and display online!

The other piece was a little more planned out in that I had already chosen the colors and woven a small sample. I wrote a blog post about it earlier. This piece also represents a change that actually began in 2022. I wrote a post about that, too.

Prairie.Jan.1.23, 18.5” x 18.5”, cotton seine twine warp; wool weft

I’ve just begun a new weaving on my Zeus with ends from previous tapestries. I’ll see how far I can go before I run out of bundles!

To be continued…

Change is good; right?