As well as painting and drawing on canvas I have always loved all forms of creating art be it on wood, glass or metal. I have painted on silk to make a decorative scarf, upholstery, curtains and furniture. I am very much a fan of the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau.

One craft I have always wanted to try is tapestry weaving, telling a story or making art with fibre. A few years ago I found a book in the local library 'Tapestry Weaving' by Kirsten Glasbrook that I found very inspiring. Now I decided was the time to see if I could weave. I bought a copy of Glasbrook's book and started looking at simple frame looms to experiment with tapestry weaving.  

Well this Christmas, much to  my delight and surprise, my husband bought me a little loom; a Schacht 15" Cricket rigid heddle weaving loom. ​At first I was a little thrown by the presence of a heddle and the complexity as I thought, of learning to weave with one.

​Nothing could be further from the truth - it's fun! As I soon learned with my first practice weaving. I used yarn won in one of those mystery gift exchanges about a year ago. I had almost forgotten about the what I considered 'ugly' yarn. So I pulled it out thinking it would be less wasteful than buying new.   

So after warping the loom with my husband's help I was ready to weave, it didn't really matter what, just learning to set up, weave the weft evenly and have good edges. The ugly wool actually wove up a nice tweedy pattern, almost a 70's look. 

The process of weaving cloth and watching it grow is quite relaxing and exciting at the same time. I can see that I will want to experiment with different warps and wefts to make different patterned cloth. Not just tapestry art with fiber.

Eventually I finished the sample piece when it was about 18'' long and tied off the warp leaving a 1.5" fringe each end. Approximately 7"" wide it made a small runner for the top of a bookcase/storage unit. 

​The actual yarn used here is possibly an acrylic or wool/acrylic mix. There were no labels on any of the balls. I think I might make some table mats with the rest of the yarn.
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After completing my first project of getting to know the loom I could hardly wait to start my first tapestry my head full of ideas for different designs and playing with colour! A different technique to learn as with tapestry weaving only the weft threads show. More of that in  my next post on making my first tapestry wall hanging.

The midway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox - Imbolc - derived from old Gaelic meaning "in the belly" referring to ewe's milk and the first lambs of spring. Originally a pagan festival when people celebrated the stirring of life rising from the ground or out of Mother Earth's belly.

The goddess and the sun god returning for their first flirtations bringing life to the Earth. A time for spring cleaning and celebrating with bonfires the first glimmerings of spring. Also a time for renewal in clearing out the old, letting go of old grievances too. A time to look forward to new beginnings.

Well the snow still blankets the Earth in this part of Michigan but the sun is shining with the promise of light after the dark of winter. My backyard is full of birds around the feeder and the brush pile is alive with them! 

Though originating with the early Celts, Imbolc has been celebrated in one form or another by other cultures and religions around the world. How are you planning to celebrate Imbolc?

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