Of course “Mask Up” could only be a 2020 rug. What would we even have thought of that phrase on a rug in 2019?
Post Office Post
When I piled up my stash of green yarn for the background of my upcoming fire tapestry, I didn’t have enough. I usually use Norwegian
Four Months to warp a loom? It’s about time
I bought a large Glimakra tapestry loom in August. With the closing of my Casket Arts Building studio space, writing projects, a new granddaughter, and
Frida Hansen: Art nouveau i full blomst (Would you like to purchase the book?)
When the Stavanger Art Museum held a retrospective exhibit of the work of Frida Hansen in 2015, they published a beautiful book of essays and
The Shape of Things: THinking about Frida Hansen and the New Year
Barbara Burns has been thinking about Frida Hansen. Admiring many of her works, Barbara mused on a Facebook post in the Pulled Warp and Shaped
A Kavelfrans Christmas Present
I’m a great fan of loops and fringe and Scandinavian kavelfrans–the fuzzy, worm-like festive wooly edges used on gloves, mittens, and pillows. I experimented with
Such Empty Looms but a full heart
I am facing an empty loom situation that is making me frantic. Every other family/writing/publishing deadline has taken precedence and even my husband said one
“Helena Hernmarck: Weaving the Archive (PART two OF TAPESTRY TALES: A TWO-PART ZOOM LECTURE SERIES)
The Weavers Guild of Minnesota is pleased to sponsor Tapestry Tales, a two-part Zoom lecture series, as part of their ongoing fundraising efforts this winter.
Lila Nelson: A Deeper Dive (Part one of Tapestry Tales: A two-Part Zoom Lecture Series)
Lila Nelson: A Deeper Dive.
Virtual Presentation by Robbie LaFleur.
Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 7-8:30 pm CST
Flesberg Technique in the Norwegian Textile Letter
Over the years, people would write to me about flesberg technique. Perhaps they saw a piece I made, or connected it to the 2006 issue
Tapestry Mystery #2
A new mystery! Does anyone recognize this piece or the weaver? I recently received this inquiry: Recently I purchased a tapestry from the personal collection
Mystery Solved!
After I sent off my post about a mystery tapestry yesterday, my husband and I set off for a hike on the oak savannah prairie
Mystery Tapestry–Do you know the Artist?
It’s flattering to receive inquiries about tapestries because of my long interest in Norwegian billedvev, and more recently, because of my infatuation with and study
Best Zoom comment and some videos
The holidays abbreviated. Horrible Minnesota coronavirus statistics. More lockdowns. Oh, and carjackings are up 316% since last year in Minneapolis. Many things seem grim and
Studio Moving (Still) and a Focus on Flesberg
While I haven’t woven much of late, things are happening! I’ve moved everything from my studio, we have a new president (!), and I have
Five Years in the Casket Arts Building
Almost five years to the day, I closed the door to my studio in the Casket Arts Building. I’m moving my weaving home. Though I
Now All we need is a baby
The last piece I wove on my Toika, before selling it in advance of moving my studio home, was a rag rug in pretty colors
Zooming to England with Sue Lawty
I woke up early last weekend to take a workshop with Sue Lawty, a brilliant artist from England, sponsored by Selvedge Magazine. The afternoon British
Immigrant Pastor and 13-Lined Ground Squirrel
I always warp my small copper pipe loom for a tapestry when I travel. We were in Maine in September, at a family home of
The Vesterheim Webinar is up on YouTube (for now)
Last week I presented a webinar for Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum, “From Kindness to Cutting Satire: Lila Nelson’s Tapestries Embraced the World and Its Politics.”
Lila Nelson: Guessing at her Design Process
I thoroughly enjoyed presenting a webinar this week for Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, “From Kindness to Cutting Satire: Lila Nelson’s Tapestries Embraced the World and Its
Oh Lila–You Wove so many Cat Tapestries!
I have been preparing for my Zoom webinar with Vesterheim Folk Art School. It’s tomorrow, September 22. The cut-off for signing up is early Tuesday
Are these Tapestry Eaglets?
I am preparing for an upcoming Zoom lecture for Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum on September 22, 2020, “From Kindness to Cutting Satire: Lila Nelson’s Tapestries
Rags Rugs are so Wonderful
The new issue of the Norwegian Textile Letter is out, and features a translation of a wonderful cultural history article about rag rugs in Norway:
No, It’s not a Frida Hansen Piece
My friend Anne Whidden forwarded me a post about a transparency that was attributed, possibly, to Frida Hansen. It’s for sale by F J Hakimian in
Tapestry Humor and Food!
The New Yorker‘s weekly humor page, “Shouts and Murmurs,” recently featured tapestry humor (!) in “Small Talk in 1348” by Teddy Wayne. You should really
Studio and Loom Changes Afoot
In June I decided that I am no longer going to have my studio in the Casket Arts Building. It was a grand five-year experiment.
Midcentury Billedvev Mystery–Solved
Line Dufour posted a query on Facebook–“Can anyone help us learn more about this tapestry weaving? We believe it was handed down generation to generation
Liberty and Justice 4 All
My graffiti tapestry is complete (earlier posts about the process are here and here). For me, it is a reminder of the feeling in the
The Fall Issue of Selvedge Magazine has a Nordic Theme
I have an article in Selvedge Magazine. Selvedge Magazine, people! I’ve been a subscriber and admirer for years. In April the editor, Polly Leonard, wrote
Weavers Guild Artists in the Baldishol Exhibit
Our Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota brainstormed about a possible exhibit two years ago. How about using the famous Norwegian Baldishol
The Virtual Baldishol Show Opening
The new exhibit at Norway House, The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles, has been in the planning since the fall of 2018. And
The Baldishol Exhibit is being Installed!
Today is the first day of installation for the exhibit at Norway House, The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles. Our Scandinavian Weavers Study
The Protest Poster Tapestry Continues
As I reached the words part of this piece (“Liberty and Justice 4 All”), I realized that my collaged cartoon was not clear enough behind
A Trip to Decorah: Beautiful Despite the Cursed Coronavirus Disruption
For my first trip beyond the boundaries of Minneapolis and St. Paul, I drove to Decorah to pick up a replica of the medieval Baldishol
People Always Ask about this Loom
I enjoy weaving on my upright table-top Glimåkra tapestry loom. It is a style that is no longer made. But if you find one used,
What’s on the Loom: The Graffiti Plan
I wrote recently on the impetus for my graffiti-inspired tapestry. For the sake of documentation, here are some details. In my study of the work
What’s on the Loom
This post is a revision of the announcement I sent recently for the new issue of the Norwegian Textile Letter, plus a loom update. The
Woolly, not Woody, Woodpecker
I had a bit of warp left over when the “Baldishol Duck” was finished, so I wove a small woodpecker on a tree limb. He
Frida Hansen’s Beautiful Black Roses
During this whole pandemic isolation, I have been enormously grateful that I was able to travel to Norway last year (May 2019) with a fellowship
The Baldishol Duck
I finished my piece for the upcoming show at Norway House, The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles. I made a short video showing
“Red is the Finest Color I Have”
I posted an article to the Norwegian Textile Letter today, in the middle of the publishing cycle, an extra article for the February issue. It’s
Medieval Mash-Up with Margaret: Finished
I wove “Medieval Mash-Up with Margaret” to bring to the Norwegian tapestry workshop I planned to give in Denver in late March. (Insert sad face)
Dipping into “Gammel Norsk Vævkunst”: Volume 2
For my small unicorn billedvev I was looking for some flowers to add to the background–a perfect reason to examine some of the old pieces in a volume
Baldishol Duck Background
The water and columns of my tapestry are underway. Next–the duck! The wooly water is woven with a beautiful skein of variegated indigo-dyed yarn I
A Billedvev Unicorn
My seven-year-old granddaughter Cora, far away in Vermont, is a great fan of unicorns. Coralie is also a textile fan. She thinks I can accomplish
Minnesota Duck Stamp–Medieval Style?
A marvelous exhibit is planned for Norway House in Minneapolis this summer, The Baldishol: A Medieval Norwegian Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles. Will it open as
Dipping Into “Gammel Norsk Vævkunst”
Each time I prepare for my Norwegian Billedvev (tapestry) workshop, I check out these ten volumes from the Textile Center of Minnesota Library: Gammel Norsk Vævkunst:
Jennifer E. Moss, “Marked: Rusted Wovens”
By chance, while visiting Savannah this week, I was able to attend an exhibit opening, “Marked: Rusted Wovens” by Jennifer E. Moss, which will be
“What is Norwegian Weaving?”–A New Booklet from Vesterheim
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum recently published the third in a series of beautifully-illustrated pamphlets on major types of folk art in their collection: rosemaling, woodcarving, and
