Blue Norwegian Fjord Horse

This summer I wove many small tapestries, as I tested warps, weft yarns, and patterns. Last week I pulled out one of my many travel bags and found a small horse weaving,  based on a portion of a medieval Norwegian tapestry.  Horses in non-horse colors are often found in old Norwegian tapestries, like the one on the cover of this book. I’d completely forgotten about the piece I found in the bag.

It was  kind of a  mess; not so straight, and with edges different from each other, mainly because the weft yarns were not the same weight on either end.  But I love to make weaving look lovelier through the finishing process, so began  by steaming and folding.

Now the  only problem was that the narrow, turned-over edges made the piece twice as thick, and  I didn’t want ungainly ridges on each side when I mounted  it.  So I added some layers of puffy wool interfacing in the center area.

Then I sewed it to a padded, linen-covered foam core backing and put it in a frame.

You don’t see it so much looking at it full-front-on, but I like the puffy look in the frame;  it celebrates the textile aspect of the piece.