I am more than a third of the way on my warbler tapestry.
With every new tapestry, even if I feel confident in the design I’ve created, getting started at the loom involves a period of uncertainty. Suddenly it seems so much can go awry. For example, I peer at all of the skeins and balls of yarn on the floor beside me. What if they look terrible together?
My current Nest tapestry honors the efforts of conservationists working to save the Minnesota habitat of the golden-winged warbler. Getting started involved all my usual nervousness. (More about the design in this post: “New Year, New Warp: A Celebration of the Golden-Winged Warbler.”)
Some things already changed along the way. I planned to include both aspen and oak leaves in the central panel, because they are typical of the forest mix favored by the warblers. I couldn’t make that work well, and moved to a forest background of oak leaves only, highly modified from and inspired by William Morris wallpaper. After all, Frida Hansen was familiar with the work of Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement; they were similarly inspired to depict abstracted plants and flowers. As I was finishing the design, my friend sent me a photo of a church interior from her vacation in Mexico, of workers reapplying gold leaf on an altar. There’s a border to include aspen leaves!
When I wove the asters, I thought they were a bit too detailed in contrast to the very abstracted leaves to come, so as I wove the flowers, I wove fewer petals.
My real concern is coming up soon. The first of the three warblers is approaching. I made a sample bird a while back.
My final warblers need to be brighter. And since the warp is blue, I won’t leave any transparent areas within the birds. Wish me luck with the warblers!
Robbie, thanks so much for sharing your thought processes as you progress through this beautiful design. As a really new tapestry weaver, I’m reassured that it’s ok to re-think parts of a design. I’ll look forward to your upcoming posts in the Warbler Nest work. —Cathie