The Journey so far....................

The photos above show my tapestry journey to date. I'm almost ashamed of the first picture, except that I remember so vividly my joy and sense of achievement at having created this piece. This first course took place in July 2009 and the second photo is from the intermediate course in October of that year. In between courses I wove my first 'solo' piece based on a photograph of a particularly beautiful Qualicum sunset. This tapestry and the photograph grace my living room wall side by side.

The last photo is of my current tapestry on my floor loom. More photos can be seen on my main blog http://www.pioneerinspirit.blogspot.com. Presently, I am trying to complete some of the tapestry each day, even if it's only a couple of passes. I am as close as I will ever come to having an addiction!

Part of the journey is missing from this post, as I took another intermediate course this past July - I will blog about this separately later.

There is also another significant element missing. I will talk about my teacher, friend and mentor, Elaine Duncan on another day .................................... for now, night night.

A(nother) Blog is Born

I am starting my new blog, Discontinuous Weft, on Thanksgiving in Canada (well, officially it's tomorrow, but we've just had our Thanksgiving Dinner). It is also an auspicious day, as it is the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of this millenium. Thanksgiving Day is quite new to me, as is the reason for this blog. In July of last year I began my tapestry weaving journey and along the way I have met many wonderful people, for which I am very thankful.

The other day we had our usual monthly meeting and I still feel SO new to this game - floundering around in a sea of warps and wefts. My mentor and friend, Elaine Duncan, made an observation to the group regarding the fact that so few young people (twenty-somethings) even know that the world of tapestry exists, let alone that it is thriving in the present day, not just an historical pastime. I've decided to contribute towards this goal of enlightening and educating, both for myself and the world at large. I will keep this blog of my journey and the knowledge that I gain along the way and maybe, one day, it will morph into a fully-fledged website.

On the first day of my first tapestry course, one of the first words that I heard was 'Discontinuous Weft'. I am currently reading the novel Eat, Pray, Love and the author is in Italy learning the language and eating the food, both with the same sense of deliciousness. I feel the same way about the language of tapestry - weave, warp, weft, loom, paterna, soumak - to name but a few - and then there's the feeling of the yarns, the tactile pleasure of weaving. And, don't get me started on the sense of history and the emotional connections - throughout time and across the world, if you're oh so quiet, you can hear the tap, tap, tap of tapestry weavers!

Personally, I like the idea of discontinuity, as it seems to me to be the complete opposite of what I usually like. My life at the moment and for the last few years, has felt like one big, glorious experiment. Apart from the exceptions that are my husband (which I hope, no, I know will be continuous), the love of my family (despite the time & distance), my own core being (whatever life throws at me I WILL be true to myself), many other things in my life have changed dramatically, to be replaced by another 'thread'. Until recently, the elements of my life remain unchanged. I started my musical journey at age nine and still it continues. Small things like reading a book (I always finish one that I start) and eating a meal (waste not, want not) have an element of continuity, often whether I like it or not. This is who I am - dependable, sentimental, loyal. Therefore, the words 'discontinuous weft' hold a certain allure - to pick up a thread, hold it in my hands and work with it for a while and then leave it for another - this is not who I am, I don't usually like to let go. I have a feeling that I will explore this concept more later.

While writing this post, I am also aware that this blog may fulfill another yearning regret. I have often wanted to write, but have told myself that I cannot, that I do not have the ability. I am beginning to think that this tide may be turning ................................

I intend to try and post about as many aspects of tapestry as I can find, educating myself first and then helping others to find their way to this journey that is affecting me in so many ways - ways that even I am not aware of yet. I came out of the movie Eat, Pray, Love saying "Well, I have Eat and I have Love, but I feel like I'm missing the Pray". Maybe, this is my Pray?