Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A beautiful backside...


Isn't this cool? I may just frame it, and forget what's on the other side! This is the back of my "January" tapestry, which I just flipped over to trim all these ends and sew slits, so I can block and mount it. But I like the Rya-looking back so much, I hate to destroy it by trimming all those pretty ends down! It has that all-over fur look because of the many, many little pieces of yarn I had to use to create all those many, many tiny shapes! I don't think I've ever done a piece with such a pretty backside! (So, was this NOT the beautiful backside you were hoping for? Perhaps you are on the wrong blog!)

I am keeping this up high to work on, hopefully out of Booker's reach, though it is getting harder to find such places as he is getting so much bigger. We had a bad day yesterday. He ate one of my favorite handknit socks. I have not yet forgiven him.

ps. As my reward for not killing Booker yesterday, I am treating myself to Norah Jones' new album from iTunes today! Not a big enough reward, but it's a start.

9 comments:

Jennifer said...

That is an amazing backside - I wonder could you have planned it better??? Also did all those ends make keeping the cartoon in place difficult??? Can you mount it such that one can turn it over to see the backside??? i bet it feels good also.

Oh Booker....

Theresa said...

Maybe frame it in an all glass frame? It does look like rya, a technique I've wanted to try.
Oh no BOOKER! Not the handmade socks....
I know exactly how you feel. I can't even begin to list the things that have been lost to puppyhood and beyond. As mad as I get though I get through it, everyone lives and we go on.:-)

Sue Schwarz said...

Beautiful backside.

I determined long ago that God knew what he was doing when he made babies, puppies and kittens so cute and sweet smelling - It was so you would not shoot them when they became teenagers. You might get really mad at them, but they know they are safe

Anonymous said...

11/19/09 8am.....I am not quite sure what to make of all these hundreds of ends....does this mean every time you wove in a new piece of yarn you came up through the back and went back down through the back on the same line....did the new piece of yarn not progress upward....I understand how complicated the front was but I'm not seeing why so many stops and starts????..thanks from Janet on the East Coast

K Spoering said...

Janet, the ends are from the butterflies I use, which are, on this tapestry, small pieces of the different colors needed to weave each area. When I start a new color, I tuck the tail of the new yarn to the back, weave that color as long as the shape requires, then I cut the yarn and tuck another end back behind. Since there are so many small shapes on this piece, there are a lot of ends that were tucked behind as I wove. They are all now trimmed down to about one inch, which makes it much less 'furry.' Those one inch tails will stay on the back, but will be steamed flat when I block the tapestry. I also will line it, to discourage moths and critters that love loose ends of wool! Hope that explains it clearly.

K Spoering said...

Sue, I'm not sure that Booker is always cute and sweet smelling! He is sometimes a real stinker, in every sense of the word. However, he does know when to turn the cute on when it is necessary for his survival. He is quite the teenage boy now, and we are butting heads more often. He just lost his last puppy tooth. Might soon be time for 'that visit' to the vet!

Margaret said...

When I first saw it, I thought it was a picture of grass after the frost (okay, so, my eyes are going). Anyway, it looks great!

Unknown said...

I am looking to get permission to use your image of the backside and bird on a tree tapestry for publication in my PhD dissertation. This is purely for educational purposes and is not commercially being published.

K Spoering said...

Mr. Baker, you may use the images, but please attribute them to me, Kathy Spoering Tapestries. That will satisfy copyright needs. Thank you for asking, and best wishes for your dissertation.

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