One could say that this picture shows a tapestry disaster, and be right. But to me, it’s much more than that. It’s the first tapestry I did all by myself. It’s one of my daughter’s sketch. I finished it. I love the colors. I learned so much! I fought the warp, the weft, and all along begun to understand it better. I found that I could have woven it the other way.

Now, this little tapestry ins under my loom, allowing my bobbins to rest smotthly on the table. I often have a look at it and smile. Next one will be better, and the next, and the next. But they wouldn’t exist without her.

Ratée, oui, mais la première que j’ai tissée seule, et qui m’a tant appris. Je la regarde tous les jours.

When I bought this beautiful piece, years ago, I’ve been told it was a tent band, made for surrounding the yurt and keep it sturdy. It doesn’t look like sheep wool, very thin, very dry, cardboardlike. Goat? Camel? The colors are gorgeous, and the back is very neat. If you know where it comes from, let me know.

Une bade de tente destinée à faire tenir la yourte. Laine de mouton? de chèvre? De chameau?

• 

Thank you for these beautiful slippers you knitted. This post is a tribute to all these quiet and silent and so skilled women.

Merci à toutes les discrètes tricoteuses du monde

I wish I will one day be as skilled as the woman who wove this bag. She mastered all sorts of technics, and had such a sense of color! My bet is it comes from Persia.

Un jour je saurai tisser aussi bien que la femme qui a conçu ce sac!

I was lucky enough one day to find this little piece of japanese ikat. The whole cloth is 10 cm x10 cm, every pattern is so precise, I would like to know the detailed process for making it.

Un ikat de soie japonais, d’une grande précision.

Here are Alice and Anita so far.

When I bought this tapestry, years ago, I’ve been told that it was an Alep kelim. For a long time I was sure that I will one day visit Alep after retirement, and see others kelims like this one. I know now I will never go to Alep, which no longer exists.

The beauty of the tapestry remains, thanks to an unknown human (woman?) who expressed his/her soul in it.

J’ai longtemps rêvé de visiter Alep, à cause de ce kilim qui y aurait été fabriqué. Cela n’arrivera pas, Alep n’existe plus. Reste le travail de la tisserande.

I am preparing for a new project, way to ambitious for my skills. I know I will struggle and partly fail, because I don’t have a clue on how I will weave some parts of the piece. Even the beginning is a mess, with erratic heddles and curvy foundation. I don’t care, my only challenge is to finish it, hopefully before June.

Un projet que j’espère terminer en juin, avec déjà plein de défauts. On s’en fout, c’est le voyage qui compte.

The starting point is a photo of two little girls in the Thirties, Alice and Anita, well dressed for the occasion, with white bows in their heads. Two people are holding a fabric behind them. Taking picture was a big deal in 1937. Anita is my mother.

La photo, prise vers 1937, est celle d’Alice et Anita, deux jumelles, à l’époque où prendre une photo était un moment important. Anita est ma mère.