As the title suggests, this blog will be about yarn. The weaver's choice of yarn greatly influences the finished tapestry. Before we get to far into talking about yarn, what exactly is tapestry. 
"Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. n tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each colored weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colors worked over portions of the warp to form the design."[ 1] Wikipedia"
A shorter definition might be: a weft facing woven textile that creates an image from yarn. So the yarn used is pretty darn important. Four natural fibers used in tapestry are wool, linen, cotton and silk. As a beginning weaver, I use wool yarns specifically designed for tapestry weaving. These yarns are not usually found at your local arts and crafts store. Most of those yarns are intended for knitting or crochet and have too much loft (air) in them to be used for tapestry. I did give into the temptation to use some cotton yarn to weave, even after being specifically warned not to by Rebbecca Mezoff in her online course. The result can be seen in the upper right corner above. The poor result really sticks out in comparison to the other pieces woven around the same time using proper tapestry yarn.
Harrisville Designs, located just and hour from Nashua, carries two yarn collections that are meant for tapestry use: Highland and Shetland. My Friendly Loom included the Harrisville Highland yarn, which is used as a single strand for tapestry weaving. They also have Shetland, which requires two strands allowing for color blending.  The piece in the upper left is woven with Highland and the lower left is Shetland. Both of are available in a wide variety of colors.
Gist Yarn, an online yarn shop has their relatively new line of yarn specifically designed for tapestry weaving called Array. Array is a very fine yarn and is intended to be used in bundles of 3-4 strands. It is available in 76 shades allowing for blending and shade variations in tapestry weaving. The piece in the lower right was woven with Array in three strand bundles. Different colors and shades were mixed using the photo below as inspiration.

Each yarn has its' own characteristics in how they behave on the loom and how the finished product feels or its' "hand." I am enjoying getting to know these yarns and switch back and forth for different practice pieces. 

October 9, 2021 at Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, New Hampshire (no relation, at least not that I know of), I accidentally became a weaver. How does one "accidentally" become a weaver? Before I answer that question, allow me to provide some context.
In September, my wife, Ellenina, and I moved from Hastings, Michigan, where we had a small farm, to Nashua, NH. We sold the farm, loaded whatever would fit into a 10' U-Haul truck and started the drive to Nashua. Ellenina had secured an apartment for us in a converted mill building along the Nashua River in downtown Nashua. What kind of mill? A textile mill, funny right?
We decided to take the scenic route across Southern Vermont and Southern New Hampshire. It was a lovely drive with the fall colors just starting to come into peak. Along the drive between Keene, NH and Nashua, my wife saw a sign for Harrisville Designs. Ellenina has worked with fiber in one way or another ever since her mother taught her and her sister to crochet when they were young. Ellenina was excited to visit the shop, having previously purchased Harrisville yarn online. 
So on October 9th we made the drive to Harrisville in the heart of the Monadnock Region of Southern NH. I have never been a wait-in-the-car husband. I am curious by nature and was enjoying looking at all of the different yarns, looms and assorted fiber working tools. Then it happened, I saw The Friendly Loom. Designed for ages 6+, I figured I could learn how to use it.
​I thought about it for a while and worked up the nerve to ask Ellenina if she thought it was a good idea. I wanted her approval because weaving and fiber are her artistic outlet and I didn't want her to feel like I was infringing on her space. As it turns out, she thought it was a great idea for us to have a craft we could do together. In addition to the loom, we bought a refill pack of yarn in neutral colors and a copy of The Art of Tapestry Weaving by Rebecca Mezoff. When we returned home, she signed me up for Rebecca's Introduction to Tapestry Weaving online course and off I went. The title image is the first weaving that I did following along with online course. I am not exaggerating when I say it took me almost 30 minutes to figure out how to tie the first double hitch knot for the header. This is not a reflection on Rebecca's skill as an instructor and purely my own challenges with knots beyond tying my shoes.
That is how I accidentally became a weaver, a moment of inspiration that has turned into a wonderful hobby.​

Welcome to The Accidental Weaver! 
This blog is my way of documenting my journey into the world of weaving. As the name of the blog indicates, I began weaving sort of by accident. More on that in the next blog. 
Weaving is a visual medium, so in addition to the blog, you can follow me on Instagram @accidental_weaver.