Nordic Weaving

Friday night at the Sons of Norway meeting, Christine Spangler (left) gave a presentation on Nordic Weaving. It was absolutely fascinating. She also provided a number of samples of some weaving projects she completed - including some tapestry weaving. They were gorgeous!




Christine studied in Norway under very talented weavers, including Maria Brekke Koppen. She later translated Maria's book, "Norwegian Tapestry Weaving", into English. The author's daughter even provided Christine with original drawing and photographs to assist with the publication of the translation.

I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a copy from her after the presentation - and she graciously signed it. I was absolutely thrilled! The book is absolutely fabulous and provides many details on the hand weaving process for creating Norwegian Tapestries. It's a definite "must have" for any weaver's library - and it's available from Amazon!

Christine was a bit thrown off at the start of the presentation as she had a number of slides to present, but we had not projector - Murphy's Law had intervened! She is quite an engaging speaker. I personally enjoyed hearing her account of her weaving adventures better than I would have enjoyed viewing the slides. The most memorable quote from her presentation was, "I went to Norway a History Major and I returned a Textile Designer"! Quite a switch, eh?

Here's several shots of Christine's creations - some of her tapestry weaving samples as well as a scarf. My friend Melanie helped hold up some of the pieces for display. (The edges of the scarf are a bit curled and the scarf itself was shrunk by the dry cleaners. It's definitely safer to care for your own fine tapestries and not trust them to others that may not understand how to properly care for your works of art!)












I was intrigued by the fringing technique used in the piece on the left below. The book details how to finish your tapestry...including how to fringe it. The "cut section" (photo below right - the part being held by Christine) is part of a piece that she had completed and sold. It was done on a computerized loom. The "feel" of each piece varied as well. The fringed piece (held by Melanie) was rougher to the touch whereas the larger piece Christine is holding was divine as it was woven with a very fine Merino.









My favorite piece was the Fjord tapestry (on the right below). The variety of colors used to show the Fjords was unbelievable - I love the subtle color changes. The warp is the horizontal threads in the Fjord tapestry - the "picture" is therefore woven on it's side and when complete, is then turned 90 degrees.