New Harvest cards by RebasPrints

Hi Everyone!

Well, I am glad to be back after another busy and productive garden season! As you can see, I still have harvesting on my mind! This set of cards is on it's way to Lancaster, Pennsylvania along with a gift tag from the giver. I am looking forward to having more and more time for printing as winter sets in and sharing more cards and crafts along the way...!

God's Eyes

The Ojo de Dios (God's eye) is a ritual tool, magical object and cultural symbol evoking the weaving motif and its spiritual associations. For the Huichol peoples of northwestern Mexico, the God's Eye is symbolic of the power of seeing and understanding that which is unknown and unknowable, The Mystery. The four points represent the elemental processes earth, fire, air, and water. These are so basic to weaving, and a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn. Experiment with color, twigs and looseness of the weave for variety. They go fast and are only limited by your imagination. A 3 foot diameter one next.

Lighted Terra Loom

At this time of year the light each day is less and less. It occurred to me that a loom could give light with tea candles. The driftwood candle holder was available and became part of this little beaver - chewed birch loom.  Care must be taken when using the loom and candles, of course, but how wonderful to work on it when three little lights are flickering on top. When finished, it could be a natural  candle decoration with holiday colors woven into it. A perfect "Solstice Terra Loom". There may be more of these little numbers coming along.

Terra Loom - New Design

The driftwood and alpaca cutouts are not a new design. The tensioning bar and string are new. With this system you can pull tension on the loom as you weave. This is often seen on the tapestry looms of the SouthWest that are used to make rugs and such by the Native Americans. This loom is done in gray birch and has the tenon on the tops of the verticals. It is large enough to do a small rug. The new owner keeps alpacas and will be most happy with the animals walking across the top.

What IS a Terra Loom?

That's easy. Terra is the Latin word, terra, earth. Today people are talking alot about "terroir", or the taste of place, usually associated with wine. What it boils down to is that what grows in the soil in a particular place has characteristic qualities. To get back to terra looms, these looms are made from wood generally gathered in Brownington, Vermont or the nearby area. The soils here do vary, of course. Our idea is that our looms come from wood left behind by beavers, storms, and rivers. The wood is often collected just as it was found on the earth or taken from the earth in a responsible way, and peeled, sanded or left natural. Then this wood becomes a loom. The orginal intent was for people to use the looms while sitting or standing on the ground, looking out over a garden view and or any other landscape. We have found that people also want to feel closer to nature by using the loom indoors. This, too, is a wonderful idea. One loom, the poplar beaver-chewed one, recently sold still giving off the fragrance of the wood. The buyer's little dorm room will have an interesting aroma for awhile. At the Champlain Valley Expo this past weekend, kids were weaving for two days on the looms we made. The public really enjoyed seeing such a loom for the first time, and I do believe that as a result, there will soon be a few first time weavers  as well.

Fragrant Terra Loom

Once you have smelled the aroma of poplar, you never forget it. This fragrance is somewhat sweet and can only mean one thing......Beavers. The wood in this little loom( crooked picture, not the loom) was chewed by beavers and left on the ground. No bark was eaten, and no part used in a dam or lodge. Poplar is not what I would call a pretty wood. The bark is often blotchy and rough. But the one thing that you can't mistake is the aroma. This may put people off or not make a difference. We shall see. The warps are being strung in a figure eight now, after a weaver acquaintence suggested it as a better way. Then the paint stirrer idea just happened. This free wood at the local hardware store will make a very nice batton to form the shed. Always learning  new ways of keeping the looms "GREEN".

Terra Loom with Sitting Alpacas

 The latest loom features sitting alpacas  in light and dark woods, on beaver-chewed driftwood. The stand is different also, with coped pieces of wood rather than tenoned. This one will be shown at the Alpaca Breeders Assoc. event Oct 16-17 in Essex, VT at the Champlain Valley Exhibition Center. Every one comes out so differently, and that is what makes this fun to do.

Laptop Terra Loom

 These days, people are doing everything on their laps!! 

Here is version of a Terra Loom that is easily used on your lap. It is made from beaver chewed maple from a pond in Derby, Vermont. The chewed parts are visible on the tops of the vertical pieces and at the bottom of the stand.

This is also portable!

The stand is one stick that is not attached. It comes apart and can be carried in a brief case!