I've long found writing scratches places just out of reach somewhere in my psyche. Amazingly, I often have friends, acquaintances, even total strangers tell me my words somehow scratch hard to reach places for them as well. Each of our lives is a wondrous tapestry in the making. The most satisfying experience I have is seeing people embrace God's plan for them, to begin to see something beautiful emerge from all the disjointed knots and loose end of their often severely troubled lives. I've collected a number of my own knots and threads here, often frayed ends becoming part of the tapestry of my life. Some dark. Some brilliant. Some fuzzy. Some gold. I trust all will become something beautiful in the end.

More than 1.5 million copies sold! What if you discovered that the life you already have is the life you’ve always wanted? What if joy is possible right where you are? New York Times bestselling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative journey of chronicling God's gifts. How can you find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and even the death of loved ones? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes even dark? How is God even here? “It is in the dark that God is passing by . . . our lives shake not because God has abandoned but the exact opposite. God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can’t see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us...” In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp invites you to discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings deep and lasting joy. It's only in the expression of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we've always wanted . . . a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. Come to feel and know the impossible right down in your bones: you are wildly loved by God. As Ann invites you into her own beautiful, heart-aching moments of amazing grace, she gently teaches you how to: Biblically lament loss and turn pain into poetry Intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude Slow down and catch God in the moment Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts is an invitation to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God’s joy and transform your life forever. Leave pride, fear, and control behind, and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.

Jean Pierre Larochette is a renowned top-level artist, making this opportunity to learn from him a treasure for all levels of weavers.

Once ideas and images come to mind, the next step in weaving your tapestry--interpreting these into effective compositions--may be challenging. Learn here, in ways that relate specifically to tapestry art, the design basics you need to make your best work. Renowned master weaver Scanlin offers 60 step-by-step "explorations" that lead you from understanding design concepts in your head to using them on your loom. Be inspired to explore "weavable" ways to manage line, shape, color, texture, emphasis, balance, rhythm, and more for results that bring your tapestries to a new level. In Part 1, dive into the fundamentals of design. Parts 2 and 3 hold explorations--exercises with a tapestry twist. Part 4 teaches ways to turn designs into cartoons. A resource treasure trove offers ideas for finishing tapestries (essential to the design's completeness), helpful templates, glossaries, and other core information to carry forward on your creative path.

Projects: Sun sampler -- Peruvian birds -- Cat and fishes -- Simple landscape -- Cover design -- Tulip -- The parrot gets the last word -- Little owl -- Sleeping dog -- Sleeping cat -- Bird.

It's easy to learn tapestry weaving from start to finish with Nancy Harvey, one of America's best-known teachers of this exciting craft. Using the same clear step-by-step approach that makes her workshops so successful, Nancy leads you through building a simple frame loom, to mastering the basic techniques, to completing handsome pieces based on her designs. She even provides tips on how to prepare designs of your own. In this book, you will find: Beginning and intermediate samplers to help you learn the basics; Hundreds of highlighted tips for weavers of all levels of experience; Six practice designs for building skills; Ideas inspiring your own designs, even if you "can't draw"; Over 380 illustrations and photographs; With hundreds of diagrams, tips, and tapestry designs, Tapestry Weaving: A Comprehensive Study Guide is essential reading for tapestry artists and handweavers alike.

The Nature of Things weaves together a life full of happiness and sorrow. In these fourteen collected essays, Tommye McClure Scanlin reflects on her artistic journey and how crafting and life are interwoven, two threads that comprise a larger picture. Readers will find themselves lost in Scanlin's full-color tapestries and comforting writing style as they explore the natural fields and woods of southern Appalachia. A final part of the book gives an overview of tapestry weaving basics with diagrams and descriptions for setting up a simple pipe loom and weaving a small tapestry sampler. Glossary, simple pipe loom illustrations, and a resource list are included for reference.