Motifs

Try typing "bear" and "cross stich" in google images, Then "Bear" and "bead" or "bear" and "embroidery"... Often cross stich images and other charted images can be adapted to loom use. Best thing is to save the image, then save the image as "bearJunk" . Using anykind of image manipulation program, (Microsoft paint works great); Streach "bearJunk" by 150% vertically (if warpfaced) or horizontally (if weft faced). the streached imagage will give a decent idea of how the image will look on the loom. It is best to stick with 1-2 color images, rather than a "photographic cross-stich"

Here are a couple of bears that you might like to use.  I graphed these from photos using CorelDraw.  I weave tapestries row-by-row with all weft bundles entering the shed from the same side, so I follow a charted pattern like this rather than using a cartoon in the traditional sense.  These are designed for my tessellation tapestries, so some irregularities exist (like the polar bear's legs) that can be changed for a more realistic look.

The books The Tapdancing Lizard and Enchanted Knitting have quite a few graphed images, and they would be the first place I would look for graphed images of bears.  I also use Dover Books, which often now come with cd-roms, for copyright free images.

I keep trying to follow the motif and not "count", but so far I am having to correct errors so often I go back to counting!  Also it is the ease of creating designs - pen and paper are great, but I love the way a computer program can move stuff around.

http://www.guntram.co.za/tabletweaving/index.htm

This site has a tablet weaving program which is fairly simple to use.  There are copy and rotate and move functions  to  design and move the motifs around.   I made a pebble weave template to use as a starting point.  It does have a grid and overgrid of 4 squares as well as a row counter.  It doesn't do everything I would like, but it is close.

I actually came up with this drawing myself.  It's a scan of a sketch I made, so the quality isn't all that great.  It's supposed to be a goat.  I blended some "ideas" from American Indian and African motifs I have seen.  I wonder if this could be used in pebble weaving?

At one time I had a very strong desire to open my own coffee shop.  History of coffee always begins with the Ethopian Goathearder.  So, I though about goats and a logo for the shop.  I'm still not sure about the name.  I was going to specialize in African coffees . . .

I guess it's more of the type of design you see painted on pottery.  Oh well . . .

If I could just fit a Jacquard head on my backstrap loom . . .

I'll have to give that a try.  I just have to put myself in the right frame of mind - like in the Matrix.  "There is no Jacquard." 

I'd love to see a list of the authentic pebble weave motifs that have been used.  Hmmmm, if we only knew some backstrap weaving author who could put one together.