Finally "framed"

I wove this flower tapestry last year for the open small tapestry exhibit for the ATA biennial.  It was an experiment in combining the use of a regular weave with one in which I used two warps under and two warps over.  What I found was although the weaving went faster, it of course pulled in more.  Then, I found that I didn't pack the weft tight enough and a third of the way through the tapestry when I decided it needed to be packed tighter it changed my composition completely.  I couldn't go back and reweave it since I didn't have time to finish it to get it to Albuquerque in time, so I had to improvise a change so that the composition was more balanced.  I have to admit that when I cut it off the loom I was not very happy with it, and have not been happy with it since. 

I have been trying to get it mounted on some type of frame or canvas since.  I tried painting a canvas for it, but it looked really flat.  I went through my stash of fabric and found a piece that worked perfectly, but wouldn't you know it--I didn't have enough fabric to cover the canvas.   I went to the quilting store where I bought the fabric but it was long gone. Since then, I have been letting the tapestry sit with the fabric for the last couple of months on my studio table, looking at it when I enter my studio and letting it percolate through my brain.  I finally came up with the idea of quilting a piece for the tapestry to be mounted on.  So I cut the fabric in strips.  I cut out two large pieces of muslin, one as backing and the other to sew the green fabric strips to and I sandwiched cotton batting in between.  Once I sewed the strips together leaving a big square of exposed muslin which the tapestry would hide, I quilted the piece.  Next, I sewed the tapestry to the quilted piece. I wrapped the piece on the canvas I had sized everything to, and found that I it was too small for the look I wanted.  I happened to have a larger canvas that I had just purchased and so I layed the piece on top and liked the look.  BUT, now the quilted piece was too small for the larger tapestry so improvising yet again, I had to piece more strips to cover the sides of the canvas.  I finally stapled it to the canvas yesterday afternoon.  I liked the look, but to pull it together a bit more I decided to embroider more seeds flying out of the flower head and across the quilted backing piece.  I really like the whole effect now.  With it mounted in this way, I have decided I actually like the tapestry.  The overall size is 13x13 inches with the tapestry being 8 3/4 x 8".

Now I need to get back to my studio to get some more pieces mounted.