Whatcom Weavers Guild
  • Home
  • About
  • Meetings
  • Membership
  • EVENTS
  • Newsletters
  • RESOURCES
  • Community Outreach
  • Gallery
    • Ode To Joy: Our Story
    • Linda Rees
    • WWG Challenge 2022

December 2021 Newsletter

​(Fiber) Community Connections

A few weeks ago, three awesome and lovely Whatcom Weavers Guild members spent the morning sorting magazines upstairs in the Maple Street Studio. The Guild has an extensive collection of Handwoven Magazines, dating from 1981 through 2019. Moving them from the church had upset the chronological order quite a bit. We now know fully what we have, have a list of which issues are missing, and the collection is shelved in order by year! We have a printed index for every article published between 1980 and 2000. Online indexes are available for the years since then.

Of course, the four of us did take short breaks to look at an issue when a cover caught our eye! Tapestry, twill, music as inspiration for weaving. Variations on the infinite themes of fiber, color, structure, surface design and embellishment. Even though we have the internet as a resource now, many of us prefer to look at the printed copies. As a Guild, we can support and share this resource!

A question of what to do about the older magazines, preceding Handwoven, came up. We have Handweaver & Craftsman Magazine from 1960 through 1970. The photos are in black and white, and the articles rather different from the mostly project-based publications we are used to. Are they of any interest to our generation(s) of contemporary handweavers? Flipping open a random issue, an article on designing double weave advanced both my understanding of the weave structure and our connection with mid-20th century handweavers weavers, quite serious about advancing and sharing their craft. It’s fun to look at the historic advertisements too and think that these publications were the weavers’ information network of their day.

Another member dropped by to donate three cones of weaving yarn for our monthly giveaway “goodie Bags” and left with a book from the library. She also recommended a book to me, which we have in the library, that I was not familiar with, and promised to write a review for the newsletter!
​

After almost two years of caution and restrictions, I am so proud that our Guild has not withered but grown! Thank you all for sharing your skills, your questions, your enthusiasm and photos of your work. Our December program will feature what we all have been doing, and I can’t wait to see it!


Warmly,
​

Carol Berry, President
Picture
1962 Handweaver & Craftsman, and 2002 Handwoven Magazines. What’s old in textiles is new again!
Picture
The Deflected Double Weave Study Group is working on a “Bumpy Mosaic” scarf project, using 10/2 cotton from Lunatic Fringe, and 18/2 Merino. We printed the Handbook from Madelyn van der Hoogt’s Video (In the Guild Library). We met via Zoom, each chose our own colors, and made our own “weave-along/workshop” working at our own pace. ​
Picture
 Lunatic Fringe 10/2 cotton in 4 of my favorite colors!

Announcements

Snow Cap Project
Hello Weavers, Knitters, Crocheters, Felters,

Wanted to let you know the latest on the WWG Snow Cap Project………... making hats & scarves for those who need them. Currently J.P. Mac Connell, Barbara Snow, and I (Lynn Berman) are gathering warm items to drop off at the Interfaith Coalition. Ronalee Kincaid at Interfaith has generously offered to further distribute them. In the past the Guild has donated to several organizations, including the Lighthouse Mission, Northwest Youth Services, & Opportunity Council, though with Covid it makes sense to use one distribution site, so thank you Interfaith!

If you have one, or many, please contact J.P. or me and we will gladly pick them up at your home or you could drop them off at ours. J.P. lives in the Fairhaven area and I am in Barkley so we can easily cover most of Bellingham.  Our contacts are below. We will then transport them further to Interfaith who will make sure they reach those in need of a warm head or neck.

Even though this is called the Snow “Cap” Project if your love is making warm mittens those too would be welcome!

With gratitude,

Lynn Berman
360-739-8334
clberman@comcast.net
​
J.P. Mc Connell
360-201-4600
jan.macconnell@comcast.net
Resources: Whatcom Weavers Guild Library

The Whatcom Weavers Guild Library is growing! We have acquired a number of new books from generous donors, and now have a collection of over 700 books, magazines and DVDs. Primarily for weaving, but including all forms of fiber art. The collection is listed online, utilizing Library Thing, a free service for libraries of all types and sizes.
Resources: Whatcom Weavers Guild Library

Library Spotlight: The Structure of Weaving
Stuck in a rut lately? If so, why not check out Ann Sutton's The Structure of Weaving from our guild library.
This book is a visual feast of inspiration, with many beautiful color photographs, as well as black and white photos that show structures clearly. The author tells us how color, texture, sett and balance can all interplay to produce lovely fabric designs.
Weave structures in the book are for both 4 and 8 harness looms and will be of interest to both novice and experienced weavers. Drafts are shown for all of the techniques discussed with ideas for variations and photos of examples. The possibilities are endless!
​

Photos from The Structure of Weaving by Ann Sutton ​​
Twills
4-shaft twills
Deflected threads black and white
To access the Whatcom Weavers Guild Library’s catalog, click on this link. A password is not needed. This gives you a list of all the books and magazines in the Library. It doesn't sort by topic and doesn't say if the book is checked out or not.
To find out if a book is available for check out, contact Carol Berry.
​

Upcoming Guild Programs

January 15, 2022    -    Kennita Tully  –  Soumak

Learn more about Kennita on her website called My Tapestry Journeys.

Kennita is a tapestry artist, author, and teacher living in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. She recently returned to tapestry in late 2017 after a 30-year career as a knitwear designer. Intrigued by the interconnections of life, she attempts to discover the world around her and return those discoveries back through tapestry.

It was this pursuit that led her to explore special techniques to better communicate her message. This led to a long period of research into what she calls “The Many Faces of Soumak.” She now teaches a comprehensive online course on the subject.

Kennita has a BFA in textiles and photography from Murray State University in Murray, KY and an MA from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and she teaches workshops nationally and internationally on a regular basis as well as online classes through her website. She recently began to exhibit her tapestries in the fall of 2019.
 
She is a current member of several fiber organizations, including the American Tapestry Alliance, British Tapestry Group, and Handweavers Guild of America.

She will be presenting Soumak to our guild.
February 19, 2022   –   Ruby Leslie   –   Color and Design

Ruby Leslie is a full-time weaver and studio artist in northern Vermont, designing handwovens as Ruby Charuby Weavings. Using off the shelf commercial yarn, Ruby has developed design techniques for creating stunning textiles that appear custom-dyed or hand-painted. Her experience designing swatches for Handwoven magazine’s ‘Color Forecast’ series, and her deep-rooted enthusiasm for sampling and experimenting led to the development of her classes. Ruby has taught above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway and Greenland, at Convergences, regional conferences and guilds throughout the United States. She was one of three weaver/designer teams invited by the Handweavers Guild of America to create a collaborative runway ensemble for the second Design Fashion Challenge at Convergence 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The rhythms of her looms inspired her children to produce a rap music video “Getya Loom Goin” for their “Ma, theWeava” which you can find here on youtube.
Picture
March 19, 2022   –   Anastasia Azure   –   Handweaving as Expressive Art

Anastasia Azure hand weaves sculptural art for interiors to evoke serenity and well-being by exploring the elegance of geometry. Interlacing hand-dyed nylon with wire, her billowing forms are sought internationally for residential, hospitality, wellness and public spaces. Sculptures are made to order, customizable in size and color.

Anastasia Azure shares the development story of her sculptural woven art and jewelry. By transforming the double-weave technique, she incorporates contemporary materials and traditional metalsmithing to create fiber art. Elegant geometry, complex science, and spirituality inspire her.
 
This interactive virtual presentation shows the cross-cultural, symbolic nature of mandalas and elemental shapes. Anastasia insightfully shares why she makes artwork and what she brings to the world. As a guide towards higher creativity, she explains her design approach to create artistically expressive handwoven cloth.

All information and images taken from her website.

Jennifer Moore Double Rainbow Workshop

The Whatcom Weavers’ Guild is cooperating with the Skagit Valley Weavers’ Guild to present Jennifer Moore’s Zoom workshop entitled Double Rainbow. In this class, students will weave a doubleweave color gamp on their own loom—either a 4-shaft or an 8-shaft loom. Previous students have said Jennifer is very skilled with Zoom.

The first advantage they cite is that Jennifer shows a video of things she needs to demonstrate. That way, everyone has a great view on their screen. During in-person classes, I often get stuck to the back of a 20-person crowd trying to see one student’s loom and can’t tell what is happening.

Another advantage is that Jennifer allows us to record sessions and post them on the web for students to review if needed. Because we are all viewing and working from home, this gives us backup for our notes as we work on our homework weaving.

Jennifer has graciously extended the signup deadline to December 15 for a class starting January 4. Course dates are Tuesdays and Fridays on January 4, 7, 11, and 14, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Jennifer allows up to 20 students per class. The more students who sign up, the lower the individual share of her fee will be. With 10 students, the fee would be $225; with 20, it’s $112.50.

In addition to the class fee, students will have to pay for materials. Lunatic Fringe has prepared yarn kits in four different color ways: brights, pastels, gem tones, and autumn tones. You can mail order your kits or pull from your own stash if you have the colors needed. Jennifer has written instructions and a warping video to help you warp your loom correctly for color play on your doubleweave sampler.

If you have questions that aren’t covered in this article and the attached flyer, contact Molly Gerhard at mollygerhard@gmail.com She will help you. Please print and fill out the attached registration form. Send it and your deposit check to the P.O. box to arrive by December 15, the signup deadline. The remainder of the fee will be collected by the start of class.

If you’re interested in how colors interplay in weaving, this class will teach you a lot and provide a wonderful sampler to consult in the future. Join us!


Click on these links to get these documents to download:
Article

Flyer
Registration form

From members

Discovered and Of Interest!
​

Your newsletter editor is seeking easy content from all members. Contributions are welcome of informative websites, YouTube videos, info on a book used from WWG library or public library, Pinterest pages, or practically anything else that would be of general interest to members and other readers of our newsletter. Two or three will be included in each newsletter.
Ann Hinz: Weaver’s School

I attended the Weaving 2 class at the Weaver's School on Whidbey Island, Nov. 8-12. It was a fabulous experience! Madelyn Van der Hoogt and Suzie Liles are amazing instructors, encouraging us to try new things and giving us the support we needed to try.  I challenged myself to understand more about block weaves, weaving with a temple, weaving on different looms, and understanding more about drafting on a computer. Their classes are filled for 2022, but you can get on a waiting list!
Carol Berry: video you may enjoy

The British Museum has mounted a wonderful new Exhibit: Peru, a Journey in Time, with many Textile masterpieces on display. For those of us unable to jet over to London between now and February 22, there are highlights of the Exhibition on the British Museum's website. Here's the link.  One special feature is a short video highlighting the work of a textile conservator and mount-maker, as she prepares a special mount for a Feather Headdress. Enjoy this behind the scenes look!

​As an extra treat, the collections of the British Museum are available online! Search by Textiles, Peru, and see what you find by clicking here!
Picture
Seattle Weavers’ Guild 2021 Sale – from Molly

Last year both the Seattle and Whidbey guilds had to cancel their annual sales due to Covid restrictions. This year Seattle was able to hold its sale at St. Mark’s Cathedral on Capitol Hill with these guidelines:
  • Everyone must wear a face mask
  • Everyone must show proof of vaccination

The sale was a success beyond the guild’s wildest dreams, generating sales almost $40K over the previous record. The most common comments at the cashiering table were:
  • We’re so glad you’re open again. We love to do our Christmas shopping here.
  • We missed not having the sale last year. Thank you for holding it this year.

The sale was held Thursday to Saturday, October 28-30. After a hybrid Zoom and in-person business meeting and program in the morning, members had a quick lunch and started setting up for the sale. By 4 p.m., they opened to guild members, and at 5 p.m., they opened to the enthusiastic public.

Guild members and customers greeted each other warmly. Molly Gerhard directed one of her long-time customers to the linen department where the customer bought 7 blue-and-white dish towels. By Saturday, the department only had a couple dozen towels left.

Items were selling at all price points from $5 pet toys and bookmarks to wall hangings and garments for several hundred dollars. If people liked something, they bought it.

Here are other pictures from the Thursday setup for the sale.

Baskets​
Rugs and Wall Art
Santa Lucia Towels
Towels at Noon on Saturday
Tools Kits and Fiber

From the Jansen

Jansen Hours
​

Open hours have expanded to 11-7, Tuesday and Wednesday; 11-9 Thursday; 11-5 Friday and Saturday. Check the J's website if you have any questions, www.jansenartcenter.org.  

The tradition of "open studio" on Thursdays has returned, 11 to 5.  You are welcome to come in and work on projects, and there will be someone on hand who might be able to help if you encounter a problem of some kind.

At this point, masks are required whenever you're inside the J, unless you're in a room by yourself. ​
Northwest Yarns, 10% Discount for Guild Members

Northwest Yarns in downtown Bellingham is now offering a 10% discount to Whatcom Weavers Guild members, a good incentive to shop locally. They have the Jaggerspun Heather line on hand, Lunatic Fringe cotton, along with other weaving yarns, and a great array of rovings, tools, and knitting yarns. Go to the LYS’s website for more store information and hours.

Classes and Dye Days at the J

The Textile Studio has a new schedule of classes for winter quarter:

Weaving Classes
  • Beginning Weaving with Marcia Ford, Wednesdays, Feb. 2-23
  • Exploring Overshot with Sheri Ward, Tuesdays, March 15-April 5
  • Beginning Tapestry with Val O’Conner, Saturdays, March 5-26

Felting classes
  • Felted Hat with Donna Hunter, Saturday, Feb. 5

Dye Days
  • The first Thursday of the month
  • Wool Immersion & Indigo Dyeing, Thursday, Jan. 6
  • Stamp ’n Clamp Dyeing, Thursday, Feb. 3
  • Custom-Dyed Napkins, Thursday, March 3

Check the J's website for details. Class listings will appear on its website in early August.

Membership renewal time!

Membership renewals are due in January. To update our files, we are asking everyone to fully complete a 2021 Membership Form. Click Here for the Membership Form. Please mail your check and form to the address at the bottom. Also, please fill out the entire form. Writing “same” or “no changes” is not enough. We may need to refer back to a form to make sure our information is accurate. Also, for updating our directory we want to know if your interests have changed from last year's form. Thanks for supporting your Guild!

Classified Ads

Floor Loom and accessories $300 – at Ragfinery, Bellingham
This sturdy and sweet 4-shaft rising shed jack loom was donated to the Ragfinery in Bellingham, and they are offering it and everything that came with it for $300. About 4 feet wide x 3 feet deep, 4 feet high. It resembles the Glimakra “Ideal” loom. Includes Texsolv heddles, built-in wood raddle. It is square and stable. Could use a little TLC, and possibly a woodworker’s hand. Made in New-Zealand.

Contact: Ragfinery, 1421 N. Forest St., Bellingham, WA. (360) 738-6977
4 Harness Gilmore Floor Loom with a 40-inch weaving width.  Includes a sectional back beam (pegs can be removed to convert to plain beam), Lecerc tension box and 10 dent reed.  It also comes with matching Gilmore bench with storage drawer. The loom is in very good condition with new apron straps and cushion strips recently replaced.  A new anti-spin brake kit was purchased but not installed. I think I am the second owner (acquired at an estate sale) and just purchased an 8 harness /12 T Norwood. 

Asking $500
Contact Sigrid at rschumac@mindspring.com
 or 360-913-3656. Delivery is an option within Snohomish or Skagit Counties.  ​
Nilus II 8 Shaft Jack Loom with Back Hinge Treadles with a 45-inch weaving width. The Nilus II loom has been designed with a stabilizer foot for better stability. Heddles were updated to 12 ½” inserted eyes for additional ease of use. Includes two reeds (6 and 12 dents) and original owners manual. The loom is in excellent condition. 
 
Asking $800

Contact Sigrid at rschumac@mindspring.com or 360-913-3656. 

Three cabinets
These 3 cabinets have housed the Guild Library and archives for a number of years, at St. James Presbyterian Church. As of last month, the Guild is no longer using them. They are clean and empty. Two are 6 feet high, about 40 inches wide and about 14 inches deep. The shorter one is about 40 inches high. They are available to a Guild member, if you need them and can pick them up before January 1, 2022. If you need exact measurements, arrangements can be made to view the cabinets. If they are not needed by a Guild member, they will be offered to the Church, where they can be used for choir and music program materials.
​ Please contact info@whatcomweaversguild.org.​
Picture
Picture
small cabinet
two six-foot cabinets
This cute 4 shaft /6 heddle loom is for sale! I bought it less than a year ago from Dori Painter for my friend Sophie to use. Now that Sophie is back to school full time, this loom isn't being used. I'm selling it at the same discounted price that Dori sold it to me. It is a great deal at 1,000.00.

Please contact Sharon Allen, sharonnewchapter@gmail.com
Picture
Picture
"Added after newsletter e-mail was sent."
Schacht Standard 4 Shaft Floor Loom, 42" weaving width, 2 reeds, good condition, $400, you haul.  Contact: jansigrid@gmail.com
And, here’s some of the best information in this month’s newsletter! Follow these easy instructions for submitting content for our virtual Show and Tell at each month’s meeting to Susan Torntore.
Picture
Monthly Drawing corner

And, to recap part of the November meeting, the monthly prize drawing ticket number was  6037152.  If that’s you, please contact Carol at info@whatcomweaversguild.org and include a photo of your ticket.
Quite a combo of needlecraft items for Nov’s drawing.
Goody bag from Handweavers Guild of America for Dec’s drawing.
  • Home
  • About
  • Meetings
  • Membership
  • EVENTS
  • Newsletters
  • RESOURCES
  • Community Outreach
  • Gallery
    • Ode To Joy: Our Story
    • Linda Rees
    • WWG Challenge 2022