Blog Posts - Whatcom Weavers Guild

Newsletters

The Whatcom Weavers Guild publishes a monthly newsletter September through June of each year with periodic updates and supplements sent to the group. Newsletters are sent to members via e-mail whenever possible. Members without e-mail addresses receive the newsletter in the postal mail. Submissions of items of interest are encouraged. Please e-mail your submission to the Newsletter Publisher by the 25th day of the month to be included in the following month's newsletter which is typically distributed during the first week of each month.
Members may advertise in the newsletter for free. A $5 minimum donation is requested for any non-member (non-commercial) wishing to advertise, payable to the Guild Treasurer prior to publication. Commercial entity rates are $5 minimum donation for members and $7 minimum donation for non-members -- payable prior to publication.

April 2019 Newsletter

3/31/2019

Spring is really here! Tulips are coming up, lambs are romping around, my madder plants are emerging showing little red sprouts, rhubarb is coming out of the ground looking like an alien. And, I don’t mean to scare you, but April is National Moth Hatching Month. It’s true. I read it on the internet, along with tips from Textile conservators, the Smithsonian Institution, and Martha Stewart, for preventing, and dealing with wool moths and carpet beetles. For the clothes moth, the larval stage (larvae is the form that eats your fiber) will last between two months (a warm humid climate) and six months (a cool climate). So April isn’t the only month when we worry about these things – but here we are.
In Brief: Moths like dirty or dusty wool and dark, warm spaces best. Carpet beetles especially love beer or tomato juice-soiled textiles. Who knew? Cellulosic fibers are not immune. The larvae will munch whatever is in their path. The old saying is “Air and light are the enemy of moths.” So, sorting your stash, cleaning and vacuuming the closet/room/building where you keep your yarns and fleeces, are recommended activities, BEFORE the temperatures get up in the 70’s. Vacuum up dust – the critters can live on wool dust, hair and dead insects (ick) for months, even in a sealed space. Avoid moving questionable fibers into other areas of the house before cleaning. Wash the vacuum nozzle with dish soap and dry it between cleanings, to make sure the tiny eggs aren’t transported.
Alert! Mothballs are not recommended. There are two forms of mothballs: Naphthalene and Paradichlorobenzene (PBD). Both are known animal carcinogens and possible human carcinogens. Check out the websites below for full information, and you’ll know all of what I know about moth prevention and damage control. Happy Spring cleaning! Sorting and caring for your yarn and fiber is always a responsible activity. Using it is the best!
Happy spring spinning and weaving, and don’t forget to practice your knitting outside – World Wide Knit in Public Day is coming up in June!

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

March 2019 Newsletter

3/3/2019

One month ago, I wrote confidently that winter was turning into spring. Then it snowed. A lot. Who besides me is working with wool? Using time indoors for weaving and sewing; baking as way to heat the kitchen; carrying knitting wherever you go, just to have an extra layer of warmth? Well, thanks to time not spent outside, my crayon challenge piece is off the loom, ready for finishing. (Yes, I made the decision to weave after knitting a few samples that didn’t quite work.) Cotton warp, in my main color – purple, first supported a weaving sample “side trip,” due to having to zero empty bobbins for weaving the “real” challenge piece. The cardboard quills I like to use aren’t expensive, so … I had a PILE left over from other projects, and no empty ones. Monday was the day. I thought I’d weave random stripes for a place mat or two. Six hours later, with a short break for lunch, I had woven two and a half yards, and emptied 60 (!) quills. See the photo.
Great stripe-y fun scarf, but I’m most proud of those empty quills. And I did replicate some of the sample striping in my “real” challenge piece, more closely oriented to my actual crayon colors. This was a genuine challenge, as I am naturally more of a “use all the colors in the entire box of crayons” type of designer. The downside of getting a challenge done early is second thoughts… what if I did that differently, changed my stripe arrangement, used a wool warp instead of cotton, what about a different weave structure…How could this be better? The best thing about fiber arts is that completion of one project leads to design ideas for several more. Plus there is always some leftover material that needs to be used. For now, I’m continuing to work with wool. As soon as the temps move up a teeny bit, setting up seedling trays on the porch is on the schedule, for dye plants and some vegetables. Spring is really going to happen, one of these days.

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

February 2019 Newsletter

2/3/2019

What a beautiful, though chilly day. Crocus greens are starting to show by my front door. Flowers can’t be far behind, which reminds me that my crayon challenge project colors might not be so challenging after all. Violet, Shamrock, Tropical Rainforest. Purple, green, blue green. Crocus, and Siberian Iris are very pretty in purple and green. I have my yarns, thanks to a little help from my friends. Still deciding whether to weave or knit...more will be revealed. And thanks to my new smart phone camera, sharing photos is much easier! Snap photos of your challenge project, or other fibery things you have going, and send them to Katia for the WWG newsletter and facebook page.
If you’ve taken part in a Textile class, workshop, or study group at the Jansen Art Center, please enter a sample of your work in the Student Showcase! Enter online, by February 4. I have a nice little piece from Joanne Hall’s Swedish Art Weaves Workshop, and two scarves from Liz Moncrief’s warp painting workshop, both Fibers & Beyond workshops. Your work does not have to have been done in a class, just influenced by your association with the Jansen Center. This is an opportunity to show off what happens in the Textiles Studios. The Ceramics and Jewelry Studio artists and students will be entering their work as well. Let’s make sure the textiles have a good showing! (you might have to borrow that scarf back from your daughter-in-law.) The exhibit will be on display in the Jansen Center Library Gallery during March and April.
Spring brings Sprang! Carol James, AKA the Sprang Lady, will present the program at our February meeting. This is an ancient textile structure, and Carol James makes it fun, as well as educational. Carol is offering a 1-day study group on Sunday February 17. And, for those of who weave, twine and interlace with cotton, linen and other plant fibers, look for an awesome update about the Wool Show at the February 16 meeting. Until then, stay warm - the light is returning!

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

January 2019 Newsletter

1/2/2019

I spent today twisting fringe and wet-finishing a throw, my first. The process included another first, as my 10 year old cell phone slipped out of my sweater pocket and plopped into the bathtub with the newly soaking weave! Woven throw and flip-phone are both drying now. The throw is a herringbone twill in brown and cream, and it looks good so far. As for my old blue flip phone, we’ll see if learning how to use a new smart phone becomes one of my projects for early 2019. The new year holds some exciting projects: Weaving for the Salish Canoe Journey hosted by the Lummi Nation in July; two group projects on the Glimakra looms at the Jansen Center; weaving with wool from local farms; expanding my skills and knowledge of deflected double weave, and learning more about plant based dyes for wool, silk and cotton. I’ve collected seed from plants in my garden that will dye the primary colors. Weld and Dyers Chamomile for yellow, Japanese Indigo for blue, Madder for red. I’ll have seeds to plant this spring, and enough to share, if you would like to grow some too. The WWG website will be adding a page especially featuring service and community projects for your reference. Please bring fiber-related service projects to the attention of the guild by making an announcement in a meeting, and sending a note to the WWG board through the website contact page http://www.whatcomweaversguild.org/contact.html.
Weaving in the Lummi Cultural Center is picking up in pace as well, see the photos of another warp going on the loom. We can be proud of all the ways we weave (and knit and felt and stitch) together as a community. My goal for 2019 is to explore my fiber work at a pace that makes me feel happy, and encourage others to do the same. I look forward to seeing you in the new year!

All the best,

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

December 2018 Newsletter

12/8/2018

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” -Winston Churchill

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” Oprah Winfrey.

OK, this month I’m exploring what it’s like to have a vision for the outcome of my fiber work and have the work come up short. Not because I’m not sampling, but because I’m pushing the envelope, and maybe not sampling enough. The first sample of Skagit Valley wool from Harmony Fields is now off the big Glimakra loom and has been wet-finshed. (Review: twill blocks, two colors of gray plus natural white.) It’s gorgeous, and too heavy and dense for a blanket. I sampled for block length and color arrangement, but not for sett. I assumed that 10 ends per inch would be perfect, and it did beat square very easily. Now I wish I had cut off a section and re-sleyed at 8 epi for a second sample. Live and Learn. Refer to quotes above. Of course, we especially dislike “trying again” this time of year, when it seems the rush is on to knit, weave, crochet, sew the perfect gift for everyone on our list. I’m telling myself to enjoy the process! And make up little gift DIY kits with yarn and needles for my crafty friends and relations. My experiments with Icelandic yarn from Lydia’s Flock are progressing also – while I learn how to fix weaving problems that result from trying yarns I wouldn’t have dared consider a year ago.
Weaving at the Lummi Tribal Center is progressing, making gifts for the Annual Salish Sea Canoe Journey, (title) The Whatcom Weavers guild has been invited to sponsor gifts for the 60-plus native canoe groups that will land at Lummi in July 2019. An idea was launched at the November meeting for small woven items, inspired by the historic Barber and Lummi handwoven designs of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. A draft and samples are being developed, and will be shared in January.
Volunteers and friends of the Jansen Center Textile Studio finished Weaver Jo Morgan’s last Krokbrogd rug/wall piece yesterday! The piece, formerly titled “Unfinished Business” was displayed at the NW WA Fair Wool Show last August, in just the state that Jo had taken it off the loom, in 2009. Jo’s daughter Pamela who commissioned the finishing, joined the group for part of the afternoon, telling a bit of her Mom’s life and career as a weaver, making our effort even more fulfilling.
I hope your fiber work is fun and fulfilling this month and in the year ahead. It isn’t always necessary to push the envelope. Knitting a hat from a tried and true pattern, in a yarn I know and love, makes me feel like a queen, whether I have to un-knit and re-do, or not! May you all have just enough fiber and color in 2019.

All the best,

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

November 2018 Newsletter

11/3/2018

The rains have come, punctuated by glorious color in the trees, and truly wonderful mossy greens underfoot. November can be a perfect time buckle down, take an inventory of projects to start and projects to finish, even take a few hours (or days) to go through the yarn stash, sorting out odds and ends for hats and scarves. It’s nice to slow the pace a bit after all of October’s high-fiber activities. October was exciting! Warp painting, tablet weaving, ply splitting were all new skills for me, learned at Fibers & Beyond. The next weekend, Fiber fusion was amazing! I talked with several fiber farmers, admired the most adorable silver-fleeced baby llama (JNK Llamas, from right here in Whatcom County) and purchased natural-colored Wensleydale/Teesdale cross yarns for a deflected double-weave project. At the Jansen Center Textile studio, a sample of Skagit Valley wool from Harmony Fields is on the big Glimakra loom in preparation for a full-width blanket, in twill blocks, two colors of gray plus natural white. There are now 8 shafts on the big loom, and thanks to the Countermarche workshop in October, it only took me two tries to get the tie-up right. Tip 1: when using all eight shafts on the big loom, 10 treadles must be tied up for balance. Tip 2: re-read the instructions before starting the tie-up. Marilyn Monahan’s big Finnish loom has found new life at the Lummi Tribal Center! A 48” wide robe is being woven on it, in a traditional twill design.
Last week I visited Lydia and Jared Strand’s farm, where their Icelandic and Finewool Shetland sheep will be expecting lambs in the spring. Wool - the renewable resource so dear to knitters, weavers, felters, is in abundance. Fiber life is good!

All the best,

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

October 2018 Newsletter

10/4/2018

October! Lovely cooler days, including some rainy ones where you just have to stay inside and weave, or knit, or spin, or crochet. Or carry that knitting to a coffee shop or meeting. Even a waiting room isn’t so tedious if I have a project. A project bag with yarn and needles for a child’s (or adult’s) hat or a scarf near the door is great to grab and go, and those hats and scarves are eagerly welcomed by local organizations that distribute our craft to folks in our community who need them.
In early October Joanne Hall will be in Bellingham leading a seminar on countermarche looms, including warping, tie-up, evaluating and moving a used countermarche loom. Several members are taking Joanne’s workshop, so these skills will expand our community knowledge bank. The J Textiles Studio now has two of these awesome Swedish looms, each with 8 shafts and 10 treadles. Group projects for color gamps and blankets are being tossed around now. These looms are light weight to treadle and can handle many yards of warp, so they are great for weaving rep, and one is wide enough to weave a full-size blanket. Want to join in or suggest a group project?
Fibers & Beyond is coming to the Jansen Center next week! Yes, already. John Mullarkey’s keynote is Wednesday October 10. Workshops are on, Oct 10,11,12 & 13. And the Annual guild sale is Saturday the 13th. You won’t want to miss any of it! I’ve heard nothing but praise from folks who have taken John Mullarkey’s workshops. It’s amazing to have this opportunity so close to home, and there are still spaces available in the workshops. I’m taking ply splitting, tablet weaving, and Liz Moncrief’s painted warp workshop.

Our Fall and winter fiber activities promise to be colorful and bring warmth to the community!

All the best,

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

September 2018 Newsletter

8/30/2018

As I write this in late August it feels like sweater days are here already, though I know there are more warm days ahead before we settle in to wearing wool on a daily basis. Warm or cold, rain or shine, fiber-filled goodness is coming up in September! The Fall Fiber Exhibit at the Jansen Center will feature work by Fibers and Beyond Workshop Instructors and finely-crafted examples by WWG members. The opening reception is September 6! Also open are the new Textiles studio and classroom downstairs in the J. The Whatcom Weavers Guild has been given the Glimakra standard loom of late, nationally-known weaver and artist Jo Morgan. Her classic Swedish loom now has a home in the J Textiles studio.

In Bellingham, September 15 opens the meeting and program year for the Whatcom Weavers Guild. Our theme for the year is Creating Connections: Through appreciation and practice of the fiber arts, including spinning, felting, knitting, crochet, stitching, beading, dying, basketry and weaving, and through our ongoing and new community outreach events and projects.

The monthly programs scheduled for 2018-2019 are diverse and exciting. On September 15, we have a full agenda starting at 10 am, with a Lunatic Fringe yarn raffle, a 2018-2019 Color Challenge, the “real” big reveal of our “Walk the Dog” challenge – I’ll have my vest finished for sure this time – and the interest group, mentoring, knit-along, weave-along, and charitable project options available. You can sign up to carpool to Fiber Fusion in Monroe in October (the October 20 meeting is a field trip). Members will choose 2-3 person hospitality teams, and pick the month when your team will open and set up for the monthly meeting. (Many hands make light work!) The September program, by shepherdess, educator and knitter Lydia Strand, promises to be amazing!

I look forward to seeing you soon,

Carol Berry,
WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

August 2018 Newsletter

8/6/2018

Well! Just as I was getting a project set up in my basement (not a perfect space, but COOL), the temperature dropped. Perfect weaving weather. I am working on M’s & O’s Towels, as promised for the F & B sale, and getting ready for the Wool Show, at the NW Washington Fair. On my “bucket list” for several years now has been setting up a full-size standard Swedish floor loom, and weaving in public. This year, it’s happening, at the Fair! For warp, a 2-ply cream-colored wool, at 10 ends per inch; for weft, a rustic handspun gray single-ply, that looks to weave up at 5 picks per inch, for a cozy drape. The weave, two-inch wide herringbone stripes. There is enough yarn for two 32-inch wide by 2-yard long throws. Can this be done in a week, while explaining the process to the public? Come by the Wool show and see how it’s going.
Looking beyond summer, we have a schedule of events, meeting programs and guest speakers for 2018-2019 that is not to be missed!

Looking forward to sharing fiber connections in the year ahead,

Carol Berry,
WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.

July 2018 Newsletter

7/1/2018

At this moment, I have an Undressed Loom. Ten yards of Shetland wool cloth has been woven, and picked up, destined for the Skagit Highland Games. The cloth will be “waulked” to traditional Scottish music and singing and returned to me ready for sewing! What a deal. Shetland wool donated from two other weaver/knitters’ supplies made up the warp and weft. Next year, my goal is to use locally grown wool! Eleven yards, sett at 12 epi, 10-12 ppi, 20 inches wide, is about thirty-five 150-yard skeins. The opportunity is open to weave cloth for next year. Up to four lengths of cloth can be finished by the “waulkers” over two days of the games.

Up next on the undressed loom – towels, table runners and scarves for the Fibers & Beyond sale. I’m doing M’s & O’s – a structure I never get tired of! Easy to thread, with lots of room for variations. What are you are doing this summer? We would all love to see what’s on your loom; what’s in your garden; or for those who spend summertime boating – what’s on the water! Photos should be sent to Katia, our amazing WWG newsletter editor and tapestry weaver.

Hope you are enjoying the sun when you can be outdoors, and the rain when you can be inside with your fiber!

Carol Berry,
WWG President

To read the entire newsletter please click here.
To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here.
To see who our board members are please click here.
To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.