July 2019 Newsletter

Summer is here! July brings rhubarb custard pie, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, basil pesto, Dye Days outside in the garden, and...weaving wool yardage for the Skagit Valley Highland Games! The 25th Annual Skagit Valley Highland Games are July 13th & 14th, 2019, at Edgewater Park in Mount Vernon, WA. The traditional practice of fulling yardage accompanied by singing and scottish music is amazing! The finished yardage comes back beautifully fulled and ready for sewing. Who else would like to weave wool yardage for this festival next year? How about a wool weave-along this winter!

The Lummi Nation will host the Paddle to Lummi from July 24 to 18, Sqweshenet Tse Schelangen/Honoring Our Way of Life. Nine WWG members have created 80 handwoven gifts in support of this event. In the Lummi Tribal Center, weaving of traditional shawls and robes has been happening all year. We are honored to add our smaller handwoven pieces, in the tradition of the Lummi and Barber handweaving connection, to the hundreds of gifts that will be given to guests at the ceremonies and potlatch.

The Fair is coming! Are you ready to enter? - New! This year the Wool Show is now Wool and Natural Fiber Weaving, and includes plant fiber as well as sheep wool and animal fibers, on and off-loom weaving, caning, basketry, and knotting. All the weaving you’ve been doing in cotton, linen, hemp, rayon, bamboo and tencel, now has divisions and classes listed. I expect we will have some wonderful entries, and great fun at the Fair in August.

In closing, I would like to share with you a beautiful statement from The Woven Road (thewovenroad.com), a fiber art podcast and blog. “When we engage in fiber arts, we are creating something, but we’re also participating in historic traditions tens of thousands of years old. You are not only making art for your soul and for future generations, you are embodying the work of our ancestors.”
May you have all the lovely string you need, to keep you happy and connected this summer!

Carol Berry,
2018-2019 WWG President

Upcoming Programs

July Meeting ***July 13, 2019*** - Annual Maiwa Field Trip

***Please note the change from our usual date.***
Carpool to Granville Island for a view of handmade artisan textile arts, and a talk by textile collector, philanthropist and entrepreneur Charlotte Kwon.

See whatcomweaversguild.org/events for further information or contact us at [email protected].

Program Notes

Looking Back, June Meeting
The Annual Stash Sale netted $591.00 for the Guild treasury, and many treasures went to happy new homes. One box of lovely rug yarns from the sale has been spotted at the Jansen Center, ready to be transformed into a Summer and Winter Rug one one of the group project looms!

Looking Forward, Maiwa Field Trip, July 13
The guild’s July meeting will be a field trip to Maiwa Handprints on Granville Island in Vancouver BC, on Saturday, July 13. This is different from our normal meeting time, which would normally be July 20, the third Saturday of the month.
The Netloft at Maiwa is a treasure of textile collections and reference books. Charllotte Kwon, the owner of Maiwa, will talk about some of the textiles from their historical, regional, and artistic perspectives. After that, you can choose to do some shopping downstairs, have lunch on Granville, or visit some other special places on the island.
There is a limit of around 20 people, due to the size of the room. If you would like to attend, please email me to reserve your spot, [email protected]. If you could help by driving please let me know that, along with the number of passengers you could carry.
We’ll plan to be at Maiwa by 10 am, so a departure time from Bellingham should be no later than 8:30 am, and earlier if you want to account for border delays.

Thanks!
Carol Berry, Program Chair

Jansen Summer Textile Classes, from Sheri Ward

We are planning some dye days at the Jansen Art Center over the course of the summer. If you’re interested in any of these, put the dates on your calendar now, and after June 1, visit https://www.jansenartcenter.org/textiles-studio/ to register.

Tray dyeing with cotton scarves, Tuesday, July 9, materials fee to include the cost of the scarf plus dyes
Parfait dyeing with silk scarves, Tuesday, July 23,materials fee to include the cost of the scarf plus dyes
Block printing on small cotton squares, Tuesday, Aug 6, using thickened Procion MX dyes, materials fee to include cost of the fabric squares plus dyes
Wool and silk variegated dyeing for yarns, Tuesday, Aug 27, materials fee to include the cost of the dyes. Participants should bring their own prepared skeins of wool or silk yarns
Ice dyeing with cotton scarves, Tuesday, Sept 24, materials fee to include the cost of the scarf plus dyes. Participants may bring their own prepared skeins of cotton yarns
Cotton variegated dyeing with yarns, Wednesday, Sept 25, materials fees to include the cost of the dyes. Participants should bring their own prepared skeins of cotton or linen yarns

For all dye days

Scheduled for 11 am-4 pm
Ages adult and 13+ are appropriate
Fee is $10 plus materials fee; $10 paid at time of registration, materials fee paid on the day of the workshop
Registration deadline is 4 days prior to the event

Some classes in the planning stages for fall quarter are:

Beginning Weaving with Marcia Ford
Rag Rug Weaving with Marcia Ford
Double Weave with Sheri Ward
Rigid Heddle Weaving with Kelley Dragon
Felting with Donna Hunter
Tapestry with Joyce Noordmans
Spinning with Chris Paul

To see details and to register, visit https://www.jansenartcenter.org/textiles-studio. Beginning Weaving is listed on the Jansen's website at http://www.jansenartcenter.org/textiles-studio/ Around June 1. Sewing with Handwovens will appear, and classes planned for fall will appear around Aug 1.

Two New Group Projects at the Jansen Textiles Studio

Block Twill Tea Towel
The first warp of 2-block twill "window pane" draft from the “18 Towels on 8 Shafts” book is almost done! This warp offers many pattern variations. Cost is $10 loom use fee per person, and $5.00 per towel for warp materials. Provide your own weft. Suitable wefts are 22/2 cottolin, 16/2 linen, 8/2 and 5/2 cotton, or similar weights in cotton or linen. If there is interest, we will put another warp on the loom in September. If you would like to weave one or more of these block twill towels, Contact Carol Berry to sign up. [email protected]

Wide Wool Blanket Project
Plans are being made for weaving wool blankets in 2-block twill, on the 60” wide Glimakra Loom. Cost will be $20 loom use fee per person, and each person will purchase their own warp and weft materials. “Tuna” Swedish wool blanket yarns from Glimakra is recommended. The threading will be 10 EPI, (600 ends) and the warp for each blanket can be 3 or 4 yards long. We will measure each warp separately and tie on to a dummy warp for each blanket. Each weaver will be able to choose their own colors, from the 100+ colors available. A group meeting will be scheduled to discuss the project, decide on a threading pattern, and plan a group order for the yarns.
If you are interested, Contact Carol Berry with questions. [email protected]

Jansen Art Center News

Eco Printing Workshop and Presentation
Christine Mauersberger will be offering a 3-day workshop at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden. Before her visit here, she’ll be leading two workshops for the Whidbey guild, and after her workshop here, she’s going to Maiwa to teach a workshop as part of its School of Textiles. The other workshops will focus more on mindful stitching and personal journal-keeping. This workshop is the only one that will focus on eco printing, with stitching included.

ECO PRINTING ON SCARVES, PAPER AND HAND STITCHING
with Christine Mauersberger, Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 23-25, 9 am – 4 pm
Eco-prints are created by layering wool scarves or paper with local leaves. Then bundled together, tightly bound and boiled in water. This process creates a permanent transfer of pigment from the leaves to the material. No external dyes, inks or paints are used in eco printing. All color and pattern come from the plants themselves. Days one and 2 will be spent eco printing on wool scarves and paper. Day 3 will be spent hand-stitching on our eco printed scarves and paper. Participants will take a short hike or bring wind fallen leaves to the studio. Each participant will be able to print several scarves, up to 4 each. Students should wear comfortable clothes and sturdy walking shoes.
About Christine:
Christine Mauersberger is known for her hand-stitched work that evokes singular moments in time. She uses the form of the humble stitch as a tool for inward as well as an outward expression of her inner life and as a message to the external world. The workshop is based on her own studio practice in which she uses photographs, drawing, and thinking as a tool to inform an intuitive style of hand stitching. You will be guided through exercises to translate what you see, think, or dream into hand stitched work.
For this class, registration is $295, $265.50 for Jansen Art Center members, and there is a materials fee of $40.
More information about this workshop is on the Jansen’s website.
She will also present a program on Eco Printing, which will be the guild’s program and meeting for the month of October. Please note that this meeting will be on Oct. 26, rather than Oct. 19, our usual meeting time. The program will be presented at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden, and admission is by donation.

ECO PRINTING PRESENTATION
with Christine Mauersberger, Saturday, Oct. 26, noon – 2 pm
Christine Mauersberger is internationally known for her hand-stitched work that evokes singular moments in time. Her work ranges in size and media from stitching on found leaves to creating room-sized installations. Christine will share stories of her career in contemporary textile art through the use of the ubiquitous stitch.
“When I was young, the sound of my mom at the sewing machine was the sound of comfort in the evening; it was the sound of home and that all was well. It is not surprising that the act of sewing is deeply rooted in my work and that it draws on the memory of earlier times.”
Admission is by donation.
More information about these workshops is on the Jansen’s website.

Announcement
Note from Chris Paul & Cynthia Poppe: SpiNit won't be meeting at the Jansen Art Center from April through September but plan on starting up again in October. Will keep you posted on that for sure.

From other guilds and Study Groups

Spindrifters Meetings:
Spindrifters meet the 2nd Saturday of the month and share with Skagit County. To be added to their e-mail list contact Tina [email protected]. There you have it: You are always welcome at the "J" on Thursdays which is open studio from 11-7. Happy Spinning!! Chris Paul. [email protected].

Workshops in Fibers and other interesting stuff:
Dyeing, soaps, lotions, felting, spinning, weaving, botanicals… Please check my website as my schedule is always changing and usually current.
Liz Moncrief, www.aweaversway.com, 970-692-3949

From the Whidbey Weavers Guild:
Meetings are on the first Thursday of the month and run from 10:00 to 2:30, bring your brown bag lunch and cup. Meeting place: 15 NW Birch Street, Coupeville WA 98239, www.whidbeyweaversguild.org.

Small Looms Group, from Sharon Allen
During the Summertime continue to connect with your friends from the guild as well as demonstrate your weaving during the First Saturday Small Looms Group at the Bellingham Public Library. July 6th, August 3rd, September 7th. All times are Noon to 3 pm.

Recently at Small Looms Group at the Bellingham Public Library we were delighted to have a visit by Sondra Rose, seen here with two of her weaving students from the days of Weaving at the Roeder Home, Barbara Young, and Mary Oates.

Pacific NW Wool Drop-In Studio
Kelley Dragon, WWG member, spinner, and owner of Pacific NW Wool (Awesome Carded Fiber for spinning and felting) is opening her work studio the fourth Sunday of every month, from March through October. Drop-in times are Noon to 4 pm. Bring something you are working on, buy wool, see the machinery, spend time with other lovely, artistic people. The Pacific NW Wool work studio is located in the Grandview Business Center, on Portal Way between Ferndale and Custer. Suite 102. Please email Kelley if you have questions, [email protected].
www.pacificNWwool.com

Interest Groups and Mentoring
Are you interested in a technique, weave structure, type of loom, particular fiber? A countermarche loom group is starting; members get together for plant dying and eco-printing; spinners love to spin together; Sprang, Small Looms, Inkle, Tablet weaving, Finger Weaving, Rigid Heddle, garments, knitting, crochet, tapestry… what is your thing? Find a mentor or be a mentor. Shout it out and share the learning, practice and fun.

Announcements

NW Art Beat (from Liz Moncrief)
NW Art Beat is a free, self-guided tour of Skagit Art Studios; Inviting juried artists from Skagit, Island, San Juan, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties to show their work and process.
We have an exciting and diverse line-up of artists showing work in acrylics, ceramics, clay, drawing, encaustics, glass, fiber arts, found & recycled objects, jewelry, mixed media, oils, pastels, photography, sculpture, watercolor, wearables, wood and furniture.
Here is a special invitation from me, Liz Moncrief, Studio #2 on the tour, to drop in for a short glass of wine or tasty treat. I’m located on the north end of Skagit Valley with easy access.
Go to NWArtBeat.com for a map and list of studios.

Paddle To Lummi 2019
“The Lummi People are honored to welcome all our relations traveling the traditional highways of the ancestors.” The Traditional Salish Sea Canoe Journey was reinvigorated in 1989, and now rotates to different destinations along the Pacific NW coast. The opportunity to support the Lummi Nation in hosting this cultural event does not come every year, and there are many ways to help. To learn about ways to participate and support the Paddle to Lummi 2019, go to
www.paddletolummi.org. All are invited to attend the event, July 24-28, at Lummi Nation. The canoes will come in on July 24, speaking and dancing will fill the remaining days, culminating with gift giving on the final day. Watch videos documenting previous canoe journeys below:

Knitting and Physics (from Sheri Ward)
Here's a fun read, which connects knitting with physics and computer programming.

Sapori & Saperi, Flavors and Knowledge of Italian Artisans is a blog/newsletter, website, and tour company you will want to know about. Go to https://www.sapori-e-saperi.com for Textile Tour opportunities in Italy, fascinating info about Italian textiles and artisans, and yummy photos featuring fiber, dyes, spinning, papermaking, baskets, felting pasta, and more

Heddlecraft (from Sharon Allen)
Have you seen Robyn Spady’s digital weaving magazine Heddlecraft? It is a six times a year resource jam packed with information, samples, .wif files, book reviews, all tailored for weavers using four to eight shaft looms and more.
I recently discovered that Robyn on her Heddlecraft website has created a link for all Upcoming Conferences for 2019, and what is known so far for 2020!
An additional link for On-line Learning Resources is full of access to tutorials, classes, Weave-a-longs, and you guessed it, MORE!

Tempestry Project (from Carol Berry)
Climate Change made visible https://www.tempestryproject.com/
One of the ongoing problems inherent in discussions about climate change is the vast scale of the conversation. The goal of the Tempestry Project, is to transform climate data into something that is accurate, tangible, relatable, and beautiful, by providing data, yarns and instruction for creating a temperature record of a place and year. The Tempestry Project blends fiber art with temperature data to create a bridge between global climate and our own personal experiences through knitted or crocheted temperature tapestries, or “Tempestries.” Each Tempestry represents the daily high temperature for a given year and location. A collection of Tempestries showing different years for a single location creates a powerful visual representation of changing temperatures over time.

Woven Tempestry Project (modified by Sheila Atwater)
This project was inspired by The Tempestry Project in Anacortes, WA. It was designed for knitting or crocheting to make a visual record of temperatures. It provides a color graph of daily temperature changes over the period of one year. Picking more than one year, several years apart, would show changes in climate.
Being a weaver and not a knitter, I have modified the plan in a few ways to utilize my loom and tapestry yarns to their best advantage. Daily temperatures would create a weaving too long for my loom or such a mash up of colors that they would not accurately show changes from month to month. The “project” also showed temps. From Dec through Jan, so I flipped it around to follow the calendar more closely and went from Jan to Dec, top to bottom.
You can read the whole article by clicking here.

Norwegian Textile Letter (from Sharon Allen)
The Norwegian Textile Letter (NTL) is a quarterly publication for fans of Norwegian (and other Scandinavian) fiber activities, published since 1994. Scholarly or informational articles aim to raise the level of knowledge about historical and contemporary weaving and other textile techniques in Scandinavian countries, and highlight related activities in the United States.

Service Projects (from Carol Berry)
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.

Wool and Natural fibers at the NWWA Fairs!
August 12 - 17, 2019

The Annual NWWA Fair is coming up in a month. New this year, there are divisions and classes for weaving, both on and off-loom, including caning and basketry, in natural plant and plant-based fibers, not limited to sheep wool and other animal fibers. You can read the rules, classes and divisions here. To place an on-line entry, click here.

For detailed online entry tips, see the rules and entry instructions here. Questions or concerns? Contact Carol Berry 2019 Superintendent.

Register your entries online now, final day to enter is Monday, August 5. Drop off entries early at NW yarns, Bellingham; Jansen Arts Center, Lynden, or on Friday August 9, at the Lynden Fair Rotary Building.

Volunteer and Join in the fun! August 12-17, Monday- Saturday, the Spindrifters and Whatcom Weavers Guild host the Wool and Natural Fiber Show in the Rotary Building at the Lynden Fairgrounds. Volunteers to meet the public and demonstrate fiber crafts are needed every day of the Fair. Exhibits are open 9 am to 9 pm daily. The Rotary Building is Air Conditioned, and it is great fun to chill with fiber friends, introduce the public of all ages to the crafts we love! Volunteers get free admission to the fair all day, when you sign up for a 4-hour shift. Choose morning, afternoon or evening, Monday through Saturday, August 12- 17, 2019. To sign up, contact Wool, Weaving and Natural Fibers 2019 Superintendent, Carol Berry, [email protected]

Corazon Journey: Women’s Work in the Oaxacan Highlands
Oaxaca, Mexico
Wednesday, October 9th -Saturday, October 19th, 2019

Explore and Learn
Nine Nights and Eight Days
Cost: $1895 (If deposit is made by July 10th 2019)
Includes a $200 donation to the Oaxacan programs we will be visiting.
Final payment is due on August 25th.
Deposit:  $800 to secure your place. (nonrefundable)
$2095  after July 10th, 2019
Included: lodging, all in country transportation, guides, entrance fees, cooking class, all breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners, $200 donations to local programs.
Excluded: air transportation, meals not included in the program, activities during free time, travelers’ insurance.
Highlights:
Oaxacan city tour, including an overview of its history and culture, with stops at the beautiful Santo Dominqo Church and the Santa Domingo Museum.
Two days with the women of Vida Nueva, where we will learn about their rug weaving techniques, including the use of natural tints.  We will also learn about their activism in their community.
Observation of the Festival of Rosario, noteworthy for its traditional dance and parade.
Time to enjoy the nightly festivities and dancing at the Oaxaca Zolcolo (city square.)

Day trip to CEDICAM (Centro Educativo Desarrollo Integral Campesinos Alta Mixteco) to learn about their women’s greenhouse program, farm tour and overview of sustainable farming strategies.
Cooking class with Chef Gerardo Aldeco Pinelo at La Cocina Oaxaqueña will feature an early morning market visit to select fresh food for the day’s preparations and will include instructions on making Oaxacan's world famous moles.
Visit to the ruins of Monte Alban.
Daytrip to village of San Martin Tilcajete to visit the studios of Alejbrije artists.

For Sale

I am assisting a friend to sell two weaving looms and accessories:

1)LoomCraft 45 inch, hard rock maple, 4S6T, beautiful condition, comes with a 12 dent reed in excellent condition

2) LoomCraft 40 inch, hard rock maple, 4S6T, great condition, comes with a 10 dent reed that is just 24 inches…but there may be another to go with it.

Additional accessories include a well made bench with storage, lots of extra heddles, warping board (believe that it is a 20 yard), aa large tapestry frame, small tapestry frame that needs some repair, assorted yarns…
These are extra solid jack looms and can do just about any kind of weaving including rugs. They need a home and the seller is motivated. She would like to sell all as a package, but needs to move and get them out of storage. They are currently in completely clean and dry storage.
Located in Mt Vernon, WA. You would need a truck for one or both.
Seller is asking $900 for the package, which is a steel. If sold separately, the 45 inch will be $600, 40 inch will be $400 and these are still excellent prices.
You can contact me directly and I can assist with questions. I have seen the looms and wish that I had more room myself to take one or both. Or you may call the owner, Robyn at 360-293-8964.

Sent from Liz Moncrief, www.aweaversway.com