May 2018 Newsletter

ANWG President's Message

Spring is upon us as I look out toward the snow covered Cascade Mountains in Central Oregon. Sunshine one day, snow the next seems to mark the beginning of spring in Bend.  I’ve been fortunate already this year to take a weaving workshop lead by Linda Davis on Weaving Tartans. We had a great weekend of learning new techniques and discovered there are thousands of registered tartans and beautiful plaid color combinations to keep any weaver busy, Scottish or not. My tartan is called ‘Rainbow 2’ and was fun to weave in 5/2 cotton as a table runner.

More regional workshops, events, and conferences are coming up shortly, along with the Annual Membership Meeting in Portland on Saturday, May 19. I hope to meet many of you there. We will have a business meeting, committee reports, the 2019 Conference report, Show and Share, and announce the winners of the 2018-19 Challenge Grant Awards.
HGA’s Convergence in Reno will be here in early July. ANWG will have a meet and greet at that event on Sunday, July 8 from 5:30-6:30 PM at the Peppertree Hotel. Stop in and say hi and meet others from the ANWG region in attendance.

Enjoy this newsletter full of guild reports and events, and be sure and visit our new, updated website often this year for the latest news and information.   https://northwestweavers.org

Woven together,
Linda Gettmann

PS – Kathy Hutchinson will attend the ANWG meeting, taking Cheryl Wolf’s beautiful Shadow Weave shawl, as an example of the kind of weaving our guild is doing. Thanks to Cheryl for sharing the wonderful weaving she did over the winter in Mexico, and to Carol Henry, who shared the tapestries she has been weaving in Arizona this Winter!

PPS – If you are planning to attend Convergence in Reno, in July, let me know, I’ll be there July 6,7, 8 – and my husband is adapting a shuttle to enter in the shuttle race! Hope to see you, Carol Berry, WWG Program Chair.

To read the entire ANWG newsletter please click here.

Upcoming Programs
May 19 Sashiko, Boro, Kantha and Decorative Darning, hands-on mini-workshop.

June 16 Saturday meeting & program: Guild Stash Sale! Sign up for a table, or donate your excess to the Guild. Then shop for treasures, novelties and bargains! Yarns, tools and equipment may be sold by members, and purchased by anyone! This is a great meeting to invite a friend to. The Whatcom Weavers Guild has been given yarn and tools from the estate of Jo Morgan, a well-known weaver. Proceeds from the sale of these yarns, fleeces, and tools will support WWG activities, including keeping workshop costs affordable.

Meetings held at: St James Church (lower level), 910, 14th St., Bellingham. Date: Third Saturday of each month, 10am-2pm. Meeting start—10am. 10-noon—business meeting, show and tell and lunch 12- 1 pm—program.
Bring your questions, small looms, spinning or other portable projects for hands-on time after the meeting.

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

Program Notes

Looking Back, April 21, 2018
Tracy Hudson presented a fascinating program, based on her experience traveling and living with the Ladakhi people in the mountains above the Indus river, in Northern India. Tracy spent months at a time, over a period of 6 years, in the area, trekking as well as volunteering in a village school. Ladakh was unreachable except on foot until the 1970’s, so the tradition of weaving cloth for everyday use out of the wool from their sheep is still intact today. Tracy learned to spin yarn using the traditional spindles, and her photographs, video footage and collection of cloth and garments from the region took us right into the villages! We were able to examine the cloth, shoes, belts and capes, and see pictures of it being sheared, spun and woven. Tracy currently lives in Port Townsend, and she has promised to come back if we ask!

Looking Ahead, May Meeting, May 19, 2018
Sashiko, Boro, Kantha and Decorative Darning, hands-on mini-workshop by Leslie Strong and Marilyn Olsen.
Learn about Sashiko and Boro, Kantha stitching and decorative darning stitches. Then choose a design, fabric and thread and learn by doing. Supplies will be available for starting a small practice project. Our teachers will show examples of finished bags, tool rolls, pincushions, framed artwork and other items you can make from small stitched samples, to keep or give. And they will show the larger pieces they are working on, and sources of inspiration! Resources for supplies and materials, tips and tricks for success, and what not to do (guess how they know...) will be shared.

Looking further ahead to 2019: Sprang, Anyone?
This message comes from from Linda York, Peninsula Spinners and Weavers Guild, who will be hosting Sprang and Finger Weaving Artist and author Carol James for a Sprang workshop in February, 2019.
Sprang is an ancient method of constructing fabric that has a natural elasticity. Its appearance is similar to netting, but unlike netting sprang is constructed entirely from warp threads.
The Whidbey Guild will also be hosting Carol James for a workshop. Carol will be visiting the Whidbey and Peninsula guilds during February 7-14 and offering workshops for us. If WWG would also like to schedule a workshop with her, the guilds would be able to share in her transportation costs and each guild would be responsible for lodging when she is at each guild.
Linda adds: “I took Carol’s three day workshop on Sprang this past summer at ANWG and it was a really fun workshop. She is a fabulous speaker.”
Here is a link to Carol James’ website and all she offers: http://www.spranglady.com

Thanks!
Carol Berry, Program Chair

Jansen Spring Textile Classes, from Sheri Ward

Classes

Beginning Weaving, Wednesdays, May 16 through June 6, 1-4 pm with Sheri Ward; $145 plus $15 materials fee
From Bark to Basket, Saturday, June 9, 10 am - 4:30 pm with Kay Harradine; $65 plus $35 materials fee

Dye interest groups

Cotton dyeing of interest to quilters, Tuesday, May 8, 11 am - 3 pm
Wool immersion dyeing, Tuesday, May 22, 11 am - 3 pm
Natural dyeing, eco dyeing, dyeing for quilters; Summer dates and details TBA.

Dye interest groups are $10 for the room plus a modest materials fee. For more information or to reserve your space, contact Sheri Ward at [email protected].

Spin-Knit nights, 1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month, 6-8 pm; $8 drop-in, $40 for an 8-session punch card.

To see details and to register, visit https://www.jansenartcenter.org/textiles-studio/
For the dye interest groups, please email Sheri Ward, [email protected] to reserve your space.

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—May 5, from Sharon Allen
Saturday, May 5, 12-3pm at Bellingham Library for the active Small Looms Group. Join in on the fun with your Inkle, tapestry, tablet weaving, rigid heddle or any loom small enough to bring to the library!

Madelyn Van der Hoogt Class Opportunity, from Sharon Allen
I will be attending Weaving II (2) with Madelyn Van der Hoogt in August of 2018. I am excited to attend and would be even more excited if I got to share the experience with one of my fellow Guild members. Let me know if this is something that you are interested in. Sharon Allen 360-305-0111.

Announcements

Joanne Hall: “The Swedish Art Weaves”, from Sharon Allen
June 8, 9 and 10, 2018 Hosted by the Skagit Valley Weavers Guild. Contact Sharon Allen at [email protected] for more information or click here to see flyer.
The cost for this three day workshop with 16 attendees (we can take 20) is $120.00 plus the $20-40 supply fee.
Warps are provided, for either a shaft loom, or rigid heddle. Swedish Art Weaves include traditional and very satisfying techniques and designs. Participants can create at least one pillow- or bag-sized sampler during the workshop.

Northwest Washington Fair, from Marilyn Olsen, Wool Show Superintendent

Winter is the BEST time to be thinking about the FAIR!

Although at least where I live there is still snow on the ground, it's not too early to be thinking about the Northwest Washington Fair. While there are always opportunities for you to be a part of the wool show as a volunteer (You'll be hearing a lot more about that from me later) now's the time to begin thinking about what you will enter in the wool show as well. There are a LOT of different categories and, of course, the more you enter the greater your chance will be to take home those lovely ribbons. Plus, once your entry receives an award, you can note that on the item you offer in the sale. As an award winner, it surely should fetch a much better price.
What are the categories? As you may remember from last year, it's not immediately obvious how to find out. But, as of this morning, this is how you do it.
Go to Northwest Washington Fair's website. Choose Fair and Rodeo from the menu. Scan down to Fair Exhibitors Guide/Premium Book. Scan down to Open Class Departments. Go ALL THE WAY to the bottom of this page and click on Wool. Also, if what you want to enter isn't listed, again, now's the time to make changes. So, please let me know what they are sometime soon and I'll see what I can do to get them changed.

Save the date, start planning! HGA Convergence! Submitted by Marcia Ford.
Time to announce the 2018 Handweavers Guild of America conference Convergence 2018! It will be held next year at Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno Nevada. Dates are July 6-12, 2018. I have attended a number of Convergences over the years and always have found them inspiring with exhibits, workshops, and opportunity to see first hand what is happening in our fiber community on a wider scale. Last year, few attended from WWG at Convergence 2017 in Milwaukee. However, it’s a great opportunity to learn lots, meet many, and have the opportunity to share rooms, transportation, memories. I hope our members will consider a Convergence experience.

ANWG Thoughts, from Liz Moncrief
Many thanks to all Whatcom Guild members for the Guild's membership in the Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds. If you don't know about ANWG, please ask Liz Moncrief, your Guild Representative. Being a member of the Whatcom Weavers Guild automatically entitles you to the benefits of ANWG, which include member registration to weavers conferences, held every two years. Our 2017 conference held in Victoria, BC was a huge success and may allow the ANWG board to issue financial grants again to the member guilds.

Master Spinning Class, from Sheri Ward
We are excited that Olds College will be offering a Master Spinner Class, Level 1, at the Jansen Art Center, May 18-22. Olds College, based near Calgary, Alberta, is one of the few colleges offering textile classes: master spinning and master weaving classes among them. They offer only a few off-site classes, and none on the west coast of the US, so this is a great opportunity for spinners in our area.
Participants can register online at https://oldscollegece.augusoft.net/ by searching (by menu or search option) for the Master Spinner Level 1 - Lynden, WA offering. Or they can do so by phone, by calling Olds College Continuing Education toll free: 1-800-661-6537, ext 2
You might note that the course doesn't appear on the Olds College website (oldscollege.ca) currently. That's only a temporary delay - this month they’ve been transitioning to a new website for the whole college, so changes to the old website are temporarily halted. Everything should appear there normally in February. That won't impact participants' ability to register, as the online registration system is a separate website, and the phone number leads to someone who has all the course information.
This is a 5-day intensive class, and the fee is $940. If you plan to stay in Lynden during this class, the Inn at Lynden will have special room rates available for participants. Please call the Inn at 360-746-8597 for reservations and let them know you are part of this class. More information about the Inn can be found at www.innatlynden.com.
For information about master spinner certificates please click here.

Fibers and Beyond 2018
The WWG Annual Sale will take place on Saturday, October 13, at the Jansen Art Center, in Lynden, WA. All are encouraged to put on a warp for towels, runners, rugs, and more. Quality and style in woven, knitted, felted, and hand-dyed items were all in demand by an appreciative public in 2017. This is a fun and lively all-hands event, with volunteer and demonstration opportunities for every interest and skill level.

We have some great workshops lined up for Fibers and Beyond. Here’s the current list, and there’s more coming.

Liz Moncrief will offer Warp Painting on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Patti Barker, a felter from Friday Harbor, will offer two workshops:
Stained Glass Shawl on Friday, Oct. 12
Collage Nuno Felted Scarf on Saturday, Oct. 13
John Mullarkey, noted card-weaver, will offer three workshops and present our keynote address. The workshops will be:
Ply-Splitting; Braid a Scarf; on Wednesday morning, Oct. 10
Tablet Weaving: All Warped up, on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 10
Tablet Weaving: Two-Sided Delights, on Thursday, Oct. 11
Caryn Friedlander, a local artist, will offer an Eco-Dyeing workshop on Friday, Oct. 12.

Save the dates and stay tuned for other workshops that will be added to the list. And be creating some wonderful items for the exhibit and sale!

Free Winter Artist & Writer's Fiber Residency in Central Mexico
360 XOCHI QUETZAL is an artist and writer's residency located on enchanting Lake Chapala, Mexico. International writers, visual artists, fiber artists, new media artists, dancers and string musicians working with fiber materials or content are all welcome to apply for our FREE 1-MONTH RESIDENCY from Dec 15, 2018 - Jan 14, 2019. Imagine spending the winter working on your art to your heart's content in sunny Mexico. We have fabulous live/work spaces for you. Applications are due July 29, 2018 through CAFÉ www.callforentry.org
We also have a personal residency program for artists and writers who need longer periods of creative time (1 - 6 months) throughout the year. For more details visit www.360xochiquetzal.com/personal-residency-overview/

2018 Dues Reminder
If you have not renewed your membership for 2018, it's not too late. You can send a check for $25, made out to Whatcom Weavers Guild, to WWG, PO Box 403, Bellingham, WA, 98227. We hope to see you soon!

A WEAVING WORKSHOP WITH ANCIENT ROOTS

The roots of the Bevilacqua family in the textile world date back to 1499. Indeed, in that year Giovanni Mansueti painted The capture of St. Mark in the synagogue, mentioning the names of the noblemen who commissioned it: one of them was a certain “Giacomo Bevilacqua, weaver”. The actual Tessitura was founded by Luigi Bevilacqua in 1875, after recovering some looms and machines once used by the Silk Guild of the Republic of Venice. But according to some documents some Bevilacqua weavers were already there in the 18th century.
To learn more about the Tessitura visit their website by clicking here.

For Sale

Nilus Leclerc maple jack loom- 4 harness —$600. Great Condition!
56” W x 36” D x 44” H — Folds to 29” W 46” weaving width
Includes: Two 46” reeds - 8 and 12 dent
Wire heddles, with many extras
Ratchet brake
Swedish Bobbin Winder ($100 Value)
Boat shuttles and Bobbins
Please contact Jane Coombs 360 398-1637 or [email protected]

Arthur Allen 30" counterblance loom, $200.
4- shaft, 6 pedals. 12-dent reed.
No bench or other hardware.
Cloth aprons front and back, with new lashing to apron bars.
Loom folds for easy storage or transport.
Fits in the back of a Prius.
Kelley Dragon. Text 321-506-5985, or email [email protected]

Nilus Leclerc 4 harness, 6 treadle 36" beautifully cared for loom.
This is Jo Morgan's loom for sale, submitted by Sharon Allen.
I am asking $500.00. Phone 360 305 0111.