May 2022 Newsletter

Garden Report: Growing Color!

There are actual, true-life blossoms on my strawberry plants. These plants survived the snow and deep frost of winter 2021-2022 and the frosts of April. The rhubarb is high. The consistent cold and damp have helped the tulips last longer this year, disguising the weeds. There are tiny worms of an unknown type, eating a few of the leaves on my apple trees. I have been picking them off, but a more serious approach may be called for. A solution that won’t discourage the bees. This is the third year for those two tiny trees. Year one: 12 blossoms, 11 apples. Year two: 5 blossoms, 3 apples. I learned I should have thinned the baby apples down to one per fruit spur the year before. This year: 56 blossoms! My darling husband pointed out that if I can count the blossoms on my apple trees… Let’s just say there is no need to learn how to weave my own bushel baskets just yet.

Apple Blossoms and Tulips in the Garden

Also coming back in the garden are some very robust dyers’ Chamomile plants, given to me last year by another Guild member. The Weld has self-seeded and has grown about a foot in the last week. A new friend with farm connections has offered me boxes of onion skins! Temperatures have warmed up enough to be comfortable in the dye studio, for review some of the lessons from Last year’s Maiwa natural dye workshop. A warp, and small sample skeins have been dyed, in Cutch, Madder, Cochineal, Sappanwood, Lac, and a combination of madder and lac exhaust baths. The April meeting Show and Tell included a rug made of black wool, with pattern bands colored with natural dyes, and dying and block printing are happening in the Jansen Center Dye studio as well, or so I hear.

Here's to the color in our lives, whether it’s tulips or yarns!

Carol Berry, President

Natural dye sample skeins. Red, Brown and pink from Cutch, Lac, Madder, Cochineal, and Sappanwood on fine 3-ply mercerized cotton. 

This Krokbragd rug was made by Sheri Ward using the yarn stash she bought from Jo Morgan’s estate. Sheri started out with 25 skeins each of black & white and dyed the white skeins with natural dyes: madder, cutch, henna, lac, buckthorn, osage orange, chestnut, and walnut. The finished rug is 45” x 75”.

Join the Board!

The Whatcom Weavers Guild is 51 years old and currently has 80 members! Spinners, knitters, weavers, basket makers, sewists, and more – We are creatives, sharing a love of fiber and benefitting from the community we have formed in the Guild.

To ensure that Guild meetings, programs and recordkeeping continue each year, a Board of Directors, made up of 13 positions, is elected annually. These positions are elected by the general membership, and any member can volunteer or nominate another member for a position.

At this time volunteers have stepped forward for all but three Board positions. If you have been thinking about joining the Board for 2022-2023, the positions of Secretary, Workshops Chair, and 2nd Vice President are currently open. The Election will take place at the General Meeting on May 21, 2022.

Please review the slate as currently presented and the descriptions below for the three open positions. Contact a current Board member or email [email protected] to nominate yourself or someone else for one of these positions.

from Carol Berry, President, 2021-2022

Draft Slate, 2022-2023 Whatcom Weavers Guild Board

President: Carol Berry
First Vice President: Leslie Ann Bestor
Treasurer: Sigrid Schumacher
Programs: Nancy Ridenour
Membership: Marion Scichilone
Newsletter: Wendy Eakle
Website: Katia Paroczi
Library: Sharon Allen
Education: Sheila Atwater
Member-at-large/ANWG Representative: Diane Banks

Vacant Positions
Secretary
Workshops
2nd Vice President

Positions Opening for the 2022-2023 Term:

Secretary
Records minutes at monthly general Guild Meetings and quarterly Board Meetings. Drafts and mails correspondence as needed.
Current Position Holder: Sheila Atwater “The secretary position is one which is great for a new member, as it's a way to learn names and faces, etc. That is exactly the reason I took it. I was fairly new to the organizational part of the Guild and felt it was a learning opportunity. I have learned more about how the Guild is put together and how it runs.” (Sheila has volunteered to serve as Education Chair for 2022-2023)

Workshop Chair
Selects and organizes one or two online or in-person workshops per year, based on interest and suggestions from the Guild as a whole. Collaborates in the development of an annual Guild Challenge Project.
Current Workshop Chair: Sharon Allen “Workshop Chair is a fun position because you get to contact instructors and choose workshops you would like to take! It’s only busy once or twice a year, preparing for a workshop and when one is happening.” (Sharon has volunteered to serve as Librarian for 2022-2023)

2nd Vice President (Person in Waiting…)
Welcomes new members. Organizes volunteers to set up and restore the meeting hall when the Guild meets in person. Coordinates with the Workshop Chair to develop and present an annual Guild Challenge Project. Steps up to Vice President at the end of a one-year term as 2nd VP.
Current Second VP: Leslie Ann Bestor “The Lady in Waiting position (2nd VP) is a great way to ease into being involved with the guild. The responsibilities are light and you get to know how things work without too much pressure. Other board members are there for support and you can contribute your ideas for keeping the guild vibrant. Give it a try!” (Leslie Ann is stepping up to First VP for 2022-2023)

To read the Whatcom Weavers Guild Constitution, by-laws, and Policies, including Board Position Descriptions, go here.

Upcoming Guild Programs

May 21, 2022 – Jane Stafford about her trips to India

Jane has visited India multiple times and will be talking about these visits during her May 21 presentation.

“I have had the great fortune to travel to India 3 times assisting Charllotte Kwon from Maiwa Handprints on workshops and tours. Now, I can invite you to join me on a wee tour of India visiting villages in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal and Orissa. All of these villages specialize in natural dying, block printing or weaving. It is my great pleasure to share these images that have changed my life, my weaving practice and my outlook on life.”

June 18, 2022 – Show and Tell for the Guild’s Weaving Challenge project!

More information about this being a hybrid meeting -- both in-person at St James Presbyterian Church (downstairs hall) and by Zoom -- will be shared at the May 21st meeting (Zoom).

Here is a copy of the information in the October 2021 newsletter on the Challenge Project.

Challenge Guidelines

Challenge begins October 2021 and completes with a presentation of finished pieces at the June 2022 Guild meeting.
Using the Photo above as inspiration, make something in the fiber technique(s) of your choice! It’s that simple.

Inspiration can be the colors, the textures, the lines. What strikes you about this picture?

Helpful guidelines for your fiber pieces

Size – big or little, the sky’s the limit!
Fiber Technique – there are so many to choose from – felting, knitting weave structures galore - choose whatever you want to play with!
Project type – anything you want! Towels, tapestries, scarves, garments, socks, bands – we want to see all the ways this picture can be interpreted!

Have Fun!

How to submit Show and Tell for monthly meetings

Here’s a reminder about the current plan for meetings when Zoom is used

Our Guild meetings begin at 10:00 a.m. with a business meeting. By about 11:00 a.m. there is usually a short break, followed by the program. A Zoom link is sent to members about a day prior to the meeting and program. While online, please keep yourself muted unless you are the speaker. During a program, it usually works best for most to have their device cameras clicked off though presenters sometimes ask for cameras to be on to gauge about questions.

Whatcom Weavers Guild Library

WWG Equipment Library

The Guild has equipment for short-term loan to members. J ust a few of the items are a yardage counter, bobbin winder, shuttles, reeds in commonly used sizes, shaft table looms and Rigid Heddle Looms. The complete list and the equipment reside with Sharon Allen. Contact [email protected] for info or loan arrangements.

WWG Library

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.

Library Spotlight #7 by a happy Guild member!

The Modern Natural Dyer
by Kristine Vejar

Natural dyers, this is the book you’ve been waiting to see!

Loaded with beautiful photos of color swatches, demonstrations, and projects, it can’t fail to inspire you to harvest and use those intriguing dyes from nature. Start now on saving your pomegranate and onion peels and planting your indigo and marigolds to harvest in the summer and fall.

Vejar’s Catalog of Color section in Chapter 1 shows a selection of the most popular natural dyes for the color spectrum, with photo samples of color variations using them.

Chapter 2 discusses Choosing Fibers and the special considerations in dyeing them.

Chapter 3, Dyeing 101, explains a lot more than just the dyeing process. It also outlines how to set up your indoor or outdoor dyeing workspace, and all the tools and equipment you will need. Then you must know how to properly prep your fibers to begin dyeing (wetting, scouring, etc.), how to avoid felting, mordanting, and of course the actual dyeing directions.

The last 2/3 of the book are devoted to a comprehensive collection of projects you can either complete as written or use as a take-off point to develop your own projects. I love the idea of creating your own table linens dyed with peelings from foods you have eaten or printed with flowers from your garden.

Sharing by Members

Small Looms Interest Group - from Sheila Atwater

Small Looms will be starting up again at the Bellingham Public Library in the SkillShare Space on June 4, the first Saturday in June. We will again need volunteers to be there to answer questions and/or demo work of any kind. This would include weaving, knitting, crochet, embroidery, needle felting - in short anything to do with fiber arts. The group previously met from 12 Noon to 3:00 p.m. Contact Sheila for more information.

Textiles and Tea - from Molly Gerhard

The Handweavers Guild of America (HGA) holds a weekly Zoom event that is free to everyone, whether you are a personal member or not. Textiles and Tea is held every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Pacific time (4 p.m. Eastern time) and is a casual interview over a cup of tea with a big-name weaver or related fiber artist.

Recently two guests familiar to many of us in the Northwest were Robyn Spady and Daryl Lancaster. People coming up in the next three months include Anita Mayer on June 21, Bonnie Tarses (horoscope weaving) on July 12, and Catharine Ellis (woven shibori) on September 6.

If you are interested in viewing any of these speakers, go to this link Textiles & Tea - Handweavers Guild of America (weavespindye.org) to register for a session. If you’re not available on Tuesdays, you can view the recordings later on Facebook or YouTube. And you can review all the past interviews on those sites if you want to know what previous artists had to say. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon!

Muslin Monday - from Molly Gerhard

Muslin Monday is a multi-guild study group for weavers interested in making garments out of handwoven fabric. Many of the members have taken classes from Daryl Lancaster or Linda Kubik. Before Covid, we met at the Burlington Public Library on the third Monday of the month. We went on hiatus when the library quit allowing public meetings in their meeting rooms. The library is now allowing limited reservations in its meeting rooms, but some restrictions are still imposed. Molly Gerhard is willing to make reservations for the group to re-start if folks are interested.

Please contact her if you are interested. She would like your response to these questions:
• Do you still like meeting on the 3rd Monday of the month, or would you like us to change the week so you can attend 3rd Monday spinning?
• If we change the date, would another Monday work for you? If so, which Monday of the month?
• Would another day of the week work better for you? If so, which one?

Our goals are to help members fit patterns to their bodies and to improve their skills in sewing garments from handwoven fabric. Many of us had good measurements for our pre-Covid bodies. Several folks have said their weight is now considerably different or re-distributed post-Covid. We’ll start by setting meeting topics, getting re-measured, and helping each other with fitting issues.Contact Molly Gerhard if you wish to be on the Muslin Monday email list.

Whidbey Weavers Guild Spin-In – from Marion Scichilone

Several WWG members had a chance to attend or volunteer at the Whidbey Weavers Guild Spin-In last month on April 2 and April 3, held at the Oak Harbor High School. It was my first time attending, have wanted to attend for a few years, and I was there to help two friends who were vendors. What a different feeling to be at a fiber event in person. I was doing a lot of people watching; there were quite the smiles as attendees were seeing roving and skeins of yarn for sale.

Michael Kelson was the featured speaker. On Saturday, he spoke on What Makes a Perfect Skein, offering techniques and advice on how to improve your spinning. On Sunday, he conducted a workshop on Tweed Effects using Silk. Attendees were on the lower level of the Spin-In space for these talks, and anyone in the Marketplace had a chance to hear most of his sharing and could stand at a railing to look too.

Anyone attending received a raffle ticket and one could buy additional ones too. I was lucky and got a bag of Cormo wool with tussah silk roving from Mount Hood View Farm. Am planning to use it for some multi-dimensional tapestry weaving soon!

Sheperd’s Extravaganza – from Marion Scichilone

Held during the Puyallup Spring Fair at the Washington State Fairgrounds, Sheperd’s Extravaganza took place from Thursday afternoon, April 21, through Sunday, April 24. There were a variety of shows and demonstrations on sheep and wool crafts, a used equipment sale, sheep sales, craft sales tables, a fiber arts contest, and several workshops.I signed up to be a demonstrator on Friday, the first full day. There were several spinners so, being that I was unique with my pin loom and square looms, was lucky to get the first demonstration table on the left seen by fairgoers coming into the J Building. All my equipment was a bit cool to touch as this was right next to a door but there was free coffee nearby for volunteers! Had a great time showing how easy over-under, and over-under is on small looms and was next to the kid’s crafts where they were making bookmarks and doing Kumihimo yarn braiding.Watched fleece judging and talked with several vendors. Had my first fair hotdog too. It was a wonderfully familiar feeling, finally being back at a fairgrounds where there were farm animals to see, amusement rides to watch, standing in a short line for food, and, at the end of the afternoon, doing that slow walk out to the parking lot to find one’s car.

ANWG News

In case you missed the quarterly edition of the ANWG newsletter here is the link.

Some note-worthy information from the newsletter:

Members from all 56 guilds are invited to join via Zoom the ANWG Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 10am. A link to the event will be sent to you a few days before the Saturday meeting. One of the highlights of the event is a PowerPoint Show and Share. The organizers will only allow one photo from each guild. Our April presentation, Ode to Joy, had one photo that encapsulated our guild. Our photo for the event will be the wordcloud created by Nancy Ridenour with your many words that expressed your joy of fiber.

News on the ANWG Conference in Bend, OR June 11-18, 2023:

We have a booth reserved! So far we have the design team, set-up and tracker in place along with a growing list of volunteers. If you are interested in being a volunteer or a lead for transportation (going to, or returning from), booth take down, or documentation of the event, please send me an email: [email protected] and I will happily add you to the list. Many hands make light work.

Hotel reservation information will be available this summer with special conference rates at the Riverhouse Hotel and other nearby hotels. There is still no date to register for the conference.

Diane Banks
Member at Large/ANWG Rep

From the Jansen

Classes and Dye Days at the J

The Textile Studio has a new schedule of classes for spring and summer quarters:

Weaving Classes

Extreme Warp Make-Over with Robyn Spady, Wednesday-Friday, May 18-20
Summer & Winter Weaving with Sheri Ward, Tuesdays-Fridays, June 7-17
Introduction to Rigid Heddle Weaving with Leslie Ann Bestor, July 12 & 13
Beginning Weaving with Marcia Ford, Aug. 10-31
Introduction to Rigid Heddle Weaving with Leslie Ann Bestor, Aug. 13

Kids’ classes

Fiber Fun, ages 6-9, with Leslie Ann Bestor, July 19-22
Kids’ Rigid Heddle, ages 10-14, with Leslie Ann Bestor, July 26-29
Fiber Sampler, ages 10-14, with Leslie Ann Bestor, Aug. 16-19

Inkle Looms, ages 6-9, with Leslie Ann Bestor, Aug. 23-26

Felting classes

Felted Bowls with Donna Hunter, Saturday, May 21
Felted Picture with Donna Hunter, Thursday, July 21

Dye Days: generally the first Thursday of the month

Block Printing with Dyes, Thursday, May 5
Dyeing for a Quilt Project, Thursday, June 2
Indigo Dyeing, Thursday, July 7
Ice Dyeing, Thursday, Aug. 4
J Anniversary Event: Indigo Dip, Saturday, Aug. 6
Eco-Dyeing, fourth Saturday of the month: July 23 & Aug. 27

Knit and crochet group

Third Tuesdays of the month: May 17, and June 21; off during summer.

For any of these classes or workshops, check the J's website for details. Events for the summer quarter will appear on the website in early June.

Robyn Spady’s workshop, Extreme Warp Make-Over

The Jansen Textile Studio is excited to offer a workshop by Robyn Spady, well-known weaver and wonderful teacher. Be sure to check your calendar and make time for this great workshop. Here’s Robyn’s description of this workshop:

Hate to warp, but love to weave? Want more versatility from a single warp? Then this is a workshop for you! In this workshop, participants will warp their loom with their choice of one of three four-shaft threadings and perform an extreme makeover and weave it many different ways . . . from twill, lace, and overshot to swivel, corduroy, deflected weft, and double-faced. At the same time, participants are presented with the basics of different structures and how to adapt a single threading to weave a number of different weaves, including concepts such as star vs. rose fashion, weaving on opposites, and echo treadling. Four-shaft loom required. (Note: This is not a round-robin workshop.)

And, there’s a Studio Showcase Exhibit coming up in June!

Classified Ads

Macomber “Baby Mac” CP11 8 shaft loom

It has a 24-inch weaving width and comes with a 10 dent reed. This little workhorse has a double back beam, one beam with a ratchet brake and the other with a friction brake. It comes with both Macomber type-up hooks (my preference) AND A full set of Texsolv tie-up cords (other people’s preference.) This loom also has a very handy tray that fits on top of the castle. It folds up and has wheels 2 and handles for transportation. I am located in Ballard. $600

Sandy Hannes
[email protected]
206-291-4259

In Search Of (ISO)

This newsletter section was added in our monthly February newsletter. Just another resource for us and our pocketbooks!

Each month look for In Search Of next to the Classifieds. It can be asking for a cone of 8/2, a partial cone of 3/2, accessories that you don't want to pay top dollar for. You get the idea! So that means it’s appropriate to ask for Free items in addition to things you are willing to pay for.

Workshops, Classes, Programs and Events in the Area

Fiber Fusion Northwest classes

For Class Info 2022 page on the FFNW website, click here for more information.

Sat Jun 4, all day: Cedar – From Bark to Basket by Kay Harradine
Sat Jun 4, morning: Flax Spinning by Karen Chabinsky
Sun Jun 5, all day: Card Weaving-Threaded-In Design by Marilyn Romatka
Sun Jun 5, afternoon: Weaving 102 by Karen Chabinsky

From the Skagit Valley Weavers’ Guild

The Skagit Valley Weavers' Guild is having its first Silent Auction in two years And YOU are invited.

Saturday June 11 from 3-5 pm
Allen United Methodist Church
16775 Allen West Rd, Bow, WA 98232

We have spent the last two years collecting yarn, fiber, books, wheels, looms, equipment and more! Something for everyone. Don't miss this event. All proceeds benefit Guild programs and activities

Calendar of events of interest to Guild members!

Please contribute details of upcoming events of interest to WWG members to [email protected] !

Puget Sound LYS Tour
May 11-15, 2022
https://www.lystour.com/

Slow Yarn Crawl PNW
May 27 – September 5, 2022
http://www.slowcrawl.com/

Fiber Fusion Northwest
June 4-5, 2022
Evergreen State Fairgrounds, Monroe, WA
https://fiberfusion.net

Convergence 2022 – Handweavers Guild of America (HGA)
July 15-22, 2022
Knoxville, TN
https://weavespindye.org/convergence/

Northwest Washington Fair
August 11-20, 2022
NW Fairgrounds and Event Center, Lynden, WA
https://www.nwwafair.com/

2023 ANWG Conference (Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds)
June 11-18, 2023
Riverhouse Convention Center, Bend, OR
https://northwestweavers.org/conferences/fiber-connections-2023-salem-or/

Submitting content for the newsletter

The deadline for submitting content for the newsletter is 5:00 p.m. on the last Sunday of the month. The newsletter will be on the WWG website around the first Sunday night of each month or in the first few days of the following week. The goal is for members to be reading the newsletter about mid-way between Guild meetings and programs, which are on the third Saturday of each month.

Please send newsletter content to Marion via her e-mail address in the Membership list or to [email protected]. For photos and images, please send individual JPEG files. Text can be typed into the body of an e-mail or be sent as a Word document that is saved as a doc or docx but not as a PDF. Contact her if you have questions.