December 2018 Newsletter

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

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