Whatcom Weavers Guild Newsletter W eavi ng in W hat com si nce 1971 January Newsletter All the best to you for a great 2014. I hope you enjoyed the Festival of Light in your own way, and feel refreshed and ready for the new year. What plans do you have? Planning on something new in weaving or crafting? How can your Guild help you do that? We have some very interesting new possibilities this year, in programs, workshops and even maybe some summer retreats - read all about it on page 2 (President Sheri Ward’s update), page 3 (Program Chair Marilyn Olsen’s update) and page 4 (Workshop Chair Patricia Knight’s updates). Have you visited the Weavers Workroom at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden yet? Checked out the programs available at the Center (some given by our very own members). And have you been thinking of doing more with the Guild this year? Kathy Green, our Fibers & Beyond Chair would love to hear from you; maybe you have a secret longing to organize one of our Learning Curve workshops if so, how about talking it over with our Workshop Chair, Patricia Knight? And if you have any thoughts for new articles or ideas for the newsletter, I would also be most interested in researching them with you. Lots to do, a whole new year to do it in! Pat Fisher, Newsletter Editor [email protected]. Guild Board 2013-2014 Programs for 2014 President: Sheri Ward / [email protected] Past President: Karen Perry / [email protected] Vice President & Programs: Marilyn Olsen / [email protected] Secretary: JP MacConnell / [email protected] Treasurer: Cathy Thompson / [email protected] Workshops: Patricia Knight / [email protected] Librarian: Megan Kinman / [email protected] Membership: Toni Wade / [email protected] Education: Barbara Snow / [email protected], Karen Perry / [email protected] Hospitality: Donna Hunter / [email protected], Cathy Taggett [email protected], Crystal Trunkey / [email protected]. Member-at-Large/ANWG Rep: Jenni Jimmerson /[email protected] Newsletter Publisher: Pat Fisher / [email protected] Wool Show: Tracy Vandermay / [email protected] Fibers & Beyond Chair: Kathy Green, [email protected] Web Site: Maggie Weyers / [email protected] Page 1 of 7 Meetings held at St James Church (lower level) 910, 14th St., Bellingham. Second Wednesday of each month, September to June 6.30pm Social time 7.00pm Meeting start time 9.00pm Adjournment January 8 - Beautiful finishes - Claudia Barbo February 12 - Coast Salish Weaving - Bill James March 12 - Possibly Jason Collingwood, Rug Weaver April 9 - tba May 14 - tba June 11 - tba Guild mailing address: PO Box 403, Bellingham, WA 98227. Website: www.whatcomweaversguild.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ whatcomweaversguild Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 President’s Message by Sheri Ward, Board President Welcome to 2014! We hope it is happy and creatively inspiring for you. As you may know, we’ve been considering some changes to how our guild functions and the changes may include meeting times, our programs and workshops, and our on-line presence. For meeting times, one possible change might be to skip our December and January meetings altogether, and meet in July and August instead. The summer meetings might be more hands-on and could include dye days or mini-retreats. Since we generally have great weather during the summer, we could take advantage of that with some outdoor fiber activities. A change like this would require an amendment to our constitution, so we will not be taking action on this until the idea has been discussed fully and voted on by the membership. For programs and workshop, we will be including more weaving in the mix. Also, with the funds from ANWG for the Bellingham conference, we can afford to spend a little more for programs and can underwrite some workshop expenses. As an example of how the latter might work, the Peace Arch Guild, after it received a sizeable donation, decided to pay for all workshop space from those funds, and were thus able to reduce workshop fees. One option, certainly, and one we could consider. We’ll be upgrading our on-line presence, although we haven’t yet had specific talks with a website designer. More to come on that soon. We’ve also had a few discussions about possible retreats and field trips, but nothing specific as of yet. If you have ideas about retreats you’d like to see, let me know. We have a small group working on a proposal for ANWG’s “Creative Challenge” grants. Our proposal would likely be centered on a “mini-conference” to be held in Whatcom County sometime in 2015, probably in late spring or early summer. ANWG’s deadline for grant applications is March 14, 2014. A guild can submit more than one proposal, and there will be a total of 25 grants given. Full details are available at ANWG’s website, http://northwestweavers.org/ If you have suggestions for the proposal, contact me in the next few weeks. And something new we’re considering for guild meetings: A “Beginner’s Corner.” The idea would be for one or two people to arrive around 6 pm, bring small looms for demonstration, and be available to answer weaving questions. We’re looking for a small group of people who would help by hosting this on a revolving basis. Interested? Talk to me. We’re open to your ideas on how the guild could improve, so feel free to talk to any of the board members. The next board meeting will be on January 16 at noon. Normally, board meetings are held on the Thursday one week after our general meeting at my house, 809 11th Street, Bellingham. It’s located almost straight down the hill from St. James Church. Members are always welcome to attend. Page 2 of 7 Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 December Daytime Weavers from Sondra Rose Daytime Weavers will be meeting on the 4th Wednesday, January 22nd, at 10:30 am. I will have to leave by 12:30 — is there anyone who would be willing to lock up so the group can stay until our usual ending time of 1:30? Please let me know. Do you remember Gail Harker's program at the November Guild meeting? Our "program" will be your inspiration from that talk, with an emphasis perhaps on embellishments, embroidery, etc. I'll bring a few materials that I have, and hope you will all do the same. And of course, bring questions, answers, show and tell and lunch. Program for upcoming meetings Programs for January, February and those in the works for March and beyond January Many of you who turn your beautiful hand woven fabric into garments are always looking for ways to create an equally beautiful finish. It might be a closure, a trim along the hem, added interest to the neckline, pocket or cuff. Same goes for those of you knitting garments. In January we welcome Claudia Barbo from Apple Yarns. Those of you who've taken classes from her already know Claudia's expertise in this area as well as are familiar with her ability to make even the most complex pattern understandable. Claudia will be including some demos in her program, and will be happy to answer questions. February In February, we welcome Lummi weaver Bill James. As a teenager, he first learned from his great aunt who taught him to weave baskets in the traditional Coast Salish style. As a student at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, he expanded his expertise to include working with wool, particularly the Coast Salish blanket designs which he has been producing for more than 30 years. Many of you are familiar with Bill's involvement, along with his mother, in weaving Barber skirts. Bill also teaches the Lummi language and shares his basket weaving skills with young people eager to keep the traditional arts alive. When Sheri and I visited his studio recently he was working on a beautiful blanket, woven from yarn spun by his late mother that he hopes to have finished and will bring for an amazing addition to Show and Tell! This is a program you won't want to miss. Guests are always welcome, of course, so bring a friend. March As of publication of this newsletter, we are in conversation with Internationally known rug weaver Jason Collingwood and hope to bring him to our guild for a talk and potentially a 3 day workshop in March. We're still working out the details, so watch the newsletter for updates! And Beyond By popular demand, we're also planning another program on stretching and exercises specifically designed for those of us who do repetitive work such as weaving, spinning and knitting, another dye day, some potential field trips and some further discussion about scheduling guild meetings in June and July as well. If you have questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me. ([email protected]). Marilyn Olsen Program Chair Page 3 of 7 Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 Braided Felted Scarf Workshop Learn to braid roving and then felt the braid into a wonderful warm scarf. We'll be following the process described in "Fabulous Felted Scarves" by Chad Alice Hagen and Jorie Johnson. Date and Time: Friday, March 28, 10 am to 2:30 pm Instructors: Donna Hunter and Sheri Ward Location: Donna's studio near Blaine; driving directions will be provided. Class Size: Maximum of 8 Cost: $25 plus a materials fee of $6. Contact Sheri for details if you want to bring your own wool. Due date: For final payment and cancellation is Monday, March 24. Bring: An old towel and a sack lunch. Coffee and Tea will be provided. Contact info: Sheri Ward, 360-961-4956 or sheriward@clearwire. Basket Making Workshop with Linda Dinus Two day weekend workshop on January 25/26, 9.30am to 2.30pm. Linda Dinus, one of our Guilds accomplished basket makers, has generously agreed to share her knowledge in a Learning Curve Workshop. This workshop will show how to make a basket from native materials and reeds. Some baskets may be completed in one session and some may take two sessions. There will be 4 instructors available. Beginning through experienced students welcome. This class is currently full. Please contact Linda Dinus or Patricia Knight if you would like to be added to the waiting list. Location: Cathy Thompson’s – 2177 Zell Rd, Ferndale Date/Hours: January 25th & 26th ; Class Hours 9.30am-2.30pm. Cost: $21.00 Payable to Whatcom Weavers Guild (Cathy Thompson-WWG Treasurer, PO Box 403, Bellingham, WA 98225) Supplies To Bring: Pruners to cut materials; Awl or sharpened screwdriver; Squirt bottle full of water; Bucket for soaking materials; Large towel. *Bring a sack lunch. Any questions please contact Linda Dinus 966-4027 [email protected] or Patricia Knight 927-4497 [email protected] Submitted by Patricia Knight, Guild Workshop Coordinator Page 4 of 7 Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 SMALL LOOMS CLINIC Whatcom Weavers Guild and Allied Arts of Whatcom County are hosting a series of “Small Looms Clinics”, starting in November, 2013. Members and the public are invited to bring a small loom and weave, or just come to observe, learn and have fun. Bring your inkle, rigid-heddle, table loom, portable floor loom, frame loom, card weaving, kumihimo… This is an opportunity for WWG outreach, as well as a time to weave, and enjoy time with other weavers. Spinners welcome too. Clinics are scheduled for the 4th Saturday of the month, 12-4, through winter and spring 2013-2014. Allied Arts is located downtown at 1418 Cornwall, between Magnolia and Champion, near NW Handspun Yarn, Dakota Art, plus numerous cafes and coffee shops. Parking is FREE downtown on the weekends. Allied Arts is open 12-5 on Saturday. They have a variety of yarns for purchase, at their “Arts Thrift Store.” Yarn donations as well as sales are encouraged. For more information, contact Carol Berry, [email protected] Social Networking at the Guild - Facebook! Whatcom Weavers Guild is now on Facebook. Please join us at www.facebook.com/WhatcomWeaversGuild for a new place to connect and share. Take a peek - you may find something posted that interests you. Or maybe post something yourself to reach other Guild members. Page 5 of 7 Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 Notices and other interesting stuff - from Guild members and other interested folks Jansen Art Center - Lynden Check the website for the Jansen Art Center in Lynden for upcoming basketry, felting and knitting classes. www.jansenartcenter.org Submitted by Donna Hunter. Vida Nueva/Women's Work news WOMEN’S WORK STORE President Hotel, 604 South First Street Mt. Vernon November 7, 2013 – January 2014 Thursday – Saturday, 11am – 7pm Women’s Work is a collaboration of Vida Nueva Rugs, Corazón Scarves, and Milagros Peru. Our goal is to provide economic enterprises to women, offer high quality handmade items to the community, and raise awareness of the women producers and their lives. For more information contact Ginny at 360-424-5854. The Women’s Work Store is a program of Mt. Vernon Storefronts Submitted by Donna Hunter Page 6 of 7 Whatcom Weavers Guild Weaving in Whatcom s ince 1971 Loom For Sale: Macomber Weaving Loom 8 harness floor loom w/extras, $800 obo. Contact: Patricia Knight 360-927-4497 or [email protected] Happy clicking! Interesting websites and links • • • • • • • • • • Blazing Shuttles (Warp source). http://www.blazingshuttles.com Craftsy (crafts and sewing online classes). www.craftsy.com Handweaving.net (zillions of drafts!). http://www.handweaving.net/Home.aspx Syne Mitchell’s WeaveZine. http://weavezine.com/ Complex Weavers. http://www.complex-weavers.org/ Weave Tech. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WeaveTech/ HGA (Handweavers Guild of America). http://www.weavespindye.org/ Webs (Yarns for weaving and knitting). www.yarn.com Halcyon Yarns (supplies and yarns). www.halcyonyarn.com Ravelry (knitting and crochet community). www.ravelry.com Do you have a favorite you would like to share with your fellow members? Send it to me—Pat Fisher, Newsletter. Contact: [email protected] Upcoming Calendar Dates To Remember January 8 January 25/26 February 12 March 12 April 9 May 14 June 11 January Guild meeting Basket Weaving Workshop February Guild meeting March Guild meeting April Guild meeting May Guild meeting June Guild meeting Page 7 of 7