Sage Weavers - What's it all about?

 Our  bimonthly meeting was, as usual, filled with lots of conversation, opinions and catching up time.  This month we had a bounty of free yarn.  Some just so-so and some very nice indeed.  There were also stacks of Handwoven, Väv Magasinet, Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot and maybe a few others.  Most everything was gone by the end of the meeting, so it's in new hands and new future projects.

We started our round robin "show and tell" with Nancy P.  She has a history of education in weaving tapestry and brought three of her pieces for show and tell.   

  

Nancy P. with her larger than life Calla Lily Tapestry

 

Nancy told us that these were all woven sideways and that they were woven with the back facing the weaver.  Such amazing work and we were all happy that Nancy shared her work with us.

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Our next bit of show and tell was from Diana F.   Diana is a newer weaver and has subscribed to the School of Weaving with Jane Stafford.  The following photos are of her two towel warps.  The towels were so wonderfully soft and you could immediately tell they will be very absorbent. Can't  you envision this hanging in your kitchen?

 

 

                     This one is calmer, color-wise, but very elegant in its design

 

  

 

 This end piece was really the exciting end to Diana's project.  She tried weaving a tube for the very first time - and achieved one, much to her amazement.  She was so elated,  she wore it as a little scarf around her neck  for a while!

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We ended the meeting by looking at the new book by Stacy Harvey-Brown, 

Creative Dimensions in Weaving:  A Handweaver's Guide to Texture.

 

The photos in the book lure you into the world of textiles with texture, differential shrinkage, distortion and woven sculpture.  To illustrate, Beryl brought in a couple of samples from a Zoom workshop with Denise Kovnat in 2022 about deflected double weave.  The new book covers this subject, but also many more topics and is a sure bet to shake up your weaving  experience.

 

 

 

 

Learning New Weaving Skills

Weavers are always looking for new skills through workshops or self study.  New weave structure, new loom, new technique, new color combinations; the list goes on and on.  

This post is about members who put in the extra effort and allow themselves to be beginners again. 

Note - you can click on the photos to get a better look at the details!

Suzanne W.

I thought I’d share a photos of my finished Swedish Art Weaves (Scandinavian (Skane) Folk Art Sampler from a workshop with Joanne Hall at CNCH 2023 Cal Poly.  Although the workshop was August 2023, I didn’t get back to any weaving on the project until February 2024 as I needed more yarns and the recommended book for in-depth instruction.  Three months later, I completed two panels and turned it all into a Tote Bag!

While this sampler was woven on a 4-shaft floor loom, all PATTERN WEFT pics are pickup with 3 to 4 pics of plain weave between each row of laid weft.  Granted, weaving Heirloom Folk Art isn’t whack weaving; but I did enjoy the challenge and process creating these geometric designs.

My woven sampler includes various designs of:  Krabbasnar/Krabba, Rolakan Tapestry, Halvkrabba, Dukagang, Monk’s Belt and combinations thereof.  The warp was 16/3 linen at 10 epi and the weft was 6/1 Swedish wool (Faro) tapestry yarn. 

Inside view of tote bag

Paulie F.

The tapestry is a commission.  Completed it will be a total of 24 inches long by 52 inches wide.   I’m learning a great deal while I’m completing it.  Blending colors has got to be one of my favorite things I’m learning, as well as twining for the outlines.  I’m amazed at how the colors change by using these techniques.  (ed.  Paulie also made her own loom for this piece)