Doubleweave V-Shawl

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At the regular Guild meeting on 24 February, Penny Lacroix will be showing us how to create a symetrical V-shawl (or V-scarf) from a 4-shaft warp. Together we’ll look at how double weave works and then see the magic of the V-shawl!

Socializing, snacks and library time start at 7. The meeting starts at 7:30.

At The Fiber Loft, 9 Mass Ave., Harvard, MA

Registration for the 3D workshop opens to non-guild members on Wednesday 26 February. If you’re thinking about the workshop, now is the time to hand in your check!

Missing magazine

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Still missing from the guild library: Handwoven May/June 2010

Please check your things!  This may have been left in the pile of donated magazines at the December meeting.  Front cover pictured below.  Our copy has a bright orange sticker in the upper left-hand corner (also pictured below,) a card pocket inside the cover, and is  stamped in many places with the “Nashoba Valley Weavers Guild” stamp.

Meeting January 28

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Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 28th, at 7 pm at The Fiber Loft.

We will socialize from 7 to 7:30.
At 7:30 we will have a quick business meeting.

We do not have a formal speaker planned, but will have show and tell, and talk about what NEWS classes we took and show what we did in the classes. We can also talk about what we are currently working on, and any challenges or questions we have about our weaving.

We are also going to have DOOR PRIZES this month. We have a good number of various kinds and styles of shuttles left to the Guild by Pauline Duke. Everyone will go home with at least one door prize!

So far, next Tuesday is forecast with good weather, so hope to see you at the meeting.

April 2020: The World Isn’t Flat! – 3D Loom Weaving Workshop with Sally Eyring

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The World Isn’t Flat! – 3D Loom Weaving Workshop with Sally Eyring

Ruffled neck pieceRegistration for members is now open.

Date: 23-25 April 2020 (Thurs, Fri, Sat)

Time: All day (specific hours TBD)

Location: Harvard Congregational Church, 5 Still River Road, Harvard, MA

Cost: $175 for NVWG members/ $200 for non-members; includes $20 materials fee

Registration is open for members.  Non-member registration opens 26 Feb 2020. Non-members may put their names on a holding list before the 26 Feb date.

Registration closes 12 March.

Max participants: 12, taken as checks are received. Payment is required to reserve a spot.

Please make checks payable to NVWG and mail to:
NVWG
PO Box 50
Harvard, MA 01451

Cancellation policy: After paying, cancellations will be refunded only if there is someone on the waiting list to fill the spot. If there is no waiting list, the registrant wishing to cancel may find their own replacement.

Workshop Description

The world isn’t flat, so why should you think of your weaving as always being flat? You have spent years learning the rules of two dimensional weaving; now learn how to break those rules to weave 3D sculptural forms. Basket weavers have been weaving three dimensional objects since antiquity, but this class will give you the thought processes and ideas for weaving 3D forms on your loom. See for examples of sculptural weaving, and start thinking about the shapes that you would like to weave!

Student Requirements

This is a hands-on workshop of 3 days in length, approximately 6-8 hours per day.

Each student will need to bring a table or floor loom, with a minimum of 4 shafts, that has been previously warped per instructions that are sent out ahead of time. The warp will be tied to the front cloth beam, sleyed, and threaded through the shafts as instructed. However, the warp will not be entirely beamed onto the back beam prior to class. Each student will need between 2 and 4 clean, empty milk or juice jugs (the kind with a loop handle) that can be filled with water and hung off the back beam as weights to provide tension for certain sections of the warp. Each student will bring several extra bobbins that can be used (as they will be shown) to attach the chained warp sections to the water weights.

Students will need to bring their own shuttles (3 are recommended), weft yarn, a reed or threading hook, and scissors. Students may bring other tools as needed.

Sally will provide the students with certain design materials and some small specialized tools. Handouts will be provided.

Sally will prepare the materials and send out warping instructions ahead of time. She will also personally contact each student to make sure they understand the warping instructions.

Prerequisites: Registrants must be able to warp their own loom ahead of time following special instructions provided by Sally.

Questions? 2020workshop@nvwg.org

Mayan Hands Sale at meeting

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At our meeting/workshop on Tuesday, I will be selling fair trade handwoven and other handcrafted goods from two women’s cooperatives in Guatemala, Mayan Hands and UPAVIM. Please bring cash or checks and be prepared to buy!

This is the last year I will do this, because I’m needed more at home. If anyone is interested in doing it next year, I’d be happy to explain what is involved and to help next year. Basically, I get a consignment of goods, check the shipments against the inventory list, take the stuff to various places to sell, and send back the unsold items. Most sales are at the Harvard Unitarian Church’s Fair Trade Faire.  It’s a very worthwhile cause, and seeing and handling all the goods is fun.

See you on Tuesday!

Ply-split braiding postponed

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Due to the snowstorm, the workshop scheduled for today has been postponed one week, to 10 Dec 2019. We anticipate the details will all be the same, but need to confirm the location. Stay tuned for updates, and enjoy the bonus day, maybe with some weaving?

Ply-split braiding at 3 December meeting

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The 3 December 2019 Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild meeting will start at 1 pm and the workshop promptly at 1:15. End time is 3 pm.
LOCATION: the Congregational Church in the center of Harvard, just to the right of the Country Store. Not the church entrance, but the large door on the annex. We will have a sign on the door. It will be on the second floor, there is an elevator.
WORKSHOP: Ply Split Braiding with Sarah Fortin. If you have not already signed up, please contact Leslie at shebwoso@gmail.com.
Materials fee: There is a $15 materials fee, the guild will cover $5 of that for members.
Also, Dorothy will have a table set up for Mayan Hands if you would like to do some shopping. Cash or check accepted.
AND the registration for the 3-day Sally Eyring workshop in April will open at the beginning of the meeting. See the 10/29/19 email to guild members for details.

October 22nd Meeting, Painted Warp Challenge!

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Our program for Tuesday evening Oct 22 will be to paint some warps.

This will be a hands-on program and you must have your own warps.

Warp must be wool, other *animal* fiber, or silk.  Warp should be white
or another *light* color to be “painted”.

Warp MUST be at The Fiber Loft by 4:30 pm on Monday Oct 21.  (The warps
must be soaked in a mordant–citric acid or vinegar–before we can paint
them.  Suzanne will do this on Tuesday.)

If you cannot make the meeting, drop your warp off on time to The Fiber
Loft and we will paint it for you.  (We are not sure what colors will be
there, we will use our best judgement!)

Warp MUST have a waterproof label with individual’s name on it when it
goes to the Fiber Loft. NVWG will provide labels and a waterproof marker
at the Fiber Loft so you can label your warp when you drop it off.

Warp size – no longer than 4 yards, no wider than 24”

This is hand painted, not dipped.

Suzanne will provide bottles of dye.  We will put warp on plastic wrap
and paint, and then wrap up and take home and microwave.

If, after everyone has finished painting their first warp, there is dye
and time left, you can paint a second warp, but not before we are done
with all the first warps.

If you have any questions about the correct yarn, or you need some yarn,
call Suzanne at the Fiber Loft (978-456-8669 or yarn@thefiberloft.com)
for purchase.

We will be using these warps for this year’s Guild Challenge.

If you want to be part of the Challenge but cannot get your warp to the
Fiber Loft by Monday, and cannot make the meeting Tuesday, please let me
know – Leslie programs@nvwg.org

See you Tuesday.  Social/library time begins at 7pm.  Meeting to follow at 7:30.

Exhibit Opening at FiveSparks

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Please join us for the official opening of Fivesparks and our Guild exhibit this evening! All are welcome, so please pass this along to friends and family.
Meet the weavers!
Opening Reception, Friday, 13 Sptember, 7-9pm
Fivesparks
7 Fairbank St.

Harvard, MA 01451

Light refreshments will be served.

September 24, 2019: 3D Weaving – Old Technology and New Inspirations

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ruffled neck piece3D Weaving – Old Technology and New Inspirations

Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Light refreshments at 7:00pm, program at 7:30pm
Location:  Fivesparks (7 Fairbank St, Harvard, MA)

Sally Eyring will be the guest speaker on Tuesday 9/24/19, sponsored by the Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild. The talk will start at 7:30, following a reception at 7:00. The talk is in conjunction with the NVWG exhibit, which will be on display at Five Sparks for the month of September. The talk is open to the public.

Three dimensional weaving has a long and varied history, starting with arachnids 400 million years ago to the space age fabrics of today. Despite this long history, the terminology is confused and inconsistent. Up to now, hand weaving has been limited to rectangles woven with interesting structures that create surface interest. 

In their book, Ideas in Weaving, Ann Sutton and Diane Sheehan muse on a tension device developed by Janice Lessman-Moss of Kent, Ohio. The device, they say, “broke one of the cardinal rules of even tension maintenance,” and note that “More work like this would bring the handweaving loom (which suffers from innovation deprivation) out of rustic technology and into the twentieth century.”

In trying to remedy the “innovation deprivation” of the hand loom, Sally has developed three different techniques and several loom modifications to allow the hand weaver to create 3D woven forms. She will describe her weaving techniques and tools, and show some of the results.

Sally Eyring has been weaving and building tools since childhood. She earned a BA in Mathematics Education from Arizona State University and a MFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. Her MFA graduate project described the immigration experience through woven sculptural headdresses, using unique 3D weaving methods that she invented. Her work has been featured in the Complex Weavers Journal, WeaveZine, Best of America – Glass Artists & Artisans, Handwoven, Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot, ArtScope magazine, and other publications. Her book on 3D hand loom weaving will be published by Schiffer Publishing in 2020.

In addition to weaving, Sally both renovates and builds looms, and does glass casting. Her work can be seen at: www.sallyeyring.com