Author Archives: Penny Lacroix

Feb11

Evelyn Vanderhoop on Friday 2/22 for our next meeting

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Evelyn Vanderhoop on Friday 2/22 for our next meeting

Note the change of day, time and location!

Friday February 22nd at 7 pm at the Memorial Congregational Church at 26 Concord Road in Sudbury. Evelyn Vanderhoop will be arriving at 6:30 to set up and have some chat time before the program starts promptly at 7.

Evelyn Vanderhoop with a handwoven tunic

The Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild and the Boston Area Spinners and Dyers are jointly hosting an evening presentation by Evelyn Vanderhoop, Haida weaver.

Evelyn and her family carry on the long textile traditions of the Haida, a Northwest Coast people, with a particular interest in Raven’s Tail Robes. She has spent several years researching this almost lost technique of weaving. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts commissioned Evelyn to weave a traditional Raven’s Tail Blanket for their collections, and she will be presenting the robe to the museum in February. Evelyn is going to dance the robe at the MFA at 11 am Wednesday, February 20 (probably gallery 168). She will give two programs at the Museum that will include materials and demonstrations of technique on Thursday, February 21 (one hour each; one in late morning and one in early afternoon).

We have invited Evelyn to speak to our two Guilds (and other invited guests) about the history of these robes and the processes involved in making them. While the MFA’s Raven’s Tail Robe will not be part of her presentation (it will already be a accessioned into the museum’s collection), she will include some materials in her talk.

This is a very special program and speaker, and we’re very excited about being able to host this event! Note that this is in place of our regular 4th Tuesday meeting. There will be no meeting on 2/26 at the Fiber Loft.

For more information about Evelyn, please visit her website: http://evelynvanderhoopart.blogspot.com

In addition, a video is being made. There may be some filming at our event, and we may get to see some previews of the work in progress!

Oct14

Aspects of Double Weave at October Meeting

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Aspects of Double Weave at October Meeting

Our next Guild meeting is Tuesday, 23 October. Our guest speaker, Susan Rockwell from Braintree Vermont, will share her doubleweave experience.

This presentation will explore the many aspects of double weave on four shafts including: weaving two separate layers simultaneously, weaving double width cloth, tubular weaving and variations, as well as double weave pick-up for creative woven-in designs. We will discuss a brief history, drafting, finishing, setting up the loom and helpful tips. There will be numerous samples to examine. There will be a loom set up for demonstrating and if you would like to try weaving double weave.

This presentation will be valuable to ALL LEVELS of weavers!

Social time begins at 7, and the meeting will begin at 7:30 at The Fiber Loft.

Sep22

Historic Textile Day Invitation

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Historic Textile Day Invitation

This is a special invitation from Diane Howes, a fellow weaver. The event is happening this coming Wednesday, and all are welcome! They still have space.

At The James House, Hampton NH

Wednesday September  26th, 2018   11am until 3pm

Come see our Collection of Early Handwoven Textiles!

Last year, with the closing of the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, the James House was the fortunate recipient of three boxes of early handwoven blankets and two boxes of early handwoven linens as well as many antique textile tools from their artifact collection.

The addition of this new collection complements the display of the James House’s period barn frame loom on which the weaving of a re-production early 19th century blanket is demonstrated to visitors.

The James House is a First Period home built in 1723 by Benjamin James. Benjamin,  his son, Jabez, and grandson, Joshua, were professional weavers in this house for three generations.

Please join us for a day of examining these special textiles and equipment. This will be a hands-on experience and includes a tour of the house.

The fee for this event is a suggested donation of $15, made to The James House Association

Bring a bag lunch if desired.

Other dates are available upon request for groups of 3 or more.

Directions can be found on the museum website.

To sign up or for more information, please call or email:

Diane Howes

603-382-2270 or howesfarm@comcast.net

For more information on the James House:   http://www.jameshousemuseum.org/

Jul25

More about twist

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More about twist

I’m on my way to a textile history forum in Vermont and am catching up on reading some old magazines. (Don’t worry, my husband is driving!) I ran across this article about twist that is a good follow up to the program we had at a guild meeting this past year. Just sharing. It’s from Weaver’s magazine, issue 15.

Mar29

Guild Demos at the Faulkner House

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Guild Demos at the Faulkner House
Guild Demos at the Faulkner House

The people at Iron Works Farm in Acton and the Faulkner Homestead have invited us to demonstrate again at their open houses this year.  Members of the Guild have spent time over the past couple years getting their barn frame loom up and running. When there, we interact with the public while weaving or spinning. We’re looking for people to sign up for the following events:

Patriot’s Day, Sunday 4/15/18, 1-4 pm – This is a busy day at the House, with lots of visitors. They feed volunteers an early supper, and then watch the Acton Minutemen’s Robbins Ride re-enactment at 5:30. So far, we have 3 people signed up (Leslie spinning, Andrew and Penny weaving.)

Freedom’s Way Hidden Treasures at the Faulkner House, Sunday 5/27/18, 3-5 pm – This event is specifically to highlight the barn frame loom at the Faulkner House. Being set up with Freedom’s Way Hidden Treasures, this will get lot of visitors from around the region. (Leslie, Krista and Penny are signed up so far.)

Other open house dates:

  • Sunday 6/24/18, 3-5 pm
  • Sunday 7/22/18, 3-5 pm
  • Sunday 9/23/18, 3-5 pm
  • Acton Open Studios, Saturday/Sunday 10/14 & 15, hours TBD

We’d like for many Guild members to become involved with this over the coming months. If you’re interested, please email Penny.

Mar22

Weave on a Bow Loom at the March Meeting

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Weave on a Bow Loom at the March Meeting

Bow loom weaving is an ancient weaving technique. Traditionally, the loom would have been a flexible tree branch with warp thread attached to both ends, flexing the bow to create tension on warp threads. Threads were separated by a piece of hide or a piece of wood.

Today, items from hardware/craft store and household items can produce a bow loom. At our meeting on Tuesday 27 March, NVWG member Carol Vales will lead us through warping a bow loom and weaving a narrow band.

Items created on bow loom are usually 4” or less in width. These include: headbands, hatbands, trim for clothing or bags, and lanyards.

Materials will be provided, but if you have a strong warp yarn you’d like to use, 5/2 or 3/2 cotton is recommended. Generally the same  yarn is used in the warp and weft. Beads may be added for decoration. Participants will be able to take their looms home with them.

Participants should bring scissors, a tapestry needle for weaving and a sharp needle for weaving in the ends. Optional: 3/2 or 5/2 cotton and size 6 beads in your color choice.

This program is made possible through the Guild’s Pauline Duke Education Fund.

Social time, snacks and library browsing start at 7 p.m. The meeting starts at 7:30.

Aug5

Loomapalooza Workshop Sign-up is Open!

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Loomapalooza Workshop Sign-up is Open!

We are planning a guild workshop for the fall. Many of you have expressed an interest. Now is the time to commit. This is open to all NVWG members, regardless of experience level, as long as you can warp your loom on your own.

Location:
The Faulkner House, 5 High Street, Acton

Dates:
Opening session (mandatory for all participants) Saturday 14 October 12-4 p.m.
Various flexible day and evening times during the week of 15-22 Oct (Anticipated time you will need to devote is dependent on the number of participants, but probably about 12 hours total. A typical round robin workshop is 3 full days, or about 18 hours. Think of this as a spread out weekend of weaving!)
Guild meeting Tuesday 24 Oct, 7 p.m.

Who:
This is open to all NVWG members, regardless of skill level or experience. If you do not have a portable loom, but would like to participate, we can help you locate a loom to use for the workshop.

Structure of the workshop:
Round Robin
Each member will be given a weaving draft that is appropriate for their loom and their skill level. Yarn will also be provided. Members will need to wind the appropriate warp (with help if needed) and warp their loom. They will arrive at the workshop with their loom completely threaded and a small sample woven at the beginning of the warp.
On the first day (mandatory for all participants), each person will share information about their warp, the weave structure and their loom operation.
Over the next week, the space will be open at various times during the day and in the evening. A mentor from the guild will be on location during all of the open hours. Participants will come and go as they are able and weave on each of the looms, marking their own weaving with supplied tags.
At the end of the final day (22 Oct), designated people will cut the pieces off the looms and take them home to wash, dry and cut up.
At our regular guild meeting on 24 Oct (which will be held at the Faulkner House), the results will be shared with the whole guild. Notebooks will be given to each participant, including the drafts and the samples they wove during the week.
To sign up:
Send an email to Penny chair@nvwg.org with your name and what loom you intend to use for the workshop. (Also indicate if you have another portable loom you’re willing to lend to a fellow guild member for the workshop.) If you are interested in exploring a particular weave structure, please indicate that in your email.  Send a check for $75 to 96 South St., Berlin MA 01503 to complete your registration. Financial aid is available. Please contact Penny or Laura for information.

So that we can plan and everyone has time to warp their looms, the registration deadline is Wednesday 9 August.

Let us know if you have any questions!

Apr19

Yarn: The Movie coming in May!

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Yarn: The Movie coming in May!

Save the date!  May 23, 2017, 7pm

In place of our regular May meeting, The Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild Presents
“Yarn: The Movie”
A screening at the Harvard Public Library, Volunteers Room
4 Pond Road, Harvard MA
The film follows several artists who are redefining the tradition of knit and crochet, bringing yarn out of the house into the world.

Watch a trailer.

The screening is free and open to public. Advance registration is recommended. Email yarn@nvwg.org to reserve your seat.