22Oct Open House at Faulkner House, and an Honor for NVWG

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Earlier this month, the kind folks at Iron Work Farm (of which Faulkner House is a part) bestowed honors upon our Guild, naming us the 2023 Volunteers of the Year!  We all have so much fun doing our demos there that it seems a little sinful to be acknowledged for it.  I guess that proves that community outreach can be rewarding on many, many levels!  We are very grateful that Iron Work Farm and the Faulkner House are so appreciative of our playtime!

Care to join us?  The final Open House of the year will be held this Sunday (22Oct) from 3-5pm.  The address is 5 High St, Acton MA.  NVWG members are invited to weave, spin, knit, or do any other type of fiber art demo…or just come to check things out!  It’s a very cool early 1700’s house with a rich history.  Contact Laura (laura@northbrookalpacas.com) for more details.

October 2023 Guild Meeting

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Finished samples from all the looms!

The October meeting for the Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild is Tuesday 10/24 at the Congregational Church in Harvard, 2 Still River Rd.

Our main meeting will be a member participation show & tell. Everyone will have the opportunity to share about the class(es) they took at NEWS or what they wove over the summer. We’ll also get a recap of the lace workshop that went on last week and will get to see the samples that were generated from that. Please bring things you made at NEWS or over the summer!

Agenda for the evening:
6:00 Board meeting
7:00 Social time
7:30 Start of business meeting – announcements and then show & tell

Also, if you have not yet paid your dues for this year, they are due to the Treasurer by this meeting. After that, unpaid people will be dropped from the membership list and google group. You may also mail your dues to PO Box 50, Harvard MA 01451.

September 2023 Guild meeting and program

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Weaving Air: A Brief Overview of Lace Weaves
Laurie Autio

Lace weaves magically allow the weaver to bend the grid, creating holes to allow air and light to become part of their design. These weaves have been called plain weave with defects (Diana Frost), with floats added in one or both directions to pattern the cloth. This introductory lecture covers five loom-controlled lace weaves:  Huck, Canvas, Swedish Lace, Lace Bronson, and Spot Bronson. We’ll look at how each structure works, plus setts, materials, and weaving tips. There will be a wide variety of samples and pieces to examine.

Laurie Autio began weaving in 1985 and enjoys all parts of weaving, particularly figuring out how design and structure work and can be pushed. Music, crystallography, nature, and study of Japanese textiles influence her design work and lace weaves are a passion. Her weaving education includes a Master Weaver Certificate from Hill Institute (2000), serving as Coordinator of Study Groups for Complex Weavers (1998-2001), and a large library. Laurie began teaching around 1993 for various guilds, NEWS, Convergence, and Complex Weavers. In recent years she has run a four-year class called Explorations in Advanced Weaving and is slowly learning about Jacquard weaving. Laurie has served as President of Complex Weavers, Dean of Weavers Guild of Boston, President of Weavers of Western Mass., and Chair of Pioneer Valley Weavers. She enjoys writing, was co-editor of Interlaced (Weavers Guild of Boston, 2012) and editor of Eight Shafts: Beyond the Beginning, Personal Approaches to Design (Complex Weavers, 2022).

Where: Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Rd., Harvard, MA
When: Tuesday 26 September, 7 p.m.

The meeting starts with socializing, snacks, and browsing the library. The formal meeting and presentation begin at 7:30. This presentation will be educational for all Guild members, whether participating in the October Lace Workshop or not.

 

Fall 2023 Programs Announced!

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All programs this fall will be at the Congregational Church in Harvard, MA. We start with snacks, socializing and library time. Details will be posted soon!

26 September, 7 pm (meeting and presentation at 7:30) – Introduction to Lace Weaves with Laurie Autio

24 October, 7 pm (meeting and presentation at 7:30) – Show & Tell and NEWS Recap – Bring your summer creations and samples from your NEWS classes.

Tues 5 December starting at 1 pm – Little Darning Looms hands-on workshop

Annual Meeting and Potluck!

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Our last meeting of the year!
Date: Tuesday 27 June 2023, 6 pm
Where: Member’s home
If you are a current member of NVWG, you should have gotten an email with all the details on 15June.
If you are NOT a member and would like to join, please contact chair@nvwg.org to request the details.
We will have a brief business meeting to elect officers and vote on bylaws changes.  Then we will party, and show off our Guild Challenge accomplishments.  There will also be door prizes!

 

May 23, 2023 Meeting 7:00 PM Congregational Church, Harvard, MA

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The May Nashoba Valley Weavers Guild meeting will be at the Congregational Church in Harvard, MA. This is an in-person meeting. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM, followed by our presentation with Kristin Kelley-Munoz.

Tapestry Weaving from a Former Multi-Shaft Weaver’s Point of View

After spending over 20 years as a multi-shaft/cloth weaver, and prompted by the pandemic-forced closures of shows such as Paradise City, Kristin changed her weaving practice completely, starting over again as a tapestry weaver. After learning the basics through online classes, she was accepted into the two-year, low residency Foundation in Tapestry program at the West Dean Tapestry studio, one of the last remaining large tapestry studios in the world, located in southern England. In this presentation, Kristin will give an overview of tapestry from its ancient roots through to the current state of the field, and share her experiences in making this change and her studying at West Dean so far. She will bring along samples, books and a few different types of small tapestry looms for Guild members to see and try out, time permitting. She will also provide an extensive list of resources that she has found helpful in her journey – in case anyone else would like to explore the slow art of tapestry weaving as well.

Guild Meeting Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Congregational Church , Harvard, MA

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This is an in-person meeting that begins at 7:00 PM with social and library browsing time. The program–Creative Meditation: Finding Connection through Making with Christopher Croucher starts at 7:30 PM.

Creative Meditation: Finding Connection through Making

Meditation isn’t just about making your mind go blank.  In fact, unless you’re a monk high in the Himalayas, that’s really not the goal of meditation at all.  There are so many ways and so many reasons to practice reaching a meditative state including stress reduction, clearer thinking and even some health benefits.  One of my favorite ways to reach that state is to dive fully into a creative project.

In this workshop we will briefly discuss meditation, what it is and isn’t, and some of its benefits.  Then we will practice together with a guided meditation about connecting with our craft and art.  All you need is an art or craft you’d like to work on, preferably something a bit repetitive or simple like a simple knitting project, spinning, stitching or simple embroidery, sketching or anything that doesn’t require checking on a pattern.

I look forward to sharing this technique with you!

Christopher Croucher is an artist, performer and healer who enjoys weaving (pun intended) those three aspects of his work together to create beautiful experiences for those he encounters.  Chris practices a wide range of arts and crafts including but never limited to spinning and knitting, watercolor painting, sculpting, pyrography, sewing, and in many cases anything else he can get his hands on.  He is a professional dancer and choreographer and is currently growing his meditative dance series called Letting the Land Lead.  He also works with groups and one-on-one clients as a massage therapist and energy healer and teaches workshops based on all of his work.  During whatever time he has after doing all of that, Chris loves to be in nature.  Most of all, he simply loves sharing his passion for the magic of the world.   

March Zoom Meeting, Tuesday 28,2023 7:00 PM

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The March 2023 Nashoba Valley Weavers Meeting Zoom Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, at 7:00 PM. Our program for the night is a tour of the Saunderstown (RI) Weaving School historic looms with Norma Smayda.

HISTORY

The Saunderstown (RI) Weaving School was established in 1974 and continues to offer classes in handweaving on floor looms. The school began with two Glimakra looms and a Monica table loom from Scandinavia, two small Harrisvilles’, one big Hammett, and five weaving students. This number quickly grew to between twenty-five and thirty students per semester, year-round. Over the years more looms came in, many were donated, others were bought, new, and used, and occasionally a few looms were left to make room for others. At this time there are about forty-five floor looms, plus several table, tapestry and band looms. Over twenty-five loom makers are represented. Some of the looms are historic, and most have stories to tell. Two looms belonged to Weaver Rose, another was built by Milo Gallinger for his wife Osma, one loom was used in the Bauhaus, another is a specially designed two-legged loom, and one was built by a Hollywood movie actor for his Rockette wife. The weaving school also houses a large library of about 2,000 volumes. This will be a narrated slide show into the workings of the Saunderstown Weaving School.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Norma Smayda learned to weave in Norway, and occasionally returned there to teach. In 1974 she established and continues to run the Saunderstown Weaving School. In addition, she lectures and gives workshops, especially on her favorite topics–Scandinavian weaving techniques, weave structures, and the work of Weaver Rose and Bertha Gray Hayes. She has written two books: Weaving Designs by Bertha Gray Hayes and Ondulé Textiles: Weaving Contours with a Fan Reed.

Your guild needs you! Open Board of Directors positions

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Every June we have elections for half of the NVWG Board.   All terms are for 2 years unless noted. This year we will vote on the following positions:

  • Co-Chair
  • Secretary
  • Communications Director
  • Publicist
  • Hospitality (1 year, to fill vacancy)
  • Programs
  • NEWS Rep
  • 2 At Large Members

(Job descriptions for the open positions are below.  All positions are described in our Bylaws document .)

Per our Bylaws, the nominating committee is made up of all of the Board members whose terms are not expiring.  That committee will be headed by Laura.

As our new Bylaws dictate, there are term limits for the Co-Chair and Secretary positions.  This means that Penny and Krista cannot continue in these rolls.  We must nominate new people for these positions.

Please make nomination suggestions to Laura or any current Board member.  The Board usually meets for an hour just prior to our regular Guild meetings, and we generally have a lot of fun.  Please consider joining us!

Excerpt from Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild, Bylaws Article IV, Duties

  1. The Chairpersons provide purpose and direction to the Guild, set the agenda for meetings, preside at all meetings of the Guild and the Board of Directors, and delegate and/or carry out other responsibilities as needed. The Chairpersons shall also contribute information to the website/blog, or the current method of Guild Communications, to inspire the Guild body. The Chairpersons will be responsible for the assembly of the Annual Report, based on inputs from the other Board members. The Annual Report will be presented no later than the September Board meeting and will cover the Guild’s previous fiscal year, with final version/approval no later than the October Board meeting
  2. Treasurer
  3. The Secretary will take the minutes of all Board of Directors meetings and distribute them to the Board. The Secretary will conduct all correspondence needed upon the Guild’s behalf and keep an archive of the meeting minutes.
  4. The Communications Director will ensure that all guild activities are posted to the website/blog and/or other current communications channels in a timely fashion.
  5. The Publicist will write articles and submit them to local and/or online publications telling of Guild activities, publicize events, create computer graphics for materials, and conduct related activities.
  6. Historian
  7. Librarian
  8. The Hospitality Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that refreshments are available for Guild meetings and other special events.
  9. Members-at-Large will assist other board members by taking on specific tasks that
    are mutually agreed upon, and by helping to bring new ideas to the board.
  10. The Program Director will be responsible for coordinating the speakers, programs, and equipment in consultation with the Board. The Program Director will also maintain a list of contacts used in the position and will provide a description of each program for publicity purposes (website, etc.)