Guild Meeting February 28, 2023, via Zoom

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The Guild’s February meeting is two weeks from now. Our program for the meeting is “Setts and All Their Glory” with Susan Conover. This is Susan’s newest presentation and is filled with oodles of pertinent information for the hand weaver when it comes to obtaining the proper sett for your next project.

The beginning of the talk contains reed maintenance (carbon and stainless steel), including storage solutions and rusty reed prevention and repair. Plus, a nifty conversion chart for Imperial vs. metric reed sizing. Susan then moves into the nitty-gritty with:

Mini Squid Towels

  • Reed Substitution Charts
  • The Master Yarn Chart
  • Yarn Wrappings
  • Stretchy, stiff, and handspun yarns-Obtaining the correct sett
  • Number of times that the weft intersects the plane of the cloth in one repeat
  • Firm setts, slippery yarn setts, and drapey setts
  • Calculating your shrinkage in both warp and weft
  • A cameo project will be a sett sampler in plain weave and twill
So mark your calendar now for 7:00 PM, Tuesday, February 28, 2023. This meeting is via Zoom only.

 

NVWG Zoom Meeting Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 7:00 PM

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Mark your calendars for the first meeting Guild meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, starting at 7:00 PM via Zoom. After a brief business meeting, Carol James will join us for a presentation on fingerweaving. What exactly is fingerweaving, and why would a person want to learn the technique? This presentation shows you the basics of creating cloth without using a loom. Carol James re-traces her path of discovery of this low-tech textile method. We begin with the Quebecois tradition that Carol learned because of her husband’s roots. Carol shows us a manner to create the dense warp-faced cloth known as “ceinture fleche” or arrow belt. We then follow Carol’s path of discovery of this branch of fingerweaving and then some of its many variations. She shares images from around the world reaching back to prehistoric times. Evidence for this low-tech textile method includes bags, belts, shawls, and skirts. Take inspiration from the past, and never again will you have to say, “too bad I can’t take my handweaving with me”.

December 6, 2022, Meeting & Workshop RSVP Required

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Nashoba Valley Weavers Guild
December 6, 2022, Meeting & Workshop RSVP Required
1:00 PM–3:00 PM (in-person only)
Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Still River Road, Harvard, MA

Fran Levi will present Hemstitching & Friends

On-loom techniques for stabilizing first and last weft rows and really dressing up a piece of weaving. This is a fast paced, hands on review of some of the neglected tools in your weaving toolbox. You will go home with a sampler of techniques for future reference.

Things to bring:
Sewing scissors
Sewing glasses
Selection of tapestry needles
Tie on tags for labeling (I’ll bring some if you don’t have them handy)
Tatting hook or tiny crochet hook (optional)
Knitting needle 12” or shorter any size between 0 & 5 (optional)
Magnification (optional)
Personal work light (optional)

We are asking that those who are planning on attending to please RSVP so that we have an adequate number of kits prepared. Here is the link to the RSVP form.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf20BU0z3oC4CdBzUpEYr_akNAXtgCrlhOlCp-SRe60h3ZGkQ/viewform?fbzx=1794918075375150655

This year’s Theme and Challenge:

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This year’s theme:  Out of the darkness, into the white!

As we begin to re-emerge into a new Pandemic-induced normal, we reflect on things we’ve learned during quarantine.  We learned that inclement weather meetings don’t need to be canceled when they are held online.  We also learned that some speakers are willing to “Zoom in” from different locales, giving us affordable access to presentations that are out of our geographical area.  Finally, we learned that many of us appreciate “in person” meetings when it’s safe to do so, especially when Show and Tell is involved!  This year’s program calendar tries to balance all of these lessons.  Check out our upcoming programs here.

This year’s Challenge: Weave something using just one color (color of your choice) and white.  Get as inventive as you like!  What effects can you create?  Which tints of your chosen color do you like best?  Challenge yourself to go beyond your comfort zone, or stay right within it.  Have your piece(s) ready to showcase and talk about at the Annual/Potluck meeting in June!

25Oct2022 Meeting

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Come explore handweaving.net with us on Tuesday 25Oct at 7pm on Zoom!

Handweaving.net has multiple useful design and exploration tools to offer weavers of all levels. In addition to drafts, there is a draft editor, a color editor, a digital archive, and more. The base website is available for free. A low cost subscription gives you access to all the tools. Co-Chair Penny Lacroix will lead this Zoom presentation.

The link for the Zoom meeting will be sent out to all members prior to next Tues. Not a member and want to join the meeting? Guests are welcome. Email chair@nvwg.org to request the login credentials.

Reminder: Dues for the 2022/23 year are due by this meeting! If you haven’t paid, please send cash or check for $25 to PO Box 50, Harvard MA 01451.

Scientific American article

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The October issue of Scientific American has a very interesting article, the cover article in fact, on textiles woven by Viking women. In Iceland for several centuries women wove cloth used as money, and textiles from Greenland show a change to weft-dominant cloth as the climate got colder during the Little Ice Age.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/viking-textiles-show-women-had-tremendous-power/

September 27, 2022 meeting announcement!

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Hi Folks!
We plan to gather in person at the Congregational Church of Harvard (5 Still River Road) at 7:00pm on September 27th.  While we do have some business to address, this will primarily be an organized social meeting to catch up on what we did over the summer.
Business:
–Dues are due!  If you have not already paid your 2022-2023 dues, you may pay them at the meeting.  Please make your $25 check payable to NVWG.  Dues must be paid by the October meeting to remain a member for this year.
–Vote on Bylaws amendments.  The proposed Bylaws changes were sent to all members on June 29th for your review.  There are some important changes to consider before the vote.  We will send the document again as a reminder to review it before the meeting.  Please watch your email for this reminder.
–Please bring your 2021-2022 Guild Challenge with you to this meeting.  We will take pictures for use in the Annual Report!
Social:
-Fellow member Chris Zook will Emcee the social activities.  Please be prepared to spend 2 or 3 minutes to “show and tell” what you did over the summer!
-There will be door prizes to give out!  These are little gifts that were provided by the HGA.
-Mingling, as time allows.  We have the church hall until 9pm.
New members are always welcome!
In accordance with current local, State and Federal guidelines, masks will be optional.
We hope to see you there!

Harvard-Bolton Open Studios Weekend, October 1-2, 2022

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An opportunity to demonstrate weaving and sell finished goods at the Bolton-Harvard Open Studios weekend of October 1-2, 2022. The hours are 10:00 AM-4:00 PM on Saturday and 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM Sunday, with the option to stay till 5:00 PM.

The Fiber Loft is giving us use of the upstairs space. The Guild will have to take payments for our goods with 10% of sales to be paid to the Fiber Loft for commission. 

The Greater Boston Yarn Crawl is the same weekend and higher than average numbers of people are anticipated to be visiting the store. It is an excellent opportunity for a weaving demonstrations to the public, selling our finished items, along with some of Pauline Duke’s finished goods, and publicity for the Guild.

There will be plenty of company! Several guild members (Leslie, Chris, Reba, and Penny) plan to attend. You can come for just one day or part of the day. Who else wants to join us?

Summer Break

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The NVWG is currently on Summer Break, but things are on track for the fall on the fourth Thursday of the month! Check the Program tab for dates and details as they become available. In the meantime, members are invited to post comments and photos about your own summer fiber fun!  Here are some of mine.

a woman petting two sheep, one black and one white
Fun petting sheep in Iceland!
a wine label with cute little sheep on it
I love Sauv Blanc, but this one I chose solely based on the adorable label!