I’m happy that I will be teaching at a few venues in the upcoming months. The first will be the MAFA Virtual Mini-Conference on July 8 and 9, 2023. I will teach Profile Drafts For Dummies 9:30-10 a.m. on Saturday, and Meet Summer and Winter 9:30-10 a.m. on Sunday. Both classes will be online lectures with no preparation necessary. They are for weavers of all levels. The classes will be recorded and the recordings available to enrolled students on the LessonFace platform for thirty days after the talks. In addition to all of the class offerings Dawn Hoeg of Stitch Buffalo, and Jane Dunnewold will give talks on Saturday and Sunday at lunchtime. There will also be a Yoga for Crafters session and Fiber Trivia session on Saturday evening, as well as a Sunday Show and Tell. This promises to be a fun learning and socialization time, especially for those who can’t travel to the in-person MAFA conference in June.
For those not familiar, MAFA is the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association. It had been around to support fiber guilds in the Mid-Atlantic area for decades. The association puts on a fiber conference every two years on odd-numbered years. Those who are members of guilds that belong to MAFA are automatically members of MAFA.
I will also be teaching at the in-person MAFA Conference in June and at NEWS in July. I’ll have more on those conferences in another post. In the meantime, I’ll leave photos of the weaving that my students or I have done in Summer and Winter weave structure.
Summer and Winter Sampler on the LoomSummer and Winter Scarf in Chenille and TencelChristmas Trees in Summer and Winter
In July I’ll teach at Convergence 2022, a weaving and fiber arts conference that usually happens every two years. In 2020, the pandemic prevented our meeting so this year it will be four years since our last gathering. One of the classes I’ll teach is on a weave structure called “overshot-patterned double weave.”
Overshot is a weave structure, or group of patterns, beloved by weavers and textile enthusiasts for years. Ancient weavers used overshot to weave circle and curve patterns into lovely coverlets. I’ve woven lots of table runners using overshot, including the one shown below.
Detail of a traditional Mary Ann Ostrander overshot runner.
In overshot-patterned double weave, weavers take the pattern shorthand we use to weave overshot and adapt it to what is called double weave. In double weave there are two layers of cloth woven simultaneously, one under the other. In patterned double weave, the two layers contrast with each other, often in color, and the layers exchange. The structure is different, but the circles and curves that overshot produces still appear in the cloth. Below is a photo of fabric woven by adapting the Mary Ann Ostrander overshot pattern to patterned double weave.
Mary Ann Ostrander as Patterned Double Weave
Students in the class will be able to choose from three different patterns. The patterns are Mary Ann Ostrander; Je Länger, Je Lieber; and Blooming Leaf and you can see them below. You may notice that the back of each piece is the negative of the front. The top two samples were woven in purple and gold tencel thread. The bottom was woven in blue and aqua cotton thread.
Mary Ann Ostrander as Double WeaveJe Länger, Je Lieber as Double Weave
Blooming Leaf as Double Weave
I have had fun designing and weaving overshot patterns converted into double weave patterns. I think the students in class will enjoy it, too.
This summer I was lucky to participate in the MidAtlantic Fiber Association biennial conference. Like so many conferences these days, it was presented online. That didn’t diminish the talent or interest of the students. In fact, it seemed that even more than usual were interested in attending and I had to increase the number of students able to attend. There was enough interaction that attendance did need to be limited, but since we weren’t constrained by space, we could accommodate more people than we usually can.
I found that there are many advantages to presenting online. I showed videos and narrated them as I went. When students had a question, I could replay the pertinent part of the video. The general consensus was that students could see much better using that format versus trying to fit a dozen people around one loom during an in-person demonstration. My presentations were recorded and attendees had access to the recorded sessions on the conference platform for a few weeks after the class. During that period, they could come back as many times as they needed and view the lecture and videos. They also had my email and I corresponded with students as they showed me their progress and asked questions after the conference.
The students did not have to haul around their looms. The daunting task of loading and unloading looms at each end of a conference is challenging. New weavers could work in their own spaces with their own equipment. If they needed to take more time than usually allotted in a weekend conference, they could. The students didn’t have to pay for travel, either. Hotel stays, meals and travel expenses can cost more than the conference fees, so online teaching makes learning weaving accessible to more people.
Of course there were some disadvantages to teaching online. I couldn’t see what the students were doing as they wove. Usually I walk around the room and can see problems as they develop. In person, I can catch mistakes in the early stages when they are still correctable. Neither could I read the body language of the students, so I couldn’t see when they were getting frustrated or when they weren’t comprehending the material. Mostly I found, though, that people spoke up and questioned as soon as they felt left behind.
Our new reality means that teaching virtually is here to stay. I’m glad I have had the opportunity to develop online teaching skills and I hope to become better at it. I anticipate that there will soon be another opportunity to teach beginning weaving online.
This is the hemstitching and plain weave at the beginning of the sampler.
It’s fun to weave pockets into the cloth.
There are many ways to play with colors.
Exploring Twill
More Twill Explorations
Two Layers
Broken Twill
Color & Weave Effect
Playing With Treadling
These are just a few of the variations students wove for their samplers.
I had the privilege of teaching in Washington state for 8 days in March this year. I found out how to pronounce names like Skagitt and Whatcom. I enjoyed meeting some fascinating weavers. I also experienced the wonderful community of weavers in the Puget Sound area, and of course I saw some lovely scenery.
The Olympic Range from Whidbey Island
I didn’t know that the Skagit Valley is one of the top producers of flower bulbs in the world. The bulbs I order from Holland often originate in the Skagit Valley. While I was there the daffodils were in bloom.
Daffodils in bloom in the Skagit Valley
My first teaching assignment was a lecture to the Whidbey Weavers Guild. During this time of emerging corona virus activity, the guild was well attended. My lecture on Overshot: Past and Present was a warm-up for the three-day workshop I would begin the following day.
We had an eager 15 attendees in the overshot workshop. The work was very creative. I send out instructions for preparing the looms ahead of time. In the workshop, everyone follows the same treadling order, but each weaver chooses their own colors to bring. Sometimes the thickness varies from one weaver to the next, also. The result is that everyone’s artistic decisions and sense of design are apparent. No two set of samples are identical. The students work through a certain set of treadling patterns and go home with a variety of samples. Some of their work is pictured below.
Star Treadling
Rose Treadling
On Opposites Treadling
Flame Treadling
Flame Treadling With Medium Weight Yarn
Flame Treadling With Thick Yarn
Italian Style Treadling
Honeycomb Treadling
It was fun getting to know this weaving group. They are so supportive of each other and encouraging. I have never taught in an area where I needed to plan my presentation around the ferry schedule so that was a new experience. I said my good-byes at the end of the weekend class, knowing that I’d see some of them the next day.
The day after my overshot workshop, two wonderful ladies took me up to my next assignment: a lecture on Summer and Winter to the Skagit Valley Weavers Guild. Many of the guild members were also members of Whidbey Weavers Guild and of the Whatcom Weavers Guild, who would host me for my next workshop. A couple of my overshot workshop students brought in their samples. They had cut them from the loom and washed them the day before, after the overshot workshop was finished. It was fun to see their completed work and talk about what their next steps would be.
After my lecture I was driven to Lynden, Washington where I would give my last workshop of the trip on early American textiles.
The three-day Early American Textiles workshop was presented at the Jansen Art Center and hosted by the Whatcom Weavers Guild. Nine students wove round robin style on ten different looms. Each loom had been warped by one of the students in a traditional weaving pattern using thread similar to what early American weavers would have used. Throughout the workshop we stopped to talk about production practices within the US and Europe during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. One of the students brought in a lovely coverlet she had found in a thrift store. Another shared stories of her aunt and uncle who were weavers. My students were very knowledgeable and, as usual, I learned as much from them as they did from me.
The students did lovely work. On the last day, we cut the samples from the loom and secured the edges of each student’s work. Then we cut the samples apart so the students could take them home and wash them. One of the students sent photos of her work after washing.
Typical towel fabric
Samples are laid out and prepared for cutting apart.
Photo by Sheri Ward
Photo by Sheri Ward
The Whatcom group was a tight-knit community of weavers, too. Many have known each other for years and they constantly share ideas and encouragement. The Jansen Art Center provides studio space for their collection of looms as well as library and meeting space. The staff at the Jansen Center was very welcoming and the cafe served some dynamite lunches–plus afternoon lattes to keep us all going.
I hope I get a chance to visit the area again. I wish everyone had such a nurturing weaving community. We all need connections and we benefit from seeing each others work. I’ll leave with a couple of photos from the ferry to Whidbey Island from Mukilteo.
On the way to Whidbey IslandThe view from the ferryThe returning ferry passes
On January 10-12, 2020 I taught an overshot workshop at Yadkin Valley Fiber Center to a delightful group of students. They came prepared with looms warped and questions ready. We had a full two and a half days of weaving, talking, learning and sharing. Students started with the same threading pattern and worked their way through various treadling variations. Each made their own decisions regarding color and thickness of the weft. Along the way we talked about the theory of overshot, how to design overshot and what life must have been like for the weavers who came before us.
For new or non-weavers, overshot is type of weave structure that creates blocks of pattern when some threads skip, or shoot, over the cloth. The structure was used in making coverlets. Old time weavers used cotton (or linen) thread crossed with wool thread. The resulting cloth was lovely and warm. We used cotton thread and some wool thread in class.
One student had mistakenly used warp twice as thick as what was called for so her samples were extra large.
One student mistakenly used warp twice as thick as what was called for. The results were spectacular (after we re-sleyed the warp).
It is always fun to see how each student’s work is unique, even though all start with the same instructions. That is what makes handwoven creations works of art. You can see it in the photos below.
We didn’t just weave traditional overshot. We added some other structures that are possible to weave on an overshot threading, like the flame point variation shown in the above pictures. We also wove honeycomb.
This is a close up of one student’s honeycomb treadling.Here’s another example of honeycomb treadling.
The students labeled their work as they went. When they went home, they cut the sampler off the loom and washed it. Everything changes with washing. The warp and weft threads relax and settle around each other. Some cloth that looks two dimensional on the loom becomes more three dimensional after it is washed and dried.
I’m proud of the work everyone put into the class. Everybody helped each other, sharing tips, supplies and extra yarn. Thanks to Leslie at the fiber center for wonderful hospitality in her new surroundings. It was a great place to meet. I came home from the class inspired by my students and ready to try some new ideas of my own.
On the weekend of Sept. 21 and 22 I’ll teach a workshop for Central Virginia Fiberarts Guild in Albemarle County. We’ll explore huck lace, spot huck and many variations of the huck structure. We’ll also try some non-huck patterns you can weave using the same threading. It’s always fun to weave with others. Weavers spend a lot of time with just themselves and their looms. When we weave with a group, we bounce ideas off of each other, coming up with lots of “what-if” ideas. It is always inspiring. Here is a sampling of just a few weaves we’ll explore.
This weekend, June 28-30, I taught at the MAFA 2019 Conference at Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania. MAFA is the MidAtlantic Fiber Association and they put on a conference every other year. This year I taught Weaving 101 to motivated group of 8 students. They started on Friday morning with some yarn and a warping board, and by Sunday noon they had woven off a sampler of plain weave, twill weave and even double weave–a pretty advanced concept. It was wonderful to observe their camaraderie as they shared with each other. There were often exclamations of excitement as they understood a new technique or bit of information.
I tell my students that learning to weave isn’t just one skill, but a series of skills they have to master. Each one takes patience to learn. They start with learning to measure the warp on a warping board. Next they have to move the warp to the loom. At the loom, they have to wind the warp on the back beam. Then they have to thread the warp, and put the warp ends through what’s called a reed. Next they tie the warp on to the cloth beam in front of the loom. Finally they tie up the treadles and begin to weave. The whole process of getting the loom ready to weave can take as long as actually weaving the fabric. My students this weekend finished the setting up of the loom in record time so they were able to explore plenty of weave structures in their sample. On top of being quick they had great attitudes, making it a pleasurable class. Having Leslie Fesperman, of Yadkin Valley Fiber Center, as my assistant was a great help.
There are now some new weavers in the world. They have the knowledge and enthusiasm to go far. I hope at the next MAFA conference I’ll see them with projects they have woven at home with their newfound skills.
MAFA 2019 Weaving 101 Spreading the Warp in the Raddle
I have been playing around lately with double weave-pick up. I taught a class in West Virginia on double-weave and had enough of my sampler warp left to practice the technique. It’s pretty time consuming and you have to really pay attention, much more so than when weaving scarves. I found the meditative quality pleasant.
In double weave the loom is set up so that two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously, one above the other. If you want, you can form an image by hand-manipulating how the two layers of cloth interact. This is called double weave pick-up. When you weave double weave pick-up, you use a stick to pick up some threads from the bottom layer and weave them into the top layer, then pick up other threads to weave top layer threads into the bottom layer. Below you can see part of my process and a couple of finished pieces.
I used 10/2 cotton threaded at 32 ends per inch (16 ends per inch in each layer). The colors were deep purple and red-orange. When the colors are next to each other they read as orange and blue. As a side note, I wove some of these pieces while UVA was winning the NCAA basketball championship. Their colors are orange and blue–go ‘Hoo’s!
Picking the purple threads
Weaving orange while selected purple threads are raised
Picking up the orange threads
Selected orange threads stay above while half of the purple threads are raised.
