Tip Jar requests about what to think about before getting to the end of the weaving.

Tying on to an existing warp is a great way to assist the next project but it takes time to perfect and there are multiple ways of accomplishing the task below are some descriptions. Pass on to the Tip Jar which ways works for you.

Finishing techniques can vary with purpose and fiber content. Let the Tip Jar know of the finishing techniques you most prefer.

Okanogan Valley Fiber Festival — Call for Volunteers

(Forwarded by Tamie)
The Okanogan Valley Fiber Festival planning committee is busy getting ready for the 2016 event, which will take place on May 7th, in the Agriplex building at the Okanogan County Fairgrounds in Okanogan.  We are excited to get this event underway, as we have lots of great ideas and have secured some funding to help with promotion and marketing.  We are looking for volunteers to help plan the festival, and will need folks to help out on the day of the event as well.  Most all of the planning takes place via teleconference calls or skype, so there is no travel required.  We need people to step up and help in the following areas:
Signage and Brochures
Printed Materials
Workshops and Demos
Vendor Coordinator
Decorating
Raffle Tickets
Kids Activities (4H)
Livestock/Shearing
Information Desk
Food
If you would be willing to take charge of any of the above tasks, we would be most appreciative for the help.  Please reply to this e-mail address if available.
We wish you all a warm and happy holiday season, and hope to see you all in the coming year.
The NAWC Fiber Festival planning team

 

Tapestry presentation at TWG

January 8th: Tapestry with Cecilia Blomberg, reknowned Gig Harbor Tapestry Artist and founding member of TAPS, Tapestry Artists of Puget Sound, Ms. Blomberg will share her recent and continuing work of weaving a series of thirteen portraits of saints for the Catholic Chapel at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Tacoma Weavers Guild – 10 am, followed by a speaker or program, brown bag lunch, and Show & Tell.
Tacoma Weaver Guild

If you would like to car pool from Hawks Prairie Park and Ride at 9am let Gail Trotter know. getrotter@comcast.net

HGA Convergence 2016 Open for Registration 12/15/15

HGA Welcomes you to Convergence® 2016 Milwaukee
July 30 – August 6, 2016
General Registration Opens Tuesday, December 15th

Click http://www.weavespindye.org/convergence for more information and to register.

HGA Announcement:

Welcome to the ultimate international fiber art experience, HGA’s Convergence® conference where you can meet people face to face and touch real cloth, not just exchange texts or look at images. Immerse yourself in the inspiration and stimulation of exhibits, classes, textile tours, and shopping – all in the vibrant arts community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Registration opens tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15th at 9:00 AM EST. On our website you will find a listing of Convergence® Sessions, Tours and Special Events along with a PDF of the Delegate Registration Book and Registration Form.
Convergence® events and activities are open to the general public, however an HGA Membership is required to register for Sessions. To review your membership, login to your Online Account. Please note that our system has changed recently, and if you have not created an account since September then you will need to do so. Memhttp://www.weavespindye.org/convergencebers must login to receive the member price on the Convergence© Value Package (CVP).
Registration is taken on a first-come, first served basis, and Fiber Trust members who have given a financial gift of $100 or more in 2015 qualify for Priority Registration and can register today. Join the Fiber Trust online or call (678) 730-0010.
Thank you for supporting HGA. We look forward to seeing you in Milwaukee, July 30 – August 6, 2016!

Handweavers Guild of America
www.WeaveSpinDye.org

The Handweavers Guild of America’s mission is to educate, support and inspire the fiber art community..

 

November Tip Jar

The tip jar raddled and here are your favorite tips from November –

Showcase is a great way for others to get new ideas, new approaches and great ideas. Each month, please bring what you are working on or have completed and share what you learned in the process of creating.

Nancy Sedlacek’s prayer flags were woven using 10 of the various treadling variations from the “Rose Path Project No. 1” pattern, either threading 3 or 4, from A Handweaver’s Pattern Book by Marguerite Porter Davison. It was like doing a twill sampler, only making individual flags from each variation. Great fun!

Learn more about Tamarie balls see http://www.temari.com/. Nancy Sedlacek used felt balls as her base for the Tamarie balls she made.

Men’s ties are great for embellishments to your hand woven or felt projects.

http://www.leclerclooms.com/book/warp&weave.htm This free book to download has instruction on warping and weaving different types of looms. Do not miss chapter 11 “What Every Weaver Should Know”
For tapestry see http://www.leclerclooms.com/book/Iweave_v2A.pdf

Terri Whitehouse shared how to Twist and Knot and was a great help to the person sitting next to her. Sharing those little tips with each other helps us all. Yarn Barn one of our advertisers describes the fringe twister and how to use http://www.yarnbarn-ks.com/Fringe-Twister/productinfo/WA-XX-FRT-/

Scan your yard, your neighbors yard, the church yard or the field down the way to see what is available and use nature to dye hand spun wool.

Members taking time to go though their history provided excellent background information showing progression in design and complexity of there work. Building on what your know, what mentors share, influence from other disciplines, especially art, reading and exploring with classes are all ways possible to progress on your journey. Planning is an important part of the journey too. Nancy Sedlacek went back and discovered how early on in 4-H she developed her process Plan To Learn. Read on for Nancy’s discovery.

Wow – it was definitely serendipity this weekend! Went to visit my parents and my mother had set our some old cook booklets – one of which was one of my 4-H books! So now I can look at the actual book and I really see how I began to form my method of learning a new skill on my own.

To begin, one must of course choose the topic. In the case of this booklet, it was how to bake. The booklet then sets up a plan for making increasingly complicated items. This plan is up front as one has to complete a certain number of items to achieve the level or learning. The list looks at pretty much all aspects of the topic – one must not only bake several different types of goods, but must bake several within each type, must judge other baked goods and compare commercial to homemade. One also has to demonstrate to others how to do the baking, has to serve their baked goods to others and submit some to judging and, finally, one must also visit a professional bakery. Along with the baking and activity list,, there is also a list of other skills that need to be used and/or learned in order to do this project. (And this is all just in the first page!)

Then the book goes over background information for baking, and gives written directions for how to do different techniques. It also instructs in how to plan to bake. Then there are recipes, a glossary, more instructions and background with every type of baked good covered, and ideas on how to incorporate baked goods into a day’s healthy menu, plus how to serve the items. The back cover is a record sheet for recording all that one did in the project.

As you can tell, this is all pretty thorough for a 10 to 12 year old’s exploration and learning of a new skill! And the entire program was done this way, from all the cooking skills to fiber arts and animals. What is interesting to me as I look this over is that this is very similar to how I designed my foods classes for the high schoolers I taught!

As an adult I do a similar process –

I identify what I want to learn, then I make a plan for what the various steps are in my learning process for the particular skill. I spend a lot of time gathering all the written background and information I can about the skill or subject, taking notes along the way as I read. (I don’t watch videos and seldom take classes as I learn best by reading – which I realize is not for most people!) Once I feel I have enough information, I begin to try techniques to learn how to do them, using the books and illustrations I found. As I gain skill, I make a plan or timeline for creating items or producing things that will challenge me to perfect the skill or technique. I try to work my way to a “final project” that will incorporate all I’ve learned and (hopefully!) show mastery of the skill/technique.