Planning ahead for June – This year’s picnic theme is National Days where we invite you to share a project you completed or wear a great costume inspired by a National Day topic/cause and tell why that National Day topic inspired you. Maybe it was a topic on your birthday, or a cause it is meaningful to you or it just tickles your funny bone. To see a full calendar of National Days to choose from go to http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/ and look at what is in each month till you find the one for you.

This past July, August and now September has a wide array of topics. Here is a sample: Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, World UFO Day, Left Handers Day, Chocolate Day, Cow Appreciation Day, Fight Day, Middle Child Day, National Dog Day, Book Lovers Day, National Thrift Shop Day, Collect Rocks Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Checkers Day. Each month we will bring more topics to creatively inspired you.

Banding Together Study Group will meet in 11am September 22 at Gail Trotter’s home 6028 Butterball LN NE, Olympia 98516. If you are interested in small weaving projects, braids, ply splitting, etc. please come and join us. Gail went to the braid conference this summer in Tacoma and can share the highlights. Bring you projects to share and to work on.

Saturday, September 17th will be another day this year to dye with plants from our yards or around our community. If you are interested contact Gail Trotter for the details. getrotter@comcast.net.

The workshop using our ANWG grant will be Sunday, December 4th. Karen Sherwood will teach an all day full turn twining class that will cover the starting, the edge/rim and color change of a small Twined Salla Bag http://earthwalknorthwest.com/course-calendar/course-list/salla-bag/ Our cost will be subsidized by the grant we were awarded from ANWG.
Contact Gail Trotter, getrotter@comcast.net, if you would like to be on the list for this class. She will send out more details on time, location and student cost and supplies needed.

Twining technique http://basketmakers.com/topics/bytechnique/twined/twiningtech.htm can be done with many different fibers and is not limited to typical basket reed.

At the Felting Study Group summer meeting Regine Carey taught us at her home how to make felt fabric.

Our fall felting will be checking out Jean’s new felting “toys”. Four of us at a time can make (unfinished size 2ft x 2ft) squares of felt fabric in the felting machine in minutes vs all day. You can make as many 2ftx2ft squares with about 4 layers of fiber as you like. Plus we will see some of her other industrial tools (e.g the 24 inch carding machine and maybe even the cord maker. If you would like to do flat wet felting and not need to do the shuffle and jive please join us.

Our fall felting will be checking out Jean’s new felting “toys”. Four of us at a time can make (unfinished size 2ft x 2ft) squares of felt fabric in the felting machine in minutes vs all day. You can make as many 2ftx2ft squares with about 4 layers of fiber as you like. Plus we will see some of her other industrial tools (e.g the 24 inch carding machine and maybe even the cord maker. If you would like to do flat wet felting and not need to do the shuffle and jive please join us.

Our fall felting will be checking out Jean’s new felting “toys”. Four of us at a time can make (unfinished size 2ft x 2ft) squares of felt fabric in the felting machine in minutes vs all day. You can make as many 2ftx2ft squares with about 4 layers of fiber as you like. Plus we will see some of her other industrial tools (e.g the 24 inch carding machine and maybe even the cord maker. If you would like to do flat wet felting and not need to do the shuffle and jive please join us.

Date & Time: December 7th – 9:30 am
Location: Jean VanEffen, 15631 159th LN SE YELM
Phone: 360-894-1273

Bring lunch and prepared fiber and optional yarn to craft as many felt squares as you like. If you do not have fiber you can use from the study group stash. Contact Gail Trotter getrotter@comcast.net if you need more information.

Also let Gail know if you are interested in making the felt rocks for the ANWG guild booth floor. The booth team is interested in using the “stones” and we will get more details on how much space they would like covered.

I just finished using the fusible thread for hems again and found a better way to fuse it. While the piece is still on the loom and under tension, press the fusible thread hem section with a warm iron. Doing it that way eliminates the puckering you experience when pressing it on the ironing board. Marjorie

“The purpose of the Olympia Weavers’ Guild shall be to provide a forum where active weavers may share information, knowledge and techniques, and provide each other with guidance, encouragement, and inspiration.“ This statement from the By-Laws of the guild and seeing the idea in one of the magazines we receive in the library launched the idea of the Tip Jar.

Thanks for sharing your favorite tips you learned this year during Showcase, the programs, study groups and breaks. In addition there were many ideas that came in to improve the guild during the business meeting which, this summer, will be captured and organized with the rest of the ideas to improve the guild that came the past two months.

The blog Joy of Weaving has “The Best Tension Device”, http://joyofweaving.com/articles/best-tension-device-ever to provide extra tension for a plain beam using 1” dowels and some hair ties.
For how to use it see: http://joyofweaving.com/articles/how-to-use-a-tension-device

Harrisville version: http://harrisville.com/weave/weaving-accessories/tensioning-device-floor-loom/ They describe it as especially good for those who warp alone.

There was a question on Boundweave which is way above my understanding especially when there were tips to maintain sanity but here are some of the basics I found in “The Weaving Book – Patterns and Ideas” by Helene Bress

• Bound weave is a loom-controlled, weft-faced weave. It is a trebling system and not a threading system. It can be done in most threading systems. http://www.weavingtoday.com/weaving-projects-patterns/the-beauty-of-boundweave
• The weft goes from selvage to selvage. The warp sett must be wide enough to allow the weft yarn to pack down and cover the warp. Usually, the warp is a hard, strong, smooth yarn. The weft is a soft, loosely spun yarn. Weft is place into the shed at an angle, and it should beat down to cover the warp. If it is not covering well then bubble the weft or change either the sett or the weft yarns. A strong, heavy stiff fabric results and works well for hangings, pillows, purses, runners, rugs and upholstery. https://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/wj_77_04.pdf
• It can be done on Huck, Twills, Overshot, Plain, Monk’s Belt, Rep and Indian Saddle Blanket Weave.
• Krokbragd is a charming Boundweave variation. The word is Norwegian, and literally means crooked lines or crooked path. Generally it is threaded to a 3-harness Point Twill and treadles as a rotation weave.http://tangleweave.blogspot.com/2009/11/making-of-krokbragd-tote.html
• Bound weave is not known for its lovely selvages. A floating selvage will serve you well. http://www.weavingtoday.com/blogs/ask-madelyn/working-with-floating-selvedges

Enjoy the summer and take advantage of opportunities to fulfill the 2nd purpose of the Guild:

“Guild members will be encouraged to share their interests in weaving with members of the community by promoting community education and participating in special events and services.”