TAPS Call for entries announcement:

We are excited to share with you an upcoming  exhibition opportunity for artists living in the Pacific Time Zone in Canada, the US and Mexico! The Corvallis Art Center in Corvallis Oregon will be the venue for this exhibit juried by UofW art professor Layne Goldsmith  opening Aug.18,2016. The deadline for entry is April 15, 2016 and notification to artists is June 1. Follow the link to the TAPS website and entry form information http://tapestryartists.org/pacific-time-zone.

• Check out selvage techniques Handwoven November/December on page 22 by Tom Knisley.
• Regine Carey did the rainbow discharge dye on Kathy Forsythe’s 8/2 tencel fibers for her Kumihimo project using the directions that came with the Procion MX Dye chemicals from PRO Chemical and Dye http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/home.php Somerset, MA. For technical support call 508-676-3838. Check with Regine for more about the process she used.
• Terri Standley’s fabric was inspired from the article in Handwoven March/April 2000. The name of the article is “Good Enough to Eat; color blending with Huck Lace.” She used draft # 5 on page 49. It is for the red and coral scarf. Happy weaving!
• To check contrast between items take a picture of them, then change image to black and white, gray scale, to determine contrast. For more on value contrast see http://anchorageweavespin.org/tips2.html
• Weft floats can make weaving curl. For more see https://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/fa1_curl.pdf
• Count your heddles before warping your loom to make sure you have enough heddles on your loom for the project you have planned
• To get more weaving length from your warp take the reed out of its beater leaving the reed suspended on the warp and continue to weave

Personal recommendation: If you have some time to spare while dodging raindrops this weekend, definitely stop in to the 10th Fiber Festival from the Schafer Meadows Fiber Arts Guild. This year it is in Elma at the fairgrounds, in the main Exhibit Hall.

Inside the Exhibit Hall at Elma Fairgrounds

Demonstration of Alpaca fiber processing.

Merino/Alpaca yarn from one of the vendors.

Besides all the lovely yarns and rovings, you will also get to see some familiar faces doing demonstrations, such as Jean showing how alpaca is processed.
-Sarah

See website:  http://www.schafermeadowsfiberfest.com/home.html

http://www.nwbasketweavers.org/retreat2016/default.html
This year there are several classes that are crossovers with weaving and spinning. One class does side by side knotting and tapestry weave and will include paper yarn. Another with knitting with willow and another Spinning Paper for Fiber Arts. Take a peak at the offerings and see if there is something for you.

Gail Trotter is hosting a time to do dying with Oak Galls. If you are interested please vote for your preferences on time at http://doodle.com/poll/ab23qgsz96bah8i7#table

For a description of dying see:

http://www.primitiveways.com/black_dye.html

Bring a container you can take home with your dye and fibers soaking.
Bring what you want to dye – natural fibers / fabric. If you would like to do Shibori you can prepare the fabric to take the dye at home or at Gail’s

We will mix up the solution and start the dying and the following days you can switch to the iron mixture.

Email if you have questions –  getrotter@comcast.net

Gail will follow up with more information on based on the doodle list so please vote.

About Paper Yarn – Bill Green used Habu Item A-60, http://habutextiles.com/A-60, color 116, 100% linen, 476 yds, 4 mm. Wide. He used about 1/2 the hank for one scarf. Hank cost $22.50 at Fibers Etc. in Tacoma. … from Cara Leslie

Appreciated tip from Ardith Hamilton about noticing that the loom is out of balance when the beater at rest does not lay evenly on the castle. For other maintenance problems see: http://www.janellestudio.com/weaving/loomspinwhrepair.html It has good tips on dealing with rust that are useful in our damp climate.
Ardith also shared about using fishing line for salvages then removing when weaving complete.

If you are comparing looms, their styles and best use – Erica Plotkin suggests:
I think if one were weaving rugs, one would want a very sturdy and heavy duty loom to beat the rugs firmly with.  If one wanted to weave complex patterns and mutli-shaft drafts (patterns), one would probably want to look at a computer linked loom, with only two treadles. Then there is size to consider – how wide do you want and do you want it to be portable. Some floor looms can fold up and travel, otherwise there are table looms.
Judy Parkins likes HGA tips on buying a first loom https://www.weavespindye.org/buying-a-first-loom

Thanks for sharing your useful tips or inquires in the Tip Jar.