Lynn C – Woven fabric with Soumak stitch
From Lynn Curry: 8 x 14″. Woven with cotton
warp thread and pearl cotton weft. The lines
are done with soumak stitch. “I was trying out
some ideas I may use for a larger design and I
improved my technique and learned some
things from weaving this. “
In Person Program for Thursday, October 17th 7 pm
Kathleen Dickey will be the guest speaker for the October
program, talking about weaving in community: different models
of weaving together, including apprenticeships, coops, and
virtual communities. She apprenticed with three weavers over
the years, and most recently was a founding member of the
Madrone Arts Cooperative in Pescadero. She might be called an
emerging artist if those who are emerging from retirement are
included…
The program will be at Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455
Madison Ave, Redwood City. The program will start at 7pm,
but the room will be open at 6:30 for those who want to visit
beforehand.
COVID note: Masking is optional, but please wear a mask if you
have any respiratory symptoms, even if it’s probably just allergies from everything that’s blooming.
We will meet for supper before the program at Karakade Thai Cuisine, 5:30. 593 Woodside Road, cross street Hudson https://maps.app.goo.gl/eaQZyrGLDW8ifVou5
Please RSVP to Ally Kraus, allison [dot] m [dot] kraus [at] gmail [dot] com
Upcoming Programs 2024 / 2025
*The information provided is preliminary and might still change *
Dinner Gatherings are back!
by Gudrun Polak
When Covid hit us in 2020 we lost the wonderful opportunity to enjoy dinner with our fellow Black Sheep friends before the guild meetings. It had been great socializing and lots of good ideas were hatched out. Often it gave us a chance to spend an extra hour with our speaker.
It is time to get back into this habit and the time is NOW, this month. Update your calendar, write down the guild meeting and add “Dinner at 5:30 pm” to your list. As I look at the locations where we used to meet I find that our favorite Thai restaurant in Redwood City is no longer listed. I do find the Japanese restaurant that I liked just as much:
ASYA – 3215 Oak Knoll Dr. After consulting with our local gourmet, Jodi, I added two more choices:
– Big Brother’s Burgers – 2137 Roosevelt Ave – Villa Lucia’s – 1725 Woodside Road
Please check out their locations, websites and menus.
Then let me know what you prefer and I’ll make a reservation.
Gudrun
In Person Program for Thursday, September 19th, 7:00 pm:
From Text to Textiles with Ally Kraus
The speaker for our September meeting is our own Ally Kraus. She will be discussing her journey into art, her current work, and her future plans. Her website is https://www.allykraus.com/
Ally Kraus is a fiber artist – weaver, sewist, and dyer – based in San Jose, CA. Originally an instructional writer and designer, Ally left her corporate job in 2022 to focus on
textiles full-time and apply her professional skills to a creative setting. She spent a year visiting craft schools across the United States before returning to the Bay Area with plans to open a textile hub in Silicon Valley.
Ally is the Vice President of the Black Sheep Handweavers Guild, on the Leadership Team of genets Silicon Valley, the Administrative Editor of Complex Weavers Journal, and a textile instructor at Maker Nexus. Her work has been shown at Bay Area galleries, including the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, Sanchez Art Center, Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Pacific Art League, Works/San José, and Noble Gallery.
Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City. The program will start at 7pm, but the room will be open at 6:30 for those who want to visit beforehand. If anyone would like to bring something finger-edible to share, that would be lovely. We don’t send around a signup sheet for monthly snacks any more. COVID note: Masking is optional, but please wear a mask if you have any respiratory symptoms, even if it’s probably just allergies from everything that’s blooming.
Gail B – My Cottolin Project
I finally completed the Cottolin project that began as an attempt at a set of dishtowels. It instead morphed into a shawl, which I hurriedly finished with twists to wear to a June family wedding.
Over the summer, I also tied a new color scheme onto the center of the remaining warp to make a scarf. This week, after finishing its twists, I forced myself to better align the knots on the shawl as well, at last trimming the ends cleanly. It was fiddly work – after 224 twists in all, I’m ready to move on to a new project.
The shawl wet-finished softer than the scarf, even though they’re both Cottolin of identical sett. I think I gave the shawl a hot-water wash, while the scarf got a cold one, so I may eventually rewash the scarf.
Stripes are woven in a 3/1 twill between areas of basket weave.
***
Donna D. – Dancing Blocks
These were intended to be a set of dinner table napkins. The warp was a neutral linen that I bought in Latvia. The weft is 5/2 cotton in various colors.
The pattern was from handweaving.net ( # 16103 ) with the addition of the plain weave border. I called it “dancing blocks”!
In Person Program for Saturday, August 17th 10am – 1 pm
For August, we’re having a Summer Social meeting. It takes place on Saturday, August 17th from 10am-1pm in our usual room at the Senior Center (1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City, CA 94061).
Come when you can, stay for as little or as long as you like. New members are especially invited!
Friends, family, and prospective guild members are welcome to attend.
Non-guild members can RSVP with this form: https://forms.gle/rF1RBNhRX6ZQ3383A (not mandatory but very much appreciated so we know how many folks to expect).
This meeting will be an informal social event. Bring a fiber project to work on and chat while your hands are busy. You are also encouraged to bring a project for show-and-tell – we’ll set up a little gallery along the windows.
Ally will also create some signage about our programs, library, study groups, etc., for non-members – get in touch if you’d like to help (allison.m.kraus at gmail.com).
Black Sheep Guild participates in annual Art on the Square
The Black Sheep Guild once again put together a great booth for Redwood City’s “Art on the Square” series: in this case, the “Jewelry on the Square” event of July 12th.
Guild members demonstrated their crafts and welcomed passersby to try their hand at spinning, rigid heddle weaving, and kumihimo braids.
We made some lovely connections with folks of all ages, including several young people who were particularly enthusiastic.
It was a lovely opportunity to reach out to the larger community. Many thanks to all the members who contributed!
Gudrun P. – Handspun scarf
John H. – Rock Weaving
I took a Zoom class two weeks ago on off-loom weaving using rocks, aka Rock Weaving. The class was taught by Lark and Bower (Sarah Ward Podlesney), @larkandbower on
Instagram.
I made one log cabin weave on an actual rock and two twill weaves on some old, dead cell phones that I had lying around.
Ulla de L. – Woven Fabric for a skirt
My US looms are still packed away but I have one in Sweden on which I set up a color/weave pattern last summer. The house was full of kids so the carport would have to do.
The pattern is on 7 shafts and quite subtle.
I have made it on 15 shafts in the past and then the pattern is much more clear.
The blue cottolin shrank more than I expected and I had to add a panel to be
able to wear the skirt. That extra panel made for a handy pocket.
Please join us for an informal social get-together at the Veterans Memorial Center. ((1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City, Goldstar Room, 7 – 9 PM.) If you wish, bring along a portable project to work on, as well as show-and-tell items to share. We also appreciate your snack contributions to our hospitality table. Hot tea, water, and serving items will be available.