Show and Tell December 2023
Sewing with Handwovens – Johanna G.
A few beautiful examples of handwoven and sewn items by Johanna G.
All posts by Stefanie Selck
December 14th Guild Meeting: Holiday Party
Program for 7:00 pm Thursday, December 14: Holiday Party
Welcome, one and all, to the Black Sheep Guild Holiday Party! We will be meeting in person at the Veterans Memorial Center, 1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City at 7:00 p.m. Let us gather, greet old friends and new, and share our love of textiles and each other Come in a festive spirit! (Last year, we encouraged donning a special hat or other wearable
decoration, so why not make that a tradition?) As always, we eagerly anticipate seeing your fiber creations at our show-and-tell time. And if you have a textile that holds some special meaning, we would love to hear your tale. May our shared stories be a bright spot in the dark winter!
Please join in our evening of merriment and bring an edible treat to share. For simplicity’s sake, we are just asking for contributions of finger foods, sweet or savory. We will supply an assortment of beverages.
Please also consider bringing an item (or many) from your stash! Instead of a gift exchange, this year we will feature a stash give-away table, which we trust will fill with tempting offerings.
Lighten your cache of those “someday” items, let them become someone else’s treasure, and come away with something that sparks new inspiration! Doubtless, most of us will not be leaving empty-handed!
If you have any interest in helping with the party set-up, please contact Gail (President) or any Programs board member. We look forward to your company!
Show and Tell November 2023
Show and Tell November 2023
John H – My silk warp IKAT scarf
Ange M – Sample from Mary Zikafoose’s class
The warp is 8/2 tencel dyed with Procion mx dyes, and the weft is a commercially dyed 16/2 cotton. I wove a straight twill.
I shifted the color by slipping the threads; one side came out looking like I wanted and the other did not!
Teacatweaver’s Ikat scarf from Mary Zikafoose’s class
Result from the IKAT workshop with Mary Zikafoose. Madder/Cutch natural dye, 100% linen
Michael B. – Inkle Band Suspenders
Very nice inkle band suspenders crafted by Black Sheep member Michael B.
Note the custom 3D printed clips on the left, perfect for blue jean belt loops.
Lynn C. – Navajo-style tapestry
Beautiful tapestry by Black Sheep member Lynn C.
It is approximately 30 inches square and was warped Navajo-style on two dowels, then tied to a frame loom.
Nov 16 Guild Meeting: Robyn Spady
November Program
Weaving TnT: Dynamite Tips ‘n Technique for Every Weaver with Robyn Spady
Robyn Spady’s website offers this description: “ Would you like to learn a great method for repairing a broken warp end, tracking your treadling while you weave, making your own repair heddles, or just make weaving easier and more pleasurable? This gizmo-and-gadget centric presentation looks and feels like an interactive show-and-tell and will introduce over 36 offbeat tools, techniques, or tricks to assist weavers in all phases of weaving.”
Robyn has years of experience with a broad variety of weaving techniques. She is the founder of Heddlecraft, a digital magazine for handweavers: https://heddlecraft.com
She has written numerous articles for Handwoven. She is also an engaging and enjoyable speaker.
Whether you are a new weaver or an old hand, Robyn will bring something to savor.
The meeting will be held on Zoom at 7 pm, Thursday, November 16, 2023.
Her website is https://www.spadystudios.com/, Her blog is here: https://spadystudios.wordpress.com/
Show and Tell October 2023
Show and Tell October 2023
Alexandra G. and her Double Rainbow Scarf (Doubleweave/Cotton):
Laura B. and her Overshot Blanket:
7 yard warp, which alternates Brown Sheep Lambspun (I was given 10 skeins at a Black Sheep meeting last year) with a finer grist of my handspun singles from a natural dark brown crossbred fleece.
293 ends, sett at 8 dpi. Draft is a simple 4-shaft overshot from Malin Selander, woven with 3 tabby picks between the pattern wefts. This was my first big project on my vintage Ullman countermarch loom.
Tabby weft is my fine dark brown handspun. Pattern weft is partly a commercial 2-ply I redyed to red and rust, and partly a 2-ply handspun I carded and spun to match the grist, in many colors.
After sampling my wet finishes, I plan to full the cloth, cut it into three panels and crochet them together with more of the Brown Sheep Lambspun to make a twin-sized blanket for my older son. He approved the color scheme.
Laura B.
Oct 19 : Guild Meeting with Speaker Kelly Mondola Koza – Sardinian Arts – Handweavers of Sardinia
Sardinian Arts — Handweavers of Sardinia
On the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, handweaving is an ancient and revered art considered so complex and magical that legends say the Jana (fairies) taught women how to construct looms and weave. Sardinia’s tessitrici artigianali — women weavers who work by hand in the old ways — are extraordinary and rare. Only a handful remain working as professionals, maintaining the ancient and distinctive textile traditions of their towns.
Meet these women weavers, see the loving and painstaking artistry of their textiles, and glimpse just a bit of Sardinia’s majesty in March’s Guild meeting, featuring Kelly Manjula Koza, founder of Sardinian Arts.
During the event, Kelly will show bits of her film, I Want to Weave the Weft of Time (2016), about the few remaining hand weavers of Samugheo, as well as additional videos, photos, stories of the weavers, and glimpses of her personal textile collection as she presents the textiles and weavers of three areas:
Samugheo (the best-known of the Sardinian traditions, that of pibiones), Nule, and Aggius. Kelly will also provide some background about Sardinia, touch on the importance of the handmade, and discuss the need to create protective classifications for traditional textiles.
Before the event, you are invited to watch the entire documentary for free online as an introduction to what we’ll discuss at the event. See the film (29 minutes) at http://weaveweftoftime.com. Find additional information on SardinianArts.com.
Kelly writes, films, photographs, and produces events about Sardinia, the handweavers, and related topics. She founded Sardinian Arts in 2013 to help protect, promote, encourage, and advance the tessitrici artigianali and the arts, culture, and heritage of Sardinia in a sustainable manner. In addition to producing, filming, writing and editing I Want to Weave the Weft of Time, she produced and curated Sardinian Textiles:
An Exhibit of Handwoven Art in San Francisco (2017), Intrecciati, an intercultural fiber arts project coordinated between Sardinia, Milano, and San Francisco (2017), and other events. More films and events are in the works.
Kelly’s background includes 30 years of volunteering with an NGO based in India as well as corporate work in technology, communications, and program management. She senses an emerging connection between gizmo-based technology overload and the rising desire for handmade items, especially in fiber arts.
• tessitrici artigianali — https://sardinianarts.com/meet-the-artists/
• Sardinian Arts — https://sardinianarts.com
• I Want to Weave the Weft of Time (Directly on Vimeo) — https://vimeo.com/175328435
• I Want to Weave the Weft of Time (on Sardinian Arts) — https://sardinianarts.com/documentary-film/
• Sardinian Textiles: An Exhibit of Handwoven Art in San Francisco — https://sardinianarts.com/thank-you/
• Intrecciati — https://www.facebook.com/groups/1244193932289776/
We are excited to have Kelly Mondola Koza as guest speaker for our Oct 19 Guild meeting!
Show and Tell September 2023
Show & Tell: Sashiko & Indigo by Gail B.
Indigo dyed cotton shibori weave:
Beautiful purses / phone pouches incorporating previously unfinished samples from sashiko and indigo dye workshops:
Swedish Snowflake Towels by Stefanie S.
After completing the Swedish Snowflake draft at a recent class with Madeline van der Hoogt, I liked the pattern so much that I wove a few dish towels. To make it more interesting, I changed the 8-shaft pattern to 16 shafts, to display both front and back side in alternating squares. 22/2 Cottolin.
In-person Program for 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 21: Share- Outs of our Summer Studies
In-person Program for 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 21: Share-
Outs of our Summer Studies
Please join us as we kick off a new year of guild programs! September’s guild meeting will be an in-person event featuring the show-and-tell of members who attended CNCH 2023 and other Black Sheep Handweavers Guild September 2 2023 Newsletter
summer workshops. We will start officially at 7:00 p.m. at the Goldstar room inside the Veteran Memorial Senior Center. (Hospitality will be there by 6:30 p.m.) The address is 1455 Madison Avenue, Redwood City, CA 94061. We will have drinks available. Feel free to bring a snack to share or for yourself, depending on your comfort level. The weather should be pleasant enough to keep the side door open for ventilation.
August 17th: Summer Get-Together
The August Guild Meeting is happening Thursday, August 17th at 7 pm in the Goldstar Room at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center.
Address is 1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City, CA 94061
It will be a casual crafting night so bring something you can work on while chatting with others!
Show and Tell August 2023
CNCH 2023 – San Luis Obispo, CA
Many Black Sheep Guild members were able to participate in the recent Conference of Northern California Handweavers in San Luis Obispo from Aug 3-6, 2023.
Below you will find some impressions and images our members brought back as well as samples of the amazing work that was done in 16+ classes during the conference.
Thank you to members for sharing their work with us!
Barbara S – Deb Curtis’ Class on “Birch Bark Explorations”
Here are two stitched vessels I did in Deb Curtis class. Stitched birch bark with 4 strand and 3 strand braided and flat cedar bark rims.
Deb is an excellent teacher, the students were so much fun to be with, and I learned a lot about materials I have never before worked with. What looks like black stitching on the cylinder is actually natural to the bark as are the short brown lines.
Ange M – Inge Dam’s class on “Tablet Band Incorporated into Fabric”
I took Inge Dam’s class on “Tablet Band Incorporated into Fabric”. My
sample is still in progress but here’s a photo of it! All 10/2 cotton,
and there are 28 cards in the threaded-in cardwoven accent.
Stefanie S – Jennifer Moore’s class on Double Rainbow
Here are some images of the finished sampler we started in Jennifer Moore’s class. Lot’s of opportunity to play with color and shapes and get creative with different yarns.
