All posts by St S

Black Sheep Exhibition at the Redwood City Main Library in April

April 2, 2024Past EventsSt S

April Black Sheep exhibit at the Redwood City Library

Once again, we are having an exhibition at the Redwood City Library for the month of April. Many of our members have items in the display cases on either side of the Children’s Library entrance on the 1st floor. Information about location, hours, parking, etc. can be found here: https://www.redwoodcity.org/departments/library/rcpl-info/locations-and-hours
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Thank you to everyone who loaned us items to display!

Jodi Paley & Andrea Niehaus, exhibits

Show and Tell March 2024

March 7, 2024Show and TellSt S

Stefanie S – Flower Scarf

This is a modified version of a 24-shaft pattern from an old German Weaving book from 1771 ( Handweaving . net # 56988)

I was able to reduce the number of shafts with Tim’s Threadle Reducer to work for my 16-shaft loom. The warp is Merino wool and the weft is wool, the sett is 18 KF per inch.

Johanna G – Latest work with handwoven cloth

The black and white top was first made as a “muslin” to check size and fit for my woven shirt that I made second. The pattern is an altered Simplicity pattern and the material was donated from Gail B’s stash. I made both shirts for my daughter.

The woven shirt is a huck lace pattern using 8/2 cotton and the draft is from Madelyn Vanderhoot’s book on huck lace. Our Weave Structure’s group was working on huck and bronson lace, and I wanted to create a comfortable, airy shirt that my daughter would wear. She loves them both! So I feel I succeeded!

March 21 Guild Meeting with Carson Demmers (Zoom Meeting)

March 1, 2024Past Programs, ProgramsSt S

Program for 7:00 pm March 21st via Zoom : Our guest speaker is Carson Demers.

By day he is a mild-mannered physical therapist (well, actually award winning!). But the rest of his life he is spinning, knitting, designing and teaching, always with an eye to ergonomics.

He is the author of Knitting Comfortably: the Ergonomics of
Handknitting. Plus, he is a poodle lover! https://www.ergoiknit.com/

Do you do more than knit or spin? This presentation takes inventory
of the ergonomic pros and cons for a variety of fiber arts including
weaving and finer needle work.

You’ll learn how injuries occur and
the contributions your craft makes both to their occurrence and
prevention. You’ll learn to identify ergonomic risk in your craft and
techniques to prevent injuries including improved posture, stretching and exercise.

February 15th Guild Meeting with Kathy Hattori

February 1, 2024Past Programs, ProgramsSt S

February 15th, 2024 Guild Meeting with Kathy Hattori

Program starts at 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 15th :

Kathy Hattori, President of Botanical Colors and loyal Black Sheep member will discuss current trends in natural dyes and how the “farm to fashion” movement is gaining momentum and providing consumers with a roadmap to demanding and supporting sustainable clothing. Along the way, we will talk about technology, challenges and some exciting developments.

https://botanicalcolors.com/

Show and Tell February 2024

February 1, 2024Show and Tell, UncategorizedSt S

Johanna G – Fabulous Soji Jackets

I just finished sewing my second Soji Jacket and find them so comfortable to wear.

The black and white one is color blocking that I created for the Canada Fashion course last year.

The blue and white and multicolored color blocking Soji Jacket I just finished using a selection of some of my previous woven fabrics, along with some commercial fabric. It came together pretty easy given I had done a trial run with the first jacket. The blue jacket includes fabric from our recent Structures study on Diversified Plain weave. It is the lighter blue section in the front of the jacket.

Tyler M. – Bamboo Scarf

Tyler M. wove this 12 gauge bamboo scarf at 30 epi – “The drape is buttery”

Lynn C. – Tapestry with soumak stitch

Lynn C. wove this 10×14″ tapestry with handspun wool with a soumak stitch technique. This was inspired by an online weaving class with Kennita Tully.

January 18, 2024 Guild Meeting: Robin Lynde

January 2, 2024Past Programs, ProgramsSt S

January 18, 2024 Guild Meeting: Robin Lynde

January Program
Thursday, January 18, 7:00 pm on Zoom
Link will be sent out before the meeting and will be on the Black Sheep Handweavers Guild calendar

Join us this month for some time with a local fiber celebrity, Robin Lynde of Meridian Jacobs in Vacaville. This month’s program is an inside view into where our fibers come from and what goes into the care and production of the yarns we use. It also brings insights into the host of Lambtown, a favorite local textile event.

In her own words, Robin Lynde says:

“There is more to running a fiber business than admiring shelves of yarn and knitting all day just as there is more to raising sheep than cuddling lambs. How do you combine farming, shop-keeping, teaching, and weaving into a successful business? I will discuss my experience developing and managing Meridian Jacobs with plenty of time to answer questions.”

We look forward to seeing your faces and hearing whatever questions you might have about the processes that come before your warp touches the heddles and your weft fills your shuttle.

Show and Tell January 2024

January 2, 2024Show and TellSt S

Johanna G – New Tunic

I first used a Butterick pattern to make this tunic with material donated from Gail B.’s stash. It is cotton Ikat. I used the material to check for fitting and do a practice run before using my own weaving yardage.

Then I wove the yardage for the second round using a Diversified Plain Weave structure or also called Thick and Thin, that our Structures group has been focusing on these last few months. I used Laura Viada’s pattern, thanks to Gudrun helping me get an enlarged copy of the threading. I used Borg’s 16/2 cotton in both the warp and weft, as well as Maurice Brassard’s 8/2 Tencel in both warp and weft. I wove 4 yards at 30 epi. It has a lovely feel and does drape, which is what I was wanting for the final product.

While I did struggle with getting it to all line up and of course there are some weaving errors, I am happy with the end product!

Gudrun P – Explorations of Diversified Plain Weave

DPW was the BSHG structure study group’s recent topic. DPW is in the family of two-tie “Thick-and-Thin” structures. On an 8H loom, shaft 1 and 2 are used for thin ties, shaft 3 – 8 are pattern shafts and are threaded with heavier threads. Traditionally a single color is used for all heavy warp threads and a different color is use for all heavy weft threads.

In an alternate project I wanted to experiment using more colors in the warp. I set up a threading that combined two colors in every block.

Using the tie-up this arrangement lets me choose colors for every pick. I can lift one of the colors in a block, or both or none of them. This gives you great possibilies to create patterns. Carpet warp is the thick yarn in this project, 20/2 or 10/2 cotton is used for the ties.

John H – Geometric ikat scarf

I made another of my geometric ikat scarves. I wanted to check out whether an AVL warping wheel could be used for ikat wrapping. It sort of worked, but I was unable to get accurate placement of the wraps. The pattern starts out OK but falls apart by the end of the scarf. Warp is 400 ends of 20/2 silk sett at 40 epi.

Show and Tell December 2023

December 3, 2023Show and TellSt S

Show and Tell December 2023

Sewing with Handwovens – Johanna G.

A few beautiful examples of handwoven and sewn items by Johanna G.

December 14th Guild Meeting: Holiday Party

December 3, 2023Past Programs, ProgramsSt S

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!