February 15th, 2024 Guild Meeting with Kathy Hattori
Program starts at 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 15th :
Johanna G – Fabulous Soji Jackets
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.
Johanna G – New Tunic
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
Sewing with Handwovens – Johanna G.
A few beautiful examples of handwoven and sewn items by Johanna G.
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
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.
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
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.
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!
