Ply Split Rug by Ulla de L.  

 I made another split ply rug while I was in Sweden last month. It is made of the 260
cords I had made the year before, walking back and forth on our veranda. As with my previous ones it is made out of the Maypole Nehalem wool yarns I got from Gisela Evitt many years ago, using 10400 ends of 2 ply wool. It is 24″ X 7’4″ in size.

Creative Endeavors by Betsy C

The Creative Endeavors Group learned sashiko stitching with Jodi P. This beautiful boro was made by Betsy C.

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sarah A

Here is my recent piece Stand Clear of the Closing Doors. It is inspired by the New York City subway. The design was generated by artificial intelligence (image included below) and then I reproduced it with modified Theo Moorman technique using handspun mixed and upcycled fiber inlay weft, cotton warp, and bast ground weft. 

The woven piece                                                   The AI Starting Point 

Gail B – More Creative Endeavors

Completed Scarf: Four Shaft Deflected Doubleweave variation, 5/2 cotton and Bambu 7

Sashiko/Bpro Mug Rug, cotton, 6″x6″ (April Creative Endeavors Event)

Mushroom-Dyed Wool yarn (March Creative Endeavors Event)                                    

Beautiful wool scarf – by Leela G

I made this freakin’ beautiful wool scarf on my floor loom. First time trying out a different threading than 1234. Favorite piece to date by far. Looks even better in person.

Barbara Shapiro – Troubled Waters

My work Troubled Waters 2019, 14 x 14 x 14″, has been chosen for The Color of Water at
the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, February 11 to March 26, 2023.

The Reception is on February 11, 2 to 4 PM. The hexagonally plaited sedori cane globe supports a swirl of soiled papers and cloth with a pool of debris inside the globe as well.

Barbara Shapiro – Featured Friday Artist for the National Basketry Organization

Jan 6, 2023

 As I explored Japanese Flower Knot plaiting on a jellyfish for Bay Area Basket Makers‘ participation in the CNCH Tableau event, it occurred to me that the surface resembled that of a pineapple. And off I went seeking to capture the shape of that once exotic fruit.   By the time I finish the fourth and fifth ones, I had figured out that I could use spacers between knots to create a nice plump form. The crown is made with two rows of twining on some extra elements and rolling them up to insert into the top. 

Stefanie S – Tencel Scarf

I wanted to feature both colors on this scarf, so I chose Blue as warp and Green as weft and wove in a cross-twill. I added a few rows of herringbone twill every few inches to mix it up a little. The scarf is very soft and has great drape and I really like the color combination. 

Barbara O. –  Samples from Rep Workshop with Kelly Marshall

Gudrun  P – Christmas Trees

Christmas Trees

These trees came to be in my early days of weaving. I had taken a 6 week weaving class at the studio of “The Handweavers of Los Altos” with my teachers Jane Koldorff, Yvonne Kortum and Margaret Gaynes. I had learned about rose path and this is what I used to create patterns in a plain weave background. It was fun play to weave, creating patterns using colors and the floats that rose path gives you.

Ulla d L – Hatband

I bought a hat at the second-hand shop in Burlingame and decided to do a hatband for it.

It is in split ply twining. 8 strands of 10/2 cotton per cord, in the SCOT ( single-course oblique twining) technique.

Linda Hendrickson calls it the “Waves” band. I haven’t had the guts to wear the hat.

Ply-Split Hatband, wave pattern – Ulla d  L

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Ange M – Baby Blanket

Baby blankets for my grandnephews, made from 8/4 Brassard cotton in a rosepath threading.

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Laura B – Rigid Heddle Project in process

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Sarah A – My recently finished wrap

this is my recently finished wrap. Cottolin warp and weft, with supplemental handspun weft of Malabriho nube merino and handdyed locks from Namaste farms. Spiral plied with metallic thread. Finnish bird’s eye draft.  One armhole to keep it in place.

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Barbara S – One Object for 2022

Barbara Shapiro, Never again is Now, 2022. Japanese handwoven hemp, plaited strips of Kozo fiber, clumps of Kozo fiber, Red silk thread stitching, and Sumi ink. Stitched and assembled. 

My most recent Horn Bag was completed in April 2022 with the constant specter of war in Europe on my mind. Damaged and soiled, its contents have singed edges. It is not pretty. As I did with Tikuun Olam, I gave this one a title that reflects my Jewish heritage. Never Again was what we said after WWII with the founding of the state of Israel. Never again would the Jews have nowhere to go when the world turned against them. And now again we see people fleeing their homes with just a bag of their possessions in their arms, not knowing what the future holds for them. It’s heartbreaking.  If these past years have taught me anything, it is that I should feel empowered to speak in my own true voice at this point of my life. If I see the world as fragile, all of us fragile, it’s OK to express that in my work. And If I feel like repairing that fragility with stitches and woven patches, because each of us can bring about change, stitch by stitch, then I can say that with my work too

Archana N

One warp, many structures

Here are photos of the sample to be turned into a scarf project from CNCH Workshop One Warp, Many Structures: Explorations in Extended Parallel Threadings.

10/2 pearl cotton warp and 20/2 weft. 

Three patterns – Echo – falling stars, shadow weave and turned twill. 

Stefanie S

Napkins for my Daughter’s Wedding

My daughter is getting married in November and requested 30 napkins in the wedding’s color scheme “Wisteria”.

This is 22/2 Cottoline, 420 warp threads in two warps, 8.4 yd each. It is a plain weave with the pattern being a point twill with 4 threads of white and one gold thread between the two patterns. All napkins were machine-sewn, washed and ironed;  there was about 10 % shrinkage, which I accounted for in the initial width and length.

A fun project, although I am now ready to weave something else for a change.

Johanna G

First of 2 pieces from same cotton 10/2 warp from Lunatic Fringe.

Baby blanket for newborn grandchild Luca.  It is a 4 shaft waffle weave that shrunk considerably but is soft and light.

Second pieces is the same warp with a rose path pattern that was turned into a tunic with flounce sleeves. I created the tunic for my Canada Sewing Course Principles of Design. It is warm but comfy!

Ally 

Linen ikat with marigold, iron, and very faint Myrobalan

My latest ikat project let me practice some of the skills from the Natural Dye Workshop and get to know my newest loom. The ikat project I measured out 4 yards of linen warp and prepped it for dyeing.

The piece is made from natural linen. I used myrobalan as a tannin, dyed it with marigold (the yellow part), and then overdyed with iron. The marigold turned brown with the addition of iron. The myrobalan tannin faintly reacted to the iron, but much of the color difference disappeared after wet finishing.

It was a practice piece to get to know my “new” loom and to experiment with natural dyes and ikat. So mostly it was for experimentation, but I’ll probably sew something with it at some point.

Gudrun 

Kumihimo braid key fobs

These key fobs are a collection of braids in various colors and techniques, mostly cotton, some silk.

Can you spot the Lady Bug pattern, the blue-yellow flowers on a vine?

Most of them are Japanese Kongo Gumi braids made on a Kumihimo disk. The red, yellow, turquoise spirals have the nickname Laramie Braid and are derived from European straw-plaiting.

Barbara 

Quick update on three new exhibits that I want to share with you in a timely manner.
Pulp: Book and Paper Arts will feature my Faulty Towers: Night and Day, a plaited paper
sculptural pair made of shredded artist prints. Inspired by the SF Millennium Tower that is
sinking on its foundation, this work also refers to the many things that are faulty in our society today. If you look closely, you can see the faces of little children. It is for their sake that we need to fix our world. My work is featured on the postcard and on the website.
https://www.sebarts.org/exhibits The exhibit at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts runs from July 30 – September 4, 2022. This work just won first prize in the exhibit at the opening July 30th. Nice surprise for me.

Faulty Towers: Night and Day, 2020, plaited shredded artist prints.

Traditions Evolve is sponsored by the Northern California Chapter of Surface Design and will include a sculptural basket from my newest series Welcome Pineapple 236. The exotic
pineapple was a symbol of welcome in wealthy homes in Europe and the Colonies. My work acknowledges the human capital of colonization that made the display of this luscious fruit possible. The form is built with 236 plaited cane flower knots on a hemp leaf plaited base.

Welcome Pineapple 236, 2022, flower knot plaiting in dyed cane on a hemp leaf plaited base, twined top pieces

The exhibit will soon be available on the Surface Design website.https://www.surfacedesign.org/events-exhibits/exhibits/
Every 1 is an inclusive exhibit sponsored by the National Basketry Organization.

My Welcome Pineapple 236 will also be featured here. You can view it online at the NBO website after the opening reveal at NBO’s conference Virtually Woven 2022: Crossing Boundaries July 28 to 30, 2022. The exhibit will remain online until December 31, 2022, and it includes a large collection of the best of contemporary and traditional basketry being made today, one piece by each artist. It is worth taking time to peruse this site! https://nationalbasketry.org

I wish you all good health and much joy as you navigate the rest of summer 2022.—

Barbara

Archana 

Working on CNCH workshop project, Falling Stars pattern. I had a false start but on track
now.

Falling Stars pattern on the loom

Archana

Ange 

I’ve been wanting to try some rug weaving, so when my darling husband declared we needed a rug of a certain size and material, I browsed the library looking for inspiration and guidance. I settled on A Rug Weaver’s Sourcebook,  edited by Linda Ligon, and following directions in the book, wove this rep rug. I used 8/4 poly cotton rug warp sett at 30 EPI with 4 strands of mop cotton as the thick weft.  Those of you who have talked weaving with me recently are aware of the many issues I’ve had with it, but I’ve learned a lot and I love the rug. The book is a “compilation of weaving techniques”, and is more of a how-to book than a book of projects, and covers a number of techniques, with a lot of focus on weft faced and rag rugs. Especially helpful was advice on how to keep your loom from walking across the room! I want to try the card woven edges on my next rug; the appendix article by Martha Stanley clearly explains how it’s done; I’ve watched Gudrun demo this, but have not yet tried it myself.

— Ange Mirer, Guild Librarian