January 20 – Mayumi Fujio: Natural Dye, Mushroom Dye and Botanical Printing

Past Programs, Programs

Mayumi Fujio has always enjoyed working with her hands to blend imagination into her creations. She loves learning traditional craft techniques – Ikebana, silver jewelry, ceramic art, sewing, dying with mushroom, and knitting. Fiber art is a natural progression and botanical printing is bringing together all of the handicraft skills she developed in the past. Her inspiration comes from art, nature, and simply looking at flowers and plants wherever she goes. After learning the technique of botanical printing, Mayumi has been experimenting with the combination of traditional and newly discovered natural dye techniques. As a modern craft, botanical printing is a constant cycle of learning and experimentation, yet it can never be fully controlled. Just like nature.

Her latest series is a combination of mushroom dye and botanical prints.All the plants she uses are ethically harvested from the Bay Area and her art pieces are sold at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, Seattle Asian Art Museum, and other prestigious art fairs around the Bay Area.

Her website is: https://www.mayumix.com

Show and Tell, December 2021

Show and Tell

Ange: Spun Paper

TIssue paper sewing patterns spun then plied with red silk singles; the knitted sample held up to hand washing. I learned how to do this in a 2021 SOAR class with Judith MacKenzie.

 

 

 

Ulla: Margit’s Flower Yarns, 23×30″, Linen, Cotton, 2021

This is the second piece I have woven on this warp.  The first one was finished in 2018  which shows that the warp has been on the loom for at least four years.  The piece is part of my theme of Old Yarns, New Work.  The old warp and base weft yarn here is a singles linen that a friend found in her father’s attic as she cleaned out his house. Big hanks that filled a pillowcase.  The warp having been on the loom for such a long time and in our sunroom where the temperature reaches 120 degrees when we are not here, meant that I had more than a few broken ends.
I got the colored weft after a cousin of my mother, called Margit, died.  She loved to embroider, buying kits from Denmark and these are her leftovers. The yarn is a 24/2 cotton and is called flower yarn since most of the kits depict plants of different kinds. As with the DMC yarn I had used in the first piece, this yarn came boxed in small boxes that had contained a French soap.  The smell is still quite strong. To weave the piece was extremely time consuming, each colored shot took 12 minutes, but that is all forgotten since I love the piece and how it flips three-dimensionally.

 

November 18 – Catharine Ellis

Past Programs, Programs

Series of handwoven panels dyed in a range of color from yellow on the left to scarlet on the right, using shibori technique.
The Intersection of Weaving and Dyeing

Although weaving and dyeing are two distinct textile skills, the combination and integration of these processes one can vastly expand a design vocabulary. The result is a more complex and personalized finished textile. Applications for these weave/dye combinations include ikat, woven shibori, and cross dyeing. The primary focus of this talk will be the use of natural dyes, but synthetic dye use is also applicable. Catharine will share her thought process, her dye choices, and talk about the evolution of her woven and dyed work over more than 40 years.

photo of Catharine EllisCatharine Ellis has been a weaver and a dyer for over 40 years. After three decades of teaching the Fiber Program at Haywood Community College in NC she is now dedicated to studio work, focusing on natural dye processes. She also does specialized, selected teaching, in the U.S. and internationally. Recent projects include teaching natural dyeing in Guatemalan through Mayan Hands.

Catharine is the originator of the woven shibori process and author of the instructional book, Woven Shibori (Interweave Press, 2005) and The Weaver’s Studio – Woven Shibori: Revised and Updated (Interweave Press, 2016). Her most recent publication is The Art and Science of Natural Dyes: Principles, Experiments, and Results (2019). All three books are available to borrow from the guild library.

Catharine’s Website
Catharine’s Blog

Show and Tell, November 2021

Show and Tell

Ann: “Google” Towels

Cottolin in Google colors. 1 “Circle and Diamond Towels” from Handwoven Nov/Dec 2019, p34-35.  Five towels and three napkins made for Google work mates. Matching woven tape for towel hanging loops.

 

 

 

Gail: Deflected Double Weave Scarf

I’ve been playing with deflected doubleweave for the first time, as the Weaving Study Group recently chose this structure for extended study. Found a 4-shaft scarf draft on Gist Yarns. I altered the block proportions a bit and threw in some color blends in both warp and weft. I had wound a short warp just for casual sampling, but I liked the developing color effects enough to keep weaving for 34 inches. So I have a short neck scarf that I can clasp with a pin, or possibly seam into a cowl.

As a bonus, I might be able to apply the same threading to some woven shibori techniques as described by Catharine Ellis. (It’s identical to a basic Monk’s Belt.) I hope eventually to tie on to the bit of warp that is still on the loom with natural pearl cotton in order to explore some dyeing techniques.

 

 

 

Gudrun: Woven Pouch

This is a pouch woven in basket weave made of a single thread. It is definitely handwoven, but without a loom. I laid out the warp on a flat surface, then wove in the weft by hand to form a 10×5″ rectangle. Or was it the other way round? The last step was to fold the rectangle, close the sides, and tie the ends together.

Now I am passing the leftover yarn onto Barbie Paulsen, who is willing to accept the challenge. I am curious to see how that ball of yarn will inspire her.

 

 

 

Johanna: Daryl Lancaster Workshop Garments

It was long days and lots of work (until 11:00pm). But so nice to walk away with these pieces and a re-worked shadow weave top.

 

 

 

Jodi: Felted Pumpkin

We were invited to a pumpkin carving party & when I asked if there were any guidelines, I was told I could bring one already made & use anything I wanted, so I needle felted one. I used a 6 or 7 inch foam core to make it go more quickly, the covered with some scrap white fleece. I layered fleece for the ribs – brown first, then a mixture of dark orange & green & finally covered with a blend from New England Felting company of red & orange. I went back to the brown I had to make the stem.
Oh yeah, I won a prize for it ;o)

Show and Tell, October 2021

Show and Tell
Cathy D:  Needle felted Crazy Cat.
Stands about 8 inches. He is created with grey and white wool. Whiskers are done with a heavy beading thread. They seem to curl up on their own, hence the “Crazy Cat” title. The cat has pink hearts on its paws so naturally, it needed a heart in a secret place, Thank you to Ginger’s Felters group for inspiration!
Ange M: Hand Towels
Just off the loom. Hand towels for the powder room in 10/2 cotton, twill with basketweave. Pattern from Weaver’s Craft #17 (available from the Guild library).
Gail B:  Crackle Scarf

7” x 72” plus 4” fringe

Warp and ground weft: black 8/2 bamboo
Pattern weft: scarlet fingering wool
The pattern as I wove it is on the left; the “wrong” side is on the right. I found a draft for the diamond motif among the online weaving archives of the University of Arizona. The border element I created myself. A link to the crackle draft (as well as others) is:
Jane Ingram Allen: Living Quilts
I wanted to send this link to an article in ART NEWS about my recent series of “Living Quilts” art installations. Here is the link:   https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/jane-ingram-allen-living-quilts-1234603170/  I was the founder and first president of Black Sheep Handweavers back in the mid-seventies, when I was teaching fiber arts and weaving at Foothill College and Canada College.  I am now living in Santa Rosa, CA, and I am an honorary life member of Black Sheep Handweavers. I continue to offer workshops and do art projects around the world, now mostly with hand papermaking but still with some of my weaving and fiber arts processes mixed in. Some images show the same work when installed and some several months later when it is blooming.

October 21 – Deborah Corsini

Past Programs

Deborah Corsini Fire Season Wedge Weave TapestryBold graphic line, zig zag stripes and scalloped selvedges are striking characteristics of wedge weave. Instead of weaving perpendicular to the warp, as is usual for tapestry, wedge weave is an eccentric weaving technique where the wefts are woven at an angle to the warp. In wedge weave the patterned design and weaving structure are inextricably connected.

In her presentation Deborah will discuss the brief time when some Navajo weavers experimented with this “rouge” technique and the influence that their work and this style has had on her and other contemporary weavers. She will show images of Navajo wedge weaves and of her own work in wedge weave and that of other contemporary weavers experimenting with eccentric weft techniques.

Deborah Corsini has a lifelong passionate interest in the study of textiles, textile cultures and the making of textile art. A weaver for over 50 years she is a studio artist exhibiting her works nationally. She holds a Masters in Textiles from San Francisco State University and a B.F.A. from California College of Arts (and Crafts.) She has taught weaving and tapestry at City College of San Francisco and workshops in various textile techniques such as tablet weaving and wedge weave at the Richmond Art Center, the Mendocino Art Center, and the Conference of Northern CA Handweavers. She will be offering a workshop in wedge weave in the upcoming CNCH in 2022. Deborah has been lucky to have had two textile related careers. As the former Creative Director of P & B Textiles and a textile designer she honed her sense of color and design and appreciation of patterns both printed and woven. As the former curator of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles she gained a deeper respect and appreciation for the history of quilts and the ever-evolving contemporary fiber art scene. She is active in the community and continues her studio practice in Pacifica, CA.

2021-2022 Guild Programs

Past Programs, Programs

The Programs Committee is happy to announce our 2021-2022 programs. At this time, all guild meetings will be conducted via Zoom until it is safe to meet in person again. Meetings are on 3rd Thursdays of each month, beginning at 7PM. Zoom links are available in the Member’s Calendar.

  • September 16, 2021 – Ginger Summit: Felting
  • October 21, 2021 – Deborah Corsini: Wedge Weave
  • November 18, 2021 – Catharine Ellis: The Intersection of Weaving and Dyeing
  • December 16, 2021 – Holiday Party (in person if safe, Zoom social if not)
  • January 20, 2022 – Mayumi Fujio: Mushroom Dye
  • February 17, 2022 – Andean Textile Council Board Member: Textile Traditions of the Andes
  • March 17, 2022 – Miriam Omura: Warp Painting
  • April 21, 2022 – Marilyn Romatka: Uzbek Ikat
  • May 26, 2022 – CNCH 2022 Shared Experiences (note changed date due to CNCH 2022; in person if safe, Zoom social if not)
  • June 16, 2022 – Elections, Guild Sale / Social (in person if safe, Zoom social if not)

September 16 – Ginger Summit

Past Programs
Ginger Summit landscape in felt. A bubbling stream with trees showing autumn foliage of reds and oranges.
“Walk by A Mountain Stream”. Ginger Summit. HGA: Small Expressions 2021

Ginger Summit has been a creator for all of her life, from weaving, creating spirit figures and musical instruments out of gourds (author of over 7 books on gourds), and creating community (Los Altos City Council and Mayor). Her latest venture is creating art with felt.

Ginger will share with us her journey through felt, how she developed her own process for
working with both wet and dry felt, and some of her favorite pieces, from self healing to commercial pieces. One of her recent pieces, “Walk by A Mountain Stream” was accepted into Handweavers Guild of America (HGA) Small Expressions 2021, an annual juried exhibit featuring contemporary small-scale works. The exhibit showcases works created using fiber techniques in any media, not to exceed 15 inches (38 cm) in any direction, including mounting, framing, or display devices.

Show and Tell, August 2021

Show and Tell

Charlotte C: Turned Crackle Placemats

The warp for the Turned Crackle placemats that I wove is cotton chenille that is 1425 YPP.  It was sett at 16 EPI.  Weft is 8/2 cotton in navy.  4 colors in the warp.  4 blocks.  Each of the 4 blocks in the warp uses 4 colors – red, green, blue and tan.  Color sequence is different in each block.

Block A – green, blue, tan, red.

Block B – blue, tan, red, green.

Block C – tan, red, green, blue.

Block D – red, green, blue, tan.

After getting the color sequences in the warp all threaded, the weaving is a breeze with one color (one shuttle, instead of 4 in regular crackle).

Lots of shrinkage – 20%.

 

Gudrun: Double-faced Card Weaving

I had been weaving dogs and cats recently hoping for rain. The rain came – unfortunately in massive amounts and not in the desired places.
The technique is double-faced card weaving, the yarn is 10/2 pearl cotton.
Several patterns  were derived from Andean knitting patterns.