Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers Guild

WELCOME - Please join us at our next meeting!

November 19, 2008 at 10am
Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

"Holiday Celebration" and annual pot luck luncheon. Please remember to bring a dish to share. After the meeting Dail Jones will be hosting the Felted Christmas Ornament workshop (see description below).

Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds
17558 Dry Mill Road
Leesburg, VA
Click for directions.

Membership dues ($25) for the 2008-2009 year are due by August 31th. Dues received from returning members after August 31, 2008 carry a $5.00 late fee.

Please make all checks payable directly to BRSWG LLC and bring, along with a completed membership form, to meeting or mail to:
BRSWG LLC
P.O. Box 2382
Purcellville, VA 20134

Officers for 2008-2009
President - Betsy Anderson
Vice President - Lauri Sisney
Secretary - Keith Lilly
Treasurer - Moira Ramsey
Membership - Karen Grosse

View topics from past guild meetings.

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We are dedicated to enhancing the standards for excellence in fiber arts, educating its members and the public through presentations at meetings, seminars, and technical demonstrations and assisting members in marketing their work.

Our group meets on the last Wednesday of every month at the Sykes Hall - Loudoun County Fairgrounds from 10:00am until 12noon unless otherwise noted.

A membership form can be downloaded here.

Workshops and Classes

I hear, and I forget.
I see, and I remember.
I do, and I understand.

--Chinese Proverb

Please download the 2008-2009 Workshop Registration Form here and include a $10.00 deposit for each class you wish to register for. In an effort to give all members an equal opportunity to participate, the registration for these workshops will begin on September 1, 2008. If you would like to be added to the wait list, please do so via the registration form.

Felted Christmas Ornament
November 19, 2008 (after meeting)

Instructor: Dail Jones

We will make a Christmas ornament made with alpaca fiber and felting needles. Using a styrofoam armature, we will needle felt colorful alpaca fiber (and various other yarns) to make abstract, or design specific, balls to hang on the tree. You can get fairly intricate or just wild and colorful. Easy breezy, finish one in thirty minutes or so.

Workshop Fee: $10.00 (includes supplies)

Maximum Participants: unlimited

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

Weave Structures
November 29-30, 2008 (9am-4pm) -- Special Saturday night session (6pm-8pm) on reading old drafts ($25).*

Instructor: Tom Knisley

In this two-day workshop students will receive an in-depth study into several of the most used and loves weave structures and see how they are interrelated to one another. This is a non weaving workshop. Each student will receive a booklet with drafts for twills, overshot, crackle, summer & winter, damask and satin weave. You will be shown how to read a profile draft and how to determine what structures are appropriate for profile drafts. The workshop is lecture oriented. To keep lectures manageable, palatable and not overwhelmingly boring there will be lots of woven examples to look at and backup the relevant structures being addressed at the time of the lecture. There will be no slides to view but you are more than welcome to take pictures.

Workshop Fee: $80.00

Maximum Participants: unlimited

Classroom Lecture

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

* Saturday evening session is included in fee for those who signed up for the full workshop.

V-Shaped Shawl
December 13-15, 2008

Instructor: Tom Knisely

This stunning shawl is a variation of the quesquimitl that is worn throughout Central America. We think our version is the Queen of Shawls. You may have seen samples on display here in the studio. The V-Shaped in the back of the shawl is the result of weaving the warp ends of one section into the warp of another still on the loom. Come and let us share with you the tricks of weaving one of these magnificent shawls. You will learn how to effectively weave your shawl on pre-warped looms and proper finishing techniques. You will work with the instructor, well in advance of the class on color choices.

Workshop Fee: $250.00 (approximate cost)

Maximum Participants: 8

Location: The Mannings, East Berlin, PA

Weft Ikat
January 24-25, 2009

Instructor: Sue Helmken

If the thought of tying an entire warp for Ikat sounds daunting to you, why not start with Weft Ikat? In this class you will wind small skeins of weft yard, wrap areas for resist, then dye them. When these skeins are woven into the warp, delightful patterns emerge. A variety of yarns may be used as we will work with fiber reactive dyes. This workshop is suitable for rigid heddle, frame, table and floor looms as the patterns work in plain weave as well as twill structures.

Workshop Fee: $100.00 (approximate)

Maximum Participants: 15

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

18th Century Household Textiles
February 14-16, 2009

Instructor: Melissa Weaver Dunning

To satisfy the need for everyday clothing, bedding and kitchen items, many 18th century families were involved in the long process of converting linen and wool fiber to cloth. This was considered a normal household chore but required considerable experience and skill at each step of the manufacture. Students will be weaving large samples of six different household textiles: linen napery, overshot coverlet, linsey-woolsey, cotton toweling, checked blanketing and Venetian carpeting.

Workshop Fee: $175.00

Maximum Participants: 14

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

Woven Lace Samples
March 7-8, 2009

Instructor: Tom Knisely

This workshop explores the lovely topic of Woven Laces. In this class you will learn the differences between Spot Bronson and Lace Bronson, Huck Lace and Canvas Weave as well as weave examples of Swedish Lace and learn how to treadle for lacy effects on non-traditional lace structures. Each student will weave their way through pre-warped looms and go home with beautiful samples and a greater knowledge of lace weaves.

Workshop Fee: $350.00

Maximum Participants: 10

Location: The Mannings, East Berlin, PA

Overshot Shawl
April 24-26, 2009

Instructor: Tom Knisely

This workshops provides a study of 4-shaft overshot via a lovely shawl. On pre-warped looms, students weave their way through through the threaded patterns, changing treadlings to produce many attractive alternatives to the original draft. Students will leave with a better understanding of overshot and a beautiful shawl!!!!!!!! Students will work with the instructor in advance of the class on color choices.

Workshop Fee: $350.00

Maximum Participants: 8

Location: The Mannings, East Berlin, PA

Woven and Knitted Devore
May 5-6, 2009

Instructor: Anne Field from New Zealand

DÉVORÉ is a process that has been used in the fashion industry for many years when making a cut velvet fabric with a rayon pile on a silk backing. The rayon was burnt out, leaving elaborate etched patterns on the transparent silk backing. The same effect can be achieved on woven and knitted fabric. With hand-woven and machine or hand knitted dévoré, students will make cloth containing both plant and animal/synthetic fibres. Then the plant content is dissolved, using stencils, leaving transparent areas. This technique can be used for scarves, wraps, clothing fabric, and also window and wall hangings.

Workshop Fee: $175.00 (includes materials)

Maximum Participants: 15

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

Spinning Other Fibers
May 7, 2009

Instructor: Anne Field from New Zealand

The fibers covered will be silk, alpaca and mohair. We will begin with observing and discussing the qualities of the fibers and compare those to the qualities we want in the spun yarn. Different preparation and spinning techniques, from worsted through to woollen will be taught to make the yarn reflect the look of the original fiber and the end use. Several different techniques can be used with each fiber, depending on the required appearance and end use. Small sample skeins will be spun and washed, then analyzed.

Workshop Fee: $100.00 (includes materials)

Maximum Participants: 16

Location: Sykes Hall - Loudoun County 4H Fairgounds

Before signing up for a workshop please read the BRSWG workshop policies here. Unless otherwise noted, workshops will be held in Sykes Hall at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds in Leesburg.

News !!!

On January 27, 2007, Waterford's historic Old School was extensively damaged by fire. The Waterford Foundation has established the Rebuild the Old School fund. Donations can be sent to the Waterford Foundation at P.O. Box 142, Waterford, VA 20197 or can be made through their secure web site.

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Please Note: VSA Workshops have been postponed. They will be rescheduled for a later date. Stay tuned!!!

VSA workshops are outreach programs put forth by the Blue Ridge Spinners & Weavers. We have affiliated with the Very Special Arts (VSA) organization in Loudoun County to promote fiber arts. These workshops speak to our mission and all members are encouraged to give some of their time and talents to these workshops. The premiere workshop was a huge success. Please contact Lauri Sisney ( laurisisney@aol.com ) for further information and to volunteer to help for the scheduled VSA workshops.

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Interest Groups are now forming for guild members.

Interest Groups:

Weaving: Linen - Beth Wilson ( bareftwevr@cottolin.com or 540-338-7742)
The woven linen study group will meet the first Wednesday of the month beginning in February. Folks that conveyed to Beth they were interested in the group have been sent via e-mail some information and a questionnaire regarding the group. If you are interested in the woven linen group, but have not received the information, please let Beth know.

Knitting: Lace - Kelli Arrington (kyarrington@comcast.net or 540-338-4080)
This group is looking for a new host. They meet @ 10:00am until noon at the Purcellville train station on the second Wednesday of the month.

Spinning: Cathy Dodds (cathwdodds@earthlink.net or 703-777-4256)

Other: ??

Kindly contact individual group leader for information.

Fiber Festivals

If you know of any local upcoming Fiber Festivals please let us know.

Autumn Wonders:A Showcase of Loudoun Quilters, Spinners and Weavers - November 15 & 22, 2008
Round Hill Arts Center, 6 West Loudoun Street, Round Hill, VA
Free

Wondering how you will survive all the fall fiber festivals? Read this article for tips.

THE WEAVER

The weaver sat by her burden
Waiting the work to begin,
Dreamily throwing the shuttle
Backward and forward between;
Questioning much of the pattern,
Watching for it to be seen.

The shuttle was filled with colors,
Of every shade and glow,
thoughtless, she scattered the radiance
Falling above and below.
The pulse of the loom was beating
Solemnly to and fro.

The throb of the loom grew stronger,
The shuttle flew faster between;
One thread seemed a line of shadow,
Another a ray serene,
But the solemn loom wove together,
Equally, shade and sheen.

--unknown

Created on 09/04/2006 10:08 PM by admin
Updated on 11/05/2008 07:29 AM by sackett