Showing Our Stuff

 

Children's day at QB museum

The past month we've been out and about showing off our craft and meeting with our community.  We always have a great time at these public events, greeting old friends and making new ones.

Children's Day at the Qualicum Beach Museum is one of our favourite events.  Children love to make things they can take home so in addition to our spinning wheels and looms this year we made simple devices for making kumihimo braids that can become friendship bracelets.  From the photo is seems our group was just as fascinated with them as the children.

display of natural dyes 

We also took part in the Lighthouse Fall Fair with demonstrations and displays of everything from baskets to natural dyes. 

 

Rita and her rugs

Vera's basket

Like many traditional fairs the Lighthouse Fair encourages excellence in arts and crafts, the domestic arts and of course gardening/farming by sponsoring contests. 

While we didn't win anything in the rude vegetable or largest zucchini category our members did dominate the needlework section. 

 Linda took first prize with a top in handwoven yardage that mixes two different patterns in the same colours and threads.  The panels are reversed on the back.  It is often difficult to match patterns exactly with handwoven yardage and this design eliminates that problem.

Linda's blue ribbon vest

The Qualicum Weavers and Spinners sponsors a special prize for a hand woven shawl.  Below are the first and second place winners in this years contest.  The blue shawl is highly textured with glittering threads and random bead-like nubs.  The blue ribbon shawl was woven with a painted warp and textured threads so colours shift and move throughout the piece.   

Special Contest 

Our monthly meetings will resume on Monday September 25th.  The meeting is from 10 to noon at our studio.  Visitors are always welcome so come along if you would like to check us out.

We are busy with classes in September and October.  Check out the sidebar under workshops to see what is happening.  We will report on our beginner weaving classes in the next post.

   

First Threads

cloth bands from demo loom

Our small demo looms are very popular at public events.  They help us to explain  the process of making cloth and to answer questions about the pieces that we have on display.  They have visited care facilities, been to museums and fairs, taught weaving basics and entertained at children's events. 

Over the years we have acquired a collection of  woven bands that remind us of the fun we had sharing our craft with others.  The people responsible for creating these bands often have no idea how a loom works.  For most it is the first time they have thrown a shuttle across a warp and watched the threads intertwine row after row until a piece of cloth is formed.

The photos that follow are some of the "first threads" experience.

rags to knitting yarns

The participants range from the raging enthusiast to the perfectionist that worries about doing something wrong.  The former quickly gets into the rythmn of throwing the shuttle and beating the fell and weaves yards.  The latter is tentative to start and may experiment until the process "clicks".

raffia, glitz, cotton, slub

Some like to experiment with materials like rags, popsicle sticks, raffia, knitting yarns.  Others are attracted to textured yarns or exciting colours.

 

experiments with skips

Our bands were woven with no preconceived ideas about what is "right" or "wrong" and no experience so you can imagine we have some interesting results.  There are no "bad edges" but some interesting edge treatments.  There are no treadling errors but interesting experiments with plain weave skips.  

interesting edge treatment

  

design feature

 Variation in beat becomes bands of subtle weft colour stripes or open areas that create undulating waves that are semi-transparent.  

wave-like bands

  

peek-a-boo waves

experiments with thickness

Most of these examples are due to a lack of skill and experience.  A seasoned weaver would not be happy if they produced pieces like these.  But these are uninhibited pieces done with no expectations for perfection or knowledge of weaving "rules".  They spark some interesting design ideas.

Variations in beat or thickness can be used to deliberately create weft stripes, loops at the edges can create a frilly selvedge, skips can be placed at random to create dots of colour on a uniform surface, long weft skips can create texture and a dramatic statement on a uniform surface.  As the pull-in varies the shape of the piece changes.

Errors are still errors not design features but if you have mastered the fundamentals and are skilled at your craft you might take a lesson from these novices and consider breaking the rules for your next design.

Beginner Weaving Lessons  September 8,9,10.

If you have dabbled with weaving and would like to go further with a harness loom then you might want to take an in person course that covers the fundamentals.  Learning on your own can be a long and sometimes painful process.  The QWSG is offering 3 full days of  instruction on harness loom weaving.  Equipment and materials are provided.  For more information check the listing under WORKSHOPS

 

beginner mug rugs

Rigid Heddle For Fun

Family Day Qualicum Beach

 We ended May with one of our favourite out door events, The Qualicum Beach Family Day Celebration.  Our booth with demonstrations is popular with children and adults.  This year we gave participants a choice of trying their hand at spinning, weaving and braiding.

The small rigid heddle looms in the photo are ideal for this type of event.  They are easy for small hands to manipulate and clearly illustrate the basic principles of weaving.  Rigid heddle looms are not a new invention but they have become very popular in the last 10 years.  They can be quite narrow, almost toy like, as seen above, or they can be wide enough to make a tea towel or shawl.

rigid heddle scarf

  Rigid heddle looms are very versatile.  You can weave elaborate interlacements with one heddle and a pick up stick.  Add a second heddle and you have more flexibility than a 4 harness loom.  Rigid heddle looms are real looms not toys.

They are easier on an aging body.  Dressing the loom does not require you to bend in unnatural positions and climb under the shafts.  The loom can also be angled on a stand to reduce bending while throwing the shuttle.

Plus these looms are portable so you can weave in an RV, on the beach or at a guild meeting (like those knitters in the back row).

ribbon scarf

Many items woven on a rigid heddle feature, texture and colour rather than pattern.  The warping system is perfect for creating a mixed warp that blends different yarns, fibers and colours.  The design challenge is coming up with yarns and colours that play well together.  For an interesting detail you can add weft stripes at the beginning and end of a piece or possibly include a section of hand manipulated lace.     

variegated yarn and weft stripes

  

The studio is busy with interest groups, a pair of studio projects, and a blanket in progress on our big Fanny loom.  We have just finished our latest weaving workshop and the mentored spinning sessions are coming to an end.

recipe workshop

In lieu of a general meeting in June we are planning a pot luck lunch and member to member stash sale on June 24th.  

After that we will have a break from general meetings for July and August but interest groups and open studio days will continue.  Check out " guild events" for more information.

Public Appearances

children's day at the museum

 Here we are with our looms all loaded and ready to introduce a new crop of youngesters to the magic of weaving.  It's Children's Day at the Qualicum Beach Museum.  This is a fun event that gives young and old a glimpse into how things were done in the past.  With an emphasis on "hands on" learning that line up of looms was soon occupied by mini-weavers learning how warp and weft make cloth.

first weaving attempts

the spinning tent

  In the spinning tent children (and parents) got to try their hand at spinning wool and plying yarn.  They seem to really enjoy making something they could take home and this year it was friendship bracelets.

Dahlia's at Fall Fair

Next we were off  with our spinning wheels and looms to the Lighthouse Fall Fair.  This event includes the traditional contests for baked or canned goods, produce, art work and crafts of all kinds.  Weaving is included in the needlework section. A number of our members came home with ribbons.

   

Rita's ribbons

sylvia's scarf

Pat's runner

We had a large display that illustrates our members' broad interest in fibre arts.  The display included basketry, felting, knitting, spinning and of course weaving.

drop spindle demo 

The basketry display attracted a lot of attention.  We are lucky to have an accomplished basket weaver in our guild and her workshops are very popular.
   

Of course our trusty and very old demo loom got another work out and the spinners continued to mermerize little ones who seem to be attracted to the revolving wheel.

ancient leclerc 2 harness loom

handspun yarns

Our next public appearance is in the planning stages after that we will be concentrating on our annual show and sale, Elegant Threads (Nov 18&19)

Meanwhile our regular monthly meetings will resume on September 26th.  If you would like to attend the meeting contact us at qualicumweaversspinnersguild@gmail.com