Happy Holidays 2016

Miscanthus sinensis "little kitten"

We were blessed with a rare snowfall to set the holiday season.  Snow is ephemeral here on the west coast.  It creates havoc with our daily routine but is also an excuse for long walks, dinners by candle light and communal grumbling about the weather.
The snow turns ordinary landscapes into works of art.  A clump of grass becomes a pattern of lines and curves.
 Moments captured by the camera now can be the inspiration for a project later.  So forget shovelling the stuff and photograph it instead.

toque in hand spun wool

By now those Christmas presents and commissions should be finished and ready for wrapping.  And for those that did not make the deadline there is always that birthday or anniversary date that can be substituted for the Christmas deadline.  We artisans learn to be flexible.  You just can't rush creativity.
The Christmas craft fairs and studio tours have wound down.  Soon it will be time to take stock and think about products for the next season.  Meanwhile baking, eating and celebrating with friends and family is at the top of the to do list.

Linda's shawl

lace knitting

  Maybe you found a treasure at one of the local art events.  A lot of treasure's went off to new homes from our show, Elegant Threads.      

Simple top

woven bracelet

When you open your Christmas presents this year you might be lucky enough to find a hand crafted item.  There is a story in every hand crafted piece.   Consider the item carefully. Remember that the artisan made choices about the design, colour and materials with the purpose of expressing an idea.

rag rugs

We are taking a short break but regular meetings will start again January 23rd.

Have a great holiday season!

Guild Show and Sale 2016

It is craft fair season again.  In keeping with the season, the Qualicum Weavers and Spinners welcomed shoppers to our annual show and sale on Nov 25 and 26.  Rotary House in Qualicum Beach was jam packed with beautiful and unique items that were hand crafted by guild members.  Below is just a sample of the tea towels that were on display.

     Scarves were another popular item for both the weavers and the buyers.  The styles ranged from elegant neck jewellery to cozy woollen scarves to ward off the cold on a winter day.  They are easy to pack and ship so they make excellent gifts.

The spinners and knitters were well represented.  Unique hand spun yarns are very popular with knitters like the happy shopper in the photo.  

 Knitted items  are common at craft sales but the items that you would find at our sale are unusual in that they all contain at least 50% hand spun yarn.  You won't find the yarns in these items in a yarn shop.  They are often unique blends of fibers or unique colours, the result of hand dyeing the fiber in small batches.
Many of the woven items also contain hand spun yarn.



There were a number of shawls in different styles and a wide range of colours.   Some were designed with stripes that were subtle or not so subtle or random like the knitted shawl.
Some relied on texture and a simple weave structure for the design.  Others made use of multi-harness loom capabilities to show off pattern.
The textured black shawl included a bit of glitter and a luscious fringe that elevated the design.
The patterned shawl uses a weave structure called "summer and winter" to create rectangles of different colours.

There was a good selection of throws and blankets in a wide variety of colours.  The photo shows a close of up three different throws that have been brushed to give a high nap.



The sales desk was kept busy which made them happy.  Our new tags and streamlined procedure kept things moving well with a minimum of fuss.

 Many thanks to our sale committee, a host of volunteers and those loyal spouses and friends that always help with the heavy lifting.