June 2016
June 2016
Diablo Weavers Guild meets in Walnut Creek, usually on the third or fourth Friday of the month from September through June, 10:00 am, until noon or a little later.
New members and guests are welcome.
In September, December and June we meet at a member's home. Other meetings are usually held at the Thurman Casey Library in Walnut Creek (Ygnacio Valley Library).
Thurman G. Casey Library
2661 Oak Grove Rd.
Walnut Creek CA 94598
Library location details and a map:
Dues for the year 2015 - ’16 are $30 per person, or $40 for a family.
Friday, June 10, 2016
11:00 AM at Vilija's house
Our Annual Luncheon and Picnic project
Diablo June Picnic
An update on the location for our luncheon--the Picnic is back at Vilija’s house. Our theme is “Working Braids”. Having learned Loop Braiding at the May meeting, we will have several different techniques demo’ed at the Picnic.
This is a participation event, so bring a technique you particularly like and show it to the rest of us, even if you think it has been shown before. The 2017 Asilomar Conference would like to give out a hand-made lanyard to each participant for their name tag. Yes, this has been done in the past, but its always fun not only to make a lanyard for someone else, but also to receive a brand new one!
If you want to continue to make a loop braid, bring that with you. We’ll have kumihimo, card weaving, lucet and whatever else you can think of. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll have a nice afternoon out working on a lanyard.
TIME; 11AM TO WHEN EVER
BRING: A FOOD DISH TO SHARE
PROVIDED: DRINKS
EXTRA ADDED ATTRACTION:
We have a stash of, mostly, bulkyish yarns for giveaway. Most of them could certainly be used for practicing braiding. Come and select something. These are all from past member Wilma Seppala who is de-stashing and donated them to the members of Diablo.
ALSO:
You will get your inspiration for next year’s Picnic Project. Its a surprise. If you can’t come to this picnic, you can pick it up at our next meeting in September. What you get must be used as some sort of inspiration. The “OBJECT" itself can be used in some way to make whatever. Or peruse your “OBJECT” and find something to inspire you to make a new weaving of any kind. We are a creative bunch. Lets see what we can come up with.
Ongoing information will be posted here--or see the link on the side menu under Programs 2015-2016--with details regarding materials to bring for making the lanyards using card weaving, braiding, kumihimo or other techniques. We will have four or more members helping us get set up and started on making the lanyards to hold nametags for CNCH 2017 at Asilomar.
REMINDER: Dues for next year are due in June: $30 for individual members. Thanks!
Summer classes at San Francisco Fiber
Lou Grantham has a list of classes available at San Francisco Fiber, her studio in Oakland.
See below for the list of classes available through August.
http://www.sffiber.com/classes.html
Local Events
Loop Braiding class with Ingrid Crickmore
The Lace Museum in San Jose will be having a loop braiding class with Ingrid Crickmore in October. You can find information at this link,
http://thelacemuseum.org/Workshops.html
Loop Braiding Potpourri with Ingrid Crickmore
Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23, 2016 9:30am-4:30pm
Loop braiding (aka fingerloop braiding) is a disappearing, world-wide traditional way to make braided cords and bands quickly and efficiently with almost no equipment other than the fingers. Many different braided structures
can be made: cords that are round, square, rectangular, triangular, and solid or hollow; as well as wide, flat ribbon-like bands, and lace-like braids with fine-yet-strong openwork.
Aside from being useful and strong, these cords and bands can also have very intricate and beautiful color-patterning. Nowadays, teens often learn one or two basic fingerloop braids as a quick friendship bracelet technique. Loop braids can also be used as lanyards, necklaces, drawstrings, fine fringe, edge trimmings on clothing, button-hole bands, shoelaces, and more.
In this workshop, we will learn square, flat, and openwork braids; a spiral- textured round braid; and (depending on time constraints and class interest) several different color-pattern variations of these braids; a beveled “half-round” or triangular braid, and/or a dotted braid that was called “Grene Dorg,” (Barleycorn) in Medieval England.
Materials Fee: $7/per student, payable directly to teacher
I will be providing each student:
All class yarn-students will be encouraged to measure off/ make up extra
loop-bundles to take home, for any/ all of the braids we will be learning.
Large-tooth plastic comb for storing in-progress braid (loops can be
“parked” on comb’s teeth)
Thick multi-page handout packet
Ingrid Crickmore is a textile arts dilettante who became fascinated by loop braiding in 2006, and has been learning and teaching it ever since. She teaches both traditional and original loop braids and braiding techniques, both on her website, Loop Braiding (loopbraider.com) – which has many free video and photo-based tutorials – as well as at workshops and conferences.
Registration Form
Loop Braiding Potpourri with Ingrid Crickmore
Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23, 2016 · 9:30am-4:30pm
Name___________________________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________________________ Phone________________ Email _______________________________________
Payment Options:
__ Check for $150 made payable to The Lace Museum enclosed __ Paying via Paypal at www.thelacemuseum.org
__ Paying by credit card in person or by phone at the Museum
An email confirmation will be sent upon receipt of your registration.
Spinning at the Winery
June 4, 2016,10 am to 4 pm
Retzlaff Winery, 1356 N. Livermore Ave. Livermore
$5 entry per person and bring a pot luck dish to share
See the Treadles to Threads Blog for further details:
http://treadles2threads.blogspot.com/
And the Retzlaff Winery website:
Uptown Gallery
Hi everyone,
I will have annual open studio at Oakland in June-3,4,5 & 11,12.
But this might be the last one at Oakland Uptown.
I will miss that huge space!!
Please stop by 20 artists open studio.
I will be there both weekends.
Hope to see you!! Aiko
Pro Arts East Bay Open Studios 2016
Aiko Kobayashi Gray
Please join me and a wonderful group of 20 artists.
Two Weekends: June 4 & 5 and 11 & 12, 11 AM - 6 PM
UPTOWN
401 26th Street
Oakland, CA 94612
http://www.uptownopenstudios.com/
Basketry Workshops at Slow Fiber Studios
Slow Fiber Studios is delighted to welcome Mr. Jiro Yonezawa back in Berkeley, CA this July to teach several bamboo and cane basketry workshops. Currently based in southern Japan, Mr. Yonezawa has worked with traditional basket weaving techniques for nearly four decades, and has developed a portfolio that has been recognized internationally.
Mr. Yonezawa will offer four different workshops, as well as a lecture, three demonstrations and a closing reception. Enjoy this opportunity to learn from a Japanese master craftsman and artist while exploring noble and versatile bamboo and cane as materials for innovative expression. For more details, visit our event page on SlowFiberStudios.com.
Golden Gate Weavers
Annual Exhibit at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club
Members of the Golden Gate Weavers will have items on display at the UC Berkeley Faculty club during the month of July, as part of their monthly art exhibit.
The Faculty Club and restaurant is usually open to the public every day of the week. The exhibit is in the main hall outside the big room with the moose heads.
For directions and information about the UC Berkeley Faculty Club:
http://www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com/
Parking with meters is off campus along the street or in a UC garage. BART also works, but it is a bit of a hike from the downtown Berkeley BART station to the Faculty Club on the North side of campus, next to Faculty glade.
Weaving Resources
New Textile Website and a new tour coming up.
In May of this year we led our third textile tour around the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia on board the Ombak Putih. It was a great success with more and more weavers and dyers getting involved each time we go there. Three of the twelve cabins are already booked for next year’s tour and I’m attaching a mailer which gives more details in case this is of interest to any of the Diablo Weavers.
Best wishes,
Sue Richardson
__________________________________________________________________
Tribal Weavings of the Lesser Sunda Islands
The most exciting textile tour you are ever likely to find – the trip of a lifetime!
The remote ikat-weaving islands of eastern Indonesia have one of the most diverse textile cultures on the planet. Hand-woven cloth plays a pivotal role in the cohesion of all these societies, cementing clan alliances through complex gift exchanges, revealing tribal loyalties and underpinning the annual cycle of rituals. As some islanders emphasize: ‘without cloth we cannot marry’.
Sadly the encroachment of the modern world means that the number of communities where women still continue to spin their own cotton, prepare their own natural dyes and weave on traditional back-tension looms is limited. Their numbers are dwindling and within a generation they could be gone.
Join British textile experts David and Sue Richardson for a fantastic, adventurous voyage on a traditionally designed Indonesian schooner (phinisi), custom-built by Buginese shipbuilders. With a maximum of 22 passengers, our newly fitted French- and American-owned boat has all modern amenities with comfortable en-suite air-conditioned cabins, lots of shaded deck space, an enclosed lounge and bar, and all the latest safety equipment.
Our itinerary takes us along the coast of Flores and on to the islands of Lembata, Alor, Timor, Savu, and Sumba, returning via Rinca to visit the Komodo dragons. In village after village we will see every aspect of ikat production and natural dyeing and have the opportunity to purchase fabulous textiles directly from the women who made them. Before each visit guests will be fully briefed so that they completely understand the type of textiles and techniques they will encounter and the role that cloth plays within the local community. Our journey will take us through a dramatic volcanic landscape during which there will be time to write-up journals, relax, swim, snorkel, sunbathe, and beachcomb.
Our cruise begins at Maumere on the island of Flores on May 1, 2017 and ends at Labuan Bajo, also on Flores on May 12. Both places are connected to Bali by short direct flights. We will also lead a short land-based pre-cruise tour from April 29 to May 1.
See http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/tour.html
There are also lots of photos on our Facebook page, which will give you a good idea of what to expect. We will be adding images from the 2016 tour over the coming weeks.
See https://www.facebook.com/David.and.Sue.Richardson/287466518059
Please note there are six twin cabins with one upper and one lower berth, and six double cabins with one large lower berth.
Attachments area
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new website - Asian Textile Studies – designed for those with a serious interest in traditional hand-woven textiles.
We have been working on this material for the last few years and have just uploaded the first pages, which focus on the subject of natural dyeing. Much more content will be added over time. We hope this will be of interest to members of your group. Please take a look, and share this among the wider textile community.
Click on the link below to explore this new website.
David and Sue Richardson
A new Online Weaving magazine edited by Robin Spady
Heddlecraft, the newest weaving resource, has launched!
What is Heddlecraft? It’s a digital weaving magazine for weavers who love to weave and want to know more. Heddlecraft will be published six times a year. An annual subscription is $19.99 and a single issue is $4.50. Each issue will have a focus on a particular weave or weaving technique.
You can find out more about Heddlecraft at www.heddlecraft.com. Also, please join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Happy weaving!
Robyn Spady
Editor, Heddlecraft