Diablo Weavers

September 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

(for directions to the meeting in September, please email carol.gray@gmail.com)

Library location details and a map:
Meeting location

Dues for the year Sept 2016 - June 2017 are $30 per person; $40 per family.


Friday, September 30, 2016 at 10:00

Our annual stash sale and planning for the coming year

 at Carol C.'s house. 


(note that this is the last and 5th Friday of the month)


Bring tales of summer adventures and "show and tell" about projects you have been working on over the past months.

Also bring funds for adding to your stash and items no longer needed or extra to sell; we ask a donation to the guild of part of the price to help fund future speakers and workshops. 


If you have not already paid your dues for the coming year, please bring $30 check or cash to the meeting. Plan on signing up for refreshments for one of our meetings this year. Get updates about possible programs in the planning and bring ideas for future programs.



Announcement of a special award for Lillian


Lillian Whipple is the recipient of the Nell Steedsman Award for her yardage "Red to Blue and Green All Over", exhibited at Convergence 2016 in Milwaukee. 

The Guild of Canadian Weavers grants the Nell Steedsman Award to a weaver whose work shows excellence in the weaving discipline.  It is given as an honor in recognition of weaving of the highest calibre. 

She shared this lovely fabric with us at a meeting last year, and will bring it again in September.
Congratulations Lillian!


Red and Blue and Green All Over - Ice Age Yardage 


Red and Blue and Green All Over - detail



For Sale


Schacht Highcastle Loom

8H Schacht Highcastle Loom: Maple. Inserted Eye Heddles. Easy tie-up system. Removable Breast and
Back beams. New Brake. Sectional Beam, 18” circumference. Four Leash Sticks. (See photos below)

• Custom Cherry Bench (designed copied from LeClerc bench). Fixed Height. Storage Under Seat. 
Two Built in Pockets.

• LeClerc Bobbin Rack. Holds 40 Four inch Bobbins/Spools. Easy to Store. Includes 30 Cardboard Spools
• Metal Temple. 32” to 51” Capacity.

• Located in San Ramon. Must be picked up by October 25

PRICE: $1100

Contact: Joan Leon at gypsieladi@hotmail.com






Large Table Loom for Sale
Please see the side menu--or the link below-- for a new posting about a 32 inch, 8 harness loom for sale.



Local Workshops


The Redwood Guild of Fiber Arts is inviting neighboring guilds to join them in a special program and workshop presented by Dianne Totten.

REDWOOD GUILD OF FIBER ARTS

Dianne Totten - Lecture and Workshop
October 5, 6, 7, 2016

Dianne Totten, a weaver for 30 years and teacher for twenty, uses a variation of handwoven shibori to 
produce what she calls “crimp cloth” to create one-of- a-kind garments with the heat-set fabric. Her expertise in 
sewing complements her passion for weaving.  Dianne’s award-winning work has appeared nationally and 
internationally. She teaches at John C. Campbell Folk School in NC as well as nationally and 
internationally for guilds and conferences and has been published in SS&D, Handwoven, Weavers, Complex 
Weavers Journal, and Vävmagasinet.  Väv magazine chose her jacket as “Best in Show” in its category at the 
Swedish National Convention Fashion Show.


Lecture on October 5 at 10:30am: 
“Cone to Clothing, One Weaver’s Journey”.

Luther Burbank Art & Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa.
Non-Guild members welcome.

2-day workshop on October 6 & 7: 
  “Crimp and Create”

Cotati Community Center, 216 East School St, Cotati, CA

This is an on-loom workshop taking fiber in a new direction by creating “crimp cloth.”  Using a variation of 
woven shibori for both warp and weft, learn to create fabric with permanently crimped designs that hold 
their memory even when washed.  Participants will draft, weave, and crimp their samples in class to 
discover the endless possibilities. Learn how the fabric can be used for entire garments as well as for 
permanent pleating to replace knitted ribbing for a sweater or to add a knit look to the collar area of a 
jacket. No dyeing involved.  Advanced beginner and beyond.

Fee 2-day workshop for Guild members: $100
Fee 2-day workshop for non-Guild members: $110

Please contact Terry Leech, tmleech@yahoo.com for reservations.


From Willow to Basket in a Day!

A Willow Crafting Class Taught by Renown Willow Crafter Charles Kennard.                
Saturday, October 15 San Jose - 9:30 a.m. – to 4:00 p.m.

We will gather willow shoots at the Veggielution Community Farm in central San Jose, and make open-weave twined baskets suitable for gathering fruits or veggies. The workshop is sponsored by Veggielution, Silicon Valley Folk School, Silicon Valley Permaculture Guild and the Center for Popular Research, Education and Policy. This class is for adults and teens with beginning and experienced weavers welcome. The fee for the class is $75. To register, contact Kris Jensen at krisxjensen@gmail.com or (650) 521-1536
                
Charlie Kennard of San Anselmo is a long-time basket weaver and student of California Indian and European techniques. He has taught for MAPOM, Point Reyes Field Institute, East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, and in many schools and at teacher trainings. Tule boats made in his workshops can be seen at the California Academy of Sciences, the Bay Model in Sausalito, and another is in the collection of the Oakland Museum. You can also visit a basketry plant garden he has created at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Charlie is active in native habitat restoration in Marin, managing several projects for Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed.


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. 


Weaving Resources 

Asian Textile Studies Website and a 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.

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 are



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

Looking for information about past meetings and events?
Search our site using the search box at the top to find past workshops
and information about other activities.

Past meeting pages and meeting notes are linked from the lower left side
bar.  For meetings and notes prior to 2015, search using the box at the top.
For questions, suggested items to add or edit on this web site, please contact Carol.
Header photo: Coloured wool: By Sfuarch480 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons