October 10 @ 10:00 a.m. — Zoom and in-person, Business meeting to follow
Brandywine Town Community Center 4050 Brandywine Parkway — Wilmington, DE 19803
Building Pattern and Palette: The Use of Woven Shibori with Natural Dyes presented by Catherine Ellis
Catharine Ellis has been using woven shibori as a means of applying pattern to her textiles for many years. From simple 4 shaft monk’s belt to complex twills and Jacquard structures, she has used the loom as a vehicle for integrating resist threads into the woven cloth. Dyeing is an integral part of woven shibori. It can be done with any dye that is suitable to the textile itself; but Catharine has brought a clear focus to the use of natural dyes for her own work. She will talk about why she made the choice to use natural colorants and the opportunities that those dyes present. Catharine is the author of Woven Shibori(Interweave Press, 2005, 2015) and The Art and Science of Natural Dyes, with co-author Joy Boutrup (Schiffer Press 2019).
September’s Program — Zoom and in-person Thursday, September 12 @ 10:00 a.m. Brandywine Town Center 4050 Brandywine Parkway — Wilmington, DE 19803 “Effective Use of Materials and Color” presented by Kathrin Weber
Kathrin Weber has been a full-time studio fiber artist since 1980. Her work revolves around dyeing, weaving and teaching. She has a fearless enjoyment in using hand-dyed color in her teaching, shop sales, and weaving. She enthusiastically encourages students to dive into color. No matter what her classes are officially entitled, they are ultimately about color, technique and weaving good fabric.
Do you have yarn in various colors, textures, weights, yarn types that you are not sure what to do with? Perhaps you have a lovely yarn that may not be strong enough for that warp you want to wind. Or your yarn is too fine or too big or the colors are too bright and they don’t go together. Or, to be honest, the yarn you have been hoarding is just too dang expensive to use! How do you make a little go a long way?
This Zoom lecture with images will help you think of creative ways to plan and execute woven projects of mixed yarn types and colors that you might have thought would never go together technically or visually. Spend a little time with Kathrin thinking, “What if…?” And then dig through your yarn closet for hidden treasures waiting to be woven. To learn more about Kathrin, visit her website https://www.blazingshuttles.com/.
The Zoom link will be sent to you through an i.o. group email
May Program presented by Margaret Coe May 9 @ 10:00 a.m. Red Clay Presbyterian Church
Zoom and in-person
This month, Margaret Coe will be presenting her program – The Corris Effect Part 1 (4 and 8 shafts). Margaret’s focus has been designing weaves with the computer as her main tool since the 1980’s. She is the author of four books; and, a presenter of courses both in person, online, and virtually (Zoom); but always at heart a weaver and designer.
Her website has an online course by a similar name – The Corris Effect a.k.a. Parallel Paradox. My guess is that we will get an overview of her comprehensive online course (30 lessons in all) in her one hour presentation. But to whet your appetite – here are some nuggets she set us about her presentation …
What is the Corris Effect? How did it evolve? Where did the name come from? All will be revealed . . .
It takes a village, or at least two weavers brainstorming, to halt, take a right turn, and look at weave structures in a whole new light. In two separate, but related incidents, and over 5 years of exploring, we discovered that it isn’t always the threading, tie up, and treadling (or liftplan) that determine structures.
From double weave to Jin to twills and basket weave; from Jin to summer & winter; add taqueté as well as rep to the mix. Come see what it is all about!
You can poke through her website as it has links to her courses, presentations and books; she also has a gallery of beautiful peeks at her work. Here is a link – https://coeweaves.com/
Blue Ball Barn, Alapocas Woods Delaware State Park
May 3-27, 2024
Dinah Kirby, Jacket for Addy Tencel, rayon chenille, Handwoven
See the work of the Harmony Weavers Guild, a local collective of creative textile and fiber enthusiasts. Their work includes tapestries, wearables, and felted pieces from a variety of artists as well as fiber materials. Free, no registration required.
This extraordinary barn is the home of the Delaware Folk Art Collection. Visit the permanent and rotating art exhibits, or tour our displays highlighting the history of the barn and surrounding landscape. Renovations have created a multifunctional conference, special event and gallery space featuring meeting rooms, a large banquet room and a secluded courtyard.
Susan Balascio Isolated Waters II Cotton, hemp, rayon, wool, silk, paper Handwoven
1914 W. Park Drive Wilmington, DE 19803
Hours + Info Year round: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., daily Phone: 302-577-1164
Meet at 10 a.m. in the Lobby of the Visitors Center
RSVP to Dinah Kirby by Monday, April 8
Our April Meeting will take place at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, 5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware. We will meet in the lobby of the Visitor’s Center at 10 a.m. and will be escorted by the staff via shuttle bus to the Museum, where we will tour the Library and Conservation Laboratory.
The tour will take about 2 hours, after which we will have a brief business meeting in a classroom reserved for us. After the meeting, HWG members are free to tour the rest of the house, dine in the cafeteria in the Visitor’s Center, and take a walking tour of the gardens with Pam Sapko, one of our members who volunteers in the gardens. Winterthur is offering this exclusive behind-the-scenes tour for the Harmony Weavers Guild free of charge as thanks for all of our contributions to their events and workshops! Please RSVP to Dinah Kirby by Monday, April 8.
Winterthur is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the family of founder Henry Francis duPont called it home. The graduate degree programs and extensive research library make Winterthur an important center for the study of American art and culture. The Winterthur Library is an independent research library with a world-class collection dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of artistic, cultural, social, and intellectual history of the Americas in a global context from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Its holdings include rare books, manuscripts, original works of art on paper, ephemera, photographs, the archives of the Winterthur estate and its history as a museum, and more. Of particular interest to our Guild, the collection includes several pattern books which we will have a chance to see.
The Conservation Department cares for the 90,000-piece Museum collection, prepares the objects for display and trains the next generation of conservators through Winterthur’s Art Conservation Program at the University of Delaware.
Winterthur is also 1,000 acres of protected meadows, woodlands, ponds, and waterways. The 60-acre garden, designed by du Pont, is among America’s best, with magnificent plantings and massive displays of color throughout the year. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to experience Winterthur on a tour tailored to our unique interests!
March Program — Zoom and in-person March 14 @ 10:00 a.m. presented by Molly Elkind
The world of contemporary work in tapestry is exciting and diverse. Many artists are exploring the potential of texture, creating works that come forward in space or even become completely three-dimensional. In this slide lecture, view the work of a wide variety of weavers who are pushing tapestry beyond two dimensions. Warning: you may leave with a strong desire to weave with weird materials in new ways!
Molly Elkind
From her blog Talking Textiles — https:// mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com/ — “So . . . what is woven-ness? Over-under-over-under. Interlacement. Warp and weft crossing in specific patterns. All of these, and also: the making of a web, the combining of two or more elements into one integrated whole, the weaving together. Not for nothing do we speak of the fabric of society and the worldwide web. If we probe deeper into the modality of weaving we find an approach, attitude and orientation, that is crucially different from that offered by knitting and crochet, different from surface embroidery, different from felt- and paper-making. All of these connect elements in different ways and moods and for different purposes. All can make images, but those images will be very different from each other because of their modality.
“The Wreck” (working title), nearly complete. One piece of three to be collaged together.
So I continue to read and to make small experiments, seeking to find the magic center place in the Venn diagram where technique, material, form and concept all converge. I am a weaver, and weaving is a beautiful, ancient, and nuanced language. But all languages grow and change by incorporating “foreign” words and phrases too. Is it tapestry when the weft is plastic? Grass? When the warp includes wire? Is it weaving when strips of fabric are interlaced into metal hardware cloth? I’m about to find out. If you’re still with me, thanks for following along.”
February’s Program — Zoom Thursday, February 8 @ 10:00 a.m. presented by Lisa Trujillo
Lisa Trujillo
Lisa Trujillo, is a member of the Trujillo family of weavers who settled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, between Santa Fe and Taos. Spanish settlers came through Mexico seeking land and the Trujillo family was one of the original families who made Chimayo their home. Lisa learned to weave after marrying seventh-generation master weaver Irvin Trujillo in 1982. She has developed into an award-winning weaver, using traditional techniques and materials to create new work. She has taken an active role in preserving this rich Hispanic weaving tradition by publishing “A Chimayo Weaver’s Guidebook” and teaching workshops. She and her husband have passed their love of weaving on to their daughter Emily Trujillo, who has become the eighth generation of the Trujillo weavers.
If you are interested in learning more about this weaving tradition and the Trujillo family, visit www.chimayoweavers.com. If you would like to borrow “The Centinela Weavers of Chimayo; Unfolding Tradition”, “A Chimayo Weaver’s Guidebook” or “Images of America: Chimayo”, contact Dinah Kirby. They are available for purchase on the website listed above.
January 11, 2024 @ 10:00 a.m. Zoom Only presented by Susan Conover
The program will be offered on Zoom, using Ms. Conover’s own Zoom account. She will provide the link and any handouts one week in advance of the program. Any handouts will be sent to Guild members and posted on Groups.io in Files, under Programs 2023-2024.
After the program, a recording of her presentation will be available for viewing by Guild members for one week. The recording will be on her file, and she will send us a link to the file after the conclusion of the program.
Susan began spinning and weaving in 1980 and spent the next three decades studying under numerous national and international instructors. Her focus has always been on the historic aspects of her chosen craft.
Since 2000 she has offered courses in hand spinning and floor-loom weaving from her studio. Her experiences have included being Operations Manager at Vavstuga Weaving School in Shelburne Falls, MA for five years. Being a consultant and demonstrator for Historic sites has brought her a great deal of joy and sense of accomplishment. She specializes in lectures and workshops for guilds and craft schools throughout the country.
In this one-hour lecture Susan Conover will share a seventeen minute video of an adventure in flax planting, harvesting and processing. Flax spinning results in linen yarn. Susan will discuss some of the intricate ins and outs of spinning this ancient fiber.
A PowerPoint show will highlight how to wind a linen warp efficiently; humidity control of your weaving space, etc. And last but not least, how to remove certain food stains from your hand woven linens.
Of course, there will be a question-and-answer session at the end of her presentation, so start thinking of any linen-related questions you might have!
December 14 @ 11:00 a.m. Brandywine Town Community Center (map in newsletter) 4050 Brandywine Parkway Wilmington, DE 19803
Celebration will include: ★ Opportunities to catch up with guild members; ★ A shared activity — Stick Weaving* ★ Show and Tell of guild members’ works; ★ A short business meeting; ★ Delicious holiday food brought by our members! Beverages provided. ★ Donation of Non-perishable food pantry items, or warm socks, gloves or hats
What to bring: ★ Show and Tell ★ A food dish to share, and serving spoon as needed ★ Your own silverware, to reduce plastic waste (we will provide, if you forget) ★ Non-perishable items to donate for food pantry, or warm socks/gloves/hats ★ Don’t forget the importance of basics – flour, sugar, feminine hygiene products or diapers!
For the activity, bring whatever thrums and leftover yarns and fibers you wish, a tapestry needle and scissors. Sticks will be provided, as well as extra yarns, needles and scissors. THESE SMALL WEAVINGS WILL BE USED TO CREATE AN INSTALLATION FOR THE HWG BIANNUAL SHOW IN MAY. This gathering is all about fellowship and fun!
