sutherland handweaving studio

New Things in the New Year

2012-01-08T19:56:00.004-05:00

So it's 2012 and I am all in for trying new things this year. I started off with a bang, using alpaca from a local purveyor, Jaggerspun, and a yak/bamboo blend for two scarves I wanted to weave for men.

If you don't know me well, you might think, so what? Well, because I don't really do this kind of yarn. I'm a silk, tencel, bamboo kind of weaver. And don't forget they are usually a minimum of 60/2.

And guess what, I love it.

Here's the thing:: I usually laugh at Karen when she has a project going and she says 'I don't think I will have enough of ____ yarn." She says this a fair amount. Fill in the blank with your favorite yarn, she has probably run out of it in the middle of a project. I have been humbled. I can now fill in that blank my own self with Yak/Bamboo I can no longer get. I fortunately eked out enough of the yak to weave the first scarf, albeit a tad shorter than I had wanted (praying for not too much shrinkage).

This is what I know. Somewhere in my library(aka stash) I had to have something I could use. I started looking and lo and behold I came across what I call my "do do " yarn. As in #2. I bought this bamboo yarn quite awhile ago and I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it; henceforth the name::do do. It looks like that, the color I mean. And I didn't just buy one cone, but several.

And lucky for me the do do yarn works quite nicely, if not better than I could hope for. Seems it gives more depth to the second scarf, or so it seems to me. The photo on the left is the first scarf with the yak in both warp and weft. The one on the left has the yak in the warp and the bamboo (aka do do yarn) in the weft. Let me know what you think.

And in this new year, I hope to try even more things in the world of weaving. Next up:: doubleweave open book style. Stay tuned!

New Year, New Study Group Subject

2012-01-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, Sutherland Handweaving Studio Friends!

Karen Donde and Barb Butler invite all weavers and weaver wanna be’s to join Sutherland’s Weavers’ Study Group as we start our second year. Our first meeting will be this Sunday, Jan. 8, from 2-4 pm, at our studio in the Cotton Mill Studios, 122 Riverside Drive, Asheville. We’re starting a brand new study subject, so this is an ideal time to join. We meet monthly on a Sunday afternoon, but which Sunday tends to fluctuate. We’ll try to work that out at the first meeting. So check out the details below and let us know if you’d like to join us. If you’re interested but can’t make it Sunday, we’ll put you on the contact list for next month. Don’t worry, we’ll catch you up.

Our study subject this year is block weaves. The group will choose one profile draft and everyone will weave a piece based on that profile, similar to Handwoven’s Weave-Along last year. Members will choose a month to show their sample and discuss how they interpreted the design. The process will work with any loom, from rigid heddle to multi-shaft.

At the first meeting on Sunday, Karen will provide a little tutorial about block theory, how to develop a profile draft and how to translate it to various weaves. We’ll work together to design a two-block profile draft that will be our inspiration for the year. Then we’ll assign months for members to present. Here’s one of Karen’s latest block weave projects.

We will also collect our $15 annual dues for 2012. Show-and-tell is one of the best parts of our meeting, so please bring whatever you’ve been working on, thinking about working on or have questions about. We love sharing successes and ideas.

We decided at our last meeting to arrange a tour of the Oriole Mill in Hendersonville, followed by dinner at the pizza place in Hendersonville. Our dues from last year would be applied to the bill for last year’s study group members. Others are welcome to join us. We’ll just ask that you buy your own pizza.

We had a lot of fun learning together last year and are excited about our study group’s second year. Hope you can join us!

Karen and Barb

Just So, Take Two

2011-12-12T21:54:00.001-05:00

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2011/10/10/25-ways-to-wear-a-scarf.html

Just So

2011-12-12T21:45:00.002-05:00

I am asked quite often how I tied my scarf. I came upon it after much trial and error; and then it took me awhile to do it so it was second nature. There are differences in lengths and widths and necks, you get the picture, which make having one way to tie a scarf just not enough.

With this thought in mind, Karen and I have been trying to come up with a DIY scarf tying video. And guess what, my sweet daughter, Melissa, found this one and we don't need to make one of our own.

So have fun tying. And if you think about it send us a photo of you with your scarf knotted "just so".

Dear Santa…

2011-12-06T14:51:00.001-05:00

Sutherland Handweaving Studio has some exciting news about guest instructors for 2012, just in time for holiday gift giving or gift hinting!

Excellent Holiday Gift Number ONE:

Laura Fry will teach a one-day seminar titled A Good Yarn, Saturday, March 17. Laura has been weaving professionally since 1977. Her work has evolved from table textiles to yardage woven for a fashion designer. She teaches throughout Canada and the U.S., writes for a variety of textile publications and has won numerous awards for her clothing fabrics. In 1997 she became the 27^th weaver to earn certification as one of Canada’s Master Weavers. Her book, “Magic in the Water,” which is filled with woven samples prior to and after wet finishing, is a very special acquisition for a weaver’s library. Here’s just one page from my copy showing the samples on the right and a photo of the finished project on the left.

A Good Yarn is designed to help weavers better control their end results. Laura discusses fiber characteristics, yarn spinning and how weave structure and density affecting the finished textile. This is a tabletop workshop with no loom required. We have room for 20 participants and the cost is $120, plus a $10 supply fee. We’re going to need full payment for this workshop up front, as Laura is coming from British Columbia on a tour of the Southeast, and we need to lock in her travel plans as soon as possible.

Excellent Holiday Gift Number TWO:

Daryl Lancaster returns to Sutherland May 29-June 2 to teach her very popular five-day garment construction class, A Wearable Extravaganza: Wrap your body in clothing from you own hands. This is a terrific class for those wanting to learn to fit and sew clothing from their handwoven, hand printed, dyed, quilted, felted or other special fabric, as well as for those more experienced students wanting polished and professional results. Students will construct a basic unlined jacket, from their own fabric, custom fit to themselves, while learning all sorts of inspiring techniques to make their garments reflect their creativity. This class is designed to teach creativity as well as technique. Students who have already made a jacket with Daryl may opt to bring their own patterns. Even if you’ve taken a similar sewing class with Daryl, this class will move you to your own next level. Here is a link to the full prospectus, which includes more details and the supply list. Yes, you’ll need a sewing machine for this one.

We’re limited to only 10 participants for Daryl’s class, so make your reservation early. Cost is $450, plus a $35 materials fee, which includes an extensive handout…a book actually. A deposit of $225 will be needed to reserve your place in the class. The full balance will be due May 1, 2012.

Cancellation policy for both Sutherland workshops: Refunds of payments and deposits, less a $10 service fee, will be accepted up to 30 days prior to the workshop. After that date, refunds are only possible if another student can take your place.

FINALLY, Excellent Holiday Gift Number Three:

If your interest in weaving classes is more at a beginning level, another Weaving I: Three Warps, Three Towels class with Karen starts Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 am-2 pm. This class will continue for eight, four-hour segments on consecutive Saturdays. Cost is $310, plus yarn fee.

So if your special Santa keeps bugging you for gift ideas, slip this blog post onto his or her computer screen . We have gift certificates! BUT please don’t wait to contact us if you want to make sure you have a place in our guest instructor classes. We think these are going to fill quickly.

Happy Holidays from Karen and Barb

What happened to this year?

2011-10-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

It can’t be the last week of October. I feel like I’ve been in a time warp since last spring…which partly explains why posts have been few and far between.

First the news of the hour. Our Sutherland Weavers’ Study Group will celebrate the conclusion of its first year of study this Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2 pm. We’ll discuss our progress, look at projects from the year and plan our study for year 2.

This is a great time to join the Study Group. We include weavers of all experience levels weaving on all kinds of looms, rigid heddle to multi-shaft compudobby. We always learn from and inspire each other. The show and tell is excellent.

Next year, we’re talking about stash reduction as the theme of our study, and we’ll firm up the details Sunday. We voted to use our dues from last year to purchase something (yarn or book maybe) that we can all use during the study. Suggestions welcome. We’re also doing a finger-food potluck. Nothing big, just some snacks and cider, but what’s a party without food?

Let us know if you’d like to stop in and check us out. New members are always welcome.

Next up at Sutherland is the much-anticipated tapestry weaving workshop with Tommye Scanlin and Pat Williams. It’s been full for months with a waiting list, so we’ll be talking with Tommye and Pat about scheduling another one for next year.

The following weekend is our River Arts District Studio Stroll, Nov. 12 and 13. It’s always a crazy weekend with weaving demos and hundreds of strollers shopping for holiday gifts. All of our River Arts District Artists are open both days, so there are lots of great gift ideas. We, of course, favor handwoven scarves and towels!

Meanwhile I’m trying to keep up with the schedule at Haywood Community College Professional Crafts-Fiber program, writing for the Handwoven’s Weaving Today newsletter and planning the classes I’ll be teaching at Convergence next year. Look for this scarf I wove for Weaving Today’s block draft Weave-along in the new November-December Handwoven!

And Barb has Sutherland looking awesome with new work, new lighting, new displays and a NEW LOOM!

Here’s Barb getting acquainted with Meg, our new 32-shaft Louet Megado compu-dobby. It’s added a whole new dimension to our weaving.

Hope we’ll see you in the studio soon!

Karen

This, That, and Tessellation

2011-10-26T20:17:00.002-04:00

I believe I say this often, but where in the world does the time go? My mother, and certainly other mothers worldwide, have said many times "The older you get the faster the years go". Well she was right.

Karen and I began planning last Spring for Tommye Scanlin and Pat Williams to teach their Tapestry Weaving class at Sutherland the first weekend in November. Back in april is sure did seem a long way away. But now it is just around the corner and we could not be more thrilled to host this full class. Look for photos and a blog post after it is over!

Every day I am at the studio many people wander through. Some are shopping, some just browsing, and some just like to talk. I enjoy meeting all the people and almost without fail ask where each lives. Some come with stories of friends or family members who were weavers, or how they took weaving in fine arts class in college oh so many years ago, and just touch the fabric. I generally spend time each day teaching those who visit exactly what weaving is, how it works, and then demonstrate the art. The other day several groups of people were wandering through and I was busy talking and did not see a couple looking over all the scarves. The gentleman moved along but his wife/girlfriend (or whatever) came over and was asking questions about the math involved in weaving. We discussed it a bit and then she told me her husband (or whatever) was a math teacher and was rather impressed to see tessellations in weaving. Well, let me tell you I had never heard this word. Had to look it up even.

Here's what Wikipedia says about tessellation::

A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces.

So, here is what you need to picture in order to know what this means in real life:: honeycomb, subway tiles, bricks on a house.

And this is what you need to picture in order to know what this means in weaving:: waffle weave, houndstooth, basket weave.

Who knew?? Tessellation is all around us, all you have to do is look.

Weave On!

2011-09-13T21:30:00.004-04:00

Back in the Spring I mentioned I thought once Summer rolled around things would settle out. I was wrong. Have Karen and I been busy. Really. Busy.

We had the Studio Stroll in June. Then Karen went to NJ not once but twice to visit family and friends while sorting through a dear friend's weaving things who passed away in June. And before I knew it my trip to Seivers for Daryl Lancaster's Sewing Extravaganza in August had arrived. I even had a chance to visit Wence and Sandra Martinez in Jacksonport on my way to Seivers on Washington Island, WI. Thrown in there was our most memorable part of the summer:: the arrival of Meg. In case you have not heard, Meg is our Louet Megado 32H loom.

We are now well into September and can hardly remember where all those days of summer went. The one thing I know for sure, it was pretty darn hot on many of those days in the studio without A/C.

Days and nights are cooling off in Asheville and with it comes a very exciting announcement. Karen is a big follower of all things Weavetech, particularly their discussion groups. I read blogs and share those I find interesting with Karen and she does the same for me with regards to intriguing topics from Weavetech.

One particular topic was regarding a tool for spreading the warp out to enable easier repair of a broken warp thread. Alice Schlein wrote about this lovely tool and included a photo. Apparently the tool has not been made for many many years from what people were saying in the discussion group. Well, leave it to Karen and me to decide we had to be the ones to do it.

Now, let me say this was no easy project. This took several months of work, but fortunately we were able to find just the right person to take this idea, make a prototype, and then refine it to just what we wanted.

And it is here! We are excited to be able to offer this tool (affectionately referred to by us as the "warp spreader thingie") to you in a nice smooth maple. We are selling them for $16 each, plus tax, in our Asheville River Arts District studio. Or we will ship them anywhere within the continental US for $18.50 each.

Let us know how many you will need!

Oh, and somewhere in all of this we have been designing, weaving, and sewing up a storm.

The deal is done!

2011-07-01T11:20:00.001-04:00

We have scheduled the tapestry weaving workshop team taught by Tommye Scanlin and Pat Williams at Sutherland Handweaving Studio Nov. 4-6, 2011. This will include 2 six-hour days of instruction Saturday and Sunday suitable for beginners to more experienced tapestry weavers, plus a little bonus the evening before (on the 4th) when Tommye and Pat meet everyone, begin to assess every participant’s experience level and talk a bit about their own work.

For those concerned about equipment, no worries. Tommye and Pat bring looms, bobbins, yarns and lots of inspiration. Of course, if you have a tapestry loom and tools, please bring them.

A warning, we have a 15 student limit, and 5 seats are already filled. Here are the particulars about registration. Cost for the workshop is $180 per person, payable to Sutherland, and $10 supply fee payable to the instructors at the workshop. We will need a deposit of $90 to hold your space in the workshop. So if you’re interested, call us right away to discuss payment. If you should need to cancel for any reason, we will refund your deposit (less a $10 processing fee) up until 30 days prior to the workshop. After that, no refunds are possible unless we have someone on a waiting list to fill your space.

I’ve taken this workshop myself, and can testify to Tommye’s and Pat’s ability to take you where you are in tapestry, teach you better ways to do even the basics, and push you forward in both skills and designing.

We’re thrilled to bring Tommye and Pat to Asheville.

Calling all current and potential tapestry weavers!

2011-06-21T15:25:00.001-04:00

A number of you have asked us over the past several months about scheduling a tapestry weaving workshop. We are currently talking with Tommye Scanlin and Pat Williams about a 2-day, plus the evening before, tapestry workshop in late October or early November (before Thanksgiving for sure). Tommye and Pat have been team teaching this workshop that they adapt to people with no tapestry experience, a little tapestry experience and even those who’ve taken their class before. Having taken the class, I can testify that it is a fun, educational and information-packed two+ days. They provide tapestry looms, tools and yarns if you don’t have your own frame tapestry loom.

You can read more about Tommye and see her work at her website: http://web.me.com/tmscanlin/web.me.com_tmscanlin/Welcome.html Pat’s website is: http://web.mac.com/patwilli1/Site/Welcome.html

So we are curious to find out how many of you would be interested in taking such a workshop. We are estimating the price at around $180 per person plus a $10 supply fee (for some truly wonderful handouts). I know it will depend on when. But if you’re really interested and have schedule limitations, let us know and we’ll do our best to find the most acceptable dates. Generally we’re thinking about a Thursday evening through Saturday, or a Friday evening through Sunday format.

Thanks for the input!

Broken Threads

2011-05-24T14:44:00.003-04:00

The email group posting or guild newsletter ad is all too familiar, and weavers can usually read between the lines. A friend, often another weaver, is listing for sale the entire contents of someone’s weaving studio. Looms (usually more than one), shuttles, warping board, bobbin winders, lease sticks, benches, ball winder, swift , hooks and gadgets too numerous to mention, pounds and pounds of yarn and a full library of weaving books and magazines all for sale.

We know it means another weaver has died.

We read through the equipment listing debating whether to add this or that to our own collections, knowing the hands that threaded these heddles and threw the shuttles, the feet that tramped the treadles in a rhythmic order and the heart that pounded with excitement as a pattern began to emerge on the loom are gone.

Today my heart is heavy. My first weaving teacher, my mentor, my close friend, Naomi Cannon, lost her battle with advanced breast cancer yesterday. In her Cherry Hill, NJ, cellar some 12 1/2 years ago, Naomi laid her shuttle in my hand for the first time. “Step on a treadle,” she encouraged. “Now slide the shuttle through the opening and catch it with your other hand. Let go of the treadle and grab the beater right here. Now pull it toward you firmly…a little harder than that,” she instructed, grasping the beater and giving whatever she had been weaving a good thwack. “Now step on the next treadle and do it again.”

That was all it took. I was hooked. My heart was pounding and this lovely little (only 5-foot tall) woman was beaming. She offered to give me weaving lessons in her cellar. Saying yes instantly was the smartest decision I ever made. Naomi, schooled at the heels of Doris Boyd, who also became my teacher, was a perfectionist. She wanted everything she wove to be perfect, and to me and her other weaving friends it always was, though she was quick to point out any tiny flaws.

For me, this meant I was taught the “right” way to do almost everything and the value of a perfectly handwoven, properly finished textile. I will always be grateful to her for that.
But I will miss her most because she was my friend, almost a sister, really. Even though she was several years my senior, we hit it off right away. She taught me how to speak “weaving,” and once I learned the language, we could talk for hours. Naomi was coordinator (she wouldn’t call herself president) of the South Jersey guild. In fact, she was a large part of what kept that guild functioning. She brought me in as secretary, and during the years all guilds seem to experience when volunteers are scarce, we managed guild affairs as a team.

We drove to regional meetings together. We went to sheep and wool festivals, conferences and workshops together. We studied at Doris Boyd’s for nearly a decade after Naomi convinced Doris to take me on. Naomi was a joy to be around, and always first to share the latest internet joke or some delicious cookies she had just baked. She insisted on washing the lunch dishes at Doris’, while the rest of us grabbed tea towels and tried to keep up with her. Here’s Doris and Naomi celebrating the cutting off of another weaver’s project.

Even after I moved away from South Jersey to Asheville, NC., Naomi remained my champion and biggest supporter. I am sorry she will not be at Convergence with me next summer. She was thrilled to learn I’d be teaching there.

My most cherished memories of Naomi, however, are back when I was learning to weave from her one-on-one in her cellar. I’d be perched at her small Macomber, struggling to thread 20/2 cotton for an overshot sampler. Her husband Del once asked her why she was making me use such fine threads as a beginner. She told him, “Doris made me do it.” And, of course, it taught me much more than simply overshot.

At lunch time, we’d climb the stairs to her kitchen, where I’d pull out the lunch I’d brought, and we’d sit down with Del to relax and talk about family, or flowers or the latest news.

I know that soon enough, Naomi’s weaving things will be dispersed among other weavers near and far. It’s the regular order of things. Whatever makes it back to my studio will be held very dear, a connection to the hands and heart that guided me along this path.

Thank you, Naomi. I love you dearly and will miss you forever.
Karen

You’re Invited to a Reception at Sutherland

2011-04-27T16:00:00.001-04:00

Barb Butler and Karen Donde invite you to a special reception we’re having at Sutherland’s new Cotton Mill Studios for Wence and Sandra Martinez. Wence is the Oaxacan-born, Zapotec Indian who weaves the beautiful contemporary tapestry rugs we’ve been lucky enough to display at Sutherland over the winter. Wence and Sandra will be stopping by Asheville on their return to their Wisconsin home with new work to show us. We want you to be part of the celebration of their return. They’ll have lots to tell us about the new work and the inspiration they gained while spending their winter in Oaxaca, Mexico.

We’ll also be cracking the champagne bottle (figuratively…we never waste wine) over our new Cotton Mill studio, just down Riverside Drive a bit from the first one. We have been settling in and testing it out with a couple of classes and workshops. It’s performing wonderfully and we’d love to show it to you.

Please plan to stop by and say hello to Wence and Sandra. Here’s a small taste of the beautiful new work they’ll be showing, and they’re always fun to chat with.

Here are the details.

What: Reception for Wence and Sandra Martinez

Where: Sutherland Handweaving Studio, 122 Riverside Drive, Cotton Mill Studios, Asheville, NC 28801. Come in the main door. We’re on the first floor just to your right.

When: 5 pm-8 pm, Friday, April 29 (this Friday!)

Why:

To see Wence Martinez’ beautiful new tapestry rugs.

To check out Barb’s and Karen’s bright and roomy new digs in the Cotton Mill Studios.

To enjoy some snacks and drinks.

Because it’s SPRING, and we want to party.

Please RSVP to Barb at barbbutler1@gmail.com or call 803-513-1814 so we know how many to expect.

Hope to see you there!

Weaver…unplugged

2011-03-16T12:53:00.001-04:00

Well almost. I did bring my laptop on vacation so I could work on the lesson plan for the Handwoven Lace Techniques workshop I’m teaching March 25-27. And I’ve been keeping up with email. But all in all, my spring break in Sanibel, FL, has been quite relaxing.

A couple visits to the spa, daily walks, a few exercise classes and I’m a new woman. I will admit that the restaurants in Asheville are much better than what we’ve found in Fort Myers or Sanibel. But the weather has been clear and sunny with highs in the 70s and 80s since we got here. That won’t be true in Asheville for a few more weeks, at least.

I took in a nice fiber show at Big Arts in Sanibel yesterday. Titled Hanging By a Thread, the contemporary fiber art invitational included a lot of politically themed applique and quilting, some fiber sculpture, hand-made dolls, and some beautiful tapestry weaving by Terri K. Stewart, which of course was my favorite.

We’ve stayed away from Fort Myers Beach, which is currently besieged by hoards of spring breakers…you know, the young and single who like to mingle crowd. Even the Sanibel beach parking lots are jammed. So we’ve mostly stuck to the quieter resort perched on Sanibel Harbour just before the causeway.

We’ve heard so many nice things about our new website. Thanks to all. We love it too, giving credit to Barb’s very talented daughter Melissa for the concept, design and photography. And we’re settling into our new studio in the Cotton Mill Studios. I’ve already had one student in the classroom, and it’s working famously. Here’s Laurel warping Towel 2.

The next class is the Handwoven Lace workshop, then in April is Kathie Roig’s Warp It! Paint It! Weave It! workshop. Deadline for registering for Kathie’s workshop is the last week of March, as Kathie has to send out pre-wound warps for participants and we need to know there will be enough students to run the workshop. So if you’ve been thinking about Kathie’s workshop, but haven’t committed yet, NOW is the time. We must have your payment in hand by Monday, March 28.

I head back to North Carolina tomorrow and will be in the studio Friday and Saturday. There is even a yarn and fabric swap from 1-4 Saturday at both Sutherland and Cloth Fiber Workshop, our new studio neighbor. Hope to see you there!

Namaste

Karen

Moving along

2011-02-15T15:32:00.004-05:00

Just when I thought the New Year would ring in quietly, everything changed. Isn't that the way it always happens-when you least expect it? Karen and I had settled into a lovely routine around her class schedule at Haywood Community College, inventory was at a decent level, and all the 'capital improvements' (ie expenses for upfitting the studio space) were pretty much complete. Thus, I thought the New Year would herald calm and time to be a tad more creative. Not to be.

About to renew my lease at Curve Studios a fellow fiber artist, Barbara Zaretsky (http://www.clothfiberworkshop.com/), called and said there was studio space opening up next to her. Now, if you do not know Barbara's work you need to follow the link. She is not only a surface designer, she is teacher, a seamstress, and so much more! Anyway, I trotted down to The Cotton Mill Studios, less than a tenth of a mile further down Riverside Drive, and rented the space that afternoon.

The space is marvelous. Full of light--seven windows in all, plenty of space for teaching classes and looms to be spread out, room for a large design table on which to work, and more! Best of all we will have a shared door with Barbara and be able to begin textile collaboration. Needless to say Karen and I are almost drooling at the prospect. The move will be at the beginning of March.

As if all this news is not enough, there is more. Our website will go live mid-March, so keep an eye out for this at http://sutherlandhandweaving.com. As it was pointed out to me in all of this social media hoopla, we needed to begin Twittering. We have begun this and you may follow us at http://twitter.com/#!/sutherlandweave.

With all this exciting news, we will try to post pictures often and let you see how things are progressing on our soon to be new home!

More in the Valentine’s mood

2011-02-02T17:22:00.001-05:00

Actually the two scarves I just finished got their start last fall when I pulled what was a poorly chosen supplementary warp off my loom. The remaining ground warp became a couple of plain weave scarves, one with ombre blue and turquoise wefts that was featured in our 12 Scarves promo. The other, a short one with stripes on one end, I kept for myself.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t bear to waste the supplementary warp, a wonderful hand-dyed (by our friends at Just Our Yarn) fine, unspun cotton from Habu in gorgeous red violet shades. What can I say. I was seduced by the color. This delicate yarn makes a wonderful weft, but is challenging (to say the least) as warp. No longer able to be anything but warp, the soft cotton was threaded onto my studio loom in an extended point twill, with a much wider sett and more open reed.

For the first scarf, I wove in a few differ wefts that just weren’t working. Then Barb pulled a cone of red Jaguar, a modal blend, from our stash of Silk City yarns. It was too fine to use singly, so I doubled it and, voila!, there were the lovely concentric diamonds. It washed up soft and cozy but still lightweight.

The second scarf on the warp had to weave faster, as I needed the loom for a class this Friday with a group of girls from a local high school. I rummaged through my stash of sock yarns and found a deep red and a variegated purple with some mohair in it. I blended randomly sized bands of the colors into each other for more ombre effects. It finished up both wider and fuzzier than the first, but I wove it off in 2 1/2 hours.

Next up, when I’m not busy with school or homework, I’ll be sewing up some luscious yardage I wove last month into the long-planned “Akira” jacket, inspired by the work of potter Akira Satake, I’ve been a big fan of Akira since he joined the group of artists at CURVE studios & garden.

Speaking of CURVE, Barb and I have some exciting news that we’ll be announcing soon. Big changes are ahead!

Karen

Another pic of that Valentine’s giveaway scarf on our Facebook Page

2011-01-24T20:06:00.001-05:00

Barb’s work is so fine, that when she weaves patterns, it’s often hard for the camera to capture them. I managed to get this closeup Sunday of the scarf we’re giving away as a prize in our latest Facebook page promotion. Be sure to click on it for a better look.

Keep suggesting our page to your friends and have them mention you when they visit and become fans.

I really can’t believe she’s giving this one away.

Win this scarf in our Facebook Valentine’s Giveaway

2011-01-21T10:53:00.001-05:00

Calling all sutherland fans! Karen and Barb are excited to announce their Valentine's Giveaway on our Facebook page. From January 17 through the 31st you'll have the chance to win a scarf handwoven by Barb valued at $195! We will draw for the winner on February 1. All you have to do to enter is: 1) suggest the sutherland fb page to your friends, 2) once they become a fan, they must post on our wall that you suggested they become a fan, and both of you get entered - it's that easy! There are no limits as to how many times you enter, so suggest away!

Good luck!

Been there, done that.

2011-01-08T13:27:00.005-05:00

I've never done this before. Actually, there are two things here I have never done. The first is be a part of a Weaving Study Group. I will get to the second thing I haven't done in a bit.

Karen, always looking to extend our reach to the weaving community, suggested we at sutherland begin a Study Group using Jane Patrick's new book "The Weaver's Idea Book". Now this book is written for those who have a rigid heddle loom. Karen, ever looking to stretch things for us, suggested we use this book as a guide for our new group. I admit it, I agreed, but was quietly skeptical.

Our first meeting was back in the middle of the Fall. We have a steady number of group members; some long-term weavers, others who have only been weaving for several months. Some have looms with 16+ shafts, others with rigid heddle looms. It is a nice diversity. Our first meeting was to get acquainted and set guidelines as well as goals. Now, here is where Karen is better at keeping minutes, but I am winging it with y'all. As I recall our general goal is for each member to take a chapter or portion of a chapter and present it, preferably with visual woven pieces.

I volunteered to take the presentation for January. I thumbed through the book several times, looking for just the right idea to present. My main criteria was to present an idea which was totally new to me as well. This would be my 'stretch' or second thing I have never done before. As a self professed Queen of Tedium (QOT), I lit on Double Spanish Medallions. Yep, that's me, all about tedium and detail. Well, at least with regards to weaving. Once the idea was in my mind I had to decide how I wanted to present the weaving presentation. I decided place mats would work well. A friend was cleaning out her "library" (see earlier post regarding this alternative word for "stash") and gave me two huge cones of linen so I thought this would be a good use for it. The thread I chose to use to weave the medallions is a linen I had used back in the summer for commissioned place mats.

I started dressing the loom and was able to weave my first two rows of medallions in the first mat right before I went on holiday break. Good thing I had written down directions as I am pretty sure I would not have remembered a thing. I sure had to reacquaint myself with how to weave the medallions when I got back to my studio loom this week. They are not difficult, but they do take some figuring from the photos and descriptions Jane has given.

I have learned several things through this process, with one of six mats left to weave. I quickly learned I needed to alter how I wove the medallions compared to the directions given. I found using my large weaving needle, given to me by my first weaving instructor Deborah Chandler, rather than a crochet hook, was much easier and far more efficient. Now that is not to say someone else wouldn't like to use the crochet hook, I just was unable to get a nice rhythm going with it. And there is one thing necessary for a nicely woven project--a rhythm. When learning anything new in weaving the initial throwing of the shuttle for me means I want to weave at least 6 to 12 inches to get that rhythm going before I put my shuttle down.

I have always wanted to learn to weave the medallions to see if and how I might incorporate them into my weavings. They seemed like they would be a fun tedious, sort of like why I enjoy hemstitching. Well, these are the epitome of tedium. And that is saying something coming from the QOT! Suffice it to say you will never see these in any future weaving projects of mine.

I will say I am happy I tried weaving these and think they do have a nice visual appeal, but they are not for me. There is also the question of the direction of the medallions on the mat. The mats will be off in a few days and I will post the final photo and let you see what you think.

I can now say I have done this, but won't do it again. Sort of the weaving version of 'been there, done that'.

We have a winner!!

2010-12-29T17:22:00.001-05:00

What fun we had with our 12 Scarves of Christmas promotion on our Facebook page. For those who missed it, we posted a picture of one of the scarves we have for sale each day for the 12 days before Christmas. We then invited folks to comment on them, and every day someone liked or commented on the post we entered their name in a drawing to win a 50% discount on one of Barb’s or Karen’s creations.

Even better, we sold three of the scarves before the promotion ended! And we made a whole lot of new fans and friends. Our weekly views skyrocketed! One goal for 2011 is to really get a handle on social networking and make this Facebook thing work even better for us.

So, congratulations to Debra Davis of Brevard, NC, just south of Asheville, whose name we chose in a very scientific method. I’ll be happy to explain it to anyone curious. We have not met Debra in person yet, but look forward to her visit to sutherland. It seems Debra collects yarn, lots of it. Already we’re kindred spirits. And she’s taking a few small weaving classes in January from a local group. The chemistry is palpable.

So, once Debra gets totally hooked on weaving, we’re looking forward to getting her in some of our classes. Following is Karen’s new class list for 2011. We’re going rogue with the scheduling, as we could never stick to the calendar anyway. If you see a class you’d like to take, call or email and Karen will schedule it based on time and loom availability.

AND don’t forget to sign up for Kathie Roig’s Warp it! Paint it! Weave it! class at sutherland Feb. 18-20. See the Dec. 16 post! This is going to be lots of fun. Kathie paints warps with fabric paints instead of dyes – a lot less mess. Please call if you have any questions.

Barb and Karen feel very blessed to have spent the last year doing what makes them happy and sharing it with friends old and new. Here’s to finding your creative passion in 2011…and doing something about it!

Hardy Holland took Karen’s Weaving I class last January and several others in 2010. This fall he stopped by to show off the overshot baby blanket he wove for a friend and stitched together by hand! Well done, Hardy!

sutherland Weaving Classes

For Beginners

Just Weave $95 This class invites students to weave a complete scarf in one day on a loom already warped in rayon chenille. They will learn the basics of loom operation, how to wind bobbins and efficient weaving and finishing techniques. It is perfect for beginners who want to try weaving before committing to an in-depth class, lapsed weavers who need a reminder of how much fun weaving is or experienced weavers with no time to warp who simply want to spend a day throwing the shuttle or weaving a quick gift.

Weaving I-Three Warps, Three Towels $310 + yarn Warping the loom can be the most intimidating part of learning to weave. The only way to become comfortable with warping is frequent repetition. This in-depth introduction to weaving guides students through planning, warping and weaving three separate projects on three different short warps in eight 4-hour classes. Dish or hand towels are perfect short projects. The first will be a plain weave towel with a solid colored warp and contrasting color weft. The second will introduce twill. The third will feature threading and color variations. Along the way, students will learn about choosing fibers and colors, how looms and other weaving equipment work, efficient warping tips, proper weaving techniques and how to finish handwoven textiles.

Beyond Beginners

Weave a Twill Gamp $215 + yarn Students who have completed Weaving I, or have basic weaving experience, can explore four different twill patterns by weaving a gamp or sampler. We will review good warping and weaving techniques, and students will learn how to thread different patterns and vary treadling to weave different but related fabrics. Six 3-hour classes.

More Twills and a Taste of Overshot $215 + yarn A follow up to either Weaving I or Weave a Twill Gamp, this class introduces students to two additional twill patterns and an overshot threading to make a cotton table runner. Students may choose one threading, or use them in the same warp. Lessons include a first look at overshot theory and design, and examples of twill variations. Six 3-hour classes.

Handwoven Lace Techniques $215 + yarn Students who have taken Weaving I, or who are familiar with warping and plain weave, will be introduced to three different threadings for weaving lacy, open fabrics using fine cotton or fine wool. Choosing from Huck Lace, Swedish Lace or Atwater-Bronson Lace, weavers will create a scarf or series of napkins experimenting with various pattern effects possible with treadling variations.

Drafting & Design $215 For students who are comfortable warping, working from an existing draft and weaving tabby, twill or other basic weave structures, this class helps them learn how to design their own projects and draft their own patterns. Students will be asked to come to the first class with a general idea of a project they want to weave. We will work through decisions about appropriate fiber, yarn size, color and structure for the desired textile, practice planning yarn needs and pattern drafting and weave a project sample. Students will be introduced to computer drafting programs. Students may supply their own yarn or we will order for you from one of our suppliers. Six 3-hour classes.

Color and Weave $215 + yarn This class introduces some of the many color-and-weave effects possible when color order in warp and weft interacts with weave structure in a gamp or sampler. Students may choose three different color orders and will weave them in both plain weave and twill. With the remaining warp, students may experiment with other weft color orders. Six 3-hour classes.

Introduction to Designing & Weaving Warp Rep $215 + yarn Warp Rep is a warp-faced (or warp-dominant) block weave in which a thick weft alternating with a thin weft produces color patterns and horizontal (weft-wise) ribs. In this introduction, students will learn Karen’s building-block technique for rep design. They will then thread studio looms with their own designs and weave a variety of treadling variations into a series of mug rugs or coasters. Six 3-hour classes. Minimum Experience Level: Advanced beginner. Students must be able to read a draft and warp a precise color pattern independently.

Warp it! Paint it! Weave it! with Kathie Roig

2010-12-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

A sutherland Handweaving Guest Teacher Workshop

Feb. 18-20, 2011

sutherland Handweaving Gallery & Teaching Studio is pleased to welcome guest teacher Kathie Roig to the studio to teach her popular and unique method of warp painting in a workshop Feb. 18-20, 2011. The class explores two different methods of painting a warp using fabric paints instead of dye. This spontaneous method of applying color to yarn can be used in either functional or non-functional pieces. Students will learn to paint the warp once it’s already on the loom and prior to dressing the loom, and will be encouraged to experiment with color, texture, and weave structure. Students must have basic warping and weaving experience. They will need to bring a loom pre-warped according to Kathie’s instructions with a warp she will provide in advance. sutherland classroom looms will be available for rental. Contact us as soon as possible for fee and availability.

The class runs 1 pm-5 pm on Friday, Feb. 18; and 9 am-4 pm Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19 & 20, 2011. Workshop fee is $250, plus a $20 supply fee. Class is limited to 10 students, and full payment in advance is required to hold your space. If the class must be cancelled for any reason, fees will be refunded.

For more information or to register, email sutherlandstudios@gmail.com or call Barb Butler: 803-513-1814.

sutherland’s “12 Scarves of Christmas” on Facebook!

2010-12-13T10:48:00.001-05:00

In celebration of sutherland’s first anniversary, we invite our friends and followers to enjoy a little contest feature we call, “The 12 Scarves of Christmas.” Starting today on our Facebook page through Dec. 24, we’ll post a picture of a different scarf or pashmina available for sale at sutherland. Think of it as a little inspiration for your own or your true love’s holiday gift giving.

Every day you leave a comment (a nice one we hope) we’ll enter your name in a drawing on Dec. 26 for a coupon worth 50% off one of Karen’s or Barb’s creations. One entry per day, please.

Featured items may be purchased in the studio or over the phone at any time, so if you have your heart set on one, best not wait! Call or email for prices.

Enjoy the pictures and good luck!

Karen and Barb

PS: Each day we’ll also offer another gift idea available at sutherland. Feel free to share them with anyone you think might be interested.

And here’s a peek at the 1st Day’s scarf.

Happy Accidents

2010-11-19T11:13:00.001-05:00

The latest things off my loom are the results of other plans gone awry. But sometimes you succeed despite yarn and color challenges. I am still experimenting with beiderwand and how to turn the draft for faster weaving and more drape. While at the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair last month, I stopped in to see our friends at Just Our Yarn, looking for some pattern threads to go with some of their hand-dyed tencel skeins I had on hand. We pulled out this gorgeous deep red violet color of a very soft cotton from Habu that I’ve used before. It would make a beautiful pattern weft for the next beiderwand scarf. I snapped it up, without another thought.

Back at the studio that afternoon I couldn’t wait to wind the warp. It dawned on me briefly that when turning this draft, the pattern weft would now be in the warp, alternated 1 on 1 with the tencel. I gave it the old “Is this strong enough for warp?” test, before winding the two yarns together. Mistake Number 1. What was glorious on the warping board turned into a nightmare when trying to wind it on the beam. The cotton was just too fluffy, the double-weave sett too dense. I persevered (stubbornness mixed with the thought of wasting this hand-dyed beauty) and once on the beam, it threaded fine. I started weaving the beiderwand pattern and it was beautiful. But about 8 inches into the scarf, the cotton fluff started clogging up my 15-dent reed and those devilish little cotton warps started breaking. One, then another. I fixed them and kept weaving. Then a few more, and finally two snapped in the space of a quarter inch. I gave up on the turned beiderwand for now, but was determined not to waste either the cotton or tencel.

I lifted the pattern shafts, put a cross in all that cotton and pulled it away from the tencel, winding it on a kite stick on the floor under the warp beam. Then I decided to just weave the remaining tencel in plain weave. Probably would have enough for two scarves. I used the remaining cotton on the ball for weft and started weaving (very fast I might add). After about 48 inches of scarf, I ran out of the cotton. I toyed with the idea of using some of the warp ends I’d been saving, then thought better of it. Who says a scarf has to look the same on both ends? I used some stripes of the warp yarn and a little bamboo I had on the shelf to weave another foot or so. It’s a bit short, but I liked it so much I decided to keep it for myself.

The fun thing about those JOY colorways is that you can weave almost any color into them and they look good. I pulled out some turquoise and blue silk I’ve had for a while and decided to weave them together in an ombre pattern. Here is the result. Happy accident number 1.

The remaining cotton warp is now on my studio loom being threaded into a point twill, at a much more open sett and in an 8 dent reed. We’ll hope that ends in happy accident number 3.

Happy accident number 2 was the result of not wanting to move heddles around on my teaching looms at the studio to accommodate that beiderwand project. (I wove that at home.) With an empty studio loom and time, I decided to stop planning and figuring and just wind a warp out of leftover bobbins. Because they came from Barb’s stash (thanks, Barb) they were mostly silk and bamboo. I gave only minor thought to the order and started winding stripes. As soon as one bobbin emptied, I started another. Here’s a pic of the warp on the warping board. I thought it reflected Meagan Chaney’s tiles pretty nicely.

Barb dubbed it the ugliest warp she’d ever seen. You can’t see the audacious pink stripe in this pic. Again, I persevered. After our first sutherland Weaver’s Study Group meeting last month, I decided to weave some honeycomb in this scarf which I threaded into twill blocks. That looked nice but was a bit heavy, so I wove the center portion in 1/3-3/1 twill to make pleats. Then I finished off the other end in honeycomb. Barb still wasn’t convinced. So I washed the thing, which made both the honeycomb and the twill pleats do their thing. Then I decided to stitch the honeycomb ends into tubes to more closely match the width of the twill pleats. Ta da! Happy Accident number 2.

As for the short scarf, I haven’t photographed it yet. It’s around my neck today.

Karen

Weaving His Way Back into Notoriety

2010-11-11T19:31:00.001-05:00

I’m not really a Conan O’Brien fan, and was only half paying attention when I first caught his new American Express ad. Here he was walking into a shop in India, picking up a cone of silk and tasting it. Then he’s winding it, presumably a warp, weaving it on a loom with a fly shuttle (well, we see only one pick), crushing berries for dye and standing waist deep in red water either dyeing or rinsing.

Next time I paid more attention. Still kind of missed the point of the Amex ad, but enjoyed all the weaving references. Maybe we should show this in a loop when explaining how much work goes into our fine handwoven cloth. The slogan: “When every detail counts.”

Even if you’ve seen the ad, here’s a longer online version, which is even better.

Enjoy.

Karen

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/08/conan-american-express-india_n_780364.html

Slow Weaving in North Georgia

2010-11-02T21:59:00.003-04:00

I’m an occasional tapestry weaver. I learned enough from my wonderful tapestry teachers Rita Landau and Betsy Snope (both members of Archie Brennan’s and Susan Martin Maffei’s Wednesday Group) to finish the three tapestries I needed for HGA’s Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving Level I. I even managed to write a tapestry primer for Handwoven Magazine in spring of 2009, with careful editing by my tapestry mentors.

A few other tapestries have come off my loom since, including a puffin tapestry that’s currently exhibited in the Blue Ridge Fiber Show. The puffin had been on the loom almost two years. In the course of finishing it, I realized my tapestry skills had become a bit rusty. A new member of Tapestry Weavers South, I headed off to a mountain camp/conference center just north of Toccoa, GA, last weekend to take a refresher workshop sponsored by TWS with Tommye Scanlin and Pat Williams.

The weekend was filled with excellent instruction, beautiful inspiration, entertaining conversation and even a visit from master tapestry bobbin maker John Moss, who brought a whole box full of the brass-tipped beauties for us to try and buy. What a treat, as I’ve always had to order these and wait for my order to reach the top of his list. I added three more to my collection, and only about five remained by the end of the weekend.

Though Tommye and Pat are good friends, this is the first time they have taught a workshop together, and they complement each other nicely. With no TV and limited cell-phone coverage, the 15 of us, about half of whom were from Atlanta, enjoyed an intensive 2 1/2 day study of tapestry and design, interrupted only for meals and sleep. Our evening sessions gave us insight into Tommye’s and Pat’s design processes, a slide show of their work and influences and an amazing show and tell by some of the students. My roommate wove the piece above in sewing thread. (Note the pen for scale.) Conversations continued into the late night. Here are the finished samples most of us cut off the loom on Sunday. Mine is third from the right.

On the drive home, I was visualizing a tapestry design I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’ll need to do some photography to put the pieces in place, but am now excited to get the next warp on my tapestry loom. Yes, it’s very slow weaving, but it’s also addictive, especially with the support of my new weaving friends pictured here. That’s Tommye and Pat in the center of the second row. Between weaving for sutherland, teaching and going to school, I’ll do my best to keep the tapestry skills tuned.

Karen

A CRAZY Three Weeks!

2010-10-15T14:31:00.003-04:00

September is always a busy time as people return from vacation, get the kids back in school and get back to work, refreshed and energized. Here at sutherland, the pace is usually a little more relaxed. We weave a while, teach a while, chat with visitors and pack up customer purchases.
Then, suddenly, it was Sept. 23, and Daryl Lancaster was arriving on a late afternoon plane to teach workshops at Haywood Community College and at sutherland, and to judge the Blue Ridge Fiber Show produced by the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild. That show opened, by the way, Oct. 2 at the NC Arboretum. Barb and I were Daryl’s hostesses for the six-day visit, and we had a blast showing her great places to eat and fun things to see in Asheville. Barb already posted a picture taken from our Play with Color! class at sutherland. We had a seat available so I was lucky enough to sit in. Who knew you could make so many different yarn wrappings in one day.
Speaking of the Blue Ridge Fiber Show, I’m proud to say that one of my entries, a beiderwand scarf in the thinnest yarns I’ve ever used shared the People’s Choice Award with another entry. While Daryl selected the other handweaving prize winners, the People’s Choice Award is voted on by guild members who attend the opening reception. Recognizing the talent gathered for the reception, I was honored. I titled the scarf New Mexico sunset, recalling my trip to Las Cruces and Albuquerque last summer for Convergence. Here’s a photo I took of it at the Haywood Community College photo studio, where I’m completing the lab for my Studio Craft Photography class. I was rather pleased and am grateful to the teacher for suggesting a different angle on the shot.
While Daryl was touring the fun textile places in Asheville with Barb on Wednesday before her departure, I was busy with students in the classroom. I also was preparing for two days of my Just Weave: Weave a Scarf in a Day class at the Arboretum. I had offered to teach two sessions of the one-day class in conjunction with the BRFS, which involved hauling three warped looms and a big bucket of yarn and supplies out to the Arboretum. I had two students on Saturday and three more on Sunday, just one short of a full house. All five wove lovely scarves and, I believe, caught the weaving bug so I’m hoping to see them in the sutherland classroom soon. Here are a few pics from those classes.

View Full Album

The following Tuesday was the BRFS opening reception, which also meant the drawings for the seven BRFS raffle prizes that were in residence at sutherland all summer. We raised more than $1,000 to support the prize fund and the artists whose work won awards. I shipped off two of the raffle prizes to good friends in New Jersey who had ordered tickets by mail. Honestly, I stirred the tickets and had other people pick the winners. The tapestry donated by Tommye Scanlin was won by Kathe Todd-Hooker, from Albany, OR, whose own tapestry won Best of Show at the BRFS. The handwoven shirt by Liz Spear was won by a guild member who needed a different size. As Liz had generously offered from the beginning to give the prize winner something that fit, I jumped at the chance to purchase the shirt that Liz had on display. I had determined (about five minutes after the shirt arrived in the studio last spring) that it fit me perfectly.
The day after the reception, we welcomed Wence and Sandra Martinez to Asheville. They were here for the opening of sutherland’s special exhibit of Wence’s contemporary tapestry rugs. Friday morning they spent a little time at the Arboretum for a BRFS demo showing their rugs and talking with visitors. That night Wence, a Zapotec Indian, regaled guests at our opening reception with stories and pictures from his home village in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he learned to weave from his father and grandfather at age 9. We also learned how Wence and Sandra, a painter from the US Midwest, met, married and opened a studio in Door County, WI. That studio is where Barb first met them. Now they winter in Mexico at a B&B they recently opened, so the 11 rugs they brought with them will be on exhibit at sutherland through the winter. Here are some snapshots of several of them now hanging in the studio. (Sorry had to pull the album. An images-for-sale service hijacked them. Please know these are copyright protected images.) If you’re in the area, you have to come in and see the ACTUAL RUGS.

Wence and Sandra spent a few hours Saturday and Sunday in the studio talking with more visitors, then did a little touring in Western North Carolina before continuing on with their journey. What fun they are! We decided a field trip to their Oaxaca B&B should be in our plans.

So we’re now in mid-October, prime leaf-peeper season, and back to the day-to-day. The mountains and hillsides are looking beautiful and truly inspirational. Our next event is the start of the new sutherland Weavers’ Study Group on Oct. 24 from 2-4. We already have a nice participant list, but there’s room for more! If you’d like more information about what we’re studying or how it all works, just email me. Or just show up on the 24th.
Then it’s only three short weeks until the River Arts District Studio Stroll on Nov. 13-14. It’s almost more excitement than we can stand, but we’re loving it!
Karen

Technorati Tags: weaving classes,weaving,rugs,tapestry,Wence Martinez,Blue Ridge Fiber Show,sutherland,beiderwand,Haywood Community College,weavers' study group,handwoven scarf,Tommye Scanlin,Liz Spear,Kathe Todd-Hooker

Never in Our Wildest Dreams

2010-09-30T21:01:00.006-04:00

I love Fall. Everything about this time of year makes me happy. I especially love the way the sun falls through the woods and makes long shadows of even short trees.

Last year this time Karen and I were experiencing a few sleepless nights planning the opening of sutherland. Never in our wildest dreams did we think ten months after opening we would be hosting Daryl Lancaster for a workshop.

This past week Daryl not only taught a color class at sutherland, she also taught a garment construction class at Haywood Community College, and was a judge at The Blue Ridge Fiber Show opening next week at the NC Arboretum.

I had taken a half day class color class taught by Daryl at Midwest Weaver's Conference 2009 at Grinnell College, so this time I sat out and manned the studio. I admit I did sneak in from time to time to see what the students were doing. I also listened to Daryl's lecture, inspirational in her instruction as always.

It was fun to see how each student was progressing through Daryl's assigned color exercises. The last exercise requires each student to use a photo as inspiration for a color wrap which could be used as a warp. The photos show some of the students work(for some reason I am unable to load them all), but really do not adequately depict just how beautiful their work was. One of the members of the class expressed her true dislike for the color orange at the very beginning of class. And, yes, hers is the one with the rock striations and blue sky. Just goes to show you the magic Daryl has in making everyone recognize proportion and balance int he scope of color.

The Daryl story continues in the next blog installment....

Cathy’s New Baby Wolf Loom

2010-09-24T14:48:00.002-04:00

Cathy has been taking weaving classes at sutherland since last spring. As soon as she finished her first scarf in the Just Weave class, she was hooked. While working her way through warping and weaving three towels in the Weaving I class, she started asking about buying a loom.
As Schacht Spindle Co. dealers, we offered to order her a Baby Wolf loom, which is what she’d been weaving on at the studio. She shopped a while, thought a while, and finally decided to treat herself to a brand new 8 shaft Baby Wolf. We ordered it and it arrived this week. Cathy was in this morning and I helped her with the final assembly. Then her wonderful husband came over and helped her swaddle the new baby in a blanket before loading into the back of his truck for the ride home. He also made it her birthday gift!
Cathy was so excited to get this loom that I gave her the tracking number so she could follow it during shipment from Colorado. We both puzzled over why it went from Atlanta to Winston-Salem before coming back to Asheville. She emailed me when she learned it had been unloaded in Asheville.
Tomorrow she returns to continue her Twill Gamp class and talk about plans for her first 8-shaft project, a 1/3, 3/1 twill block threading woven to make long vertical pleats. She had been eyeing a similar one I have hanging in the studio.
How nice to send a new weaver home with her first loom. I feel like a delivery room nurse.
Thanks again, Cathy.
Also we hope to see friendly faces tonight at the CURVE studios & garden Open House Twilight Party from 5-8 pm. There will be snacks, wine, Wedge beer, soft drinks and lots of lively conversation while you’re enjoying all the new work by CURVE artists.
PLUS, Daryl Lancaster is in this weekend for workshops at Haywood Community College, sutherland and for judging the handweaving entries at the Blue Ridge Fiber Show. She will be at sutherland tonight selling and autographing copies of her various monographs. You will find the titles at her website.
And, she brought enough materials for a few more people to attend the Play with Color! workshop at sutherland on Monday, from 10am-4. So there are still a couple of seats available. But call ASAP.
Happy Fall!
Karen

Yes, we are mentioned by Daryl!

2010-09-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

Girls’ Day Out…

I’ve mentioned before in previous blogs how much I love living very near NYC. I wish for time to see everything, read everything, experience everything, and eat everything I’d like to try in this world, alas, there are way too many things to do, see, experience than anyone can possibly hope to fit in in one life time! But I keep trying…

I’ve also mentioned in previous blogs that I have lunch once a week, during the “school” year, with a handful of assorted teachers from the local school district. It started when I was diagnosed with cancer, and has continued for nine years, and now, almost all of the teachers are now retired and able to do things during the week they could never have done before during the school year. So four of us headed into NYC on Wednesday, we all met at the Museum of Art and Design on Columbus Circle.

I timed everything just right on my own commute in, and arrived a good 45 minutes ahead of schedule. I wandered through the Time Warner building, looking at all the windows of the shops, they weren’t open yet, taking notes on a couple of design details I’d like to try, and I wandered through Borders, which was open also taking some notes of books to add to my wish list. I went out and sat on a bench along Columbus Circle, near the museum, to wait for my friends. The weather was glorious, the traffic around the circle entertaining, the vendors hawking their tours, bike rentals and handsome cab rides were all out in force. The horse driven cabs were of course gorgeous, I was fascinated watching how the drivers deftly managed to weave in and out of traffic alongside cabs and buses and crazy commuters, while the horses, in all their ribboned finery, just clip clopped along paying no mind… (Did I think to get a picture?)

I love the Museum of Art and Design, their themed exhibits are alway interesting and thought provoking, great to see with a group of women friends, especially this group, a retired art teacher, music teacher and the Gifted and Talented program teacher. The discussions are fun, and meaningful, and provide great lunch talk. This exhibit in particular. The exhibit was called Dead or Alive, and all of the artworks were created using something that was once alive, but is now dead. Dead bugs, animal bones, Dandelion seed pods (I’m still trying to figure that one out, they are so fragile), dried sardines, silk cocoons, lots and lots of feathers, lots of social commentary, lots of decorative works, and my favorite, was a loom, sitting in the middle of the floor, in one of the side galleries, near it a pile of mouse skeletons, and on the loom, a beautiful grey cloth, upon close inspection (and after reading the wall description) turns out to have been made from mouse fur. OK, I know that’s weird, but seeing a loom in an art exhibition is actually quite an anomaly, and seeing beautiful competent, usable cloth made from something so odd and revolting drew me in, in a way I can’t quite describe. Of course I wasn’t allowed to take a picture, the guard was standing three feet from the loom, but many of the works are in a virtual tour of the museum on their website, and the link for this image is wonderful. The thumbnail from the site appears here.

We all went to lunch in a sort of average uninspired trattoria calledRINO, (we are always trying new restaurants), my salad was good, avocado and shrimp, you can’t go wrong with that combination, and we headed off to the theater. Brief Encounters just opened, I believe it is still in previews, fresh from “sold-out” performances in London, and I can say it was a lovely way to spend a Wednesday afternoon, the show is an interesting concept, and full of British humor and timing, and though the show overall seemed a bit silly, I’m glad I saw it and again, it made for interesting dialog afterwards.

The premise of the show is a stage recreation of an iconic black and white masterpiece from 1945 of two strangers who meet at a train station, fall madly in love, and realize that they can’t continue their passionate affair, as they are both married, with children. So clips of the film, seamlessly woven into the stage production, and some clever special effects, and some occasionally hilarious choreography and flawless British timing, made for an original piece of theatre, though in this day and age, the passions of two lovers captured in a period black and white film, are pretty lost on a contemporary audience. I am thinking the cast, many from the London show, mostly British, was thinking maybe their audience was mostly dead. The director Emma Rice claims that the 1945 David Lean’s masterpiece film “Brief Encounter” is “almost part of their DNA in Britain”. Since I doubt most Americans have ever seen the film, (or at least I hadn’t), the premise of the show was sort of lost and came across as silly.

We all headed downtown after the show, and stopped at Thalia, a lounge on 8th Avenue around 50th. We had wine and cheese, and Warm Molten Chocolate Cake for dessert, with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream and a scoop of pistachio. Can I say I died and went to food heaven? I highly recommend this restaurant, it is definitely on my “need to return” list. (My new favorite cheese is called Humboldt Fog!)

The day got even better. I walked my friends to Port Authority, where they all headed back to NJ, and I headed over to 35th and Park to the September meeting of the Textile Study Group of New York. I rarely am able to get in to the meetings, but I had to attend this one. The speaker was Iris Apfel, one of my fashion heroes, who calls herself a “geriatric starlet”. Iris is 89 years old, and is considered a world class shopper, who spent her life collecting and mixing items, both high and low end, current and vintage, and has a collection of garments and accessories that has the MET salivating at her doorstep. A retrospective of her closet was mounted at the MET in 2005, titled Iris Apfel, Rare Bird of Fashion (I own the book of course), which then traveled to museums around the country, where I finally got to view it at the Nassau County Museum of Art. She and her husband Carl founded a legendary textile design company, Old World Weavers, which they ran until they retired in 1992. Old World Weavers restored many of the fabrics in the White House during the administration of several presidents. Can I say that Iris Apfel is probably the most interesting person I’ve ever heard speak, and I am so glad I was home long enough to be able to catch her lecture and I’m really really grateful to the Textile Study Group of NY for making her appearance possible.

So I’m home now, preparing for the next trip, to Asheville, NC the end of next week. All the handouts, pattern paper, interfacings, and monographs have been cut, printed and shipped ( a big thank you to my son Eric for lending a hand), and the house is quiet, it is a lovely Saturday and I’m onto the next scarf warp on my loom. I’ve gathered the colors, using a more neutral palette, again drawing from one of my forecast palettes from Handwoven Magazine, and I finished the warp wrap, and will have lunch and start winding the warp.

Tomorrow I will be giving the keynote address at the North Jersey Chapter of the American Sewing Guild’s Birthday Bash at the Barn in Clifton, which should be lots of fun, and I get to dress up in my handwoven clothes, and put on some make-up, and get out of the house for a few hours. I have the tendency to not get out of my pajamas on days where I don’t have to go anywhere… :-)

Stay tuned…

Going, Going, GONE!

2010-09-16T11:08:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

Daryl Lancaster is printing out handouts and materials today for her Play with Color! workshop at sutherland Handweaving Gallery & Teaching Studio on Monday Sept. 27. She needs a final headcount, so if there are any of you who were thinking about attending, but haven’t contacted us yet, please let us know right away. The materials she ships for this class are substantial, so we don’t want her to ship more than necessary. However, neither do we want anyone who planned to attend to be left out. In addition I just placed a listing for the class in this week’s Mountain Express, so please sign up quickly.

Here’s another description of the workshop. If you’ve never taken a class with Daryl before, I promise you’ll get more than your money’s worth and will leave energized and inspired—whether you’re weaving, knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, felting, printing, dyeing, painting or doing whatever it is you do with color.

Karen and Barb

PS: To be removed from this email list just hit reply and let us know!

Daryl Lancaster

A one-day, hands-on workshop

Monday, September 27, 2010

Play With Color!

Through a series of creative exercises, participants will learn to confidently place yarns of different colors and textures together to make beautiful warp combinations. This is a fun, hands-on class, and participants will be asked to bring a bag of assorted odds and ends of yarns to use and share. Based on the Color/Fabric Forecast Column from Handwoven Magazine, participants will experiment with palettes based on mood using photos for inspiration, and see illustrations of how to translate them into handwoven fabrics and ultimately a garment. For more information about Daryl Lancaster, visit www.daryllancaster.com

10 am-4 pm Limit 10 participants Pre-registration required $120 + supply fee

Educational & fun for:

Weavers

Knitters

Sewers

Quilters

Fabric Printers

Daryl Lancaster received her BA cum laude degree in Fine Arts in 1977 from Montclair State College, Montclair, NJ and has been actively working since then as a weaver/fiber artist. Comfortable with the sewing machine for more than forty years, she spent 10 years as a production craftswoman, selling her handwoven clothing in craft markets and galleries throughout the United States. She teaches garment construction and related topics to weavers and other fiber enthusiasts across North America. She was the Contributing Features Editor for six years, for Handwoven Magazine and wrote the Fashion and Color Forecast Column. She currently writes a monthly column for the online Weavezine Magazine.

New Mexico Sunset and Northern Lights

2010-09-11T20:03:00.006-04:00

So, we have been very busy.

Karen has been working on two very detailed pieces; each for entry into The Blue Ridge Fiber Show later this month. The piece Karen is holding in her left hand(on the right in the photo) is the one to be juried; it is quite fine yarn for her and is woven in Beiderwand. If you put those two things together you get a lot of picks per inch, hence lots of time at the loom. I love anything orange, so you know this makes me most happy. The other piece Karen is holding is what she wove with the extra warp. I love the window pane effect with the various colored weft colors used. Fellow studio mate, Pattiy Torno, has already placed dibs on it.

The second piece Karen will be entering into the BRFS is a tapestry of a puffin. I will post a photo as soon as I have one. For now you must take my word it is amazing. Karen really doesn't like to admit it, but she is a tapestry weaver. Just ask Madelyn Vanderhoogt if you don't believe me.

As for me I have been working on a rather large commission piece for installation on a client's dining room table. As inspiration I used the couple's painting in that room as well as a recently commissioned painting by fellow CURVE studio and garden's artist Constance Williams installed in the area adjoining the dining room. The warp is 60/2 silk and the weft is 60/2 hand dyed silk in a multitude of colors mirroring the colors in the home and paintings. It measures 19.5" x 120". I must say when I took it off the loom yesterday it was a delight to see how it turned out. When I placed it on the couple's table today it was magical. Will make final installation Monday when I have hemmed it and finished the corners with beads. Photos to follow.

And speaking of photos-I need to work on how to make the photos in the blog work with my writings. I am failing in this aspect miserably. Think I will ask my daughter.

And for anyone interested the rug hanging on the wall behind us in the photos is woven by Wence Martinez. He is from Mexico and will be having an Exhibition opening at sutherland October 8. We would love for you to join us for this event. More on that later.

Don’t Miss Daryl Lancaster at sutherland!

2010-09-01T14:21:00.001-04:00

We are thrilled that Daryl Lancaster will be teaching a one-day workshop at sutherland, Sept. 27, while she is in Asheville to judge the handweaving entries at the 2010 Blue Ridge Fiber Show. Titled Play with Color!, this workshop is a fun, hands-on class that helps participants learn to place yarns of different colors and textures together confidently for warps or other fiber art projects.

Daryl is famous for her beautiful handwoven yardage, her skill at tailoring it into garments that are beautiful inside and out and her willingness to generously share all her secrets through teaching. Believe me, her energy and enthusiasm will leave you breathless, but armed with many more ideas and information than you ever dreamed.

This is a no-loom, tabletop workshop. Space is limited and already filling, so if you’d like to attend we need to hear from you as soon as possible. We’ll need your registration fees in advance to save you a seat. Just to whet your appetite, I’ve included an image of one of Daryl’s beautiful garments.

Daryl Book Signing!

While Daryl is in town, she will be a special guest at sutherland during the CURVE studios & garden Fall 2010 Open House Twilight Party, Sept. 24, from 5-8 pm. She has agreed to ship down an assortment of her monographs and will sell and autograph them during the party.

No charge for this event. Just come on over, meet Daryl, snap up your autographed books, enjoy some snacks and libations and tour the other artist studios at CURVE.

Karen

As it should be…

2010-08-26T17:33:00.001-04:00

I had an economics professor back when I was in college – the first time – who used to talk about “hog heaven.” I can’t quite remember what constituted hog heaven from an economics standpoint. It had something to do with supply and demand, and it seems the elasticity of one or the other was involved. Basically it described a state where everything was humming along happily.

Now while today’s economy may be a long way from hog heaven, I found myself in that blissful state today. I had returned from design class at Haywood Community College, where I have finally enrolled in the Professional Crafts-Fiber program, albeit on a limited schedule. After lunch I parked myself in my sunroom overlooking the Western North Carolina mountains and went back to work on my tapestry loom finishing a piece for the Blue Ridge Fiber Show in October.

Meanwhile at the studio, I have two students coming in for class on Saturday, and I am weaving a scarf also intended for the Blue Ridge Fiber Show. It’s turning out even better than I’d hoped, but I won’t share pictures of either until after the show is judged, just in case the handweaving judge should happen across our blog.

So while I was weaving today, listening to my Josh Groban CDs and snacking on a few pieces of dark chocolate (for my health, of course), I was thinking about these projects, being in school again and all the exciting things coming up on the sutherland schedule this fall: new classes; the start of a new study group at sutherland (more about this soon); the CURVE studios & garden open house and twilight party the last weekend of the September, an in-studio workshop with Daryl Lancaster on Sept. 27, new displays and furnishings we’re adding to the gallery side of sutherland, a special exhibit of contemporary tapestry rugs by Wence and Sandra Martinez that opens Oct. 8 with an artists’ reception (more about this later too) and being able to share it all with my good friend and studio partner, Barb.

Suddenly I started remembering Professor Kuhlman and hog heaven, and how that seemed like a pretty good description for my current state of mind. I don’t have a clue what hogs had to do with it, but here we are, me and the hogs, lovin’ life.

Karen

Have I mentioned?

2010-08-21T18:47:00.005-04:00

This past week I began on a journey of weaving about which I am most excited. The journey began this past spring when a couple came into sutherland during The Studio Stroll in the the River Arts District and asked me to weave them a table runner. Not just any table runner, mind you. They desired a true art piece for their dining room table.

So, after months of acquiring over a hundred skeins of hand-dyed 60/2 silk to "paint" the picture of the piece I have in my mind, I have been to dress my loom. This has been tedious. And if you know me as a weaver, there is nothing I love more than tedious. First, I had to add 400 more Texsolv heddles to shafts 5 through 8 on my Harrisville floor loom at home as my warp has 1050 ends of Habu silk which is finer than human hair. Next I have had to wind each of those 104 skeins of yarn into balls before I will be able to wind them on to individual bobbins. Then there has been the winding of said 1050 warp ends on the warping board and then onto my back beam. I admit I had Karen help me with the latter task and it was a huge help! Then the task of threading began. I am half way through this and plan to finish this up tomorrow. Warping back to front on my big Harrisville requires a fair amount of leaning into the loom, hence neck and back fatigue. I am up and down a fair amount to give my body frequent breaks, which helps immensely.

I am hoping to be able to start weave this commissioned project by the end of this coming work week. I am excited to see the shuttle flying back and forth with these beautiful had-dyed silks.

Thought I would include some photos of the beginning of this piece. The photo with the pencil shows the entire warp, all 1050 threads, and just how fine they really are.

Oh, and have I mentioned I am excited??

Barb in the News

2010-08-16T10:31:00.002-04:00

The Sunday Living Section of the Asheville Citizen-Times features an Asheville Artist Portfolio feature each week. I thought it was Barb’s turn to be featured and submitted information and photos to the editor.
The editor liked the idea, and Barb’s Portfolio was in yesterday’s paper! Here is a link to the story online, but they didn’t include the photos that ran in the paper. So if you can find a Sunday Citizen-Times, pick it up and look inside the Living Section.

I’m on TV, but don’t blink

2010-08-10T10:50:00.001-04:00

Remember when I told you about QVC coming to our studio to do some filming about Asheville for a jewelry designer? Well the segment aired on Aug. 8, and here’s a link to a very brief peek at me at the loom now on UTube. CURVE studios & garden got a nice plug, and that’s our studio mate and CURVE owner Pattiy Torno quilting.

Constance Williams next door got a speaking part, but then she’s president of the River Arts District Artists. The other clips about Western North Carolina are fun to watch too.

Seriously, don’t blink.

Karen

Blue Ridge Fiber Show Entry Deadline is AUG 13!

2010-08-05T17:45:00.001-04:00

EIGHT DAYS!! That’s when all entry forms for the 2010 Blue Ridge Fiber Show have to be received by the committee! I want to encourage all of you who weave, spin or felt to enter a few pieces of your work. The show is non-juried for entry, which means no one will judge whether or not your pieces can be included. If they meet the criteria, they’re in! For those unfamiliar, this is a production of the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild. Traditionally it has been one of the biggest non-juried fiber art shows in the region. You don’t have to be a guild member to enter and you don’t have to live in Western North Carolina! This show has attracted international entries.

The deadline for receiving entry forms is Aug. 13...yes next week! For guild members, that is BEFORE the August guild meeting. However, your entered pieces do not have to be delivered until the end of September. (Are you reading between the lines, here?).

Your entry form does not require a fancy photograph. Just fill out the one-page form, describe your pieces and send with a check for $30 for every two items entered. You may enter two pieces in each major category: weaving, spinning or felting.

Although the items are not juried for entry, the pieces will be judged for several awards, which include many CASH PRIZES. You may enter in either the amateur or professional category. You’re a professional if you sell your work or teach.

I would love to see entries from all our weaving students! I’ve included a link to the entry form. Click on it and print the form to remind yourself. Then fill it out and send it in so it arrives by Aug. 13. If you need help or advice, come see me at the studio. I’m there tomorrow through Sunday and again next Wednesday. If you have any questions email me.

Karen

CLICK HERE: http://www.wncfhg.org/brfs10/entryfrms.html

Convergence Reflections

2010-08-04T20:26:00.001-04:00

Now that the laundry is done, students are back on the studio looms finishing their classes, and the boxes I shipped back from Convergence have been emptied, it’s time to reflect on the inspiring but exhausting experience last month in Albuquerque. Convergence is the biannual conference of the Handweavers Guild of America and attracts weavers, spinners, dyers and basketmakers from around the world.

I hadn’t attended since 2006 in Grand Rapids, where I met Barb by the way. So I got there early to warp a rented loom for my 3 day workshop and didn’t leave until they were kicking us out of the exhibit hall at 4 Sunday afternoon. I spent a lot of time in vendor hall where I picked up some books from the Unicorn booth, a few skeins and cones of unusual yarns I want to try, several tubes of Bockens 8/2 cotton for classes…on sale (it pays to shop on Sunday) a new ondule (fan) reed for Barb, and my personal indulgence, a Randall Darwall scarf that begged me to take it home.

My workshop was outstanding. Robyn Spady calls it Pictures, Piles, Potpourri and Perplexing Curiousities. If you are a structure person, and ever have a chance to take it, don’t hesitate. There were 13 uncommon structures, on 32 different looms and 31 participants. Still, we all managed to weave all 13 samples. The sample notebook of all the structures is worth way more than Robyn charges for a supply fee. I warped one of the handwoven velvet looms. Actually I just threaded, beamed the ground warp, sleyed and tied on. Robyn had already done the heavy lifting, bringing the velvet pile warp on a secondary warp “beam” she had fashioned from empty wire spools she got from Lowe’s. Here’s a picture of the pile warp set up. It worked pretty well, but we had some tension issues as the sampling continued.

Other neat structures that I’ll definitely spend more time with include a fantastic supplementary warp and weft that I will subject to one of my differential shrinkage experiments…definitely making a SAMPLE first; a corkscrew twill that begs further study; and beiderwand. I’d always been curious about beiderwand, and now the next thing on the loom will be a scarf that tests the structure with fine yarns: one of those beautiful hand dyed skeins of 30/2 Tencel from Just Our Yarn (met these creative ladies in vendor hall) for ground and a soy silk I found at another booth as the pattern weft. Yes, I’m sampling first.

My other Convergence classes included a behind the scenes tour of the Juried Fashion Show with Daryl Lancaster, where I collected a bunch of clothing construction tips…and got to see inside some of these beautiful pieces. Sunday morning I attended a seminar with Rosalie Neilson all about designing warp rep with curves. When pressed, she said getting real curves takes more than 8 shafts, but her design technique will be very useful and her work is gorgeous. Here are a few samples.

While in New Mexico, I spent time with good friends from New Jersey, reconnected with other friends I usually only see at conferences and met some fun new people. As a personal highlight, I got to spend a few days with my sister and her family in Las Cruces, and then drove north with her to tour Santa Fe and Albuquerque before the conference began.

Kelly was also around while I spent Tuesday afternoon warping that velvet. I was so focused, I didn’t notice her taking pictures with her phone. She posted them on her facebook page with some interesting descriptions of what I was doing. Here’s Kelly at our Monday lunch spot in Santa Fe.

Convergence is an expensive proposition, but this trip was well worth it. I asked a few HGA board members at dinner one night where the 2012 Convergence would be and was given the party line, “Well, there WILL be one.” They remained mum on location except to say the executive staff was negotiating with four sites and they didn’t want to muck up negotiations. Look for the site announcement in Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot or join HGA’s email list.

If you’d like to peek at the workshop sample notebook, just let me know when you’ll be in downtown Asheville and I’ll bring it to the studio. Pique, corduroy or beaded leno anyone?

Karen

Revised Fall 2010 Class Schedule

2010-07-28T12:20:00.001-04:00

I am back from Convergence, and will post some pictures and impressions soon, but first I need to advise you of revisions to the Fall 2010 Class Schedule at sutherland. We’ve juggled our work schedules a bit, so basically everything that was offered on Sundays, will now be offered on Saturdays. I found a few corrections along the way.

I am unable to post a link to the schedule, so please email if you’d like to receive a MS Word version. First class is a Warp Rep workshop Aug 14 & 15, and there is pre-warping involved. So call me ASAP if you’re interested!

Karen

My Library

2010-07-22T22:34:00.006-04:00

I returned last weekend from a trip to Seivers on Washington Island, WI exhausted but very happy. I traveled with a fellow weaver and we took "Weave, Cut, and Sew" by Mary Sue Fenner. It was so much fun to see 8 of us returning from last year's class and to meet the 2 new students. May Sue, as always, provides wonderful instruction mixed with an abundance of enthusiasm. I admit this year I did not weave the fabric with which I sewed: not enough time and I really need to learn to sew so I just wanted to concentrate on that aspect. Those who actually wove and sewed a complete project while there simply amaze me. Candee's yardage was woven with the more red portion along the bottom of the jacket and the backs of the sleeves as the selvedge of the fabric and then incorporated it into the jacket.

As you know, when attending one of these types of classes all manner of discussion arise. One of the 'new' members of the class was Rina, an art teacher and wonderful weaver and seamstress. We were chatting one day as I was helping her with some problem on the loom, when she happened to mention to me she has a lovely weaving store nearby and gets all her yarn from there. Upon further questioning, she told me she only buys yarns as she needs them when planning a specific project. I was aghast! Seriously, I asked? I am still amazed as I write this that there is a single weaver who actually does this. I am sure her husband must love her very much since she is the only hold-out on the planet who does not own a stash. When I used the term stash she looked at me like I had suddenly sprouted another head. So we further discussed the necessity of her acquiring a stash so as not to make the rest of us look bad. If she follows my instructions her husband may still love her, but he will certainly not like me!

My sewing turned out rather well and I promise to post photos of my projects when Bill gets home to take them. I am pleased with my accomplishments from the class and feel much more at ease in front of my sewing machine after this year's class. I am looking forward to wearing the fruits of my labor.

So, I am back in the sutherland studio this week warping for my next project when I overheard my studio mate, Pattiy Torno talking with a customer. Pattiy was showing them one of her wonderful quilts and her fleece stash, when the customer up and called the stash her library. Eureka! I love a new use of a word.

And as for me, I came home from Seivers with 2 small cones of purple and grey variegated mohair and silk yarn from Habu to add to my library.

A Little Respite with Spot Bronson

2010-07-13T15:57:00.001-04:00

The spot Bronson shawl,which I put on the loom to take a respite from some frustrating differential shrinkage experiments, is finished and hanging in the studio. What a nice project. Aaahh.

Barb was right. Experimentation and design is exciting, but sometimes you need to just weave something that turns out simple and pretty. This one has a Bambu 12 warp and 16/2 bamboo weft. It feels lovely.

Now I am making final preparations for Convergence, the biannual international weaving conference next week, organizing my travel plans and winding my workshop warp. I am taking a three-day workshop with Robyn Spady that includes all kinds of interesting structures. I get to warp the loom for velvet, which I have woven before for my Certificate of Excellence Portfolio. I swore I would never do it again, but Robyn assures me she has a simpler set up for the pile warp, so I said I was game to give it another go. It’s a round-robin workshop, so I’ll get to weave samples of lots of different and less common structures.

I’m taking a couple of other shorter seminars and will spend the rest of the time touring exhibits and galleries, visiting weaving friends and shopping at vendor hall. This is only my second Convergence, so it’s all still a bit overwhelming, but I will take lots of pictures and bring back notebooks full of inspiration and ideas.

If you’re coming to Albuquerque next week for Convergence or Complex Weavers Seminars or American Tapestry Alliance conference, give me a call.

Finally, something that works!

2010-07-09T12:03:00.001-04:00

I’ve been experimenting a lot on the loom lately, with less than stellar results. Barb said I just need to put something on that’s fun and that I’m sure will work. So I dug into the Bambu 12 stash and found this new wine color I just ordered from Silk City. I played with weft colors a bit and, advised to “make it more red,” found a tube of bamboo in a red-orange color in Barb’s stash.

I had my doubts, but it really lights up the spot Bronson pattern, so I’ve “borrowed” this tube from her.

In other sutherland news, I’ve just compiled our fall 2010 list of weaving classes. Until I figure a way to make it accessible on this blog, just email me if you’d like a copy. I know, we need a website…we’re working on it. The first class is a 2-day Warp Rep workshop Aug. 14-15, so get in touch right away if you’re interested. Looms need to be warped ahead of time.

Also coming up soon is a one day workshop with Daryl Lancaster Sept. 27 titled Playing with Color. This is a no-loom color & design class, and Daryl’s always fun. Register early, because we’re confident it will fill. I’m starting another Weaving I class Aug. 22, and a new class that delves deeper into design, project planning and drafting Sept. 15.

Back to my spot Bronson…

A Towel Anyone?

2010-06-23T22:17:00.011-04:00

There is nothing like a field trip to renew and replenish. And that is what Karen and I set out to do this past Monday. We headed West towards Dillsboro, NC to meet up with two lovely ladies whom we had met at our Web Chats with Alice Schlein oh these many months ago.

First we stopped by KMR Handwoven where Kathy Roig has set up shop. She is is a fabulous weaver and has wonderful pieces hanging she has woven on her beautiful draw loom. Not only that, but she is a magician in the dyeing of warp yarns. I have included some photos to give you a sense of her work as well as her work space. Needless to say, Kathy almost had to put towels on the floor to catch all our drool. It was lovely in every way::inside and out.

The drawloom you ask? The photo alone does not do this beautiful loom justice. Kathy graciously explained the basics of how it worked (none of which I feel comfortable even trying to relay in this blog-it will take more intense study on my part), even telling us how she learned from a book. Ok, have you gotten the idea I was impressed?

Next we walked just around the corner to see Susan Leveille at Oaks Gallery. The beauty of the rooms with the natural light drew us both right in and we were browsing lovely artisan works in any number of media, from furniture to glass nail files(yep, you guessed it, I have started Christmas shopping already). Did I mention a little shopping for moi as well? A lovely cuff bracelet made from birch wood painted with just the lightest of green fading into an light orange. How could I turn down something in my two favorite colors? As we wandered amongst Susan's artfully placed works for sale, she gave us a delightful history of the building(s) in which her shop is located. She also mentioned she and her husband, his name is alluding me this moment, had done the design of the famous Grovewood Gallery located next to the Grove Park Inn. Again, towels were needed for Karen and me.

In the tradition of weavers, Kathy and Susan took time out of their day to sit, have lunch with us (in Kathy's studio, where we felt quite at home), and talk about all things weaving. These two ladies provided us with enough things to have swirling around in our heads for weeks if not months to come.

After lunch we headed to Waynesville as Karen needed to update one of the photos for a piece in the Blue Ridge Fiber Show Raffle which is currently showing at Textures located on North Main St. This shop provided much enjoyment for the two of us. They have for sale several wonderful woven pieces from none other than Kathy Roig and Neal Howard.

Last but not least we stopped by Karen's other home away from home(aka sutherland) and that is Haywood Community College. She began her journey in their textile degree program there this summer and I wanted to see where to place her in my mental "picture". The ever lovely Amy Putansu was there and was working away in a frenzy of serious fan weaving amid 3 installations to be up in the next few days. The campus and studio seem to be full of energy while at the same time quite serene. Maybe only a weaver can understand what I mean by that. Let me know what you think about that please.

As we headed East we talked non-stop, our creative juices flowing with renewed energy. There is just nothing like a good field trip to recharge the battery.

Thank you much to all the lovely ladies who made our day this past Monday.

Oh, and note to self:: do not wear sandals to Karen's again, her puppy loves to lick toes.

June 2010 RAD Studio Stroll…Whew!

2010-06-14T15:41:00.001-04:00

Twice a year, the second weekends of June and November, the artists in the Asheville River Arts District sponsor a Studio Stroll, when all of the more than 150 artist members with studios in the RAD (including us) open 10 am-6pm both Saturday and Sunday. The first stroll was in 1994 and attracted about 200 people to the 25 or so artist studios at the time.

For those of us at CURVE studios & garden, opening the doors is a daily thing, as we’re always (save 5 holidays a year) open 11 am-4 pm. Nevertheless, Barb and I geared up for the “thousands” of strollers we were told to expect this past weekend. And there may indeed have been thousands, despite heat and humidity that was far above the norm for our mountain climate in early June.

When I had time to catch my breath from helping children and adults weave on the demonstration loom, I snapped a few pictures. One is of the crowded front room of sutherland’s handweaving gallery, where Barb was weaving two more tencel/bamboo pashminas, answering tons of questions and ringing up a few sales. Trust me, she’s back there.

Another captured the nicest group of college-age kids who took turns weaving and sharing their amazement at the patterns made by a simple twill treadling on an overshot threading. They were all working in the area as camp counselors for a Lutheran summer camp, and this was how they decided to spend their one day a week off.

Finally there was Thomas, a young man who sat down to weave on Saturday, caught on in an instant and shared his thoughts on color theory as he pulled bobbin after bobbin out of the basket, loaded them in the shuttle and made up his own treadling patterns. He had so much fun, he asked his mom and aunt if they could come back Sunday. And they did. (Notice the shirt change in the two pictures.) Thomas wove another 20 minutes or so before relinquishing the loom bench to a couple more young men who wanted to try.

Thomas made a big impression on us. We hope his fascination with weaving continues.

By the way, during the weekend more than 20 people signed our guest book to receive email updates about future classes. That’s a lot of potential new weavers, and we hope to see many of them in our upcoming classes. A new schedule for fall will be out in a week or so. Contact us if you’d like to receive it via email or snail mail. Or stop by the studio. You can see the finished community sampler our guests wove this weekend.

You would have thought I gave the man $10,000

2010-06-11T19:54:00.002-04:00

Today I started weaving the first of two scarves I have warped on the loom. I find it is always fun to throw the first few picks to see what it will look like. I did not like what I saw so I quickly headed to my stash. Threw picks of two different colors and voila, found just the one! My original plan was to use two different wefts, but I am loving what I have on the loom I will weave one to sell and one for me.

So, I am weaving along and in come 3 people- two ladies and a gentleman. As is usually the case the fellow heads over towards the loom. Men are attracted to mechanical devices. I would like to think it was me, but I know better. I explained the mechanics of the loom and he explained he was a woodworker. And then he said he also tied flies. Well, not to be outdone, I handed him a thrum from the metallic silver scarf. You would have thought I had given the man $10,000!! Seriously. He told me a lot of times fish will bite at something if they do not have any idea what it is. who knew?

And this made me think of the guy in my second Deborah Chandler class who seriously asked how he could reuse all his thrums. Really, I thought?

May I Touch?

2010-06-08T17:20:00.005-04:00

Several months ago I met up with a friend from nursing school to celebrate a very important birthday. Oh, who am I kidding? At this age they are all important. Anyway, we had not seen each other since graduation for many many years (or should I say decades?) and so it was also a reunion of sorts.

Roxane had invited several friends to join her at her lovely mountain home in Dillard, Ga. I had never been to this beautiful area and it was quite a treat. This was a really fun gathering--there were four of us and the only one who knew everyone was the hostess. There was Laura, from the west coast, and Jeanne, from the North, and me from WNC. It took a lot of nerve to invite three women to come together who had never met before, including me who Rox had not laid eyes on forever. I guess she knew what she was doing as it was as if we had all known each other for years. We did not stop talking. And talking.

You are probably wondering where in the world I am going with this, but I am getting there. In all that talking, Laura mentioned she had seen a metallic silver scarf in a magazine and wondered if I could weave her one like it. I thought that would be the end of that. Nope, she texted and then emailed me a photo. She was relentless.

I was enthralled with the challenge of working with a yarn I had not ever woven. There are lots of yarns I have not used, but this is would be way out of the box for me. So I did my research and ordered what I believed to be the best choice for this project. Silk City came through with a nice weight yarn and when it arrived Karen was at the studio and I was at home. She emailed and asked "May I touch?" The most important thing any fiber enthusiast wants to do. She quickly emailed me back and told me it was lovely. And slinky.

With each step in the weaving process I kept thinking something would become difficult with this yarn, but it never did. It was so much fun and even the slinky part was not hard. The sett is 30epi and I used my favorite 120/1 silk from Habu as weft.

I took the piece into the studio today to show Karen before I shipped it off to Laura. As soon as she saw me she said "I have to wash my hands, I want to touch." And she did. We both decided I must weave another one. Soon. And I will.

My thanks to a new friend who got me out of my silk and tencel box and into something different. I'll let you know what she thinks when she gets the piece in the mail.

Oh, that's Laura and her scarf::separately. Next photo I hope they will be together.

Inspiration and Experimentation

2010-06-01T20:29:00.001-04:00

Some days creative inspiration lands in your front yard. We’ve frequently seen hot air balloons in the skies near our home on weekends as a take-off and landing location is just across the highway. This weekend though, my hubby called from the patio, “They’re right over the house.” On this day the breezes blew two of the four balloons in the sky that day right into the field across from our clubhouse.

The picture washed out a bit as the sun was very bright, but the colors, patterns, shapes and unmistakable sound of the balloons launched the day into creative high gear.

So how coincidental was it today when the differential shrinkage shawl I’m weaving at the studio gave me a hint of what’s to come -- just the slightest little balloon-like poofs.

With two students coming tomorrow for the More Twills & a Taste of Overshot Class, I had to fold up my loom and roll it out of the way. I turned it so the cloth beam faced out so the students could see the progress on this undulating twill with tencel/cotton blocks framed in black merino. I’ve been experimenting a lot lately with dimensional fabrics from various weave structures. Not all these experiments have succeeded. So I was thrilled to see that with the loom tension released, my shawl is already beginning to puff up into the “undulating bubbles” I wanted.

Now I can’t wait to get it off the loom and drop it in the shrinkage soup to see how it finishes.

Karen

Celebrating Weaving Greatness

2010-05-26T14:50:00.001-04:00

When I was asked to chair a fund-raising raffle for this fall’s Blue Ridge Fiber Show, I was tempted to hit the floor and Army-crawl out the door. I’m glad I didn’t, because we’ve just put up an exhibit of raffle prizes at Sutherland donated by some of the top names in the fiber field, locally and nationally. Catharine Ellis, Daryl Lancaster, Alice Schlein, Lisa Klakulak, Suzanne Gernandt, Liz Spear, Tommye McClure Scanlin and Tina Feir. These pieces are, as you certainly would expect, beautiful.

The Blue Ridge Fiber Show is a biannual show sponsored by the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild. It is a very large, unjuried show, attracting entries from around and outside the United States. Cash prizes are given in several categories, which means fundraising is critical to its success. The raffle is only one of several fundraisers for the show.

Here is a picture of the raffle items on display at sutherland. It doesn’t do them justice, especially for the framed items, so please follow this link to the BRFS website for detailed descriptions and much better images.

We will be selling tickets here through June 13, (Studio Stroll weekend) then the whole exhibit moves to Textures-For the Finely Crafted Home, in Waynesville, NC, through July 14. Textures is owned by fiber artist and raffle donor, Suzanne Gernandt, and her husband. After that it goes on the road again to Earth Guild where the BRFS committee is holding a trunk show as another fundraiser. Then it returns to sutherland until the drawing during the BRFS Opening Reception in October. The pieces and tickets also will be at every WNCFHG meeting through September.

Feel free to share the link with anyone you think might be interested in winning one of these beautiful prizes. Tommye Scanlin has posted details of the raffle and her tapestry in progress to her blog, and I’ve already had two emails from people around the country wanting to purchase raffle tickets through the mail. We can do that!

If you’re in the Asheville area, please stop by sutherland to see these beautiful pieces in person. Buy your tickets early and often! They’re a bargain. $1 each, 6 for $5 or 15 for $10. You can enter different drawings for each prize, and you do not have to be present at the drawing to win.

By the way, at our May Web Chats AT sutherland this Friday 10am-noon, I’ll be showing my Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving Level I samples (all 40 of them) and answering questions. That would be an excellent opportunity to buy your raffle tickets. Just email or call to let us know you’re coming.

Karen

Where Do You Live?

2010-05-18T21:24:00.008-04:00

Whenever a customer comes into the studio I am drawn to ask them where they live. I am fascinated by all the different places people come and also why they are visiting the Asheville area.

Today there were the Snow Birds heading back to New York, the couple from Cincinnati who diverted due to the oil spill, the sweet elderly couple from Santa Fe, the Lady from Toronto, another from Minneapolis, Seattle, and more. The reasons for visiting are as diverse as the places from which they hail.

After work I met up with a new friend for dinner while her husband was taking a photography class at A-B Tech and she asked me how Karen Donde and I met. As some of you might already know, we met at Convergence four years ago when Grand Rapids hosted this wonderful event. She was living in New Jersey at the time and I was in Columbia, SC.

When I returned home from dinner, I got to thinking (scary, I know) about how fortunate I am to have met Karen at just the right time and where that has led us today.

She is doing what she loves (well, maybe not right this minute unpacking all those boxes from Jersey) by teaching weaving and starting classes at Haywood Community and I am doing what I love-just weaving and talking to the people who walk through the door. I have had many years of practice talking with people while I was giving outpatient chemotherapy and it is serving me well in this new part of my life. I was thrilled today with the sisters, one a first grader the other a fourth grader, who came in with their mom as part of their homeschooling for the day. I was able to show them about making cloth and it made my heart sing to see how excited they were.

I suppose the point to all my rambling is I am amazed each day by the gift of friends, new faces, and smiles when people walk through the door of our studio. Thank you.

Oh, and in case you are interested I am posting a few pictures of what is either on the loom or what I have recently taken off the loom.

When Weavers Move…or why they don’t

2010-05-14T14:14:00.001-04:00

Last week I was finally able to move the rest of our New Jersey things to Asheville. That included many weaving things I had been missing. My most familiar and tiresome lament at sutherland over the past 5 months has been, “I have that, but it’s in New Jersey,” whenever we decided we needed something for the studio.

So now it’s no longer in New Jersey. I just don’t know which box it’s in. I had my home studio looking pretty good before the movers arrived. New cabinets in place and yarn shelves at the ready. As the movers carried in boxes and asked for direction, I kept sending them upstairs to my weaving loft. Later I went up to assist in placing some bigger items and gasped. Where did I get all this stuff?

So here’s a look at what awaits me at home, which is probably why I’m lingering at Sutherland today. I know it will eventually all get put away, and I’ll undoubtedly look around and decide, “Now what I really need to get is…”

inspiration

2010-05-11T20:59:00.003-04:00

Several weeks ago Karen had this lovely idea to weave a piece of fabric to be a representation of Akira Satake's work. She has been so busy teaching, taking her math test for acceptance into Haywood Community College, and moving the rest of her life from NJ here she has not had time to start. And I had not even thought about it until I took this piece off the loom and realized I had done just what she plans to do without meaning to do so. I had woven this piece for a shop in Venice, CA named Roots, where I met the proprietor while visiting my daughter. She expressed interest in my work and so I thought I would weave something within the parameters she desired, and this is what evolved. It is all silk and just lovely.
Thank you Karen for your inspiration. And Akira for your work.

Yes, it really is the President.

2010-05-07T15:09:00.001-04:00

Just to bear witness to Barb’s last post, here’s a photo I snapped when the Presidential motorcade pulled away from 12 Bones Smokehouse and right past our studio.

That is him, the figure through the tinted windows in the white shirt. He is waving to the crowd of assembled River Arts District Artists and customers, several of whom were just waiting to get across the street to pick up their take out lunches. Talk about starving artists!

We couldn’t see which car Michelle got into, but we know she was there from Pattiy’s video.

Walt Disney was right after all...

2010-05-01T20:57:00.005-04:00

Last weekend Curve Studios and Garden hosted our Spring Open House. If I must say so myself it was quite a success. How often does one's Open House begin with a drive-by featuring the President of The United States. That's what I said: the Obamas were in town and they ate at our local BBQ joint across the street called 12 Bones. So the whole weekend we were all on a presidential high, as it were. (And just in case you missed it, I have included the link to the video our very own Pattiy Torno took of the Obamas ordering at 12 Bones.)

All the artists in Curve Studios and Garden opened their doors on Friday night for a Twilight Party with cocktails and delectable goodies to say thank you to our neighborhood and customers. We are guess-timating there were 400 people or so who stopped by over the course of the evening. A good time was had by all.

We had much foot traffic all weekend long and Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed showing off our new space. Karen was by far busier than I. She had students on both Friday and Saturday for a Just Weave class, where she had the looms dressed and ready to weave. The students came in and after a brief tutorial were off and weaving. Looked to me like they all had a grand time and each went home with a finished scarf they had woven. Aside from all that, Karen also had set up a loom for customers to "try out" if they were so inclined. The two people who seemed to not get enough of this action were middle school kids. So with that in mind Karen is now mulling over having some classes for the younger crowd. The thought of young people wanting to learn to weave just gives me chills!

With all the comings and goings throughout the three days, I met lots of new people and caught up with some I had not seen in awhile. One of my favorite stories of the weekend was a family who stopped by to look around. As is my usual, I asked from where they were visiting. Turns out they were from Keene, NH, just 12 miles from Harrisville, where I took my first weaving class. Not only that, but the grandmother in the group had lived in the little town of Harrisville for a number of years and knew the family who owns the Harrisville Mill. My first loom and my favorite is my 48" 8 shaft Harrisville.

And that is where old Walt Disney had it right: it is a small world after all.

our new look…in progress

2010-04-28T14:49:00.004-04:00

We’re in the midst of a major redecorating of the gallery space at sutherland, now that our classroom has moved down onto Pattiy Torno’s floor. It’s still a work in progress, but here’s a picture I just uploaded to our facebook page as our new profile picture. The scarves on top are Barb’s new line of “sutherland sorbets,” scarves so sheer you can see through them in a delicious variety of colors. Stay tuned for more exciting changes.

New classes & revised class schedule

2010-04-27T15:11:00.001-04:00

We had so much interest in beginning weaving classes during the CURVE studios & garden open house last weekend that we have put another session of Weaving I on the summer calendar. This class will run eight consecutive Tuesdays from noon-4, starting May 25 and ending July 13. This is the Three Warps, Three Towels class that allows students to warp the loom three different times during the eight weeks. Projects increase in complexity and give students a good foundation in warping. Following are more details on the upcoming spring/summer classes. If you’re interested in joining a class, please contact Barb or Karen and send a $100 deposit payable to sutherland as soon as possible to reserve your loom. We have 5 looms available for classes, two are already reserved for the Overshot class. We’ll assign the last three on a first-come, first-served basis.

Here are some pictures of some of our students and their completed projects. We’re so proud!

May 12, 26, June 2, 9, 16 – 11 am-2pm

More Twills & a Taste of Overshot. A follow-up to either Weaving I or Weave a Twill Gamp, this class introduces students to two additional twill patterns and an overshot threading. Instruction will lean heavily toward overshot theory. Students will weave a table runner, either as a gamp or with one of the three threadings offered. Students should be comfortable with warping, but support will be available. $180 per person, plus cost of yarn.

May 25, June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, July 6, 13 – noon-4 pm

Weaving I: Three Warps, Three Towels. This in-depth introduction to weaving guides students through planning, warping and weaving three separate projects. For Beginners or weavers who need a warping refresher. $275 per person, plus yarn.

June 26 & 27 – 10am-4pm

Two-Day Workshop: Introduction to Designing & Weaving Warp Rep. Warp rep is a warp-faced (or warp dominant) block weave in which a thick weft alternating with a thin weft produces color patterns and horizontal (weft-wise) ribs. In this introductory workshop, students will learn Karen’s building-block technique for rep design. They will then design their own treadling patterns and weave them into a series of mug rugs (coasters) on looms they have warped prior to the workshop according to Karen’s instruction. If students want to use a sutherland studio loom (provided one is available), they may come in to warp the loom before class starts. Minimum experience level: advanced beginner. Students must be able to read a draft and warp a precise color pattern independently. For 4 or 8-shaft looms. $120 plus supply fee (copies, plus yarn if you use ours).

June 30, July 7, 14, 28, August 4 – 11am-2pm

Handwoven Lace Techniques: Students who have taken Weaving I, or are familiar with warping and plain weave, will be introduced to three different threadings for weaving lacy, open fabrics using fine cotton or fine wool. Choosing from huck lace, Swedish lace or Atwater-Bronson lace, weavers will create a scarf or series of napkins experimenting with various pattern effects possible with treadling variations. $180 per person, plus yarn.

Aug. 9, 10, 11 – 9am-noon (or possibly noon-3pm)

Children’s Weaving Camp: We are considering holding a mini weaving camp for children, ages 8-14 for three mornings or three afternoons. We would wind the warps and students would warp looms for narrow scarves with easy-to-handle yarn. They would weave their scarves in plain weave, twill or herringbone in whatever color combination they like. This would be a fun introduction to weaving. No weaving police and lots of room for creative interpretation and “design elements.” We would have room for five campers. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, please get in touch so we can discuss this idea further.

FINALLY, don’t forget our April Web Chats AT sutherland, which are now the “last” Friday of the month from 10 am-noon. That means this Friday, April 30. Bring your show and tell, questions, design challenges or whatever weaving subjects you’d like to discuss. Also we are planning to order from Silk City Fibers very soon. You can look through the fun sample books (4 big notebooks!) and see whether there’s anything you’d like to include in our order and share shipping costs. If you’ve never seen the Silk City yarns, there are some basics like pearl cotton, fine merino wool, and Bambu 7 & 12, plus a whole assortment of weaving yarns you won’t see elsewhere. Please email to let us know you’ll be here: sutherlandstudios@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you at Web Chats and in our classes. Our Fall Class Schedule will be available soon!

Where to Start?

2010-03-31T20:51:00.001-04:00

There are many changes afoot at sutherland Handweaving. For one we’ve expanded, taking extra square footage on Pattiy Torno’s floor for a new dedicated weaving classroom! At right are some pictures of students working in the space. Today the classroom was buzzing all day, with Hardy and Donna threading their twill gamps from 10:30-1:30 and Mimi making up a lesson and weaving her twill towel, number 2 in the Weaving I project towels. Emily, also making up a lesson from the Weaving I class, came in this afternoon to weave her twill towel. Monday, Caitlin was threading Towel 3 in the Weaving I class with 8/2 cotton, warp stripes and a point twill threading.

Soon our classroom will have shelves to hold all the supplies, equipment, warping boards and other weaving necessities. Once I bring in a small desk for my laptop and tea mug, maybe an apple, if I’m lucky, and a chair to watch everyone work, I’ll be very close to weaving teacher nirvana.

Upcoming classes include another installment of our weekend Just Weave: Weave a Scarf in a Day class, April 23, 24 & 25, during the CURVE studios & garden Spring 2010 Open House. May 6 we begin a five week installment of “More Twills and a Taste of Overshot,” which allows students to weave two twills and an overshot pattern as a gamp, or to select one of the patterns for a pearl cotton table runner. This is a 5-8 pm class on Thursdays.

So what’s left in our original two-room studio? We’ll post pictures and tell you more as construction gets going, but for now we’ll just say we’re sprucing up the “gallery” side of the business to improve the browsing and shopping experience for our retail customers. You’re not going to recognize the place. We plan for everything to be finished by the CURVE open house April 23. Be sure to stop by our Twilight Party from 5-8 pm that Friday to check out our new and improved space, visit the garden and enjoy some great food, drink and music.

It’s finally SPRING!

Patience

2010-03-14T14:51:00.001-04:00

One thing I’ve learned about Barb during our 3 1/2 months in business here at sutherland is that she is very very patient. She loves winding on 60/2 silk for a pashmina, weaving it in plain weave with 120/2 silk for weft and then hemming and beading both ends. It makes her happy.

But I came into the studio today to teach a new student, and as I was pointing out the different parts of a loom, something caught my gaze above the secretary we use as an office. The swift was stuck up there with something on it. As I looked closer, I realized even Barb’s patience has its limits. She had just started winding what we refer to as a “skanky skein” of fine yarn into a ball when I saw her on Friday. Apparently it never got better, because there are the remains in a tangled mess still on the swift perched above our desk.

I had to laugh. I know this was hand dyed (not by Barb) yarn on the expensive side and it would have been painful to cut it off and toss it. I expect Barb may take another stab at untangling it, or maybe she just needed to work up the courage to let it go.

Either way I couldn’t resist snapping these pictures and sharing them. We’ve all been there. If we didn’t need the swift, I’d tell Barb to just leave it up there.

Love ya, Barb.

Karen

They’ve Graduated!

2010-03-10T12:23:00.001-05:00

The inaugural class of Weaving I-Three Warps, Three Towels at sutherland Handweaving has graduated, and just look at their final projects on our last day of class. We started with plain weave and a heavy weight cottolin and moved on to straight twill in the same yarn for the second towel. For the final towel in the class, I challenged them to create warp stripes with point twill threading using finer yarn, 8/2 unmercerized cotton.

Boy did they get creative with color and pattern! All three looked so distinctive, and the students’ technique and understanding of warping had charted significant improvements since the first towel. Congratulations to Donna, Martha and Hardy.

Next up for two of them is a Twill Gamp class that starts March 18 from 5-8 pm. With another Weaving I student starting this weekend, the studio looms are again all booked until the Monday Weaving I class finishes April 5. If there’s enough interest we’ll start another session of Weaving I or Twill Gamp on Mondays.

Please let us know right away if you’re interested in these or any of the remaining classes on the spring schedule. The looms don’t seem to be staying idle for long!

You've done this too, right? Also known as 'What Happens When You Do Not Like What Is On Your Loom'

2010-03-04T20:58:00.008-05:00

The snow started falling on Tuesday morning just before dawn. Twelve hours and eight inches later, I had done just about everything I could not to weave what was on my Harrisville 48" loom. I know you have been there. Confess it to yourself if you cannot say it out loud, but you have been there. All weavers have been there. You have this great picture in your head what you want a piece of cloth to look like and it just does not happen when you start to weave. That was me on Tuesday. It is Thursday night and I have not even opened the door to my home studio today. I was at sutherland today weaving, but that was fine as I love what I have on my Baby there. But here? At home? I am going to have to force myself to get in there and just finish.

The biggest problem was I did something I do not do very often--I put enough warp on the loom for two scarves. What was I thinking? Obviously some alien took over my mind for a brief period, there is no other way I can explain the madness. I honestly wove what I thought would be the "lesser liked" scarf first so I would have something to look forward to, but it became painfully obvious the second scarf would be the "I really do not like this at all" piece. You've done this too, right? I sure hope so.

I talked it over with Karen via email and she offered the excellent advice to rethread, resley, etc and I have to say I am not that kind of girl. Those ideas are not options for me. I know, I know, that can be my next New Year's resolution. Be flexible in my weaving.

So, here's the thing. Instead of weaving on Tuesday I did something else I have wanted to do for almost a year. I had taken a class with Barbara Zaretsky of Cloth Fiber Workshop (http://www.clothfiberworkshop.com/) fame on block painting on fabric. Great, you say, because you think I am going to use something I made in class. You would be totally mistaken. What I did do is use some cloth I had purchased while I was there. I saw it and just had to have it. You've done that too, right?

Where was I? Oh yes, I had decided to make a pillow for Bill's chair with the fabric. Now I could not use the fabric and not do something to make the pillow special for my favorite art benefactor! So I pulled out my marudai and made what I think is a lovely braid for the trim using yarns from Habu(http://www.habutextiles.com/). I had never done Kumihimo of this magnitude and it turned out rather nicely I think. I am pleased with the look and may even make another one as I have enough fabric.

And one thing led to another and I went from pillows, to Cloth Fiber Workshop, to kumihimo, and then to Habu. And suddenly I am online looking at Habu's website and have placed a huge order for some more fabulously fine silk yarns.

You've done this kind of thing too, right?

I think my Harrisville is missing me.

Alice Schlein Visits sutherland

2010-02-28T19:36:00.001-05:00

Our floor has never looked better than when Alice Schlein spread her jacquard triptych on the floor for better viewing by the group of 15 weavers, friends and spouses who gathered at sutherland to hear about her latest book.

The studio was buzzing with decades of combined experience represented by the people who gathered there last Friday morning. We saw many other samples of Alice’s beautiful jacquard and dobby weaving and learned that this self-taught weaver decided to write her new book, The Liftplan Connection: Designing for Dobby Looms with Photoshop & Photoshop Elements, because so many dobby weavers were interested in the design techniques described in The Woven Pixel, which she co-authored with Bhakti Ziek. Several guests of this special Web Chats AT sutherland helped lighten Alice’s load, buying up copies of The Liftplan Connection, The Woven Pixel and even Alice’s very last personal copy of Network Drafting. Alice graciously autographed every one.

The event also brought together friends, former teachers and students, and even two of the newest weavers enrolled in Weaving I at sutherland. Barb and I were so thrilled with how everything worked out that we will try to plan more visits by notable weavers who live near Asheville or may be traveling through Western North Carolina. If you have a suggestion for a special Web Chats guests, just let us know!

View Full Album

New Pups on the Block

2010-02-25T18:08:00.006-05:00

When Karen and I first started talking about opening a shop together last summer, we talked about looms, classes, and yarns. we would each go back home and think and email and Google, and then talk some more about all the ideas swirling around on our heads. Karen even started keeping a notepad in her bathroom because she said all her great ideas popped into her head while washing her hair!

Well, nowhere in all the planning and talking did we ever think we might need more than the four Schacht Baby Wolfs we either had already or would soon purchase second-hand. I don't know about Karen, but I felt like we would be lucky if we filled up one class. Who knew her class list would be so popular we would end up purchasing three new Schacht Wolf Pup to keep up with the class demand? I hope this is not a fluke and the interest will continue. Weaving is such a lost art and the only way to preserve it is to continue educating. In one of Karen's classes she has a student in her early twenties. Needless to say we are thrilled.

And in all this excitement we are pleased to announce sutherland is now an authorized dealer for things Schacht!

Karen worked really hard to get these Pups all put together in time for her class this past Monday. The photo shows her success.

Tomorrow will mark another milestone for sutherland--our first book signing. Alice Schlein, an authority on sophisticated pattern design for multi-shaft and computerizes dobby looms will be joining us from 10 a.m. to Noon. We will have an informal discussion while Alice sells and autograph copies of her latest book, The Liftplan Connection: Designing for Dobby Looms with

Photoshop® and Photoshop Elements®.

Same But Different

2010-02-18T21:25:00.006-05:00

With my weaving blip behind me as told in my last blog note, I have gotten back into the 'theme' scarf idea. Not really sure where this plan was taking me, I just started to weave. The first scarf in this series was the one I wove for my friend, Walker and I called it "Sixty Years of Walker". (Ha Ha--it was a birthday gift. ) As I mentioned, I loved the pattern and wanted the series to use this as the basis of the theme.

Next I decided to use a space-dyed alpaca and tencel as the weft with a Gemstone silk from Halcyon in a sky blue color.

Then today I wove like a madwoman--i had my warp chain ready to go as I had done that last night while watching the Olympics. I was using a the same tencel in the warp and weft to see what effect this had on the pattern. As I started I quickly saw the pattern was not nearly as noticeable using this dyed yarn, but i love the tweed-like look it has while still on the loom. I have wet finished the cloth and it is drying. One of my favorite times is when I awake the morning after I have wet finished a piece to see what it looks like, what the hand is like, and finally pressing it to see the finished result. Tomorrow will be one of those lovely mornings.

I am not through with this series and will continue with several more pieces to see how this pattern works with different yarns. As I weave them I will post photos along with my thoughts on how they look.

Let me know what you think as well.

Waiting for the loom truck

2010-02-15T20:48:00.001-05:00

…warps in hand! The second session of Weaving I began at sutherland today with three new students and one from the Sunday class who decided Mondays work better for her. Even though delivery of the three new Wolf Pups we ordered from Schacht Spindle Co. got delayed by snow from Ontario to Indiana to Colorado and finally to Asheville, NC, we started our first class focusing on planning, estimating warp and weft needs, drafting and winding our warps.

I had promised our Schacht rep my students and I would be eagerly awaiting the arrival of the delivery truck, warps in hand. She said, “I’d love to see that.” So I snapped these pictures today of the students and their warp chains. The looms are expected Wednesday or Thursday, so the students will begin warping next week.

This also means sutherland Handweaving is now a Schacht dealer. While our space does not permit us to carry a lot of inventory, we will be able to order looms and equipment for students or anyone wanting to order from Schacht.

Our Storefront Has a Storefront

2010-02-09T11:39:00.001-05:00

Our signs have arrived, so we’ve loaded our front door with information to help our CURVE studios & garden visitors understand all that goes on in here and hopefully entice them in. I snapped this picture yesterday afternoon during the 3 hours of sunshine we got between winter storms.

Last night we had a lovely Web Chat AT sutherland in the studio with a couple of our friendly area weavers, learning more about their work, looking at wonderful show & tell pieces and hearing more about the wonderful rich history of weaving in Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

We already are taking reservations for our very special Web Chat AT sutherland Feb. 26, from 10 am-noon, featuring a book sale and signing with network drafting guru Alice Schlein. Alice’s newest book is called The Liftplan Connection: Designing for Dobby Looms With Photoshop® and Photoshop. We’re very excited to have her discussing her latest research and seeing some samples of the work. We’re expecting a big turnout, so please register in advance, as we may need to borrow some floor space from our studio neighbor. Just email us at sutherlandstudios@gmail.com There is no charge to attend the web chat, but Alice will be selling copies of her books.

We’ve redecorated at sutherland

2010-01-28T20:43:00.001-05:00

Barb and I (with Pattiy’s assistance) were busy rearranging the furniture at our studio today to make the shop more comfortable for shoppers and make room for more looms and students.

Even stripping a screw that held our scarf rack to the freestanding wall couldn’t stop us. Pattiy and her vise grips to the rescue. Then we hoisted the large, heavy angled wall through the studio, out Pattiy’s door and into the CURVE space next door that will soon be occupied by encaustic painter Constance Williams. We moved the bookcase of yarn to the open corner, the secretary (our office) into the corner where the bookcase was and a new three-sided wire display rack into the space where the secretary was.

A little vacuuming and merchandising later and our new look was ready for business and classes. It’s a good thing, because three new looms are on the way for the three Weaving I students who will start class on Monday afternoons this month. Whew!

View Full Album

2010-01-26T15:31:00.005-05:00

So, as Karen and I so often do, we were working away in the studio several days ago while throwing around ideas for new projects. I, for one, am pretty consistent with the work ethic of warp the loom, weave 6" of the project, and start planning the next project. Works for me every time.

Karen mentioned her husband, ever the trusty sales guy, thought having a "theme" scarf quarterly or seasonally might be a good idea. we tossed it around, decided we liked the idea, and promptly shelved it on the to do list in our collective brains.

Last week I put on a warp at home on my wonderful Harrisville loom with enough length for two scarves: one for my dear weaving friend Walker, who turns 60 this week, and the other to sell. After I wove, wet finished, and pressed it I brought it to the studio for Karen to critique.

She loved them as much as I did. That's when she mentioned Jeff's idea of the seasonal scarf. I started thinking about it and told her i agreed. Almost in unison we said what about doing a tone-on-tone piece. I have successfully started warping my Baby Wolf (back to front no less) with this gorgeous 60/2 spun silk. Tomorrow I will start threading and can hardly wait! It sits at 40epi with a weaving width of 15". Just so you don't have to do the math, that is 608 warp ends, taking into account the floating selvedges. Got to love a weaver who loves tedious! That's me.

I am now continuing this blog entry several days after the above portion. Why, you ask? First, let remind you I am just past 50 and the mind is not like it used to be. It happened like this: I sat down to thread this lovely silk and as soon as I did I head-slapped myself. I had wound the warp on a 4 shaft and not an 8 shaft loom; hence I would not be able to use the planned pattern discussed at length in the above section.

Never daunted, I sat down with Anne Dixon's 4 Shaft Pattern Book and found just the one. And boy oh boy did I ever hit the jackpot.

I carefully threaded and tied the warp to the front beam and started to weave late this afternoon using 60/2 Tussah silk. Karen was in the studio and was able to share with me the beauty of the cloth beginning to take shape before my eyes. Is there any better time for a weaver than when he/she sees the magic of the warp and weft coming together to form something beautiful. Well, this cloth is giving me chills.

And We’re Threading…

2010-01-24T13:13:00.001-05:00

It’s the second session of the Weaving I Three Warps Three Towels class at sutherland, and three of the four students are here threading towel 1 today in a straight draw.

We hope to get these warps wound on the beam, and tied onto the front by the end of the day. Our students could even be weaving later. Welcome to Lennie, Donna and Martha. Our fourth Weaving I student will rejoin the class in a few weeks after a little vacation.

Another Milestone-Curvelinear

2010-01-19T09:46:00.008-05:00

I think I can speak for both Karen and myself on this--already in this New Year we have reached several milestones we had not dreamed possible this quickly.

First, we have had the great honor to be included on the Haywood County Arts Council exhibit in Waynesville, NC called Curvelinear. The show opened January 12 and will run for about 6 weeks. We dragged along the Mr. Weavers (aka husbands) with us to the Artists Reception last Friday night and even they had to admit they were impressed. We have to give a big hand to the phenomenal efforts of our curator Greg Vineyard. He spent much time setting up this beautiful exhibit and everything about its presentation exudes his care and artistic ability. These few photos I have posted do not really do his hard work justice, but I have tried.

Secondly, Karen's 8 week Beginning Weaving class is overflowing. Not only did she fill the 3 Baby Wolfs we have for class, she added Hardy, a very enthusiastic new weaver who has his own table loom to bring to class. And just when we were celebrating this achievement, we had not one but two others express serious interest in class as well. So here we are with the delightful dilemma of having students and not enough looms! We are hoping this is not a fluke and the interest continues. It is infectious to see Karen's enthusiasm for teaching new weavers.

Thirdly, and this is very much related to the previous topic, we are already busting at the seams. A problem, but another delightful one at that.

With all these things, in the next few days we will be in serious discussions concerning how to work towards getting these new students all taken care of as well as setting up a dealership with Schacht ASAP.

We have met so many new friends on this new venture who have all helped add to our enthusiasm. Thanks much to all of you here in Asheville and beyond who have encouraged and assisted us. Karen and I are both grateful.

CURVEilinear reception invite, revised

2010-01-14T11:44:00.001-05:00

A little clarification of the directions to Gallery 86 is in the following. Hope to see you there.

CURVEilinear exhibit includes sutherland

2010-01-09T11:21:00.001-05:00

How exciting. We just opened our handweaving gallery & teaching studio in CURVE Studios & Garden in Asheville’s River Arts District, and we’re just in time for an exhibit at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 featuring all the artist at CURVE!

The exhibit runs Jan. 11-Feb. 6, 2010. Gallery 86 is at 86 North Main St. in Waynesville, NC. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. Greg Vineyard, one of CURVE’s artists, is curating the exhibit. He stopped by one day last week to pick up pieces from both Barb and Karen.

The artists reception will be Jan. 16 from 6-9 pm. Everyone is invited!

Web Chats AT sutherland on Monday

2010-01-08T20:20:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder that the inaugural meeting of Web Chats AT sutherland – face-to-face networking for weavers—will be this Monday, Jan. 11 from 4-6 pm. Area weavers and weaver wanna be’s are invited to join us in the sutherland handweaving studio for conversations about what you are weaving, why you’re not weaving, what you’d like to show off and what you’d like help with.

We’ll keep everything informal and casual, but hopefully you’ll go home with a tip or lesson you didn’t know before. If you can join us, just contact Barb or Karen at sutherlandstudios@gmail.com so we know how many to expect.

Hope to see you Monday afternoon!

Just do it

2010-01-06T18:32:00.001-05:00

Sometimes we get so sure of ourselves, we forget the basics our weaving teachers taught us. Take sett for example. I threaded a lovely variegated alpaca and tencel blend on the studio loom for two scarves. A little stretchy, it was hard to get a good reading by winding on a ruler. Looking similar to Zephyr (JaggerSpun’s merino/silk blend), I decided to start with 24 epi for a broken twill. For the first scarf I chose a purple wool/kid mohair yarn that was thicker than the warp. I beat it very lightly, knowing it would full and not wanting it to hide the warp colors. I struggled a bit to keep the beat even and selvages nice, but I liked the overall look. Here it is on-loom.

For the second scarf I wanted to try another treadling with a weft that would weave more balanced. In my stash I found a wonderful blue untwisted cotton I had found during a visit to Habu Textiles in New York. It is just slightly thinner than the warp. The tension was working well, so I just rolled the first scarf on the cloth beam, left some fringe and started the blue one. About three repeats in, I noticed my beat was getting harder, even though I was trying to keep it balanced. I took out the last repeat and tried again, then kept weaving, checking the ppi after each repeat. After weaving about 8 inches (at what was averaging 28 ppi), it dawned on me what I should have done, sett the warp closer.

Yes, I knew this. Yes, the need to sometimes adjust your sett is one of the first things I tell new weaving students. But the prospect of cutting this Habu weft out, cutting the first scarf off, resleying and retying was just not appealing. I ate my lunch and walked around for a while, before finally deciding that I would be much happier weaving this scarf if I followed Nike’s advice. So I just did it. Here’s the purple scarf after being cut off and the warp ready for resleying. It’s now sett at 28 epi and is weaving much easier. However, if I use this yarn again for twill, I’ll probably try it at 30 epi.

Lesson RE-learned.

sutherland in the News

2010-01-03T19:43:00.001-05:00

We’re introducing sutherland to the local media and received a nice story in The Laurel of Asheville announcing our January classes and events. Scroll to page 25. For those unfamiliar, Barb is in the picture foreground and Karen is behind her. Asheville has welcomed us warmly. We even had a story on the local TV news during our grand opening in December. I’d post a link to that, except while they found us interesting enough for the Sunday evening news, we didn’t make the website. It was nice, nevertheless.

Resolutions

2010-01-01T15:19:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year! I'm not much for resolutions, since the only one i have really ever kept is to floss daily; but I have made one for this year. I am going to to do a better job of weaving documentation. If you are a weaver, you know all about this. Every teacher I have ever had has stressed this point, along with sample, sample sample. I'm still not a convert to sampling for sampling sake, but I am resolving to be so for documentation's sake. My method may not be a perfect one, but it is mine and I like it.
As part of the documenting process, I have been taking photos of my pieces to help jog my memory and to post on this blog.
So, as the New Year is being rung in, I am starting my resolution. This piece is being woven with 60/2 tencel hand-dyed in variations of lovely steel greys. The weft will be 120/1 silk by Habu, with a finishing touch of seed beads on each end. I have 40 epi with a width in the reed of 15 inches. I had quite a blast dressing the loom and loved the feeling of the tencel while I was doing it.
So, here is a toast to every weaver who struggles to document well. May everyone's New Year be full of love, laughter, and happiness.

Treadle on...

Weaving Deficit

2009-12-29T23:17:00.006-05:00

We never discussed it outright, but both Karen and I came into the studio today and started new projects. When I started to think about it while driving home this afternoon, I decided our actions most likely were due to what I might term "weaving deficit". This can be defined as the following: when life gets in the way of a weaver's need to put into action a project on their loom.

We both have been consumed with the holidays in the middle of getting the studio up and going, as well as talking/planning the future of this fabulous new venture. And Karen has also been wearing the hat of journalist extraordinaire, to which she has been devoting much time.

Any weaver will tell you the process of weaving is very calming and almost 'spiritual'. This is not to be confused with times we want to pull our hair out from threading problems and the like. So today Karen and I had a relaxing day of planning our individual project (ie math), warping the board, and beginning to dress our looms.

Karen is putting a warp long enough for two scarves on: one for her son's girlfriend as a gift, the other for sale. What is most amazing is she emailed me over the Christmas holiday she had dragged (I am almost positive she used that word) her son into a knitting store in Asheville to pick out the yarn. She fell in love with this delightfully soft wool blend in lovely blue/orange dyes. Well, when she showed it to me today, I reminded her I had used the exact yarn from the same store to weave the first scarf after moving into our new studio. Amazing how our creative minds think. And in all the planning did she have enough? Nope, but I had a nice sized ball left from my stash she was able to use. Funny how things work out.

I am putting on some 60/2 tencel hand dyed by Just Our Yarn in shades of steel grey. The epi is 40 and I will be using a 120/1 silk from Habu for the weft. If all that doesn't mean anything to you, then just picture a very light and gauzy piece of cloth and you will have the right idea.

It is always nice to see how a project moves from warping board to loom to completion. Photos help with this and so I have added them for you to see just what our 'weaving deficit" has produced.

Welcome to sutherland!

2009-12-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

We are happy to introduce sutherland, a new handweaving gallery and teaching studio inside Curve Studios & Gardens in the popular River Arts District of Asheville, NC. Barb Butler and Karen Donde are the weavers, presenting a variety of handwoven scarves, shawls, garments, household textiles and fiber art for sale.
sutherland is also a teaching studio with a full schedule of weaving classes for novice to advanced weavers. We also hope to be a resource for local and visiting weavers offering Web Chats AT sutherland twice monthly, which we are describing as face-to-face social networking for weavers in our studio, and other weaver-friendly services.
Please visit our blog often to see what we have on the looms and what classes are coming up. And if you're in Asheville, please stop in to say hello.