Olds College Master Weaver Program

My work tables for MW1

 Olds College Master Weaver Program

Many of my friends have asked me what is the pile of notebooks, cones of yarn, books, dyed yarn, woven samples, and dye jars on my tables in my weaving studio.  Well, it is my homework for my Master Weaver certification.  What is this you ask?  Well, I will gladly tell you all about it.

Olds College is an agricultural college located in Alberta, Canada.  Not only does it have classes in farming and tractor repair, but it also has a program for weavers as well as spinners. I learned about this program about 6 years ago when Laura Fry asked me to write a letter of reference for her application to teach at the college.  I was very interested in this program so I immediately call Olds College and asked for information.  At that time, sadly I learned they were only offering the weaving program in Canada only.

Two years ago Laura Fry posted on Facebook that the Master Weaver Program was now being offered in the United States, in Yadkinville, North Carolina.  Oh my goodness, offered in my own state.  But where is Yadkinville?

To my delight, it is located in a lovely place called The Fiber Room about 4 hours east of where I live. If you are interested in learning more about the Master Weaver Program check out their website at www.oldscollege.ca 

 Roger my studio cat is checking out my beat on my Sett Samples.  

This is the start of my Plain Weave Color Gamp Sampler for Master Weaver 2 Program.  I had added a trellis stitch hem on the edges.

Here is the start of my Twill Color Sampler. What a fun and     

colorful learning exercise.

The Master Weaver Program is a five-year program.  I am in level two.  As I finish projects I will post photos of what I have done.  My next assignment is to tackle Overshot!!

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The Life of a Weaving Studio Cat

Roger doing what 
he does best!

The Life of a Weaving Studio Cat

By Pam Howard

Meet Roger, he lives in my weaving studio. Roger was a feral cat who was in one too many fights which left him with a funny ear and is now FIV positive.  Being FIV positive means he carries a virus that only affects other cats.  It can be fatal when not taken care of in a proper manner.

Roger on my loom bench

Roger was living at a vet clinic and was in the adoption program. But, no one wanted to adopt him because of his health.  My daughter worked at this clinic and she felt he needed a chance.  She started sending me photos and telling me sweet stories about him.  Finally one day she called saying that no one was even interested in him and his existent might be in danger.  I felt sorry for her and for the cat.  As I was looking at his photo, I asked my daughter, “well, what is his name?”  ROGER she replied.  Well, that was two years ago and I can’t imagine working in my studio without  my little buddy.

Making sure that cardboard does
not get away!

 Roger must know that in order to live in happy harmony in my studio he must not sleep on my warps or chew up my yarns.  He has his own chair, toys and treats. 

He always greets me at the door.  He lLoves my color and yarn choices.  But best of all he when I ask him how he likes what I am doing he always meows the same positive thing.  I think he knows I rescued him and he pays me back every day with his love, devotion, and purrs

Do you have a studio pet?

Pam and Roger 

Sampling is a weavers friend!

In the world of weaving, the word sample is your friend.  Sampling can help you make decisions, on structures, colors, sett and yarns.  Even I have to do samples from time to time.  If I am unsure how something is going look after it is woven, I will most likely make a sample.  After I have finished it, I  might be used for a scarf,  a table runner or used as scraps in all sorts of creative projects.  If it does not turn out as I had hoped it would, then I am not out a lot of yarn or time.

Today was a wet, rainy cold day.  A good day to stay in and try something new on the loom.  So I went to my ever growing pile of "Pam's Projects" and picked one.

What I chose was a scarf project that I saw in an article in Handwoven Magazine several years ago.  It was written by Madelyn Van Der Hoogt and the name of the article was Felted Lace Scarf in Superfine Merino.  I am pretty sure if you go to the their website, http//:handwovenmagazine.com  you will be able to find out how to get a copy of this scarf project.

So here is where sampling comes in.  This scarf is made of two colors of 8/2 Jagger/spun wool and it is a simple double weave project.  I started winding my warp this morning and by late this afternoon I had the woven scarf in the hot and cold water to felting it.

                                       Here are a few photos of the project before the felting.

Here is what the scarf looks like after washing.

So now that I have tried this project I can decide if this is something I would want to do again.  Maybe I would use different colors.  Or maybe try a different was of felting the wool fibers together.  After finishing this piece I decided that I would want to do a few things differently that was written in the project notes.  But because I took the time to sample I now have a better idea of this project.  Sampling is your friend!

What a Colorful Summer I am Having!

Boy has this summer flown by.  It is now the middle of July and before you know it summer will be over.  This is the time when I take advantage of being outdoors and can do some dyeing.  I sometime think that once you have mastered the ability to wind a warp and weave it off you can get bored.  I guess that happened to me.  A number of years ago I started to dye...that is in coloring not as in death!

It is so enjoyable to get my dyes that I use for dyeing on cottons, rayon, bamboo and silk.  These dyes are called MX dyes.

It is so satisfying to be able to place color where you want it.  Blending colors either in a measuring cup or mixing them right on the warp.   Yes, it can be messy to dye but, for the most part the satisfaction of making a one of a kind fabric is wonderful.  

I have posted some photos of a couple of scarves and dyed warps I have done this summer.  I first dyed the warp and then wove the scarves.  This is the same technique that I teach in one of my weaving classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School.  The class is called "Dyeing to Weave a Scarf".  I will be teaching that class again, April 21 - 27, 2013.

Well I need to get back to the loom and finish weaving some fabric that is called Dimity.  I will share with you what will happen to this fabric in the next blog.

For now just enjoy the color!

Pam

Will She or Won't She be a Folk School Loom?

I had the opportunity to assist Laura Fry in a class she was teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School last week. The class was called The Efficient Weaver.  Laura talked about different tips and techniques that would help make the weaving process more efficient and enjoyable.  Because Laura was so efficient, she really didn't need much help from me.  This was good since I had a chore that I needed to do in the studio since I am the Resident Weaver at the Folk School.

A lovely old Norwood, 52 inch, 8 harness loom had been donated last fall to the weaving studio.  But it seemed to have an issue or two and I wanted to try it out before a student tried to weave on to it.  I designed an 8 harness twill based pattern for dishtowels.  I wanted to use all 8 harnesses to make sure they all worked properly.  As the students in the class could verify, my relationship with the loom in the beginning of the week was, well lets say, rocky.  But as the week progressed, I worked out the bugs and actually gave her a name, Brownie.  For my second project I wove another twill based weave structure but only used 4 harness.  It made a huge difference in lifting the harnesses.  I have notebooks along side of the looms in the studio that allows weavers to write about their loom that they wove on while they were at the Folk School. Brownie has several pages of tips and hints from me to help the next weaver have a nice experience.

Why I am writing about this?  Well if only everyone who was in the market of a used or new loom could weave on it first, it would make all the difference. You would either pass the loom by, or like Brownie, keep her because she now has a warm spot in my heart. If you come to the Folk School do go by and check her out!  She gives a good weave!

Pam

Coca~Cola A Wall Hanging

Sometimes a new challenge can be fun and exciting.  Often it is something that one needs to branch out and seek new adventures.  That is exactly what the Coca~Cola wall hanging did for me.   Just coming off of three very challenging years of health issues and family disasters,  I was asked to submit a woven piece. The piece is for an exhibit and benefit auction for the John C. Campbell Folk School. At the time I was asked my stress was getting more and more less stressful and my creative side of the brain was wanting to get started again.  So, when asked to participate in this project I immediately said, yes.    My piece will be first exhibit at the Corporate  Headquarters of Coca~Cola in Atlanta, Georgia and then it will go to the Woodruff Art Center in Atlanta for the special Folk School Auction.  Needless to say it was suggested that a Coke related piece would be nice.  When I hear that I thought I was doomed, but thank goodness my creative brain was working!  Boy I too the Coke theme to the extreme!

Below are a few photographs of the three piece wall hanging I created.  The piece measures 36 inches wide and 46 inches tall.  It hangs on the wall by a hand forged iron bracket that my Blacksmith husband, Ron Howard made.  The structure is overshot and it just happens to be a name-draft of "Coca~Cola".

For those who will be in the Atlanta area think about going to the benefit auction on February 4, from 5 to 8 pm.  Of course there is more to bid on than my wall hanging.   Check out the John C. Campbell's web page,    www.folkschool.org    and look for the link to the auction page.

Now on to my next challenge!
Happy New Year!

There is a Message in all of this Color!

So, I guess I must admit, I love color.  It has always been easy for me to sort through my weaving stash and find cones of color that go together.  Making a piece and knowing that the selected  yarn colors are going to blend and be pleasing.  It is also like that when I dye yarns.  Once again the colors just seem to go together and make me smile. I realized I do a lot of dyeing and painting of yarns to make pieces that are special and unique.

A good example is this scarf that I just finished a few days ago.  Actually it was a demonstration for a class I was co-teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School, http://www.folkschool.org/ .  I was the color part, teaching students about using MX dyes to paint  their warps.  The class called Crimp, Color and Create was a result of a brainstorming session I had with my friend and fellow Folk School weaving instructor, Dianne Totten.  Dianne has been doing lots of exploration with what she calls "Crimp Cloth".  She weaves fabric using shibori pull threads and a polyester yarn.  The pull threads are tighten and then the polyester warp or weft threads are steamed.  The heat makes those special threads conform to the folding of the fabric.....this creates the Crimp.  My job as part of the class was color.  Students learned about safely using dyes, mixing and applying several colors and getting great results. The painted warps that the students produced were just beautiful. After the class I was able to take my demonstration warps home and I decided to weave a couple of very different scarves.   The first one, at the top of this page is my favorite.  I choose to weave this scarf as a namedraft in Overshot.  The letters I used was my name.  I think it turned out to be very pleasing. The second scarf I used black polyester in my weft, my painted demo warp and a shibori pull thread in an overshot pattern.  Steaming the scarf is very easy and to see the crimp cloth emerge is so thrilling. 

Dianne and I will be offering this same class in May of 2012 at the John  C. Campbell Folk School.  Be watching the catalog this fall to be able to get more information and to sign up.

Another note of interest is that Yarn Circle, which I am a partner of, is now carrying 8/2 polyester yarns in 8 ounce spools.  We also carry a selection of Pro-chem MX dyes.  Call for more information at 828-835-4592. http://www.yarncircle.com/

Don't forget to sample!

Pam