Workshops

Schedule Descriptions

Upcoming in 2010:

July 5 to 9 Twills on Four — Retreat Workshop at JST, Salt Spring, BC — 1 spot left!

July 26 to 30 Twills on Four — Retreat Workshop at JST, Salt Spring, BC — 1 spot left!

August 19, 20 & 21 Vending — Gibson's Landing Fibre Festival, Gibson's, BC

August 19, 20 & 21 Colour & Design — Gibson's Landing Fibre Festival, Gibson's, BC

September 15, 16, 17 & 18 TBA — Fort St. John Guild, Fort St. John, BC

October 6, 7 & 8 Lacey Places — Peace Arch Weavers Guild, White Rock, BC

October 14, 15, 16 & 17 Weaving in the Maiwa Tradition — at Maiwa - registration begins June 21 - visit www.maiwa.com, Vancouver, BC

October 29, 30 & 31 Collapsible Fabrics — Saskatoon, SK

November 8 to 12 Lacey Places — Retreat Workshop at JST, Salt Spring, BC — 1 spot left!

Workshop Descriptions

The primary goal of these workshops is to impart to the participant a thorough understanding of how woven pattern is derived. With a solid structural grounding, weavers can open the doors to original design and to alteration of existing designs.

Each morning there will be a lecture illustrating the points of the day. Afternoons will be spent weaving samples. All workshops are round robin and are 3 days.

Experience Level of Weavers Used in our Workshops:

BEGINNER: Must know how to warp your loom.
INTERMEDIATE: Needs to be familiar with reading drafts.

Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave
I have always looked at plain weave as the most important architectural structure in hand weaving. Its enormous potential for crafting "canvases" on which to design, is often overlooked.

While we explore the many permutations of plain weave, such as warp faced, weft faced, cramming & denting, denting, supplementary warp and threading plain weave in blocks, we also look at the fundamental importance of sett. This workshop is also about adapting techniques.

Six samples will be woven exemplifying excellent use of colour and design.

ALL LEVELS

Principles of Colour & Design in Handweaving
Not everyone is born with an innate sense of colour & design, but, there are simple techniques and theories, that when followed will help you attain designs that are uniquely yours.

This workshop breaks down the design process into three categories: a) the architecture of the textiles, i.e. the sett and structure; b) the graphic drawing on your textile, i.e. stripes, checks etc; and c) Jane's approach to colour in handweaving.

This is a practical workshop. It explores design in a graphic sense and colour as an emotional response.

There are six samples in this workshop that illustrate either a graphic theory or a colour theory, all done with one style of yarn in one structure. 27 colours are employed to make a stunning set of samples 18" x 20" each.

ALL LEVELS

Twills on Four
The number of twill patterns available on a 4 shaft loom is quite amazing. The three basic design variables: tie-up, threading and treadling will be broken down, explored and then rearranged into completely new and original designs. Learn how to blow them up, break them, undulate them and make them more distinct using the twist of your yarn.

The six samples are woven in a wide variety of natural fibres and will illustrate these design variables for twill.

INTERMEDIATE

Collapsible Fabrics
Three-dimensional fabrics are so much fun to weave. You make all these little flat pieces of fabric and then get to jump for joy as they transform in the fulling process. There are several ways to make a fabric collapse and become more three-dimensional. The three methods we will explore are: a. using a specific weave structure enhanced with specific yarns b. using elasticized yarns in either the warp, weft or both c. using yarns that shrink differently

The samples will be woven in Plain Weave, Twill, Cannelle, Deflected Doubleweave, Just plain old Doubleweave and we will have some fun with Supplmentary warps. Students will need 4 or 8 shaft looms.

INTERMEDIATE

Lacey Places
Lace weaves are a time-honoured tradition, appreciated for generations. When designing cloth, we think of colour, texture and pattern, but structure is the foundation for lace weaves. We will learn the differences between these often-similar looking weaves and why one might be more suitable than another.

Our samples will use the most common loom-controlled lace structures on 4 shafts: Canvas Weave, Huck, Swedish Lace, Spot Bronson, Bronson Lace and Blended Lace and will illustrate appropriate use of colour within lace designs. We will use traditional and non-traditional materials.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Units, Blocks & Profiles
This is a great structural design workshop. If you have wondered how you can create your own designs but didn't know how to start, this is the workshop for you.

Bring lots of graph paper and calligraphy pens along with all those ideas that have been brewing inside. We will take a look at some of the common weaves on 4 harnesses: Bronson Lace, Summer & Winter, Overshot, Crackle, Monk's Belt etc.

These structures all have a very simple Multiple-Shaft progression, so if you have an 8 shaft loom you can learn some of the theory necessary to use them. Samples are woven to illustrate many principals regarding ground units & pattern units. Structure analysis is presented in 3 easy steps.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Twill Explosion: on 8 &12 shafts
When 8 or more shafts are available, pattern possibilities become seemingly infinite. This workshop begins with a quick review of twills on 4 shafts and then looks theoretically at the transition to 8 or more.

In this workshop, we will look at the following:

* twill blocks explored with all permutations of tie-up * the concept of tie-up considered as a design tile on straight and point threadings * twill fractioning * fancy twills * obtaining structural integrity through the tie-up

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

SEMINARS

Honing Your Basic Weaving Skills
This one-day seminar is for weavers having difficulty with warping, choosing a style of warping suitable for the project, bobbin winding, shuttle throwing, selvedge control, beating and tie-up; all with the goal of improving the quality of your experience and finished product.

We will make a warp, dress a loom, wind bobbins and every participant will have an opportunity to sit at a floor loom and have their weaving technique honed.

Warping with Sticky Threads
This seminar has had great reviews from weavers who have had difficulty dressing their looms with sticky yarns such as mohair or highly textured yarns. An overview of different warping techniques will be the first item to look at. I then demonstrate dressing a loom with a 100% Brushed Mohair warp and provide all the weaving tips I have learned after 20 years of production weaving Mohair Blankets. Weaving these yarns is very easy and enjoyable when you know the tricks. Each participant will receive a step-by-step instruction sheet with illustrations.

Warping Back to Front
No matter where I go, I always find that warping the loom is an issue for many weavers. There are many conflicting techniques described in many sources and this often leaves weavers confused. In this demonstration we discuss the pro's and con's of sectional warping, warping from the front, warping from the back and a combination of both. I then demonstrate the method of warping "back to front" which I use for all fine, smooth, long or short warps. This seminar will answer a lot of questions. Each weaver will get a step-by-step instruction sheet with illustrations.