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March 28, 2023 newsletter

Weave your own Easter Basket!

Open Weave Garlic Basket

Garlic isn’t the only thing that is happy in our wee baskets! They are fun to fill with Easter eggs showing off all their beautiful colours while safely nestled in the wee baskets.

These baskets are fun to weave and you still have time to make them for Easter morning. This Open Weave Garlic Basket is woven with regular twining using rattan reed. This kit includes material for 3 baskets –  3 sets of spokes and 3 sets of weavers in natural and dyed colours for you to mix and match. This is one of Jane’s favourite baskets because of the various shapes you can weave them…..and they don’t all have to hold garlic or Easter eggs….you’ll come up with all kinds of uses for them! Check below for links that will take you to videos demonstrating how to make these delightful baskets.

Kit Includes:
12 spokes – 34” long, #3 round reed, #2 round reed for weavers


Discontinuing Bambu 7 Line at JST

We have to make room on our shelves as we fill them with new colour choices in our other yarns. So … we have decided to discontinue Bambu 7 from our stock. Don’t worry – we will still carry Bambu 12 and maintain a supply of the Bambu 7 needed for the School of Weaving Season 5 Episode 3 Huck kits.


Important Announcements!

There are some exciting improvements happening at JST that we want to let you know about.

We have some very exciting news for our American customers! www.janestaffordtextiles.com is now able to accept payment in USD. This means that you will be able to see the exact amount you will be charged in USD and will not incur any exchange rate fees or be subject to the FX rate of the day from your bank/credit card company! Your cart will default to USD if you are in the USA but this can also be changed manually by clicking the USD currency button 🙂

Canadian customers this does not change anything for you 🙂

Please note that this change does not effect the School of Weaving and subscription fees are still charged in USD for everyone no matter where you live.

We are also in the process of switching over to new parcel carriers for all our outgoing parcels. We will be using Canpar for parcels going to Canada and UPS for parcels going to the USA. DHL will be used for any parcels outside of the other carrier’s delivery areas. As such, we will no longer be able to ship to PO Boxes so please make sure to enter your physical address on the checkout screen. This means cheaper shipping rates for you! We have already reduced the shipping rates a bit but will be switching to a lower flat rate fee to pass on even more savings to you and make ordering from us more economical. Please stay tuned for more updates about this soon 🙂


Weave A Garlic Basket Video

There are two ways that you can watch and learn:

-as a subscriber (and for free) on Joan’s Vimeo site (she has some very informative videos)

-or…if you are a member of the School of Weaving – by watching Season 2 – Episode 9 on the School of Weaving. You can download the PDF there.


We offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

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March 21, 2023 newsletter

JST PDF Patterns

Did you know that you can purchase patterns from JST? We have a selection of patterns available – some are paid patterns and others are FREE!

Add patterns to your shopping cart and check out as usual. You will find a confirmation page in your browser with a link to your patterns waiting to be downloaded. You will also get a confirmation email which includes the link(s) you can use to download the pattern(s). And … if you have a JST account … you can go to your account page and under “account”, look for “downloads”. You can access all your pattern downloads at any time and download them again and again.


We just added a new PDF pattern!

Spring Has Sprung Tea Towels

The inspiration for this tea towel set comes directly from the imagery in the 2023 JST calendar, where each month we photographed a colourful array of yarns and greenery to reflect the season. Our March calendar page features fresh spring greens and the last of the winter berries.


A few of our PDF patterns for sale


Burgoyne Berry Kit Back in Stock!

The Burgoyne Valley on Salt Spring is home to several vineyards and an incredible community garden. These wonderfully warm cozy wraps remind us of ripening fruit at the end of the summer even though spring is on our door-step 😉

Harrisville Shetland is one of our favourite yarns and is available in lovely heathered colours that weave up quickly and bloom beautifully when wet-finished.

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: 3/1 twill, 1/3 twill & Basketweave
Material: Harrisville Shetland
Each kit makes: 2 wraps 24″ X 72″ plus fringe each

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Width in reed: 30″
Reed: 10 dent


Season 7 Episode 3 coming up!
Monk’s Belt with Colour & Weave

Want to get your loom ready for the next episode airing on March 30th? Order your kit today so you’ll be all set to go!

And, while you are waiting, watch last year’s episode on Monk’s Belt … if you haven’t yet. The School of Weaving is all about building on previous episodes 😉


Jane at ANWG Conference – Fiber Connections

Jane will be presenting through Zoom at this year’s ANWG Conference on June 17th with her seminar on the Weavers of Sabahar – an amazing organization working with weavers, spinners and dyers in Ethiopia. See the link below to purchase this seminar through A la carte registration.

After the Sabahar seminar, Jane will have her ANWG Conference Virtual School of Weaving Meet-Up on Zoom. This free event will take place right after the seminar on Sabahar. You will be able to register for this free Meet-up between March 27 through May 22.

A la carte registration opens on Monday, March 27th at 7 AM PDT.

All conference and registration information is available through ANWG.

Registration information is available here: https://anwgconference2023.com/registration/


Weavers of Sabahar Seminar at ANWG Conference

June 17, 2023 – Saturday
1 – 2:30: Jane Stafford – Weavers of Sabahar ~ virtual & in-person attendees

Sabahar is an Ethiopian company that produces uniquely designed, handwoven cotton and silk textiles. Sabahar was founded 20 years ago by Kathy Marshall from Beaver Lodge, Alberta. Her passion for preserving and celebrating the rich weaving tradition of Ethiopia combined with her desire to create respectful and ethical work opportunities for marginalized people has laid the foundation for the company. Sabahar’s 3 core values are Sustainability, Innovation, and Caring for each other. They are members of the World Fair Trade Organization. In 2016 Kathy invited Jane Stafford to come to Addis Ababa to troubleshoot production problems the weavers were having. It was a remarkable journey and she returned again in 2019 to set up a design department teaching unfamiliar weave structures to the weavers and exploring the possibilities of the yarns they have available; including all the Eri silk they raise in great abundance. Jane invites you to walk through the studios of Sabahar, to meet the silk rearers, spinners, dyers, weavers and finishers of an amazing organization that now employs over 700 artisans.


We offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on

Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

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March 14, 2023 newsletter

Saint Patrick’s Day

Is the colour GREEN one of the first things that pop into your mind when you think of Saint Patrick’s Day? With March 17th just around the corner – we thought it would be fun to look through our kits for GREEN and feature them this week.


Just Monk’ing Around Tea Towel Kiwi

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Monk’s Belt with Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:

Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width: 22.7″


Bouclé Tea Towel Kit
Not Enough Green for Grant

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Cotton Bouclé
Each kit makes: 9 Tea Towels

Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 22″


School of Weaving Kits

Season 2 Episode 7, Stripe-tastic sampler

Things you will learn:

That big division of space comes first even with stripes

How to create repetitive sequencing with narrow and wide stripes

How to work with colours of very close value and still see the graphic

How to use up stash

Learn the power of a zinger, even a thread or two


Season 3 Episode 2, Cramming and Denting sampler

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 40/2 linen
Each kit makes: 3 Scarves or Runners and sampling


From Our Inbox

And, at the end of this newsletter featuring the colour GREEN – the perfect email was waiting in our Inbox from Sivia Harding of Milwaukie, Oregon. Her photo shows us the beautiful Tea Towels she has woven, and that she can proudly hang in her kitchen on St. Patrick’s Day. Thank you so much for sharing, Sivia!
I fell in love with Turned Twill on 8 shafts after watching the lesson, and I took Jane’s sage advice on setting up with the intention of playing at the loom. I had so much fun playing with the warp face/weft face blocks and how the various weft patterns intersected with the threaded blocks. This was my first attempt, using 8/2 cotton at 20 epi. I got 10 towels out of that warp and I have another similar-length warp on the loom.

Sivia Harding

We offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.


Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

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March 7, 2023 newsletter

JST’s UNIQUE HAND DYED SILKS

Have I told you how much I love weaving with silk? So much so that a number of years ago I partnered with a Salt Spring dyer to create my own line of silk. We had a lot of fun choosing the colours and the names for each silk, giving them a uniquely JST and Salt Spring Island look. For instance – Old Man’s Beard isn’t named after a person I know 😉 but the wonderful lichen that drapes off the trees in the rainforests of our island. Peachy Keen reminds me of the peaches we grow in the summer and Salt Spring Sky is reminiscent of our often grey sky that helps our forest and peaches to grow. Each silk skein holds a memory.


JST’s Hand Dyed Silks

There is a lot to choose from in our JST silks – we dye our colour range over two different types of silk. Bombyx is pure white and gives a clear bright colour when it’s dyed. We also dye on Tussah which is naturally a soft beige (Tussah is produced by tussah silkworms that feed on oak leaves and other leaves that are rich in tannin and create that beautiful soft colour). Using these base yarns gives us two different colour ranges in our silk – the bright dyed on Bombyx and the more muted using Tussah as a base. We dye both lines in 20/2 weight silk – but … if you are looking for something finer – we also have the full range of colours dyed on a 30/2 Bombyx base.

The fun begins when you start mixing these fabulous silks with linen, cotton, or Zephyr as the warp or weft of your next project. The results are wonderful. This week we are featuring some of our kits and giving our silk a chance to shine! Scroll down to check them out …..


Some of our favourite silks kits!

Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit

On the west coast of BC, we rarely have snow into March but this year we were “gifted” with it 😉 And, we are certainly dreaming about Spring – are you? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to weave a scarf with the colours of spring and summer right now?

It’s a perfect time to weave our Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kits which would be a real treat to warp and weave while we wait for spring to appear. There are 2 versions of this kit – one with 40/2 linen as the warp and 2 30/2 Bombyx silk as the weft and one with an extra 2 skeins of silk for the weft. When Jane was designing and weaving this scarf she wanted to weave more colour into the warp and created the Ganges Sunrise kit that includes 2 more skeins of Bombyx, so your kit would come with more colours to play with as your weft. So – if the idea of weaving for spring appeals to you – you can choose between Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit (which comes with 2 skeins of 30/2 silk and 2 cones of 40/2 linen for the warp) or Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit with Additional Silks (which comes with 4 skeins of 30/2 silk and 2 cones of 40/2 linen for the warp). Choose between the two kits from the dropdown option when you order. Just to see how fabulous this scarf can be – scroll down to read From our Inbox below and learn Joan Goddard’s story of the weaving she did for her daughter’s wedding day.

Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit

Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit with Additional Silks


Fulford Mist Linen & Silk Scarves

Do you want to weave something with silk but representative of the mists that sometimes cover Salt Spring Island? This beautiful and elegant scarf is woven with linen and silk and is a joy to weave and wear …..


Merino & Silk Scarves – Melting Ice

The name of this scarf gives me hope that Spring is on its way! But, in the meantime, you might be wanting something with a bit of warmth woven into it 😉 This fabulous scarf is a combination of merino and silk. Just imagine how cozy you will feel as you wrap this beautiful scarf around your shoulders. You will also have a second one waiting to be a gift for a very special person.

From our Inbox

Joan Goddard of Boulder, Colorado shares the story of the shawls she wove for her daughter on her wedding day last August. She also wove a shawl that she wove for herself as the Mother of the Bride. Joan designed the bride’s shawl using snowflake twill while her scarf is our Ganges Sunrise Scarf kit. It feels wonderful to know that – in a small way – I was able to add something to that special day in both their lives and the memories wrapped up in both the shawls.

We saved the photo and story so we could share it with you in a “silk” newsletter – and Joan has made our JST silk sparkle!

Jane

Hi Jane and co.,

Here is a photo that was taken of my daughter and me wearing the shawls that I wove for her wedding in Vermont.

Her shawl is a snowflake twill that combines 20/2 bleached tussah silk in the warp and 20/2 “rainy day” bombyx silk in the weft. Elizabeth was very helpful when we were putting together the colors/textures for this shawl.

My shawl was made from the Ganges Sunrise Scarf kit, but I expanded it to 8 shafts, rearranged the warp to put some blue stripes in the green, and designed/wove it in turned twill a la Season 5 Episode 1. I used the original 3 inch stripes in the center of the shawl and thinner stripes at each end.

To see more photos of the bride’s shawl:
https://joanweaving.wordpress.com/2022/05/12/wedding-shawl-for-l/

And to see more photos of my shawl:
https://joanweaving.wordpress.com/2022/01/28/ganges-sunrise-shawl/

I do have to confess that it was so warm that evening that we didn’t really need the shawls, but we put them on for the photo!

Joan Goddard
Boulder CO


We offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.


Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on

Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.