JST August Newsletter – Jane Stafford Textiles

August is a magical time for us at JST – read about our Natural Dye workshop, our Yarn news, and general Yarny business here – in the Old Ladies with String Digest. Newsletter begins after the Jump…

Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better. – Maya Angelou

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Throw * Beat * Change * Beater Back

Dispatches from the Studio

August at the studio is one of my favourite times of year. We are just in the middle of it all. The garden is producing so much food that we struggle to keep up with its bounty. The usual heat-wave rolls through, keeping us longing for the cooler evenings on our deck.

In early August we hosted our annual Maiwa Natural Dye Workshop. We were up to our elbows in madder, marigold, cutch, and cochineal and we all came away with blue fingers from the rich vats of indigo. I love how connected and industrious this workshop is. Everyone works so hard, and everyone pitches in to make it run smoothly. The beautiful products of a week’s dying are simply divine. You can find them on our Facebook page.

We are so fortunate to have such a deep connection to the team at MAIWA. If you’re not familiar with the amazing projects this family business supports and initiates around the world, please take a minute and click through to their website and read a little about them. They have made such inroads in remote artisan communities abroad, and have recently published a new retrospective of their pamphlet “A Quiet Manifesto”, which Charllotte published 30 years ago to make a case for the preservation of craft.We continue life in the studio this week with a 2nd run of Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave 2. During this workshop we study plain weave in two layers…commonly known as Double Weave. It is fitting that in this newsletter we have featured a lovely double width project woven in Harrisville Shetland. We are focusing on a few other beautiful blankets woven by our friends in Harrisville Shetland. Are you a chenille fan? We are phasing out our chenille line, and you’ll find some free patterns and a deep discount on our in-stock chenille.

Enjoy your summer kids.
– Jane

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

We have decided that after 20 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the Rayon Chenille we have in stock to make room for new yarns that so many of our customers have been asking for.

If you need some inspiration, check our these patterns that we are making available for free. It’s so hard to say goodbye.

So without further ado…

30% off all in-stock Rayon Chenille

Sale ends when it’s gone!

One Yarn, Two Ways

There is no doubt that our weavers are a talented bunch. In this section you’ll see two GORGEOUS blankets, woven in our Harrisville Shetland.

The one on the left is by Jennifer Barrett, and is woven in double weave. What’s really cool about this blanket is that Jennifer inadvertently proved our point about just using good technique rather than workarounds at the selvedges. Thank you for sharing Jennifer. It’s such an exquisite blanket.

The blanket on the right belongs to Jo O’Callaghan. Also woven in our Harrisville Shetland, Jo says the blanket was inspired by memories of the gorgeous colours of the Alberta landscape. What a lovely gift.

Here are a few ways that you can use this wonderful yarn:
We sett Harrisville Shetland four different ways:

8-10 epi in plain weave. When we sett it at 8 epi and weave at 8 ppi, we have a really soft, soft blanket that fulls up beautifully. At 10 epi and 10 ppi, the blanket is a little firmer, but still quite soft when brushed after fulling.
If you want to do a twill blanket, we recommend a sett of 10-12 epi. The 10 is of course softer, and the 12 is a little firmer, but still nice and soft.
For that extra special blanket, we use Harrisville Shetland for the warp at 8 epi in a twill, with our brushed mohair as weft at 8 ppi. Wow!
Depending on the option that you choose above, you need anywhere from two to four cones of Harrisville Shetland to weave a 45″ wide by 72″ long blankie with fringe.

We want you to love Harrisville Shetland as
much as we do!

Take advantage of all the information in this newsletter and whip up a cozy blankie for the winter – for every cone of Harrisville Shetland purchased, your name will be entered in a draw for a $100 gift certificate to use at Jane Stafford Textiles.
Draw happens September 30th, 2016.

Winner of our $100 Gift Certificate

Congratulations to Sheila Devine, winner of our Tussar Silk Giveaway! We are looking forward to seeing your projects made with this yummy silk.We are doing this giveway all over again with our Harrisville Shetland. Every cone of Harrisville purchased equals one entry into the draw. Head on over to our shop and see what tickles your fancy.

Canada Post & Your Packages

Well, they’re at it again – Canada post is playing havoc with our plans to ship you the yarn you love for the projects you need to do. Here’s what we have planned in the event of a strike:
– We aren’t going to send any packages until we are sure what’s happening. We will still process your order, as normal, but we will hold all packages until we know more.
– If you really need it, we’ll work with you to arrange and alternative through UPS.

Stay tuned!