Ah, July – the month of road-trips, workshops, and garden bounty. See what we’ve been up to here at the studio this July. Newsletter begins after the Jump. Happy Weaving!
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Ah, July – the month of road-trips, workshops, and garden bounty. See what we’ve been up to here at the studio this July. Newsletter begins after the Jump. Happy Weaving!
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One of the wonderful things about travelling is being able to share ideas. I have learned so much from the weavers of India through my trips with Charllotte Kwon from Maiwa Handprints and I was able to share some of these ideas with the weavers at Sabahar.
Kathy arranged for us to have a meeting on our first day and I asked the weavers if they had any frustration with their process and warping did come up.
The wagumbo is heavy, so we looked at supporting it in a cradle so the warpers didn’t have to carry it and I also encouraged them to try the warping mill that they were using as a drying rack.
We looked at warping techniques from India on my i-pad….that was so much fun. Everyone had great ideas.
The warps used at Sabahar are extremely fine cotton singles that get cooked in flour to starch them. Then they are hung outside to dry.
We added weights to the skeins while they are drying to stretch out the over twist…or block the skeins while they dried.
The two harness loom does not prevent these weavers from creating beautifully elegant inlay. They hold their inlay sheds at the back of the harnesses and then insert a wide shedding stick to create the shed.
That’s it for this week kids. Episode three comes out in a week. Thanks for reading ~ Jane
It’s finally happened – we have to get with the times and the strong US dollar, and make some changes to our prices.
The great thing about being a subscriber to our newsletter is that you are the first to know 😉
Starting March 1st, we are increasing our yarn prices to 2016 levels. Take advantage of the lower prices now before they increase. Here’s a handy link to the shop to get you on your way. By the way, we’ve added a currency converter to our website, so if you’re shopping in US dollars, you can now see the true US prices on our website.
This is a screenshot of our banner on our store. See that little place in the top left centre-ish? That’s where you can select either US or Canadian dollars.
Limited Edition Hatbox Wheels
Sabahar is the 15 year creation of Kathy Marshall from Beaver Lodge, Alberta. Kathy has spent most of her adult life working in developing countries, helping to create meaningful reliable employment opportunities for traditional artisans and rural farmers.
Sabahar all started with the introduction of Eri silk production into Ethiopia from Assam, Northern India. Eri provides her spinners and weavers with a marvelous product which is turned into exquisite fabric for the body and home but it also provides diversification of income for rural farmers. Eri silk worms a
Sabahar is the 15 year creation of Kathy Marshall from Beaver Lodge, Alberta. Kathy has spent most of her adult life working in developing countries, helping to create meaningful reliable employment opportunities for traditional artisans and rural farmers.
Sabahar all started with the introduction of Eri silk production into Ethiopia from Assam, Northern India. Eri provides her spinners and weavers with a marvelous product which is turned into exquisite fabric for the body and home but it also provides diversification of income for rural farmers. Eri silk worms are relatively easy to raise. They eat castor leaves which are plentiful in Ethiopia and Sabahar buys every cocoon raised by their producers. It is a win win for everyone.
We will do another installment next week….it is a long story and lot happened in 3 weeks. I have so many wonderful pictures of all the weavers, dyers, spinners, and seamstresses that work to bring the magic of Sabahar to life. Thanks for reading.
“We are proud to use our hands for every step of the process, from the spinning of the thread to weaving the cloth and even finishing the details on each of the products.
Based on a philosophy of indigenous simplicity and purity, we only use silk and cotton to create our richly textured fabrics. All of the cotton is sourced in Ethiopia and we may be the only company in the world making products with Ethiopian silk.
We love to experiment with natural dyes we find around us to create our luxurious colors. Most of our silks are dyed using local plants and herbs and some tried and true natural products from around the world.
Our celebration of ancient Ethiopian craftsmanship combined with our mission to have a positive impact on the lives of artisans, results in the creation of beautiful handmade products for the global market.”