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February 7, 2023 newsletter

Back in Stock!

We have four kits back in stock and ready for your loom! Get ahead of Spring with our Spring at the Cabin towels woven in Log Cabin or with the African Violet towel kit in plain weave with our quick and fun Bouclé cotton. Weave a traditional Huck Lace pattern with Rustic Elegance in regular cotton and YES, Ruckle Beach Wrap is now back on our shelves! All of our kits come with all the yarn you will need, the weaving draft plus instructions.


Spring at the Cabin

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Log Cabin
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels
Finished dimensions: 20″ wide by 26.5″ long

Loom requirements

Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 23⅓″


Rustic Elegance – Cotton

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Huck lace
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 towels
Finished dimensions: 21.5″ wide by 28″ long

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4
Width in reed: 26 ½”
Reed: 12 dent


African Violet in Bouclé

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Cotton Bouclé
Each kit makes: 9 Tea Towels
Finished dimensions: 18″ wide by 26″ long

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


Ruckle Beach Wrap

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plainweave
Material: Harrisville Shetland
Each kit makes: 1 blankie or 2 wraps

Loom requirements

Shafts: 4
Reed: 6 or 12 dent
Weaving width: 43″ for the blanket or 32″ for the wrap


Harrisville Shetland Cones

If you’ve been waiting for the following colours, you’re in luck! These Harrisville cones came in with our last delivery and they are going fast so grab them while you can!

100% Wool available in ½ lb cones – 900 yds/cone (1800 yds per lb)

Sett

  • Plain Weave: 8 epi & 8 ppi will give you a warm and cosy, yet light and squooshy fabric.
  • Twill: 10 epi & 10 ppi will give you a yummy blanket fabric and at 12 epi & 12 ppi will produce a slightly firmer cloth.

Schacht 9″ & 11″ Open Bottom Shuttles

The 9 & 11 inch shuttles are back on our shelves! These Schacht open bottom shuttles are a favourite because they allow you to tension your bobbin from underneath each time you handle the shuttle. They also fit perfectly in you hand, not too big or too small.

9″ Slim Maple & Slim Cherry Shuttle

The 9″ slim shuttle is 9″ x 1 5/8″ x 1″ and weighs 3 1/2 oz and uses 4″ bobbins.


11″ Slim & Regular Shuttle

The 11″ slim shuttle is 11 1/2″ x 1 5/8″ x 1″ and weighs 3 1/2 oz and the 11″ regular shuttle is 11 1/2″ x 1 7/8″ x 1 1/4″ and weighs 4 1/2 oz.

Both use 4″ bobbins.


Handweavers Guild of America’s Textiles Tea

Reminder that today – February 7, at 4:00 PM (ET) our very own Jane will be doing a live interview on the Handweavers Guild of America’s Textile & Tea weekly conversation.

You can register to attend the live interview right here:

Webinar Registration


From Our Inbox

We are so happy to share Deb’s beautiful Harrisville Shetland blankie she wove following the video instructions on Double Width, Double Layers. She applied the colour change at the fold and nailed the join! Her lovely blanket was a gift for a dear friend of theirs. Great job Deb!

I’d love to submit my double weave blanket! Woven on a 110 cm Louet David III, with Harrisville Shetland. It’s 80”x50”.
Thanks, Jane! I’ve learned so much from you!


Deb


Double Width, Double Layers

Our School of Weaving episode on Double Width, Double Layers from Season 3 – Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave is a double weave primer and so much fun! You will learn to weave 2 separate layers at the same time, how to change sides of your double width at the join and learn to weave a tube by manipulating your tie-up.

JST 2023 Calendar, only a few left!


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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JST August Newsletter

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
  4. 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!


 

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JST’s June Newsletter

It’s Almost Summer!

The JST studio has undergone a major re-design, highlighting our Hot Line of Hand Dyed Yarns and expanding collection of Maiwa products! If you are in the area, come by and see the new look. For those of you farther away, here are a few pictures:

 

 

News from Louët

For those of you with Jane Looms, Louët now offers Jane bags for protecting your loom and easy transport. We sell these bags through our online store.

The Hatbox is almost here!!!

A Reminder to all that the classic spinning wheel will be here this summer. Contact us today to reserve your Hatbox by Sending us an email or give us a call at (250) 537-9468.

New Line of Super Fine Alpaca

We have expanded our selection of Alpaca to include a line of 5 natural super-fine baby alpaca colours:  Cream, Camel, Charcoal, Smoke, and Black. You can purchase any of these colours at our online store.

 

New Harrisville Shetland Colours

JST now has added three fabulous new colours in Harrisville Shetland to our line; Silver Mist, Loden Blue and Aegean

Let the colour inspiration begin!

Weavers’ Corner

We have a couple weaving projects that have been shared with us in recent months and we now pass onto you.

Barbara Mitchell wove this amazing quadruple weave scarf from 12 gauge bambu. Barbara took my workshop Inspiration from the Sari at a Maiwa symposium a few years back. In that workshop we did a double weave version of this and Barbara blew the top off the box with her four layer scarf. To top it all off she wove this on her 8-shaft Jane Loom.

 

Kathy Ready recently took Jane’s Lacey Places workshop and was inspired to weave this beautiful scarf out of humble 2/16 cotton. We studied colour and weave effects on Huck Lace. Simply stunning!

 

Don’t forget that we offer FREE SHIPPING on yarn orders over $200.

Thinking about placing a large order? Ask about our group and guild discounts.

We want to expand our mailing list.  If you like getting the Old Ladies with String Digest, even if you’re a young lady or a gentleman, please spread the word.

 

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Visits and Upcoming Sale

 

We’ve got one spot left for our November 8-12 Lacey Places workshop for intermediate weavers. Lace weaves are a time-honoured tradition, appreciated for generations. You will learn: Canvas Weave, Huck, Swedish Lace, Spot Bronson, Bronson Lace and Blended Lace, the structural differences between these often similar looking weaves and why one might be more suitable than another.

 

One of our greatest joys is when old friends drop by. Joan Churcher from Ladysmith, a weaver and long time friend of Jane’s paid us an unexpected visit on Tuesday and made Jane’s day. She gets all kissy when she sees old friends.

On Monday we also had the Victoria Weaver’s Guild come by. We had a lovely time discussing yarns and patterns. What a treat to have so many friends around!

We’ve just heard that the Tzouhalem Spinners and Weavers Guild are having a month long sale at the Loft Art Gallery in Mill Bay just above the ‘Valley Wines to Vines’ in the Mill Bay Shopping Centre. There will be on-site looms to try out as well as demonstrations of Japanese braiding, inkle band weaving, spindle spinning and basket weaving, for the four Saturdays in November. Great timing for beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts.