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Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, the Fabrics!

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

It is so nice to be able to step back in time and revisit past journeys through our photos. The digital age has made it so easy to click, click, click and I think I took over 4000 pictures on my first trip to India. While having that many photos is wonderful, it also makes it hard to pick just a few, LOL. In this post I’ll share some of my favourite pieces that made their way home with me on that trip that I told you about in the January 29th post (click here if you missed it!).

Just to remind you, the village is in West Bengal, north of Calcutta. This village is famous for its extraordinary weavers, very fine weaving, Saris and an inlay technique called Jamdani. The majority of the weavers wove on simple 2 shaft looms, with fly shuttle attachments. Warping is an extremely meticulous process due to the fine warp threads and the finished fabric is breathtaking.

The piece below was woven on 2 shafts with reeled silk. The warp was black and the weft was the colour of copper. If you look right down in the bottom left hand corner of the photo below you can see what the cloth looked like when it came off the loom….simple flat plain weave. All of the texture that you see in the body of the cloth was done by using the thumbs to force the warp threads apart after the cloth was taken from the loom. When I first brought it home it had a wide border all across the bottom about 6” wide but over the years I have been adding texture to the piece by demonstrating how the warps threads were moved. I don’t have much space left to demonstrate…so I’ll have to go back and get another one. When I hold this cloth in my hands I realize that another artisan used their thumbs on every square inch of the cloth shifting the warp threads exposing the weft threads.

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

I have draped the scarf on Mary our wonderful model to show you this simple piece of plain weave in all its glory.

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

The next piece is an amazing example of beater control. It is woven in plain weave with weft faced bands of 3/1 twill. The warp is like a cobweb, so incredibly fine it almost disappears. A band of gossamer plain weave is woven and then a band of 3/1 twill is woven that covers the warp as it becomes weft faced but because the threads are so fine it has a drape and effect that is absolutely stunning.

You can shift those weft bands into the open space but in the 9 years I have had this piece they have never shifted on their own.

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

Another of my favourite simple plain weave pieces has several things going on.  The warp is cotton with a silk weft. This scarf is so soft…..it is difficult to describe just how it feels in the hand.

At first glance it is easy to see the horizontal space that is left every few inches, again controlled by the beater but it also looks like there is denting in the warp.  Denting is a technique where you leave an empty dent open in the reed. Those black vertical lines look like empty space but upon closer inspection it is really 3 ends of one colour and then one end of black, there is no denting happening in the piece just the illusion of it. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to use my thread magnifier to figure out what is going on in these pieces.

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

The last piece in this post is woven on 4 shafts and is plain weave threaded into blocks. Some threads are on 1 and 2 and another block is on 3 and 4.

It can be woven with a simple tabby tie-up where both blocks weave plain weave from selvedge to selvedge like you see at both ends or it can be woven with one block always weaving plain weave while the other block doesn’t weave at all. The is accomplished in the tie up. The threads on 1 and 2 are always changing places but the threads on 3 and 4 stay in the middle and have one pick that floats over the entire block of them and the next pick floats under them. When you weave this way through the entire length of the cloth you end up with stripes where your warp has no take-up because there is never any interlacement through them, just over and under them.
Those stripes are the wavy ones and they were warped in silk where the other plain weave blocks are warped in a very fine wool. The entire weft is the fine wool. There is also a fabulous graphic threaded into those blocks. It is such a simple idea and every part of this cloth, the hand, the drape, the shiny, the matte, the thin stripes, the wide stripes, the colour……screamed take me home! 🙂

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

I am so happy to be able to share these particular weavings because this cloth and the weavers of this village challenged beliefs that I had carried around since I started to weave 30 years before. They challenged my ideas around sett, use of reed and beater and about what you could and couldn’t do with thread or structure…it changed my entire thought process around design. I had always loved plain weave but I gained a profoundly deeper respect for it than was there before. I will be eternally grateful to these weavers, for their extraordinary skill and vision and for the gift they shared with me during my 10 days with them. Namaste.

Like this post? Please feel free to share their beautiful work on Pinterest using the graphic below!

Handweaving in India, Part 2: Oh, The Fabric!

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December 2017 Newsletter

While shepherds washed their socks by night…

The three wise men didn’t arrive bearing a Quadcopter, a Nerf Gun and a Nintendo Switch. And they’ll certainly not be buying them from us because we’ll be closed from Dec 22 and returning on Jan 3, 2018. All orders placed during this time will ship on Jan 3.

This newsletter I give you the gift of the recipe for my favourite caramelized pear tart and a suggestion if you are struggling for a last minute gift idea. That’s it! Peace, hugs and love.

Jane

Last minute gift idea

As so many of you know my travels in India have changed me forever. You know how much I love and hold dear the work that the Maiwa Foundation does in India for textile artisans.

One of my favourite projects is the Pink Bike Donation. A donation for a pink bike supports schoolgirls of the Jawaja leatherworkers and weavers cooperative (AAJ – Artisan’s Alliance of Jawaja). A donation of $100 (Canadian) purchases a sturdy, well-built, bicycle for one of the female schoolchildren of the village. This lets the girls travel the long distances to get to school and they don’t have to start and end there day walking in the dark. The bicycles are pink and girls’ style and extremely sturdy so the boys of the village aren’t interested in them, otherwise the girls would never, ever get a look in!

Jane’s favourite caramelized pear tart

Crust

  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup ground almonds
  • 7 tablespoons butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2-3 tablespoons cold water

Filling

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 pounds pears, peeled and halved
  • 1 cup whole blanched almonds
  • oven proof skillet or heavy pan

Put flour, ground almonds and sugar in a food processor and combine. Add butter and process until just crumb-like. With the machine running add yolk and 2 tbls water. Process until dough comes together. Add more water if necessary. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Slice butter and arrange on bottom of skillet to cover completely. Sprinkle an even layer of sugar, then almonds. Core pears, and pack into pan, curved side up. Then place on medium heat on stove and cook until butter and sugar caramelize. About 20 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to cover the pan. Roll dough onto rolling pin and place on top of pears. Tuck edges of dough around pears. Poke dough with fork.

Bake in preheated oven at 425 F for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan. Place a large plate over pan and invert. Serve warm or at room temperature.

With my apologies to all you metric bunnies.

 

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March 2017 Newsletter

Oh My Gosh….we are waiting for Spring – we can hardly wait!

I hope that you have all survived the cold and snow and if you are lucky to live in warm places….well……how lovely, we are so happy for you!
I should not complain because I spent February in India travelling around with Charllotte Kwon from Maiwa and 22 intrepid travellers visiting some of the most amazing artisans on the planet.
We had lovely warm weather in India and it was hard to write home and tell Grant and gang about it while they were under so much snow.  For all you real winter dwellers out there, it is hard to understand how wimpy we can be out on the wet west coast.  We try to be strong but we whine a lot :^).

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT FIBRES WEST

It is coming up really soon!!!!!!!….next weekend to be exact.  JST is bringing a big booth with all kinds of great yarn for weavers and knitters and looms for you to try out.
While we try to bring a good cross section we can’t bring everything so if you have special requests please let us know by March 13th at the latest.  For instance we don’t bring our mercerized cotton because we just don’t have room for all those weights and colours but we will bring your special orders with us if you get them in online.
If you want to order for pick-up at Fibreswest all you have to do is enter our home address in the address bar and you will be able to choose pick-up as an delivery option.
No delivery charge for pick-up.   Our address is 142 Richard Flack Rd., Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 1N4.

So come and visit us at the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds March 17th and 18th.

JST’S ONLINE GUILD UPDATE!

Flowers aren’t the only thing Blooming around here :^)

We have had a remarkably upbeat, positive response to our Online Guild.  Episodes 1 and 2 are now streaming….and I can’t believe I get to say this…..but, all over the world!!!!!   We have members in Ukraine, South Africa, England, New Zealand, France, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, USA and Canada and maybe other countries that I haven’t noticed.   I am overwhelmed by the support and encouragement exhibited so far.   Episode 3 will air March 16th.  So far we covered the importance of making good warps in Episode 1, dressing a loom from beginning to end in Episode 2 and Episode 3 is all about, good posture, shuttle handling, great selvedges, mending broken warp threads, finding that wonderful rhythm at the loom and hem stitching.

If you haven’t had a chance to sign up for JST’s online Guild…all you have to do is click here.    The 2017 Membership is $75.00 $99.00 for 10 videos released every 5 weeks.  Each video is 1:30 – 2 hours long and will stream to you over and over and over as many times are you want, as long as you are a member of the Guild.  Take the opportunity to ask questions and become part of a growing community that shares its love of weaving and learning about it on our Online Guild Forum.  You can read all the posts here but you must be a member to participate.  All this for $7.50 $9.90 an episode.

I just thought I’d share a few reviews from the JST Online Guild Forum…..a place for all members to become acquainted and ask questions.

Episode 1….Loved it! The instruction on counting the warp threads was worth the cost of the year’s subscription. I’m dragging my feet on warping my next project because I want to watch episode 2 first!  Elizabeth

I learned so much about warping that I had missed in other classes. You stressed some of the important little details and reviewed them several times. I also learned more about counting the threads . Thanks for all the excellent instruction. Margaret

Absolutely love these video’s! Now I have Jane in my studio anytime I want! 😉  I think this was a fabulous idea to create this online Guild, so many helpful tips and learning moments! And as usual, I had big smiles and chuckles as I watched Jane in her unique teaching style!  Mary

Episode 2……
Wow, never did back to front warping! I love it and was able to dress my loom with cotton boucle With NO problems! Thank you so much! I have a Renewed desire to weave again 😊 Valerie

I love episode 2 as much as episode 1!  Thoroughly enjoying this and finding it immensely helpful, especially as a newbie weaver Janet

Thanks Jane lots of good tips to improve the threading experience. If I can get them to work on my loom my back will be thanking you. Jennifer

Photos from India

I know this newsletter is getting a bit long but I really wanted to share some photos from India.  Travelling with Charllotte Kwon and seeing India through her eyes is just one of the most remarkable experiences anyone could have.  To see the work that Charllotte, Maiwa Handprints and the Maiwa Foundation do in India is life changing.

This was my third trip assisting Charllotte and I just want you to understand that I am not an intrepid wanderer or traveller, but I would follow Charllotte Kwon anywhere simply because of the good work she does, for the fact  that she is so much fun to be with and that I always learn so much about so many different things.  I am indeed and very lucky girl.

I am always happy to share stories from my trips…… if you’ve ever been on Salt Spring and have dropped in, you’ll know that I’ll talk till the cows come home!  But for today I think I’ll just post a few of my favourite photos from the trip.  Thanks for reading and for all your support.

Happy Weaving

Jane

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Silk and Cotton Revolution

Weaving Through India (aka) Inspiration from the Sari – 2 Spots Available

Last Chance to take this workshop with Jane in Vancouver!

 

October 20, 21, 22 & 23

In January of 2011 I travelled to India with the Maiwa Foundation and had the great privilege of observing some of India’s finest weavers. I visited again with Maiwa in early 2014. This workshop has been created based on the extraordinary pieces that I observed and brought back.

Students will need to have solid basic weaving technique and a four or an eight-shaft table loom for the workshop. Warps will be prepared in advance and sent to the students before the workshop. During the workshop students will migrate from loom to loom creating samples of six different exquisite fabrics, all inspired by the beautiful saris we saw on our travels. Students will also receive all their weft materials so that bobbins can be prepared before the workshop.

“India’s tradition of clothing itself with uncut cloth has created a weaver’s paradise. Everywhere I looked I saw magnificent coloured and textured cloths. Often the simplicity of the handloom techniques led to the most sensual and ingenious of fabrics.”

Students will learn about supplementary warps used to create patterned borders over a plain weave structure, stripes, and double weaves. In addition there will be unusual embellishment techniques such as the use of sequined yarns.

We will contrast India’s handloom techniques with the craft-loom approach taken in the west. There will be a slide show: a weaver’s perspective on an incredible tradition.

All of our warps are 2/16 cotton base with a 30/2 silk weft from our Hand Dyed Hot Line.

Good Reason for Trying Organic Cotton

 

Did you know that regular cotton production uses more herbicide and pesticide than any other single crop grown on this planet?  It’s True.  Cotton covers 2.5% of the world’s cultivated land yet uses 16% of the world’s insecticides.

These chemicals pollute the air and surface water.

Cotton is grown in many countries where there are no rules to protect the farmers who spray those chemicals.  The spraying often leaves them with severe health issues.

Residual chemicals may irritate consumers’ skin.

The cotton used in these samples was grown in Egypt where there is great momentum in regards to growing Organic Cottons.  It is certified by GOTS, The Global Organic Textile Standard which was developed through collaboration by leading standard setters with the aim to define world-wide recognized requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles.  From harvesting through manufacturing GOTS provides credible assurance to the consumer that the product they are purchasing was manufactured using environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing.

If you feel you can’t afford to make your entire project out of Organic Cotton why not try to use organic cotton for the weft or make every 2nd or 3rd project out of Organic Cotton.

Blending delightful Organic Cotton with exquisite 20/2 Silk (Bombyx or Tussah!)

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I had never thought about blending cotton with silk until I went to India.  Over and over I saw fabulous fabrics made with cotton warps and woven with silk wefts.  I have been working with these blends since my return.  It allows us to take our 2/8 cotton out of the kitchen where we tend to use it just for towelling and more durable cloth.  The other thing I have come to learn is that we can open up our setts to create more drapey fabric and still have incredible durability and stability.  Have you ever tried to weave 2/8 cotton at the most recommended sett of 20 epi  and 20 ppi?   I don’t know about you but it is really hard for me to even come close.  We sett it at 18 and 18 and it is a lovely weaving experience and makes a great absorbent towel.   So….the next step was to take it down to 16 epi and 16 ppi and it was an even better experience and creates an even lovlier simple cloth.   So THEN…we changed the weft to 2/20 silk and oh my goodness….we have an exquisite fabric, with exquisite drape, cooler than 100% silk but with the lustre that only silk can add to a textile.

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Summer on Salt Spring

June 2014

Workshop Availability

We have just had several spots open up in Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave for the June 30th to July 4th run. Farm Stay is also available.   I know that isn’t very far away but if you’ve wanted to take this workshop now is the time because we will not be offering Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave again until 2016.    There are new workshops on the horizon for 2015.  We also have 2 spots in Terrific Twills Sept 8-12 and 2 for Terrific Twills Sept 29-Oct 3rd.

Maiwa treasures now available on Salt Spring at JST

Travelling to India always leaves me wanting more.  We are committed to assisting Maiwa continue their amazing work in India by stocking a small but lovely collection of their inventory.  We have carpets and leather bags from Jawaja,  beautiful scarves from the cooperative Women Weave and Ajhrak table clothes and bed covers from the Kutch Desert.  If you are coming to a workshop prepare to be dazzled.  If you need a special gift hopefully you’ll think of us.

Another story from India

I am absolutely blown away by the block printers of India.  I had no idea about the work that goes into printing a piece of fabric and I really don’t think many artisans in the west truly understand how much work is involved.  Precision work, remarkable hand-eye coordination, repetition, speed…..these artisans have such skilled hands it is hard to imagine without seeing.

 

In Rajasthan  A thick slip is made from mud with a high clay content.  It is then printed directly onto fabric to create a patterned resist.  Then the fabric is dyed and dried in the sun.  The mud resist is removed by washing, then it is resisted again with additional pattern, dyed,  dried,  and washed. Resisted again, dyed, washed ……get the picture!   So much work involved to put pattern onto one length of cloth.

 

 

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Easy Summer Weaving

Everyone loves our boucle tea towel kit.  Each kit comes with 5 cones of boucle cotton and enough 4/8 cotton to weave hems on 6 thirsty towels.  We have put together  several colour ways that will make any dishwasher or kitchen happy.  Heck you could even take these towels to the bathroom to dry off.    Check them out here.

Don’t forget about our Group Discounts

If you’re a member of a guild, have a group of weaver friends or are just a prolific weaver yourself, remember our discount policy on yarn orders.  If you purchase $200 or more of yarn we will pay your shipping costs.  If you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll pay for your shipping costs and take off 10%.

Mailing List

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.

Remember the Helpline.  We are always there for you.

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Spring is Here

Fibres West is coming!

And the beautiful JST booth will be there with all of your favourite yarns and accessories.

Fibres West will be held on Friday March 21 and Saturday March 22 from 9:30 – 6 at the Cloverdale Exhibition Park Grounds.  Click here for more details and driving directions.

We are bringing a double booth full of exquisite yarns and equipment – but we can’t bring everything.  We will happily pack up specific orders if you get in touch with us by Tuesday March 18.  We don’t want anyone to be disappointed.  A great opportunity to save on shipping.

See you soon!

Some Extra Special Deals

We have two great items that we’re offering at 2013 prices:

We have one Jane 40 for $995.  Current price is now $1200 so you’ll save $205!  Brand spankin’ new, still in the box.

 

 

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We also have one Schacht Ladybug left. The 2014 price has just gone up to $715 and we have this last one available for $595.  An excellent deal!

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Current Prices

A little note to all our Canadian customers.  As we’ve watched the Canadian dollar slide, we have also watched many of our costs rise. WE ARE NOT RAISING YARN PRICES FOR 2014.  This also means that shopping in Canada is a better deal for our customers south of the border.  If you’ve been thinking of ordering from us, now’s the time.

Great News on the Organic Cotton Front

All of the cotton in our COTTOLIN is now ORGANIC!

This wonderful yarn is 60% Organic Cotton/40% Linen.  The colours are fabulous, the texture is wonderful and it makes excellent cloth.  The price will stay at $12 for 100g.

And, you can now get all of our 100% organic cotton on 1 kilo cones.

At $88 per kilo cone, this is a fantastic price.  100g cones are $11.  Not only will you get the satisfaction of weaving with a wonderful yarn, but you will also be contributing to the health of our little planet.

India.

Oh my, where to begin.2 1/2 weeks ago I returned from India and I’m desperately trying to stay between the two worlds.This trip was just as amazing as my first and I feel so blessed to have been able to go back again.

During the trip we experienced temperatures as high as 37C, 98F riding camels through the desert … phew … then I flew home to…..12″ of fresh snow…..and now two weeks later the frogs are croaking like mad and the crocuses are popping out of the ground.

 

 

During my month away we visited many villages of artisans.  Dyers, weavers, block printers, block carvers and bell makers.  It is the people of India that move me the most.  It is those artisans, what they create, how they live and where they live that pull at my heart.  I can hardly wait to go back again.

 

One of the first villages I went back to was Jawaja, a small village out in the desert in Rajasthan.Charllotte Kwon and the Maiwa Foundation have been working with this village for approx. 20 years.It is a village of leather workers and weavers.The weavers as always, steal my heart.This trip I brought them a table loom so that they could try samples of Summer and Winter weave structure for weft faced rugs.

 

It is difficult for them to take a loom out of production to try new things, hence the table loom. They were very excited with many members of the village in attendance for this little table loom’s unveiling.  I was able to bring along a binder of rug ideas to share keeping in mind that they don’t get to leave their village and see what is happening with weavers elsewhere in the world.  They were challenged and delighted to have other weaving considerations presented to them.  Maiwa sells Jawaja’s carpets and leather goods online at this link.

Workshops

One spot left in Colour & Design, April 7 – 11.  Colour & Design will not be offered again until 2015.

 

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Join us to rejuvenate and re-inspire your creative journey.  Jane shares her design process with the group to help you become a confident weaver capable of bringing your own ideas to life!

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Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave, June 30 – July 4.  One spot available.

Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave, July 28 – August 1.  Two spots available.

Happy Trails to Charlotte!

Our little Charlotte heads off into the wild blue yonder this coming April.  She’s driving down the west coast in search of fun and adventure ~ in the weaving world, out in nature, through dance and good food.  She’ll be going all the way down through Washington, Oregon and California to Mexico, into Central America and possibly even South America.  If you’ve got any tips about your favourite places or if you’d like to have her drop in and visit for a night or two (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), you can send her an email at pei_sagebush@yahoo.ca.   We’re sure going to miss her around here…..it has been a great 4 years!

 

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March Newsletter

SPRING!

Today as we are working on this newsletter, the sun is shining outside our windows. The leaves are beginning to work on their Spring glow.

Soon my kids will begin to tease me, apparently, I never stop talking about the magnificent vibrancy found in the greens of Spring. I’m not talking about salad, I’m talking about the leaves on trees. The crocuses and daffodils are all up. It is so wonderful to see the earth’s rebirth again.

The start to this year has been spectacular. As many of you know I went to India in January with Charllotte Kwon of Maiwa and some of her staff, Sophena Kwon, Danielle Bush and Tim McLaughlin. We were joined by Gale Anderson-Palm from Rimby, Alberta and Catharine Ellis of Woven Shibori fame. When Charllotte invited me to accompany them, it was a dream becoming reality and as anyone who has ever been to India will tell you ~ you are changed for life. I loved it and I hope to return someday. I went for the textiles but my favourite thing about India turned out to be her people. India’s people, are what I still think about everyday. Their immense generosity and kindness, even though most of them have so little is simply staggering. I have so many stories to tell but I am still processing and in time I hope to share most of them. I know that I am not good at keeping up with the blog, but little by little the stories will appear, I promise.

Field Trips

I brought back 2 suitcases of stunning fabrics and I took over 2000 photos which I’m trying to put into a few slideshows. I would love to share some of this with you. If you’d like to organize a group visit (minimum of 6 people) to hear a few stories, see a few pictures and touch some fabrics, please give us a call and book a date.

When I got back I hit the ground running. On my 1st weekend back I taught Twills on 4 for the Denman Island Weavers Guild. They were very considerate and patient with my jet lag. The next week we prepared the studio for the first retreat of the year, Colour & Design. It was awesome ~ 8 weavers … retreating for 5 days … lots of weaving … food, wine and laughter.

Up Next!

JST will be at Fibres West in Abbotsford this Friday and Saturday, March 18 & 19. We will be taking a good sized booth, but every year we are missing things that some of you want. If you have specific requests, drop us a line before Wed. @ 4:00 and we’ll put it in the van for you!

April 1 & 2, JST will also be at the Vancouver Island Spinner’s and Weaver’s Retreat being held at the Grand Hotel in Nanaimo. The Vendors are open to the public so, even if you’re not participating in the retreat, come for a visit!

Our second Colour & Design retreat here at JST starts April 11. There is still one spot left for that lucky someone. Just give us a shout at 250-537-9468 if you’d like to sign up.

Check out our Retreat Schedule for openings in our other workshops throughout the year. There are just a few spots left, so be sure to let us know if you’re interested.

March is Mohair Month! ~ 10% Off

All of our brilliant Mohair is on sale this month. Here are just four of our 34 stunning colours.

Online Patterns

After years and years of production weaving Jane has decided to put all her designs into patterns and make them available to everyone. We are trying to put a few patterns up each month. We have just added 3 Chenille Scarves to our online store. Our patterns give you all of the information that you need to get weaving right away. Every pattern Jane writes exemplifies all the design theory she teaches in her workshops. Not only will you make a beautiful piece, you will also learn great design technique.

Jane Stafford’s Helpline

Every week Jane gets email from her students and customers asking questions. We have decided to make her answers available to everyone. There is now a new button on the homepage called Jane’s Helpline. You can ask your questions anyway you want, on Ravelry, in an email or on the Help Line. We will publish the answer on the Helpline so that everyone can see it. Your questions will be anonymous, so don’t be shy! Sometimes it takes a few days to answer your questions so please be patient.

Remember, we are always here to help :^)

Maybe someone you know would like to be on our mailing list. Please consider forwarding this newsletter.

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A Day in Jaipur

**** A Note From Jane ******

I am traveling with Gale Anderson Palm from Rimby, Alberta and I’m so glad that she is along for the ride. She is becoming my experienced guide book and so far she is still patient with me answering all my questions about, well … everything.

We both woke at 3 in the morning listening to completely new sounds … the call to temple so early in the morning, the most amazing car horn sounds you’ve ever heard and music blasting from passing trucks (much better music than boom boxes). It is my first morning in India so I have to record every memory. Later in the morning we head to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.  It is known as the Pink City because of the colour of the earth in that area.

We started our day with Sweet Lassi’s, yum, yum, yum.

Later we visited the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing in the historical Amber town amongst crumbling havelis and temples. It is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of hand printed textiles. The museum is a UNESCO Heritage building.

The hands in the photo of someone printing are mine. I took a stab at registering a small print. One layer was printed, then another printing on top and then the border. It is definitely a 2nd :^)

We ended our day in Jaipur visiting an Anokhi store where believe or not, I had to buy a few things.  After seeing the mud resist printing in Bagru and now after visiting the Anokhi Museum I am just beginning to understand that the creating of a hand blocked printed piece of fabric is an astounding achievement.

I have watched it happening in videos but to see it in real time  puts the entire process in a different light.  Oh my gosh, it is amazing.

Each piece of cloth is resisted, printed, scoured, resisted again, printed again, scoured again, resisted again, printed again, scoured again…..until the final fabric has all its colours and pattern.  Some patterns are handled 14 times.

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Busy as Bees

I’ve just heard from Jane – she’s currently in Kolkata and whoo boy are her days full of excitement and activity. Unfortunately she hasn’t had half the amount of internet access that we all expected and so, we’re going to have to wait till she’s back on Salt Spring to hear about her adventure. She’ll be writing a whole series of stories about all of the wonderful people she has met and the incredible things she has seen and learned while travelling in India.

Until then, all of us back here at the Studio wish her a continued safe, enlightening and fun journey.

Lots of Love

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Beautiful Language

A Message from Jane:

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After several days of traveling we are now in Bagru, 30 miles south of Jaipur in Northern India. We arrived in Delhi around 1 in the morning and drove though the night. I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined our drive.

Trucks travel at night because they are not allowed into the cities during the day . This means that 1000’s and 1000’s (and that is no exaggeration) of trucks carrying the goods that supply a city of 31,0000,000 people travel on a somewhat divided and completely under construction 4 lane highway. For the first hour I couldn’t look ahead without covering my eyes and trying to swallow my gasps. The moon was full and provided overhead lighting the whole way, perfectly illuminating the terror in front of me. Everyone else in the car had been to India before and were completely at ease with the situation. I was paralyzed with fear. I will never, ever again, complain about tourist drivers on Salt Spring in the summer. We drove all night and arrived in at Maiwa’s block printing and dyeing studio around 8 am exhausted but alive.

Within moments I was looking at a way of life that has existed for 1000’s of years. Walking through the farm I saw 80 or 90 lengths of cloth laying out on the ground drying after being printed and dyed.

Indigo Kaka (indigo uncle) has been dying Indigo forever. Beside him were bolts and lengths of fabric that had already been dyed in Alizarine (a vegetable dye like madder) and then printed with a mud resist, waiting to go into the indigo vats.

The word Maiwa means ‘beautiful language’ and the language of cloth was spelled out in it’s many syllables all around us. We saw vats of indigo, madder and huge scouring vats. Oh, what a site!

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Stay tuned for the next week’s installment of Jane’s adventures in India.