Tag: Maiwa

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October 12th, 2021 newsletter

Inspiration from a Sari Tea Towel Kit

The colours of this warp Inspiration from a Sari come straight out of the muted colour gamp from my Colour and Design workshop.  When I presented that project to the School of Weaving, I wove the bright saturated colours from a sample called Parrot on top and it took me straight to India. When I was there, I had noticed that muted warps, with brilliant wefts, were extremely successful and if you threw in peacock you got iridescence. The first towels on this warp follow the concept of weaving a gamp, working the colours across the warp from one side to the other. After the first 3 towels were done, I broke out those Parrot colours and that is when I really started to have fun. They are my favourites, bright happy and intended to make you smile.

The colours of India will inspire my weaving forever and I hope they inspire you too!

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 Cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Towels and a bit of playtime

Buy the Inspiration from a Sari Kit!

Inspiration Taken Down Another Rabbit Hole 🙂

Anita Salmon is a fabulous weaver living in Victoria, British Columbia. She fell into the weaving “rabbit hole” after retiring from a very busy life in the field of health care. She has been inspired by Jane and was able to take a number of her in-house workshops on Salt Spring. These workshops gave her the tools to gain comfort to explore different structures on her loom. The following is a wonderful example of her journey. In this case, Anita has used the colour palate from a JST kit, layered a totally different structure on top of her own graphic, and shared her eye-popping results with us.

When I first saw the post about the “Inspiration from a Sari” Tea Towel Kit I knew I wanted to weave those colours. They are simply so glorious. However, I wanted to do something other than plain weave (as much as I love plain weave). Turned Taqueté is a structure I had seen in different publications and woven before. The start of my journey into Turned Taqueté was adapted from this older issue of Handwoven that can still be purchased as a digital version. (Long Thread Media’s Handwoven September/October, 2015 issue)

What is Taqueté? Little is written about it in current weaving texts. It is an ancient weft-faced weave structure used in finely woven textiles found from 200 CE China to Coptic Egypt. Over the years the technique found its way to Scandinavia where it persists today, most commonly used for rug weaving. In structure it is known as “polychrome summer and winter” or in other words, summer and winter woven without a tabby which gives a weft dominant fabric. Turning the draft 90 degrees – et Voilà – Turned Taqueté, a straightforward single shuttle warp dominant weave.

I liked the way this weave structure made the warp and weft colours interact with the irregular wavy warp lines.

In 8/2 cotton, with a sett of 20 epi, the cloth has a lovely squishy hand. It is a 4 shaft, 4 treadle structure that is easy to thread and easy to treadle. Winding the warp goes quickly because you are winding two colours at a time.

For my tea towels, I wanted irregular stripes. I paired up all my warp colours in a sequence that I found pleasing, deciding which would be A and which B.  These alternate on the surface of the cloth much like in warp rep. I added a few additional colours to those in the kit. Because each threading and treadling unit is four threads, I designed my stripes in multiples of 4, the smallest stripe being 12 threads and the widest 40.

From the photos, you can see that I played with weaving blocks and stripes and changing the weft colour.

You’ll find the threading sequence below!

Turned Taqueté  Edition, Threading Draft

Hot pink/Cayenne 24 threads
Gold/Pale Orange 36
Pale Limette/Peacock 12
Raspberry/Pink 40
Pale Orange/Pale Limette 20
Peacock/Limette 20
Purple/Gold 32
Hot Pink/Magenta 16
Raspberry/Cayenne 32
Gold/Pink 20
Pale Orange/Fuchsia 32
Raspberry/Purple 24
Purple/Peacock 32
Pale Limette/Limette 20
Gold/Pale Limette 32
Magenta/Purple 40
Peacock/Limette 12
Pink/Magenta 36
Cayenne/Hot pink 24

Total 504 threads

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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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July 20, 2021 newsletter Maiwa

Maiwa Fundraiser

Abalone & Ebony Tea Towels & Scarf

Treat yourself to a project that will have you mentally wandering a west coast beach. Something catches your eye; you pick it up, turn it over see the beautiful colours of abalone sparkling up at you hidden inside a clamshell. Look closer and you will see that it’s framed by the ebony black of the outside of the shell. As you know, I love anything that is nicely framed   🙂

We are delighted to once again bring you a beautiful “Pay What You Want” pattern to benefit the Maiwa Foundation and this one, Abalone & Ebony Tea Towels & Scarf has been created by Barbara Mitchell. If there is one thing that Barbara and I have in common it is the urge to just play at our looms to see what will happen. Barbara started off with the plan to “play” with Bronson Spot but, before she even got to the point of winding her warp, she thought … what if I layer it with Log Cabin – and the magic began! She has created a canvas for you, so you can wonder “what if?”

Barbara has generously shared this amazing draft to give us another opportunity to work towards our goal of helping the Maiwa Foundation.  The Foundation is supporting many artisan groups across India who are currently suffering due to the pandemic.  A special group that Jane knows and loves is the Artisan’s Alliance of Jawaja (handweavers and leatherworkers) who are being particularly challenged during COVlD, and we’d really like to continue supporting them during this difficult time.

All proceeds from this pattern will be donated to the Maiwa Foundation.

Buy this pattern & choose how much to pay!

Abalone & Ebony Tea Towels & Scarf Patterning

With this towel each square has 4 quadrants, each different depending on float colour, background colour and direction of Log Cabin.

Lace Unit profile with Colour & Weave effect! This third towel is woven alternating two colours over and over creating that beautiful Abalone effect 🙂

This towel is uniquely layered with Log Cabin squares. Each woven in a different colour and framed with the black and white dividers.

The Bronson Spot Log Cabin Scarf woven exclusively in JST’s hand-dyed 2/20 silks in Ariel’s Voice, Starfish & Lime light.

Buy Abalone & Ebony Pattern Now!

We’ve Put The Kit Together!

This kit is now available on our website to purchase. Your kit will weave 3 towels and 1 scarf when you add a skein of 20/2 silk or, if you prefer to just weave towels, you have enough to weave 5. This is a 4-shaft Bronson Spot pattern with a weaving width of 19.5″.

Each Abalone & Ebony Kit includes:

  • Weaving instructions (including draft) plus:
    • 6 cones of 8/2 cotton, 1 cone each of:  Bleached; Black; Medium Blue; Magenta; Pale Limette and Limette

You will need to purchase 1 skein of silk for the scarf (not included in the kit). The colours used in the scarf were: 

You can choose 1, 2 or all 3 for your scarf 😉

More Pay What You Want Pattern Downloads!

At a price that anyone can afford…you choose how much!

All proceeds of each downloaded Pay What You Want pattern to benefit
the Maiwa Foundation

Check out all the patterns!

Inspiration From a Sari

Mai-what-ta Lovely Towels & Scarf

Tea Towel Time with Jane

Stash Crackle Pop

Shop all the fundraising patterns!

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or

on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

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February 2021 Newsletter – Maiwa Fundraiser

Mai-wha-ta Lovely Towel

Maiwa Fundraiser for the Artisan Alliance of Jawaja

Pay What You Want Pattern Download

Hey….remember that marvellous Stash Crackle Pop pattern from Sharon Broadley…..well…..we’ve got another one 🙂 Sharon is an ardent weaver, lover and supporter of Maiwa, and that girl can take any towel warp and turn it into a luxurious shawl with a mere change of sett and weft yarn. We are so thrilled to present the Mai-Wha-ta Lovely Towel Pattern. And…..you can thank her daughter Lee for the name.


“I began very literally. I typed “helpmaiwa” into the Name Draft tool in Fiberworks and then played around with various options until I came up with a design I liked. Wanting to mimic the intricate Jacquard head borders on traditional Indian textiles, I threaded the design into 3 areas and left the remainder of the warp in plainweave. The colours come from the saturated colour palette that reminds me of India.” Sharon Broadley  

This pattern is written for 8 towels and 1 shawl. The 8 towels are woven at 20 EPI and then, after the towels have been woven, the warp is cut and re-sleyed at 16 EPI for the plain weave and 24 EPI for the twill, making the twill section more warp predominant.  The pattern could have been woven on 6 shafts but Sharon used 8 so she didn’t run out of heddles on her first 2 shafts…..that’s thinking ahead 🙂 The plain weave sections are threaded on 1-4 and the twill section is on 5-8.


So…..imagine a mostly plain weave towel with 3 bands of twill running vertically from top to bottom. The entire warp is made of 8/2 cotton. 


In this project we have 2 different weave structures threaded side by side. The plain weave section will have greater take-up in the warp than the twill sections. There is an interlacement between every single warp thread in the plain weave areas while, in the twill areas, the interlacement is between every 2 threads. This causes tension differences between the 2 areas. The twill section may feel loose or grow in length a little bit due to the take-up differential. If you raise shafts 5 to 8 with your hand you will be able to separate the twill sections of your warp. Standing at the back of the loom insert a 1/4” rod or dowel under those raised warp threads and then slide it down to the bottom of your warp beam – see the picture below. This is a simple way of dealing with tension differentials in warps. You may need to add additional weight to the rod if you find the twill sections becoming too long. Add your weights to both ends of your rod.


You will also notice that as the cloth winds onto the cloth beam, there is a differential in the buildup. Don’t worry about it.

Yarns & Colours Used for the Warp:
1 cone each of 8/2 cotton in Purple, Royal, Fuchsia, Cherry, & Turmeric

Towel Wefts:
All warp colours were used plus Orange, Apricot & Pale Limette. Remember…this is a great stash busting pattern as you only need approximately 3 full bobbins to weave a towel.

Shawl Weft:
One skein of JST Hand-dyed 20/2 Silk, some suggested colours are Coral Flame, Shameless, Starfish, Buddha Berry, Dragon Fruit or any colour that grabs your heart and reminds you of India.

So there you have it….another amazing pattern…..more great learning…..and a giant huge THANK YOU to Sharon. Ya gotta love it…..”helpmaiwa”

Jane

You can follow Sharon on Instagram @colour.woven

Take me to the Pattern Download
Take me to the Pattern Downloads

Recently I was on Soufilled Sisterhood Podcast with host Nicole Burguess speaking about my favourite topic weaving! No, her podcast is not a weaving or fiber arts podcast, but I shared with her listeners how I got interested in weaving, giving myself permission to play more with my weaving, and my goal of reaching more people with my teaching. This inspired Nicole to incorporate some of those mindsets and beliefs into her business. So whether you are a creator, entrepreneur, lover of yarn, or curious about my path in textiles click here to listen and read the show notes.

Season 5 Kits are Back in Stock!


We’ve restocked our shelves with Season 5 Kits all ready for your looms!

Episode 2 airing February 25th – Canvas Weave

Episode 3 – Huck

Episode 4 – Huck Colour & Weave

Episode 5 – Swedish Lace

Episode 1 is live! – Tunred Twill

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Tea Towel Time with Jane in Support of the Maiwa Foundation

Hey kids, I just wanted to share a wee story, some great news and a great pattern. 

I need to thank all of you for your continued support of JST… we feel so blessed each day when we come to work and see your orders.  Most of the staff continue to work from home but Elizabeth, Sharon and I are in the studio Monday to Friday answering questions and providing continued support to our amazing community. AND because of this support we are so pleased to announce that JST will be making a $5000.00 donation to our favourite charity… The Maiwa Foundation… on behalf of all our customers.

As many of you know, the Maiwa Foundation is very near and dear to my heart. I have had the privilege of travelling to India on three occasions with Charllotte Kwon. Those trips have changed my life in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It was on one of those trips that I met Kathy Marshall from Sabahar… and working with Sabahar has also changed my life in ways I can’t even begin to describe. I know there are thousands of voices that echo my feelings about Maiwa and Charllotte.

Last week I asked Charllotte for an update and how we can help.

With 1.3 billion people, India is one of the most populous nations on Earth. The government implemented a strict 21 day lockdown, with just a few hours notice. Our artisans had to make their way back to their homes as they could, walking long distances as transit services and car traffic were shut down. Everyone remains inside their homes. People are not permitted outside, so travelling to work is out of the question.

Our business relationship with artisans has always been a long-term one and we are in regular contact with many of them. The primary concern for each of the artisans we know is not the difficulty of remaining at home but the uncertainty of the future.

The Maiwa Foundation is marshalling its resources for the uncertain future of craft. We also don’t know what the future holds, but we know it will not be easy. We want to be prepared to help where we are most needed. We know that it will be possible to keep hands on the loom, to keep the dye bath going, to plant organic cotton, to harvest, weave, dye and sew. We trust that you share our optimism and thank you for your continued support

If you would like to make your own personal donation to the Maiwa Foundation or learn more, click here.

So Now for the Towel Story!

Last month I was feeling a tad down in the dumps and realized I needed a project to bite into. I couldn’t settle on anything, kept procrastinating and finally found a picture on the JST Instagram feed that turned out to be a design by my friend Sharon Broadley (Colourwoven). I loved the colours and graphic, asked her if I could use it and all of a sudden I felt grounded again and ready to roll.

I changed the colour and weave sequence, changed the graphic a bit, did a sketch and hit the warping mill running… and then I thought about everyone else out there that might be feeling like I was and decided to try Facebook Live… like really! Apparently there are folks out there waiting for someone to make a warp live on Facebook.

So that is how this started… the next day I dressed a loom… live on Facebook Live and then I threaded it, sleyed it and wove one towel everyday for the next two weeks live on Facebook Live at 1 pm PST.

By the time I was finished it had developed into Tea Towel Time with Jane and we had created a fun, supportive, caring community with hundreds of weavers watching and asking questions.

After everything was woven and hemmed I decided that I would make the pattern available to everyone in our community at a price that anyone could pay… whatever you want :). All proceeds from the sale of the pattern will go to the Maiwa Foundation. So pay whatever you want and get your pattern here.

What will become of those towels you ask? 🙂 We’re going to have a silent auction sometime during the month of June and will let you know about that once we get it all set up.

We have also made these towels into a kit so if you’re hankering to make your own set of towels click here. Please note that I used bits and pieces from my stash in some of the towels and those colours are not included in the kit. There is enough yarn in the kit for 12 towels.

You can still view all of the Tea Towel Time with Jane episodes on the Jane Stafford Textiles FaceBook page. The quality of our live feed was not great because we live in the boonies and have very slow internet… but the banter is fun and there were some great teaching opportunities 🙂

Hope you are all well, always thinking about you.

Love Jane

Tea Towel Time with Jane Kit $89.00 CAD

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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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May 2017 Newsletter

Mercerized Cotton, the end of an era

We’ve carried mercerized cotton for over 25 years. However, recently UKI has changed their policies and small stores like ours have to buy 20 cones per colour per weight in order for them to deal with us. Unfortunately we cannot afford that inventory or space.

Whilst we’re sad to let the entire range go, let’s turn that frown upside down by offering you the chance to purchase every last 500g cone that we have left at 25% off. We only have full cones left and we will not be winding down to 100g balls. Take advantage of this offer while it lasts because once this stuff’s gone there ain’t no more!

Take me to the mercerized cotton

Color & Dirt Collectors

It’s taken weeks but you’ve finally finished your latest beautiful creation. Just give it a quick wash and it’ll be ready for its glorious debut… but the dye has run! The yarn was supposed to be colour-fast! You stupid washing machine, how could you do this to me!!!

Fear not, for ye shall soon achieve dye-run-redemption via the wonder of Color & Dirt Collectors. One sheet added to your wash water, whether you wash by machine or by hand, will grab any fugitive colour lurking around in your yarn. They are truly amazing!

Color & Dirt Collectors available for purchase on the JST website very soon… hopefully next week.

Maiwa delivery

Maiwa supports traditional craft through an ethical business model. Working mainly with India, Maiwa is involved in the trade of embroidered, blockprinted, handwoven, and naturally dyed textiles.

Maiwa encourages the highest quality from craftspeople, knowing that the rare beauty of a skillfully produced piece will command higher prices in the open market.

Higher quality gives the artisan a measure of trade protection as the work cannot be cheaply copied. Fair compensation for such work elevates the craftsperson from the realm of unskilled labourer to that of artisan.

We’ve taken delivery of new Maiwa garments – dresses, shirts, beautiful quilts, table linen, napkins, yardages – all in naturally dyed organic cotton and linen.

Saturday opening

The JST store is now open on Saturdays 10 – 4 for the whole of summer. Come in, browse around, say hi to Klare.

Jane Stafford Online Guild Episode 5 update

In this episode I have taken the opportunity to have a guild meeting. I explain how I decided on the guild model and how it works. There is some info on how to find pdfs and volume control on Vimeo and I introduce you to the Online Forum.

We have a section called unfinished business 🙂 where I review frequently asked questions from episodes 1-3. I go over counting the cross, tucking tails, jump the bump and dive the dip, great selvedges with alternating weft threads, dealing with the problem of a broken hemstitching thread and floating selvedges.

Then we get into the first segment of project planning. So much information in this episode. Hope you enjoy it. Remember to post your thoughts on the Forum.

That’s my kind of thing, sign me up!

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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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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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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.