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June 2018 Newsletter

Limited number of Louet Ericas on sale

Suitcase packed? Check. Dog’s in the cattery? Check. Mail’s on hold? Check. Floor loom packed into the station wagon? No?! You’re going on vacation without a loom and you call yourself a weaver?

Maybe you’ve overlooked the Louet Erica, the mightiest little table loom that fits right in your luggage? This ain’t no beginner’s loom and there has never been a better time to buy a Louet Erica 30 (2 shaft) or a Louet Erica 50 (4 shaft) as we have a very limited number in stock and on sale.

Pocket looms

Can’t tempt you with a Louet Erica loom? Why not try something from our small loom range? From the Schacht Zoom Loom through the Purl & Loop Stash Blaster down to the Purl & Loop Wee Weaver – you don’t need to pick up that iPad.

Pucker up scarves!

Looking for a summer project to complete in time for fall? Look no further than these pucker up scarves. They’re a great introduction to simple collapse weave. Each kit provides enough silk and merino to create two stunning scarves with finished dimensions of 12″ x 75″ plus fringe. All you need is a simple 4-shaft loom, a 10 dent reed and a weaving width of 18″.

Available in these colourways: MochachinoAutumn EquinoxSalish SeaUnder the Sea and Ha Cha Cha.

3-2-1-blast off!!!

Yeah, you could buy Organic 3/2 Cotton in 3 1/2 pound cones, but why risk putting your back out? Organic 3/2 Cotton in 1 lb cones are now available instead.

Exclusive, very limited edition silk colours

We’ve been experimenting with lovely gradient pastel colourways.

There’s only a handful of sets available, therefore stocks are limited.

The world’s bestest yarn!

Last time we asked, “Which is your favourite yarn to weave with?” Whilst cotton is the undoubted winner of the popular vote, a significant number of respondents believe that pigeonholes really aren’t their thing:

Cotton – 33.0%
You can’t pigeonhole me Stafford! – 21.4%
Wool – 16.7%
Cottolin – 8.5%
Silk – 8.2%
Mercerized cotton – 4.7%
Linen – 4.5%
Alpaca – 1.6%
Mohair – 0.6%
Synthetics – 0.5%
Cashmere – 0.3%

The JST Helpline

Have you ever struggled to remove a warp from your loom to use later? Of course you have, you’re only human right? Right!? Well we’ve decided to highlight an underused part of the JST website, the JST Helpline and we’re starting with the article Removing a warp from your loom to use later, which sounds like it might be right up your street.

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May 2018 Newsletter

Elizabeth has been honing her skills as a photographer and is doing a fabulous job. Check out our new Hand Dyed 20/2 Bombyx Silk and Hand Dyed 30/2 Bombyx Silk photos – I think the colours of the new photos are far more true.

What gets wetter the more it dries?

With the great weather comes great weavers dropping in for a visit, and show and tell. Anita Salman, Kathy Ready and Arlene Kohut are all regulars here at JST and they brought a great bounty of things inspired by the JST Online Guild lessons on Colour & Design.

From left to right, the alluring Jane is sporting Anita’s scarf inspired by Online Guild Sample Kit #2 – Colour & Weave Gamp woven in Cashmere and Zephyr. Beguiling Arlene is wearing one of her beautiful towels inspired by Online Guild Sample Kit #1 – Asymmetry and the heavenly Kathy is flouting a beautiful cotton and silk scarf inspired by the same sample. Iridescent Anita is wearing two dish towels.

🙂

Cottolin and cotton

Those cute little spools of Venne Cottolin and cotton are on the shelves now. We were admiring all the wonderful colours of tulips so we have put together some bulb colours to celebrate the great change in weather. I didn’t think the grey weather would ever end this year but it is definitely gone.

What did you want to learn about?

In a seemingly blatant attempt to garner information for the Online Guild curriculum, our previous survey asked, “What do you want to learn about?”

Cue the drum roll… the results are as follows:

Summer & winter – 18%
Lace weaves – 16%
Other block weaves – 15%
Rug weaving – 15%
Twill – 14%
Overshot – 13%
Plain weave – 6%
I don’t want to answer that right now – 3%

My question to the coy 3% is this: “if not now, then when!?”

Sample kit #5 – Stripe-tastic! is available

Stripes! Zebras have stripes and everyone loves zebras. I love stripes… fat ones, skinny ones… fat stripes with skinny stripes on them… stripes rock!

The stripe has an ancient textile history but hasn’t always been loved. For much of history the stripe was used to label you as an outcast of some sort a leper, a prisoner, a prostitute to name just a few. Stripes had to wait for modern times to be seen as loveable.

Online Guild Sample Kit #5 – Stripe-tastic!

Just answer the question!

Remember: this is a single answer survey. You might want to select more than one answer but that’s not how we’re playing this game. Do hockey players suddenly decide that the game needs more than one puck? No, that’s crazy talk. So on with the survey, the question is…

Which is your favourite yarn to weave with?

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October 2017 Newsletter

You’re the fringe twister… twisted fringe twister!

If you’ve been finding that twisting fringes has been twisting your melon then I’ve put up a short “how-to” video showing how to twist fringes on handwoven items.

Don’t be a twisted sister, subscribe to our YouTube channel as I’ll be putting up more video shorts.


Brand spanking new weaving kits

It’s getting chilly on the west coast of Canada so… I’m thinking scarves… I’m thinking mohair… and I’m thinking new kits for October.

What better time of the year to weave that mohair blanket you’ve always thought about but have shied away from. If a project always takes you far longer than expected, get cracking on our Spring Stripes Mohair Blanket Kit. Even if it takes six months to complete, you’ll still be in time for those crisp spring days!

Taking its colour themes from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, I present to you the Natty Sherlock Scarf Kit. Designed by Mavis MacMillan of Salt Spring Island using two of our silk yarns. Her striping sequence is based on three numbers from the Fibonacci number sequence.

This scarf is perfect for keeping the chill off your neck and impressing your friends at the same time.


The latest Online Guild episode

If you bought your Spring Stripes Mohair Blanket Kit before you reached this section, I salute your impulsiveness. Now you’ll want to view the latest Online Guild episode, “Episode 9: Making a Mohair Blankie….. Yes!” which is available to Online Guild members now.

I think this episode is great but then I’m slightly biased, so don’t take my word for it have a look at what Online Guild members are saying about Episode 9.

What a fantastic episode!! Mohair is beautiful but I had no idea how to tame it. Thank you Jane! – Inga

Join The Online Guild

Overenthusiastic dyer vs overenthusiastic buyer

Due to an overenthusiastic dyer, we have an overstock of 20/2 Birch Tussah Silk, so we’re having a flash sale of 20/2 Tussah Silk – Birch #30 until Monday Oct 22. If you’ve got a 20/2 Tussah Silk project that’s crying out for birch colour then strike while the iron’s hot, carpe diem, just do it, etc. Forget birch coloured bombyx silk, that’s sooooo last year.

Due to an overenthusiastic buyer, we have an overstock of the following Bambu yarns:

These are all down from $15 to just $12 until Monday Oct 22.

There’s never been a better time to start weaving in these temporarily over-abundant colours.


Schacht Inkle Loom

A new product on our website was suggested by the lovely Susan. She’s getting her students started on weaving for which the Schacht Inkle Loom is ideal.


Single foot loom operation

Recently, we had a long time customer and friend in the studio with a bummed out knee. Whilst discussing treadling with one leg a light bulb went on, “why don’t you try the Octado.” She did and it was an instant fit. Even if you’re just tired of climbing underneath your loom, or if it’s difficult to get up and down to change your tie-ups, have a look at the Louet Octado Loom.


I spy with my little eye…

Aeons ago (or maybe it was six months ago) we stocked the very popular Thread Count Magnifier; they practically flew off the shelves. We have just received a new shipment of twelve dozen of these little gems.

Order now to avoid future disappointment.

 


You’re on Salt Spring Island? Drop in to see us! We’ve got lots of Maiwa clothes in stock. We’re open Mon-Fri 10-4.