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The Start of Another Wonderful Year

Welcome to 2014 Everyone!

We started the new year off with a wonderful group of weavers joining us in our first Colour & Design retreat for 2014.

We had such a fun time learning how to design our cloth,  create a beautiful graphic using horizontal and vertical lines to divide the space and expand our colour sense to make exquisite fabric and bring our individual creativity to life.  A fascinating, inspiring week full of learning, experiences, great connections, delicious food and lots of chocolate!

The March 3 – 7 Colour and Design workshop is currently full, but we have been informed that one of our students might have to cancel. Would you like to have a shot at getting this spot if it opens up?  Just send us an email or give us a call and we’ll put your name on the wait list.  Then you’ll have advanced notice if the spot does become available.

 

 

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Our Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave June 30 – July 4 and July 28 – August 1 workshops both have two spots available.

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There are also some spaces in our Twills on Four workshops:

September 8 – 12 – Three spots

September 29 – October 3 – Four spots and

November 10 – 14 – One spot left.

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Bragging Rights

Jane’s eldest son, Eben has been chosen as one of the scholarship winners in the Student Exhibition at Circle Craft.   His mask sculptures are metal, bone and cloth (his own weaving) and are on display at Circle Craft January 25 – February 25.  If you’re on Granville Island, they are definitely worth checking out.

India

Just days after our first workshop finished, we whisked Jane off to the airport for her second trip to India with Charllotte Kwon.  Jane is spending some time with the weavers who make the exquisite Maiwa wool carpets.  It looks like she’s having a wonderful time.  We’ll keep you posted on her adventures!

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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Gosh, Golly! Where is the year going?

Workshops

The end of October brought with it the end of our workshops for 2013.  What a year is has been.  We have done 12 retreats, 3 fundraisers for the Maiwa Foundation, 3 workshops with guest teachers….a trip to Alberta during the big flood of 2013, Fibre’s West and a Louet Dealers Retreat….no wonder we are so tired.  Seeing it is only November 1st we actually did all that in 10 months.  To all my ladies on Ravellry, I’m sorry if you felt ignored.

Update on 2014 Retreats:

The first half of next year is completely full. However, there are still spots left in Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave and Twills on Four during the second half of the year.  Check out Class Descriptions on the website and the Workshop Schedule.

Win yourself a spot in a 2014 Retreat!

We are having a special draw for the last quarter of 2013.  The winner will receive a workshop spot in Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave or Twills on Four which includes Tuition and Farmstay.  A value of $1200.  All you have to do to enter the draw is buy some yarn.  The more times you buy, the more times your name gets entered.  We will draw at the end of December.

 

We did end the year in style with our first ever Deluxe Retreats.  We did 3 of them back to back and I must say I was blown away by the accomplishments of all participants.  Imagine spending 6 days with us here on Salt Spring and walking into a studio with 10 looms all dressed with projects and you get to weave 5 of those projects in 5 days.  What this all adds up to is 15 days for weaving for 3 groups.   21 weavers!  Net produce:  21 Baby Blankets, 21 Mohair Throws, 21 Silk Scarves, 21 Cashmere Scarves and 21 Linen Towels…..not bad huh!

In the afternoons if your project was finished you got to go and hang out with our chef Rosemary and play in the kitchen working with a different set of ingredients.  We toured the island, visited the Saturday market, hung out a Lorrie Irwin’s farm “Ewetopia Farm and Elf Leatherworks”, visited Salt Spring Cheese, got massages from our good friend Liz who brought her travelling massage table, went for walks along the ocean, drank a lot of wine, ate a ton of excellent food and generally had a wonderful weaving awakening.  Every singe participant was blown away with their achievement.

We plan to run another set of Deluxe Retreats in 2015.

Our third quarter winners are:

Cynthia Davies and MIchelle Parzentry!  They will both receive $125 Gift Certificates to JST!  Congratulations Ladies!

 

Spinning Fibre

Do you know that JST has fabulous spinning fibre?  We have lots of natural and dyed fibre.

Check it out online.  And to help you spin up some snuggly warm winter yarn, it’s all 15% off for the month of November.  In stock fibres only.

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Hot Line of Hand Dyed Yarns

Our Hand Dyed Silks are phenomenal.  We have all 32 colours dyed in stock and ready to go out the door.  We have 30/2 Bombyx Silk, 20/2 Bombyx Silk and 20/2 Tussah Silks available.  They make wonderful scarves.  You can get one scarf out of a skein and if you get three, we’ll throw in one of the patterns from the deluxe retreats.

Weaving with this silk is extremely easy. It is beautifully spun in Switzerland, is strong and has superb lustre.  The colours of our pallete blend beautifully together.  The scarves to the left were woven in Buddah Berry, Persephone’s Pip and Chocolate Cherry in 30/2 Silk sett at 30 epi in a turned twill.  The block design allows for varying width in stripes so each scarf can look so different.

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Shipping Free on Yarn Orders Over $200.

If you purchase $200 or more of yarn we will pay for your shipping costs.  Gather your friends together for a group order and if you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll pay for your shipping costs and take off 10% before taxes.

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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2014 Schedule

 

It’s October, and you know what that means!  It’s time to post JST’s schedule for 2014.

Our 2013 workshops are coming to a close and it has been quite the year.  So many workshops, so much success and so many people on the wait lists.  Keeping those wait lists in mind I have decided to do three each of our foundation series workshops:  Colour & Design, Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave and Twills on Four.  With two workshops on Units, Blocks and Profiles.  This has filled up the whole year!  In 2015 we will be offering a few new workshops and more multi-shaft workshops.

 

If you have never been to a workshop at JST we encourage you to start with Colour and Design.  This foundation workshop gives you the confidence and skills to design your own woven cloth.  Many long time weavers have taken this workshop and commented that they wished they had had this course years earlier in their careers.  It is the perfect workshop for newer weavers.  If you have difficulty making decisions about sett, colour or how to use it in your weaving this course is for you.   Colour and Design is being offered January 13-17th, March 3-7th and April 7-11th.

 

Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave aka Awesome Weave will blow your mind.  If you thought that plain weave was plain, you must take this course.  You will be delighted to find out the immense diversity of this humble weave structure.  This workshop also teaches weavers how to adapt their technique to different situations, how to weave linen with ease, how to perfect the selvedge.  It could also be called “Exploration of Sett” as we travels the realms of balanced cloth, warp faced cloth and weft cloth and the many points in between.  Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave is being offered June 30th-July 4th, July 28th- August 1st and August 18th-22nd.

 

Twills on Four is the next step once you’ve taken our Colour & Design and Plainweave.   The possibilities available with just 4 shafts, 3 tie-ups, infinite variation of threading and treadling net the 4 shaft weaver a bounty of amazing pattern.  If you truly understand the potential of 4 shaft twills you will be ready to accept the infinite variations with 8 and more.  Twills on 4 is being offered September 8th-12th, September 29th-October 3rd and November 10th-14th.

The next step along the road is Unit’s Block’s and Profiles.  This intermediate workshop helps us define the those three words in the title and opens up the world of block design.  By the end of your 5 days you will be able to design your own block profiles and interpret them in many different structures.  Units, Blocks and Profiles is being offered May 5th-9th and June 2nd-6th.

We hope these offerings will be of interest to you.  B&B will be offered for all workshops on a first come first serve basis.  We can accommodate up to 5 weavers in our home.  To register for any of these workshop just give us a call at 250 537-9468.

Don’t forget about our Group Discounts, they’re particularly lovely.

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 for your shipping costs.  If you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll pay for your shipping costs and take off 10% before taxes.

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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September Newsletter

 

It’s been so long!  Can you even believe that it’s September?  Have you forgotten what we look like? So much has happened this summer, but first – what’s coming up next?!

2nd Quarter Contest Winners

Pam Barret and JoAnne Schneider!  You are the lucky winners of a $125 Gift Certificate!  Sorry it’s taken us so long to announce the prize winners – but we wanted to make sure you were good and excited.

We’ll be sending out Gift Certificates to the lucky winners tomorrow!

Upcoming Workshops

Joan Carrigan, one of our favourite guest teachers is back this fall to teach Honey Suckle Rib Basketry November 9 & 10 (Sat & Sun).

 

Learning with Joan is always fun and exciting.  You will be amazed at what you can create in just a few days.

To attend either of these workshops just give us a shout at the studio at 250-537-9468 or email jane@janestaffordtextiles.com.

What We’ve Been Up To

We’ve had a million wonderful workshops since our last post.  Here’s two:

Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave

 

Natural Dye Workshop

We had Charllotte Kwon and the  Maiwa team transform the studio into a natural dyeing extravaganza with pots, stoves, dyes, mordants, gorgeous materials and some beautiful items from their store on Granville Island.

 

 

 

Harvest Time

The Garden has just started to slow down after a very busy and productive harvest.

 

We are so fortunate to live and work in such a wonderful place.

Hand Dyed Hot Line

Our Hand Dyed Hot Line is now fully up on the store site!  We’ve got 30/2 Silk, 20/2 Silk, Tussah Silk, luscious Alpaca and two kinds of Mohair Boucle; Bolero and Orlando.  This stuff is practically edible.

 

2014 Workshop Dates

And last, but definitely not least, we will be posting our 2014 Workshop Schedule in our next newsletter slated to arrived in your mailbox on October 3rd.   We have over 80 people left on our wait lists from 2013! We will be offering spots to these folks first and then all remaining spots will be on the website for the next newsletter.  Remaining spots will be filled on a first come first served  basis so don’t wait too long if you want to attend a workshop next year.

 

 

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  How can it possibly be 2013? Well … it is!  We wish you all the best.

Wicker with Nature’s Bounty

Do you love beautiful baskets?  Have you ever wanted to make one of your own?  Did you know that in just two days you can make a basket?  We have one spot available for Joan Carrigan’s workshop next weekend, Saturday January 19 and Sunday January 20.  The workshop includes a gourmet lunch each day and if you’re coming from off island we also have space left for farmstay.  Give us a call 250-537-9468.

Know your Fibre, Know your Wheel, 2 Spots Left!

Do you really know your wheel, do you?  I mean, really?  No seriously, do you?  Do you know how and when to use your whorls? Do you know how to balance the tension between your flyer and drive band?  Do you know when to adjust your treadling?  Can you go from spinning a downy wool to tussah silk in 60 seconds?  (that last part is a joke).

Well, if you’ve answered no to any of these questions, run to the phone right now and sign up for Know Your Fibre, Know Your Wheel on January 26 & 27 (Sat & Sun).

Everyone’s a Winner!

I did some thinking over the holidays and realized that I need to spend my advertising budget in a different way.  Instead of giving it to a big magazine, we’re going to give it to you!  Every time you place an order at JST, no matter what size, your name will go in a draw box.  Each quarter, some lucky person will be the winner of a $250 gift certificate.  Yes, we’re trying buy your loyalty!  (typical Jane humour).  We support you on the phone, with our helpline, on Ravelry and now we reward you when you support us.

By the way, our $500 Win Yourself and Awesome Christmas Present went to Roz Wallace of Victoria, B.C. and our second place spinning retreat went to Linda Knowles of Vancouver.

Who knows, you might be the next person to win!

Natural Dye Workshop

We are so happy to tell you that JST is hosting a very special Natural Dye Workshop being offered this summer by Charllotte Kwon August 28, 29 & 30 and there are only twelve spots.

Charllotte Kwon is the owner of Maiwa Handprints Ltd. and the director of the Maiwa Foundation. Through Maiwa, Charllotte also runs a textile archive and research library located on Granville Island. Under her direction Maiwa has produced four documentary films and a number of print publications. She also guides Maiwa’s substantial web presence.

Charllotte travels extensively each year to research handcraft and to supplement her natural-dye research. Always looking to extend natural dye use, she also teaches dyeing workshops with artisans around the world and has planned a series of natural dye masterclasses to bring exceptional practising artisans together.

 

Colour & Design

In June 2012, I taught my workshop Colour and Design at Olds College in Alberta.  I had 12 wonderful students who decided to do a tea towel exchange so that they could put into practice some of the theory they learned in the workshop.  I have photographed all of the towels and created a new document for the helpline describing their design process and showing all the towels.  If you liked the information on selvedges, then I’m sure you’ll like this.

Dyed Yarns

We just wanted to give you an update on our dyed yarns.  They’re coming along quite beautifully.  Cheryl is working on the final set of samples and hopefully we will have them ready to roll by our next newsletter.  13 exquisite yarns in 32 exquisite colours.

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 $300 or more of yarn we will take 10% off your total before taxes.  If you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll take off 10% and pay for your shipping costs.

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.

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December Newsletter

Happy Holidays from JST

There are so many more things I would like to get into this newsletter but Charlotte is going on holidays in about 2 hours.  Can you believe that!  Without Charlotte none of this computer stuff would ever happen, so I would like to publicly thank Charlotte for being at the keyboard, multitasking, staying late and coming in early and so much more.  I would also like to thank Susan Brown who has been by my side in this business for over 20 years offering her sage counsel, Cheryl Wiebe our multi-talented dyer, spinning teacher and sample card maker, Sandra Crompton who brilliantly manages Jane’s Helpline and Ravelry, Scott Kavanaugh who gives us endless tech support with a smile and last but certainly not least Rosemary Harbrecht who has made our retreats this year just so much better with her wonderful culinary creations.

I would also like to thank all of you who read The Old Ladies with String Digest from top to bottom.  We are honoured that you choose to support us and we look forward to helping you all in the coming year. Wishing you PEACE, HAPPINESS and the Strength to deal with what ever life tosses your way.

Happy Holidays,

Jane

Please Note:  the studio will be closed after Friday December 21 and will reopen Wednesday January 2, 2013!

The Countdown Begins

There is still over a week left to participate in our Win An Awesome Christmas Present Contest.  All you have to do is a make a purchase between now and December 21 and your name will be entered in our draw for a $500 Gift Certificate to JST!  AND, we’ve decided to add a 2nd prize ~ a two day workshop including farmstay.  The winner of this prize gets to attend Cheryl Huseby Weibe’s Know Your Fibre, Know Your Wheel slated for January 27 & 27th, 2013.

 

Thoughts on Good Selvedges

There are many different ways to handle your selvedges.  We employ special threadings, floating selvedges, denser edges,  all in an attempt to get that perfect straight edge.   You can use regular shuttles, open bottom shuttles, end feed shuttles or temples to aid you in your journey.   I have trained a lot of weavers over the years and I have come to feel that some of the thoughts below are quite important so I’m sharing them with you.  To read the full article click HERE.

 

Deluxe Weaver’s Holidays

We’ve had such an overwhelming response to our Deluxe Weaver’s Retreats that we’ve decided to add another one.  It will run Sept. 30 – Oct. 5  2013 and is already half full from our wait lists!  If you’d like the opportunity to spend a week weaving  beautiful projects and cooking delicious food, give us a call soon!

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November Newsletter

Win Yourself an Awesome Christmas Present.

I mean, totally awesome!  For every purchase you make in the month of November and until December 21 when we close for the year, we will put your name in a box to win a $500 gift certificate at JST.  We will draw the name on Friday December 21 at 4pm.  For all our customers who have already made purchases in November, be assured we have put your name in the box.  Every single one of ya!

Finishing Up 2012

Thank you for a wonderful year of workshops.  Here is our last class for 2012 – Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave.  Thank you so much to all of the amazing weavers who have joined us for a fabulous year of learning, laughter, delectable food, great friendships and so much fun.   We just can’t thank you enough for being part of our lives.

What’s Cookin’

It really has been a special year.  Adding Rosemary to our retreat team has certainly been one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made.  She delights in the garden and she brings everything that is fresh and so alive to the table. Rosemary has gone off to Italy to hunt down more wonderful recipes for our 2013 retreats but just to keep us happy she left you all her Chard Gratin recipe ~ perfect for this time of year, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Weaving Workshops for 2013

We still have a few spots available in our Twills on Four workshops running April 8-12 and April 29 – May 3 and two spots left in our June 3-7 Lacey Places workshop.

If you were disappointed to see the retreats fill so quickly, we encourage you to sign up for the wait list.  Every workshop seems to get a few cancellations so it never hurts to be on the list.  You never know, if we have enough people on the list, we might add another workshop.

Spinning and Basketry Workshops for 2013

Farmstay is available for up to five people during our January spinning and basketry workshops, so grab a friend and come for a wonderful creative weekend filled with great food & great people.

Cheryl Huseby Wiebe, our favourite spinning teacher is offering her fun and fascinating workshop Know Your Fibre, Know Your Wheel on January 26 & 27 (Sat & Sun).

A great course for spinners who want to take an in depth look at all the functions and options of their spinning wheel and then try a vast array of fibres discussing and trying the best settings for each one.  Last year we had many spinners who had been working their wheels for years that left feeling like they’d finally got a handle on their equipment and how to use it.

Joan Carrigan will be teaching Wicker with Nature’s Bounty this winter on January 19 & 20 (Sat & Sun).  Last year we had such an excellent time and the baskets that everyone produced in just two days under her expert direction were so impressive, we had to bring her back.  She is an incredible teacher!

 

Fibre

Our Louet fibre collection continues to grow.  We are lucky to be able to choose from one of the largest selections of natural fibers for handspinning and felting available. Over 150 different types and colors ranging from exotic fibers such as Cashmere and Yak to Wool, Silk and Vegetable fiber. We are always looking for new fibers that will be of interest to the Spinning market.

We strive to maintain the highest and most consistent quality of each type of fiber.

Coming in the New Year

Over the years we have had many requests for our Henry’s Attic yarn collection to be available in colours.  We have taken the leap and employed Cheryl Huseby Wiebe to create a small line of colours that you will be able to special order in our Henry’s Attic protein based yarns. Cheryl brought some of the samples over yesterday and we thought we’d give you a sneak preview.  We expect to have them available by special order in 30 colours by January 1st.  Once we get the proteins up and running, we’ll start working on the cellulose.

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 $300 or more of yarn we will take 10% off your total before taxes.  If you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll take off 10% and pay for your shipping costs.

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Looming on the Horizon for 2013

Workshop and Retreat Schedule

We are pleased to announce that the 2013 Retreat and Workshop Schedule is now online. Even before we were able to get the schedule finished we had weavers booking spaces. It is so rewarding to know that we are providing such a valued experience to weavers, spinners and basket makers.

This year we are offering many of our most sought after workshops. Workshops that provide a solid base for weavers. Colour and Design, Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave, Twills on 4, Lacey Places, Units Blocks and Profiles.

 

Our workshops done in this order will turn any weaver into a competent designer, capable of reading any pattern but more importantly capable of designing their own work.

It has always been my goal to offer weavers the keys to design so they can access their own creativity.

We like to keep our classes small so that the learning experience is BIG. When you come to one of our weaving retreats you walk into a studio with fully dressed looms just waiting for the shuttle to be thrown. Mornings are always spent learning the theory of the subject being presented, while afternoons (and evenings if you wish) are spent weaving.

 

Deluxe Weaving Retreats

Over the years I have often heard these words “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just come here and just weave for a week, not samples but finished pieces…that would be the perfect holiday”. Well, this year we are offering 2 deluxe weavers holidays where you can do just that. But it gets even better. Most weavers love cooking so Rosemary and I are joining forces to offer weaving in the morning and cooking in the afternoon. Rosemary and I are still working on the full course description which will be ready in another week. I can give you a hint: You will be weaving one mohair blanket, one silk scarf, one cashmere scarf, one soft cuddly baby blanket or cotton throw if you don’t like babies and an heirloom linen towel. Plus you’ll get your own mini cook book filled with all of JST’s favourite recipes.

Spinning and Basketry

Over the past year we added 2 Spinning Workshops taught by Cheryl Huseby-Wiebe and Basketry with Joan Carrigan.  They were such a success we are offering even more Basketry and Spinning workshops in 2013.  Check out the schedule for those.

Food and Farmstay

I believe that every perfect day is accompanied with perfect food which is where our small hobby farm comes in handy. This past year we have been so blessed to have had our retreat meals prepared by our very own chef, Rosemary Harbrecht.  Not only do you indulge your textile senses but you also indulge your palette.

Farmstay is currently only available for weaving retreats.  For Basketry and Spinning workshops we recommend staying at Green Acres Resort which is only a 5 minute walk from the studio.

We hope you like our offerings for 2013.  To register all you have to do is give us a call at 250-537-9468 or send us an email: jane@janestaffordtextiles.com.

Here is the link to our Retreats page.

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Summer Sizzle

August 9th, 2012

Where has this summer gone?  We have been so busy with retreats and the garden that I really haven’t noticed the days clicking by.  We have had a very mixed bag of weather here in B.C. but we are finally pulling ahead of the slugs, beetles, deer, rabbits and oh I almost forgot…..the tent caterpillars that have invaded us this year.  During the June Twills on 4 Retreat, my whole class got into picking them off the raspberries every night. Despite all their efforts (the caterpillars) we have harvested a bumper crop of raspberries which will last the whole winter.

Every night now we are feasting on fresh greens, potatoes, tomatoes, summer squash, peas, cabbage, carrots~the garlic and onions are hanging to dry~oh my!  Each day provides us with the opportunity to be eternally grateful for our bountiful lives.   This also means that all our retreat guests are going home with extra big smiles on their faces.  This is the first summer we have had our chef Rosemary Harbrecht cooking for retreats.  I just can’t tell you how amazing it is to go to the table during our retreats to see what a French Trained Chef can pull off.  Don’t ever think you will be able to come here to weave and go home having lost weight!  It isn’t possible…but you’ll be very happy.  I don’t know if Rosemary has ever had such rounds of applause or so many hugs at her other jobs :^)

Organic Cotton Patterns

We have created two lovely sets of tea towels from our new Organic Cotton.  They are very soft and absorbant and we are so proud to be able to sell this quality of cotton.  It is certified organic,  spun and dyed  in Holland by the same company that produces our very high quality cottolin Venne.  These two sets of organic cotton tea towels are now available as patterns on our store site.   This 2/8 cotton is sett the same way you would sett our regular cotton but is grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides.  It is the perfect yarn for those specials gifts that are easier on the planet.

 

Our First Basketry Retreat at JST

In May we had the pleasure of hosting a Wicker Basket Workshop with the incomparable Joan Carrigan.  She took over our classroom with dyed willow reeds, wild crafted materials and spray bottles.  As you can see, the results were exquisitely beautiful!    Many of these students had never made a basket before and look at what they created in just 2   days.  We will be offering many more workshops like this in the new year.  Watch for the 2013 class lists that will be coming out in the October Newsletter.

Our next visiting instructor is our favourite spinner Cheryl Huseby-Wiebe.  She will be teaching us how to use colour in our spinning to dazzle and delight!  Check out her class description here!

There are 2 spaces left in this workshop running September 28th and 29th.

Maiwa Symposium “Inspiration from the Sari”

There are also 2 spots left in Jane’s workshop “Inspiration from the Sari” which is part of the Maiwa Symposium in Vancouver.  The dates for the workshop are October 23rd to 26th.  Here is a photo of the samples you will weave during this workshop.  They are pretty darn spectacular.  Doubleweave inlaid with sequins, cramming and denting, stitched doubleweave with supplementary warps….oh my!  If you have taken Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave with Jane you are ready for this workshop…….she will  push you even further!

 

Speaking of the “Inspiration from the Sari” workshop, these photos show Sheri’s Ward’s creative use of her left over warp after taking this workshop last fall.  She wove off the rest of the warp and turned the fabric into Speaker Covers.

And this delightful bit of craftwork is from our very own little Charlotte who spun, dyed and crocheted almost all the yarn in this sweet baby blankie for her friend Sylvie’s brand new daughter Elora Mae.  The orange border is dyed Mikado.

The sizes of the squares are based on the Fibonacci sequence to make a cubed Fibonacci Spiral.

 

And Speaking of Fibonacci, here is another wonderful link to information about our favourite Italian dude.

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Spring has Sprung

Spring has finally Sprung.  We have been enjoying this much needed sunshine and warmth.  The fruit trees are all in blossom, the potatoes are just poking through the ground, the garlic is 10″ high.  Ooo-la-la, how I love gardening !

New Yarn!  Organic 2/8 Cotton.

We are so pleased to announce that we have organic cotton.  It’s extremely high quality, spun in Germany and a great alternative if you’re looking for a way to continue enjoying your craft with a lighter impact on the environment. Our cotton comes in 100 gram cones @ $10.00 per cone and each cone has 710 yds. It is certified organic by GOTS (Global Organic Textiles Standard).  New Patterns coming soon!

Patterns

We’ve also added a new pattern to our scarves section of the store.  Bet you can’t guess who that glamorous starlet is!

This scarf is a Twill on four shafts using our 7 Gauge Bambu yarn and will make 2 scarves.

Like our other  patterns we’ve put together several colour way options for you or you can pick your own favourite colours.

Anything and everything is possible.

Spinner’s Corner

Calling all Spinners!  Colour Control in Spinning is being offered again September 28 & 29!  Gather round the circle and learn how to surround yourself with magnificently blended colours all through the winter. Cheryl Huseby-Wiebe is back!  She’s here to share her extensive knowledge and love of colour with all of us spinners who would like to improve our multi-coloured spinning techniques.   She’ll help us make the beautiful images that we see in our brains come to life in our skeins.

 

After Cheryl’s last class – Know Your Fibre, Know Your Wheel, Charlotte got seriously to work.  During the class she had her first taste of spinning with Louet’s Mohair and promptly ordered three bags full of White, Honey and Black. She’s combining the Black and Honey to make an exquisite golden grey.  The yarn is such a treat to spin and knit.  It’s so smooth and that sheen!  Divine!  Look at this!  Can you even believe it? Charlotte is so cool.  (She wrote this.)

Workshops

There is one spot left in our Oct 11 – 15th  Double Weave workshop.  If you missed this one last year because it filled up so fast, now’s your chance!   This is such a fascinating weave structure and not as hard as you might think.  You will be so impressed with yourself after taking this workshop because you’ll be able to do horizontal joins, weave fabrics that are double width with staggering layers, create double faced fabrics on 4 and 8 shafts, stuff pockets and learn to control colour in 2 block Double Weave.  The architectural possibilities of this weave structure will blow your mind wide open and leave you seriously jazzed about all the project ideas zinging around your brain.

We have also had a cancellation in our To Twill or Not to Twill workshop (of course To Twill is the answer) on July 16 – 20th.  Another exciting course, this is an excellent 3rd workshop for anyone who has taken Jane’s Colour & Design and her Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave workshops.

Give us a call or drop us an email anytime to reserve your special spot!

Student’s Corner

The greatest reward a teacher can receive is seeing the wonderful results of a student’s hard work.  A few years ago, Jennifer Barrett walked into the studio to return some soccer gear (when I was a soccer mom).  Little did she know when she wandered around completely intrigued by the looms that she would be turning out her own beautiful work just a couple of years later.  Jennifer took a beginners weaving course through our local guild and then came to JST for Colour and Design and then Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave.   She is one of those students who goes home and takes one of the ideas and completely designs her own project.  The Repp sample struck her fancy and below is her final creation.  She used her sketching skills from the Colour and Design workshop and overlayed them with the Repp ideas and voila….her very own design beautifully executed.    WOWEE!   This Cotton Repp Bathmat Is Stunning!

It is woven in 4/8 cotton sett at 36 e.p.i. and she used our Mop Cotton and 2/8 cotton for the weft.  The colours are Peacock, Pale Limette, Medium Blue and Turquoise.  We are working up her pattern and will have it in the pattern section very soon.

 

HelpLine

Jane has added a great discussion about Colour in Lace Weaving on the Helpline.   Our Helpline is constantly growing and is full of useful information.  It’s really quit exciting to build this resource!  If you don’t find your question answered there, just send us an email!