Send news items and fiber events to Tim Prins by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s newsletter.
Guild Calendar
Thursday, February 13, 2025 – February Meeting
Multnomah Arts Center + Zoom, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787
All meetings are free and open to the public
10:00 am Day Meeting – Auditorium
9:30 am – 10:00 am: Set up, social time and library browsing time
10:00 am – 12:00: Meeting
7:00 pm Evening Meeting – Room 30 (Senior Center)
6:30 pm – 7:00 pm: set up, social and library browsing time
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Meeting
Thursday, February 20, 2025 – New Weaver Forum
10:00 am & 7:00pm – Zoom
Need help or advice on something you’re working on, or just want to help others with their projects? Come join us Thursday morning to get answers to your questions and talk about how to approach weaving challenges.
Thursday, February 27, 2025 – Board Meeting
7:00pm – Zoom
See the website for full calendar including study group meetings.
President’s Message
Well, it’s February and for some, January was the longest year ever! So much is happening that makes me wish for snow, so I have a reason to hunker down with my looms and my cats. Instead, I’ve been outside pulling weeds and ripping out shrubs. Gardening is weaving with flowers and plants. I really love to play in the dirt so when the sun is out, so am I.
In an effort to shift my focus back to weaving, and the tapestry of the truck I haven’t touched. I have committed to going to the retreat this year. It’s pretty anxiety producing for me because so many people are such great weavers and I am just fledgling in the craft. My decision to go, other than the encouragement from Diane, is that I won’t get better, nor will I meet other people with like minds and abilities, if I don’t take the leap. So, in I go, and I am encouraging others to join us as we spend a weekend communing with nature and weaving or spinning or knitting or, I heard one year someone just came a read a book, and meeting friends. See more on the Retreat later in the newsletter or contact Diane McKinnon.
Speaking of community, we held a new member tea on January 26th. What a great turn out; it was so great to hear the vast interests and abilities of our new members. We come from all over and bring a wealth of experience in a variety of fiber arts. So much talent and everyone was willing to share their skills with other members. I want to thank Dan for hosting and board members, Robin, Sharon, Linda and Denise for coming out and sharing ways our guild supports our membership.
One area that new members mentioned was access to resources. Under the leadership of Robin, there is a whole closet full of books and equipment available for members to borrow. And it is all on the website! Thank you to Robin and her team for all the work you do setting up the library at the meetings and tracking equipment rentals and probably more that I am not aware of. I wish I knew everyone’s name so in the spirit of not missing anyone, Thank you. The access to resources that members value would not be possible without your work every month.
Nora Gessert
Upcoming Programs
February 13, 2025 Meeting – Weaving Loom Compendium with Liz Moncreif
(This program will be in two parts, Part 1 (Morning) and Part 2 (Evening). To allow time for the program and Q&A, Show and Tell will be postponed until the March meeting.)
This program offers a discussion with examples of some of the best information available regarding your weaving equipment: Looms in general, shafts, treadles, reeds, shuttles, benches and tips/tricks to help you achieve a better handwoven product…and it’ll make you feel more comfortable at your loom.
Weavers of all levels will benefit from this discussion of the tools that are so important to our work. I’ve repaired and rehabilitated looms for twenty five years, and have worked on nearly every make and model available, even if the makers are no longer in business. I’ve had the opportunity to write blogs on all of the above for Handwoven Magazine. The staff at Handwoven Magazine often forward questions to me regarding loom issues and malfunctions and I’m a regular referral if an owner needs to identify looms or loom parts.
This program will be a huge benefit to new and intermediate weavers and, I give a lot of information on purchasing your first or second loom. My best comments, though, have come from seasoned weavers who never considered cleaning, maintenance or other aspects of their weaving.
Liz Moncreif is a weaver, dyer, and instructor. She weaves custom wearables, goods, and rugs. Liz offers guild programs and workshops in weaving, weave drafting and loom maintenance along with beginning weave classes for Skagit Valley College, while tutoring individual students in her small studio. She is also a frequent contributor to Handwoven Magazine and their online weavers’ blog.
Website: https://aweaversway.com
Instagram: moncriefliz
March 13, 2025 Meeting – Flóra Carille-Kovács
Flóra Carlile-Kovács has been teaching felting for all levels since 2005 and leads Felt Tours to Hungary. Her presentations will be on traditional felting styles of Central Asia and felted wearable and home textiles. More details to come.
The Nordia House in Portland invited her to teach 2 one-day workshops on the two days prior to her presentations to our guild. For more information and registration go to the following links:
Felted Pendants March 11
Felted Ruffle Scarf March 12
She will be an instructor at the ANWG Conference. These are not the same workshops she is teaching there. You can learn more about Flóra at https://www.florafelts.com/about
Upcoming Workshop
Last month, PHG hosted Janet Phillips for an online workshop, Designing Woven Fabrics – Design Criteria. The two-day workshop was packed with exercises and information. Eighteen PHG members participated as Janet led us through activities create a warping and treadling plan, tips for predicting how colors will combine and choosing stripe width, and methods to design fabric based on an inspiration landscape or picture. Janet focused on providing tools that empower the weaver to move from following patterns to creating their own and encouraged us all to experiment and play with our weaving. I walked away inspired to weave more gamps. I’m planning to weave a gamp table runner that I can look at every day and use as inspiration for creating future weaves. I was also reminded of what a great community of weavers we have in PHG!
If you’d like some weaving inspiration, to learn new skills, and connect with the PHG weaving community, please join one of our future workshops. Here’s what we have coming up this year:
April 11-13, Sewing with Handwovens workshops with Linda Kubik
We are hosting TWO Sewing with Handwovens workshops with Linda Kubik in April. We have a one day Homemade vs. Handmade Techniques Workshop on Friday April 11, 2025 at the Mill End Store in Beaverton. And, a two day Tailoring a Handwoven Vest on Saturday and Sunday (April 12 & 13) at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio in Portland. This was our most highly requested workshop topic in this past summer’s interest survey, so we are happy to be able to host these workshops. There are plenty of spots available. If you are planning to take this workshop, please sign up soon. Unless registrations pick up, we will be opening remaining spots to people outside PHG in mid-February. Please see the links for pricing and details.
And, in the Fall…
We are currently working on finalizing plans for two workshops led by PHG members. An Indigo Dye workshop with Judilee Fitzhugh September 12-14, and a Huck Lace workshop with Rosalie Nielson for November 14-15. We are excited about these upcoming workshops highlighting talented and highly skilled local artists and teachers, please stay tuned for more information.
Happy weaving and learning!
Any question should be directed to workshops@portlandhandweaversguild.org.
Guild News
Funding Opportunity
The New Year is underway and I hope this finds you inspired to expand you adventure in weaving, spinning, dyeing, whichever fiber art you have decided to explore. That said I want to remind everyone of the grant/scholarship opportunity PHG has to offer.
PHG offers an annual Special Projects grant fund to any member or study group. I think that this is an overlooked by many of us so I am here to remind you of this opportunity. Check out the information on the website and if you have any additional questions, please contact me or other members of the PHG Board for answers.
I look forward to working with you on this opportunity!
Linda Edquist, PHG Education Director
https://portlandhandweaversguild.org/education/special-projects-fund/
2025 PHG Retreat Last Call!
The dates are February 27, 28, March 1, & 2 and will again be at Camp Cedar Ridge in Vernonia, OR. See below or follow the link for all the information and to sign up.
Lend a hand. Sign up Now to Help.
The new website allows us to have folks sign up to help with various tasks and functions. In addition to seeing what you’ve signed up for and who else will be helping too, it provides the guild a way to collect volunteer time and stats for future grant applications. For our regular meetings, we need help setting up the A/V system as well as help with bringing snacks and setting up the tea, tables, and chairs. You can sign up now for the rest of this year’s meetings at https://portlandhandweaversguild.org/volunteer-new/.
New Evening Edition of the New Weaver Forum
To make sure we’re not missing new weavers who aren’t available for our daytime meeting we’re going to try an evening edition as well. So, if you’re a newer weaver and can’t make it during the day I hope you’ll consider joining us for an evening discussion instead! Check the PHG Calendar for details.
Latest ANWG Newsletter
The Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds has posted their January 2025 newsletter. Check out the creative ways other Northwest weaving guilds are getting their members together for fiber activities. All ANWG newsletters are available here.
Library News
When Woven Optical Illusions: Pattern and Design from Four to 24 Shafts written by Stacey Harvey-Brown and Katharina Konig, was released last fall, I knew that it was a book that I would want to spend some time reading. Unfortunately, it arrived soon before a meeting so I didn’t have the time to more than flip through it before needing to get it on the library shelf. Fortunately, Christmas wasn’t too far away So I put it on my Christmas wish list knowing it was a title that my husband wouldn’t be able to resist.
Without a time constraint, I was able to sit and take in the all the information presented. And there is quite a bit, especially if you are new to the different types of optical illusions. Before the authors begin to design a draft depicting the optical illusion, they describe the science behind the optical effect and give a brief history of its discovery. This information alone is worth the time to read the book.
Chapters explore groups of illusions; Colour in Illusions, 3D Depth Perspective, Phantom Effects, Tilt Illusions and Eye Jitter. Each chapter starts with a list of the weaving structures that are used to produce the effects in that chapter. They give a step-by-step process for how a design a draft for each illusion. Though many of the designs will benefit from many shafts, the authors distill most of designs to being accessible for the eight-shaft loom. An eight-shaft table loom will be especially useful since they have no treadle limitations. A fair number of the colour illusions are available to the four shaft weaver with shading and colour-and-weave effects. Anyone interested in understanding the design process of creating the optical illusions should have a good grasp of profile drafts. Of course, you can just use the drafts in the book, though you may want a good magnifying glass for some of them.
I’m not much of a sampler weaver. However, since the COE study group has begun, I have been weaving samples encompassing various weaving techniques, many of which I’m unfamiliar with and, often, out of my comfort zone. It’s somewhat liberating to be able to say that I’m doing my homework when asked what the project on the loom is going to be. It’s not going to be anything! Our current assignment is weft-faced weaves. I’m converting one of the profile drafts into a taqueté draft to weave on my table loom. I’m also working on the treadling for a polychrome summer and winter sample as it uses the same threading as the taqueté sample. So I’m not only learning to weave optical illusions, but drafting taqueté and polychrome summer and winter. No more weaving rut!
— Robin
Browse the PHG library online from the comfort of your home anytime. The first tag for each book tells you in which section the item can be found.
Have you read a book or watched a DVD available in the PHG library? Please share your opinion, good, bad or indifferent, with the rest of the guild. We can publish it in a future newsletter. Email your reviews to Robin.
Bulletin Board
Ruthie’s has a new website!
Be sure to visit to learn more about our friends at Ruthie’s: https://ruthiesweavingstudio.com
Call to Artists to apply to the Art In The Pearl Festival
The deadline for applications for Art in the Perl is February 15! For more information see: https://artinthepearl.com/how-to-apply/
Damascus Fiber Arts School
Tapestry Talks
For less than the price of a burger these days, you can join the Damascus Fiber Arts School for their monthly Tapestry Talks. One Saturday a month, an invited artist will give a presentation about their tapestry journey.
Our Upcoming Talks will feature:
Ellen Ramsey, on the beauty of microelectronics and the use of digital tools – Feb 22, 2025
Barbara Burns, on pulled warp technique – Mar 22, 2025
Jennifer Sargent, on her tapestry journey and the unexpected directions it takes – Video only until Mar 25, 2025
Alex Friedman, on abstract to the hyper realistic tapestries – Apr 19, 2025
Join us each month–it only costs $10–by signing up on our website.
Create Your own Workshop
Can’t find the exact dates or topics for your tapestry needs? Looking for a Beginning Tapestry Workshop or something else? We can help. Find a few friends, then contact us with a proposal and possible times/dates. We can organize a workshop just for you and your friends. Email inquiries to: damascusfiberartsschoolinfo@gmail.com
Lecture Tour Videos
See previous Summer Lecture Tours for 2020 and 2021. You can view Vimeo videos on various subjects. Some of the lectures are:
Mary Lane: Mark Making in Tapestry
Amy Belgan: Creative Journey to Tapestry
Barbara Burns: Tapestry Influences and Work
John & Marilyn Harrison: From our Farm Flock
Barbara Hitzemann: Dyeing Wool with Seasonal Plants
There are many more. To see a complete list and view the videos go to Lecture Tour Links – Damascus Fiber Arts School
Looking to Buy or Sell Weaving Equipment or Materials?
Check out the Items for Sale page.
Fiber News and Events
Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat
February 13-16, 2025
Tacoma, Washington
More info: https://redalderfiberarts.com/
Conference of Northern California Handweavers
April 24-27, 2025
Pacific Grove, California
More info: https://www.cnch.org/conferences/
Fiber Fusion Northwest
June 7-8, 2025
Monroe, Washington
More info: https://www.fiberfusion.net/
ANWG 2025 Conference
June 16-21, 2025
Yakima, Washington
More info: https://anwgconference.org/
Black Sheep Gathering
June 27-29, 2025
Albany, Oregon
More info: http://blacksheepgathering.org/
Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival
October 18-19, 2025
Albany, Oregon
More info: https://www.oregonflockandfiberfestival.com/
Handweavers Guild of America
Textiles & Tea
Tuesdays
The Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.’s (HGA) exciting new program, Textiles & Tea, takes place every Tuesday at 4 PM (ET). We’ve invited some of the most respected fiber artists in the field today to join us for an hour long conversation where we will discuss their artwork and their creative journey. Make a cup of your favorite tea and join us as we talk about fiber, creativity, inspiration, process and so much more.
Rental Equipment
PHG has equipment available for rent to current PHG Members. Click here for more info.
PHG Board and Chairs
Please click here for a list of PHG Board Members and Committee Chairs.