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- April 2025 PHG Newsletter
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, April 10, 2025 – April Meeting
Multnomah Arts Center + Zoom, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787
All meetings are free and open to the public10:00 am Day Meeting – Auditorium
9:30 am – 10:00 am: Set up, social time and library browsing time
10:00 am – 12:00: Meeting7:00 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: MeetingThursday, April 17, 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 to get answers to your questions and talk about how to approach weaving challenges.Thursday, April 24, 2025 – Board Meeting
7:00pm – Zoom
Friday, April 25 – Sunday April 27, 2025 – Gathering of the Guilds
Oregon Convention Center. For more information visit https://gatheringoftheguilds.com.
See the website for full calendar including study group meetings.
President’s Message
My granddaughter, Valentine, teases me that I have a mad crush on Travis Kelce. It’s not really true. I do appreciate his words of wisdom “You can be a fountain or a drain, I chose to be a fountain.” I struggled with the decision to go to the PHG Retreat but Diane convinced me that my anxiety about not being as talented as all of the others and that I would be uncomfortable was not warranted. I didn’t want to be a drain. What I found was so many fountains! My goal was to weave a tree that looked like a tree. It was a safe and focused project. I just started tapestry weaving, and the tree was part of the Discovery Box I subscribed to. It took a lot of starts and stops but my weaving is a tree. And it looks like a tree! I was happy but what I appreciated was the encouragement that I received. Thank you, Diane, for a great experience and I am looking forward to next year.
As board president and really all I do, I strive to be a be a fountain. I look for ways to make things work, how to make things engaging for members, and find ways for the board to work efficiently and be a good experience for board members. I like to laugh and told someone recently that if folks don’t laugh at my jokes, I don’t want to work for them. Life is too short to be a drain. If you’re considering volunteering for PHG as a board member, committee member, AV person, or help with a one-time event, I will do everything in my power to make it positive. You don’t really have to laugh at my jokes.
Nora Gessert
Upcoming Programs
April 10, 2025 Meeting – Fabrics & Their Fixes with Elise Webb
Elise will talk about the different types of fabrics we often mend, the types of damage we encounter, and which fixes work best for each scenario. She’ll share a little about her business and where to find some of the tools and materials she uses for mending. If anyone is interested in learning how to do any of the techniques she describes, sign up for a workshop! https://villagemending.com/classes/
Elise Webb has spent most of her life in the fiber arts. As a girl, she raised goats for 4H, she learned to knit, crochet, weave, and spin, with a focus on the historical. In her adult life, she took those skills to work at both a local yarn shop and the Nike fabric library. In 2021, she answered the call of “Can anyone fix this sweater?” from yarn store customers and started Village Mending. In a few years, it grew from a part-time gig to a full-time mending service specializing in knitwear but accepting all clothing.
Elise takes a restoration mindset to mending. She likes to focus on the hard work of the original craftsperson, whether that was a dear family member or a stranger far away. She enjoys teaching people to mend and to appreciate the value of their clothes.
See her work at Villagemending.com
May 8, 2025 Meeting – Linda Hendrickson
Linda Hendrickson will present two different programs discussing highlights from her explorations over the past 30+ years.
Morning Meeting- Ply-split braids, baskets and a QR code
Ply-splitting is a unique textile technique in which plied cords are pulled through the plies of other cords to create flat and three-dimensional objects. Anything that can be twisted into a plied cord can be used, and Linda has made cords for her work from wool, linen, cotton, metallics, raffia, paper ribbon, torn fabric strips, stainless steel yarn, and fishing line.
Linda learned the basics of ply-split braiding in a PHG workshop with Peter Collingwood in 1993, and has been exploring the possibilities ever since. In addition to making baskets, rugs, and wall hangings, she has reproduced designs from traditional ply-split braided camel girths, made what is probably the world’s only ply-split QR code, and has made ply-split pieces that are structurally identical to warp-twined tablet weaving. She will show many examples of her work over the years.
Please bring examples of your ply-splitting to share with the group.
Evening Meeting – Tablet-woven necklaces, scarves, and walls of bands
We tend to think of tablet weaving as a technique for weaving firm, narrow, decorative bands. Linda has filled the walls of her studio with these, and she will share many examples. These include bands with geometric and pictorial designs, as well as words and even pangrams, in the double-faced weave, and bands with traditional Andean designs in 2-hole pebble weave. There will also be bands with a few other features such as warp-twined double-cloth and crossed warps.
But tablet weaving doesn’t have to be flat, firm, or narrow! For example, it can be formed into a tube to make necklaces. When combined with a reed to space out the tablets, it can be used to create soft and drapeable scarves in a variety of weave structures including gauze weave (leno). Linda will share some of her tubular necklaces and gauze weave scarves.
Please bring examples of your tablet weaving to share with the group.
About the Speaker
Linda Hendrickson learned to weave at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio, and joined PHG in 1984. Since the early 1990s, she has focused on two rather obscure fiber art techniques — tablet weaving and ply-splitting. She has self-published books on both subjects, and has lectured, taught, and demonstrated across the US, and in Canada, Mexico, England, and Myanmar.
http://www.lindahendrickson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/lindahendricksonpdx
https://www.youtube.com/lindahendricksonUpcoming Workshops
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:
April 2025: Changes…
Unfortunately, Linda Kubik’s April workshops were cancelled due to low enrollment. If you were registered for one of these workshops, your deposit has been refunded to you. If you have any questions, please contact us! PHG’s own Elise Webb will be joining us for our April program meetings. If you are interested in her work, she is teaching a mending series at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio in April and May. You can learn more and sign up at: Classes and Lessons – Village Mending. Please note that this is not a PHG hosted workshop.
September 12-14, 2025: Indigo and Shibori, an Exploration of Resist Techniques with Judilee Fitzhugh
PHG’s own Judilee Fitzhugh will be leading this workshop exploring indigo with multiple techniques that highlight this dye’s natural beauty. This 3-day workshop will be held at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio and is open to dyers of all levels. Judilee is a fantastic instructor, come join us! For information and registration, visit: Indigo and Shibori, an Exploration of Resist Techniques
November 14 & 15, 2025: Color and Design in Huck Lace Towels with Rosalie Neilson
This workshop is led by another PHG member, Rosalie Neilson! Explore Huck Lace while weaving a multi-colored towel in three sections. Discussions and design sessions will focus on converting a profile draft into a threading and treadling plan, and how literally thousands of designs can be created with a single threading by changing the tie-up. This 2-day workshop will be held at the MAC and is appropriate for advanced beginning to advanced multi-shaft weavers. Rosalie is well known as an excellent teacher. Please join us, just in time for some holiday and winter weaving! For information and registration, visit: Color and Design in Huck Lace Towels
May 15-17, 2026: Doubleweave Discoveries with Jennifer Moore
Learn all about the magic of doubleweave! In this workshop, participants will weave a sampler that explores weaving two independent layers of cloth, double-width cloth, tubular weaving, color-and-weave effects, pique, quilting, and doubleweave pick-up. Students with 8-shaft looms will also be able to weave samples of 2-block doubleweave techniques in log cabin, checkerboard, windows, and double-blocks. Graphing designs and working with multiple colors will be introduced. These techniques can then be taken home to create clothing, sculptural pieces, decorative hangings, and whatever else the imagination can dream of. Registration is not yet open, but you can find out more information at: Doubleweave Discoveries workshop with Jennifer Moore – Portland Handweavers Guild
Happy weaving and learning!
Any question should be directed to workshops@portlandhandweaversguild.org.
Guild News
Plan to Attend Gathering of the Guilds
There are 3 new guilds participating and so many of your fellow weavers and fiber artists. Invite your friends and pass the word. It will be a great show.
Demonstrators Needed for Gathering of the Guilds – April 25 – 27
Here is an opportunity to demonstrate weaving to the community at a large, well-attended Gathering of the Guilds. We will have some small looms or a floor loom available for you to work on and encourage people to try out. Or bring your own small loom or spinning wheel if you prefer. This is our chance to publicize our PHG activities and promote weaving and related fiber arts.
Our location at the Convention Center is in a different area of the building than in the past, so be sure and look for Exhibit Hall D. It is very convenient to the elevators from the parking garage.
If you are a part of the Sheep to Shawl group coming Saturday, or the tapestry group from Damascus on Sunday, you are already signed up. If not, please review the time slots below to sign up for a shift
***This is a new sign up system so go to the PHG website, click on Community at the top of the page, then click on Volunteer. (or use this link: https://portlandhandweaversguild.org/volunteer-new/ ) Go to Gathering of the Guilds for the date you want, then click on “view and sign up”. Be sure and put in the number 8 to prove you are a human. If you want to let me know if you are bringing our own loom or wheel, you can write it in the comment section. You won’t see it on the sign-up sheet, but I will get it. IF you need to cancel, click on the X next to your name. If all this sounds too complicated and you prefer to sign up by email, write to cookimessmer@comcast.net.
Besides demonstrating at the Gathering, I am looking for someone to warp up our new wolf pup floor loom, and someone to transport it to the Gathering on Friday morning, and pick it up after 4 on that Sunday to get it back to the Guild closet. If you are available to help with any of these tasks, please email me.
Thank you for supporting the Guild activities!!
Cooki Messmer
Gathering of the Guilds – Volunteers Needed
The Spring Sale/Gathering of the Guilds committee is going to have a small booth during the event to promote weaving and our Guild. I’m calling it the PHG Promotion Booth. We are looking for a few folks that are willing to take some time to hang out in our booth and talk about weaving. This isn’t demonstrating, Janis and Cooki will be looking for folks to demonstrate weaving in the OCC lobby and calls for sign up will come from them. This is to generate interest in our guild and gather names to bolster our mailing list for use at future sales and events. If you plan to come to the show, consider adding an hour or so to your trip and sign up using this link. Thank you!
Update: PHG and the Legacy Project
We’re excited to announce that effective May 1, the Ruth Dabritz Legacy Weaving Project (Legacy Project), a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching weaving to the general public, will transfer all of its assets to the Portland Handweavers Guild. The Legacy Project will fall under PHG’s Director of Education and will schedule future classes to fit within the larger guild calendar. This change will be advantageous to both groups.
The Legacy Project’s administrative functions and finances will be consolidated and handled by PHG. It will continue to store its equipment and supplies, and teach workshops, at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio. Its principals will organize workshops as they do today. Since workshop fees are established to cover The Legacy Project’s costs, there is no financial risk to PHG. The Legacy Project teaches up to six beginning students at least every other month through the year, and a presentation on PHG is included in every workshop.
Both PHG and The Legacy Project Boards look forward to this change. If you wish to know more about The Legacy Project, please contact Sue Walsh at sugar2311@comcast.net.
Retreat Wrapup
WoW-oh-WOW! What a fantastic time we had at the PHG Annual Spring Retreat 2025!!
We had an incredible mix of talent, sharing, and interesting projects. Add in the amazing people who showed up, and we had a winner event! We hit a record attendance record of 41 fiber folks! This included full time attendees (3 nights), partial attendees (2 nights), and Day Trippers (Friday or Saturday or both days).
Once again, Cedar Ridge Retreat in Vernonia provided us with a perfect venue, very good food, and service beyond excellent. Much to our glee, our favorite chef, Carol, has returned! It’s so nice to be able to say that the Camp Staff looks forward to us being there almost as much as we do!
Here’s what was happening in 2025:
Looms of all shapes and sizes were there – from table looms to tapestry looms to rigid heddle looms to inkle looms to floor looms. Well, you get the picture.
In addition, there were quite a few spinners, as well as folks who processed fiber in preparation for spinning with a carding machine, knitted sweaters, wound warps, dressed looms, crocheted afghans, sewed hems, wound skeins of handspun yarn, and generally did the full range of anything involving fiber.
There was always a constant hum of activity in previous years. In 2025, it was a ROAR. The constant hum of verbal interaction among the participants was music to the ears. Soooo much sharing and laughter, along with a few ‘Darn its’ and ‘Oh, shoots’ made for a delightful background noise to work by.
We had an amazing number of projects that were initiated as well as completed. There were beautiful dish towels woven in greens and blues as well as a multi-colored set. You didn’t want to miss the fantastic sample warp of amazing, hand dyed colors woven as preparation for apparel fabric.
The Tapestry Area was simply abuzz with more than 10 weavers – some new, some more experienced – creating items for shows, as well as display in our ANWEG Booth. A few nuno felt hats were sewn, and there was a very active number of people doing tablet and inkle loom weaving. Quite a few of the projects are destined to be sold in the Gathering of the Guilds sale in April.
We have an incredibly talented and interesting group of folks in the Portland Handweavers Guild. It’s hard to believe that this wide range of fiber techniques and products was worked on and often successfully completed by the 41 participants!
On the social side of the Retreat, each day included our 5-6 PM Happy Hour. This is where everyone meets up the hill in The House. We mix and mingle while sharing fun stories and experiences while enjoying delicious appetizers and an adult beverage if desired. This year, Prez Nora and equally fun Linda E., upped the game by providing a CockTail-MockTail set up. It looked quite professional and yes, there were miniature paper umbrellas involved. Hmmmm, do we have hidden talents that need further exploration within our Guild?
During the Happy Hour, we chat about anything and everything. At Saturday’s Happy Hour, we took the opportunity to have a group meeting. It was great to brainstorm and get input from all who were there. Suggestions will be shared with the Camp management as well as taken into consideration for future Retreats.
That’s about all that can be said about the PHG Spring Retreat 2025 because as you all know, what happens at the Retreat stays at the Retreat.
Want to know more? Then become one of the ‘in crowd’ and be sure to attend in 2026. We already have the dates!
PHG Spring Retreat 2026
March 26, 27, 28, & 29, 2026More complete information will be started in the November Newsletter. Make plans now. Hope to see YOU there.
Submitted by
Diane McKinnon, Annual PHG Spring Retreat Coordinator
Thinking about getting involved? Join the Board
As mentioned in last month’s President’s note, we have a new board structure and will be looking for folks to take on various roles on the Board. A few board members are rolling off after years of dedication. Open positions are Secretary and Member Services. Other than Secretary, every position has volunteers helping to get the work done; we need people that can help set direction for the area. Even as President and leading the Spring Sale, I will say that the time commitment is about 10 hours a month. Member Services included tracking membership data, assisting with member engagement, and the library (Robin and her team is on this!). Updated job descriptions are being revised, some were really, really old and will be posted on our website.
We are going to start recruiting board members but feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or are interested in joining the board. The vote takes place in June. 😊 There are a few committee roles open including someone to take over equipment donations. We will post the open roles on the website soon but feel free to reach out to me at noragessert@yahoo.com or 734-395-1693.
ANWG guild booth
Several PHG members are designing, weaving, or have completed projects inspired by Portland buildings, neighborhoods, nature, and history for our guild’s display booth at the ANWG conference in Yakima in June. If you’re working on something for the booth, please let me know, and share it with everyone at an upcoming guild meeting.
Projects I’ve heard about range from detailed tapestries to dish towels inspired by buildings, and are woven on equipment from rigid heddle looms and inkle looms to multi-shaft computer dobby looms and drawlooms. Fiber techniques other than weaving are welcome!
The booth committee is PHG’s Education Director Linda Edquist, Eva Douthit, Phoebe McAfee, and me. We would love to hear your ideas! Some of us will be at the PHG retreat, and you can also talk to us before and after guild meetings or wherever you happen to find us.
You do not need to attend the conference to participate in PHG’s booth. We’ll collect all items ahead of time and return them afterwards.
Janis Johnson
A/V Setup Training
We’ll be doing training on how to setup the A/V equipment before the next guild meeting. Do you have some time and want to learn how you can help? Join us at 9:00 for a group training session. (And please let us know you’re coming by signing up on the volunteer page.) And in the meantime you can read all about the setup with our new A/V Setup Guide.
New Weaver Forum – now with Day and Evening Editions
“How do I weave this pattern that calls for 8 treadles if I only have 6?” “What table loom should I get?” “What size loom should I buy?” These are just some of the things we talked about at the March New Weaver Forum. Do you have questions or problems? Or maybe you’ve been at this a while and can provide some sound advice to the newer members. Join us April 17 at 10 AM or 7 PM. Join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/j/2290207971?pwd=elJvd2w0L2NsMlJPZXhNM3JlTFphZz09
Complex Weavers – Representative needed
Complex Weavers needs an area rep since the the passing of Ladella has left a vacancy in Oregon. We have an opportunity to find a Complex Weaver from our guild to take on that role.
This position is not an onerous role, just a named point of contact for anyone wishing to contact members in our area for weaving-related information.
There is also plenty of opportunity to do more on a regional level and communicate via Zoom on the CW account if there’s a local appetite.
If you are interested and would consider being our area rep for Complex Weavers, please contact Denise Wild denise.wild@me.com.
PHG Calendar Update
The PHG calendar now has a new option to add a single event to your personal calendar on your phone, computer or tablet. Just open the event from the calendar then look for the 2 buttons to add that event to your Google or iCal calendar.
And if you want to see all the events in the calendar automatically just subscribe to the PHG calendar. Click here for instructions.
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.
Bulletin Board
ANWG Movie Bites for April, 2025
Learn about world-famous artists and Orange (CT) residents Josef and Anni Albers, two members of the Bauhaus art movement who would go on to become leading pioneers of 20th-century modernism with Nicholas Fox Weber, Executive Director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and close personal friend of the Albers’.
ANWG’s Movie Bites will be held Wednesday, April 16 from 6:30 – 8:00. Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/92808475228?pwd=GEsBg7GoCkkTrgth9tkHKQDNa7WDF6.1
Looking to Buy or Sell Weaving Equipment or Materials?
Check out the Items for Sale page.
Fiber News and Events
Damascus Fiber Arts School Tapestry Talk
April 19, 2025Alex Friedman will present on abstract to the hyper realistic tapestries. Go to Damascus Fiber Arts School website and sign up.
Fiber Fusion Northwest
June 7-8, 2025
Monroe, WashingtonMore info: https://www.fiberfusion.net/
ANWG 2025 Conference
June 16-21, 2025
Yakima, WashingtonMore info: https://anwgconference.org/
Black Sheep Gathering
June 27-29, 2025
Albany, OregonMore info: http://blacksheepgathering.org/
Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival
October 18-19, 2025
Albany, OregonMore info: https://www.oregonflockandfiberfestival.com/
Handweavers Guild of America
Textiles & Tea
TuesdaysThe 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.
Past Newsletters
For older newsletters see our Newsletter Archive