Send your news items to Tim Prins by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s newsletter.
Guild Calendar
Thursday, January 12, 2023
January Meeting
10:00 am Day Meeting
Multnomah Arts Center + Zoom
7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787 – Gym
9:30 am – 10:00 am: Set up and social time
10:00 am – 12:00: Meeting
After meeting: Library browsing time in hallway in front of guild closet
7:00 pm Evening Meeting
Multnomah Arts Center + Zoom
7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787 – Gym
6:30 pm – 7:00 pm: set up, social and library browsing time (library in hallway in front of guild closet)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Meeting
President’s Message
First, happy new year everyone! 2023 looks to be an exciting year for the guild. There’s workshops in January (Debby Greenlaw and krokgragd) and March (John Mullarkey and tablet weaving), the conference in Bend this June with tons of workshops and seminars, and the return of the PHG retreat! Diane has gotten dates for our time away to work on fiber projects and spend time together as a group. It’s a really good way to get to know other members, see what everyone is working on, and maybe even pick up a tip or two along the way. If you haven’t joined us in the past I hope you’ll consider giving it a try this year. It’s a lot of fun, and a really good way to make some new friends. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The other big event coming up for the guild is the end of our lease with MAC. The board has already started discussions about what we should do, and the current thought process is that we should start looking for a full-time home for the guild and our belongings. Ideally it would be a place that’s central, accessible, has ample space to meet, and would be available all the time so that we could offer more workshops and maybe even teach beginning weaving to those who are interested but haven’t had a place to learn and practice. If you know of someone who works with commercial spaces or have a space in mind that you think would be good for us please let me know. We have a couple ideas already but it’s always nice to have ideas and options.
I skipped the monthly survey last month. Actually, I just forgot. With all that’s been going on it’s a wonder I could remember anything! But the survey is back this month, and with the holidays I thought it might be fun to share our favorite fiber gifts. Do you prefer a book, or some hand-made fiber item, or maybe just some fun fiber to work with. Take the survey here and let us know: https://forms.gle/bPoG7Xr5qtB1cAiV9 And if you missed the last one on the Noh Coats, you can take that one too at https://forms.gle/z7kpyWX2BcNVq5cs5. We’re really hoping to have a coat for each mannequin. Will you be helping?
Happy new year, and as always I hope to see you at a meeting soon.
Dan
Programs
January 12th PHG Meeting at MAC
Debby Greenlaw will be presenting “So, What is Krokbragd?”, an overview of the origins, structure, examples, and a few tips for weaving. This will be delivered live via zoom at the morning meeting and replayed at the evening meeting.
Spring Fiber Arts Sale
PHG Spring Sale with Gathering of the Guilds
April 28-30, 2023
Oregon Convention Center
The 2023 PHG Spring Sale Artist Application will open on January 6, 2023. Please check the PHG Website Sale Page at that time for a link to the application and the prospectus. Please read the prospectus before filling out the application. Application deadline is February 15, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Fowler at phgspringsale@gmail.com.
Additionally, volunteers are needed for the following tasks:
1. Coordinator of Volunteers
- Set-up Sign Up Genius, a free online sign-up program for vendors participating in GOTG
- Remind volunteers/vendors to sign up for required hours
- Remind volunteers/vendors to work their shifts
2. GOTG postcards/flyers/posters distribution
- Ship or deliver to vendors and others to distribute
- Pass out at PHG meeting
3. PHG demonstrations for lobby
- Recruit PHG demonstrators
- Prepare guild loom
- Coordinate transport of equipment between MAC and OCC
4. Demonstration from outside of group
- Recruit outside fiber arts group to demonstrate
- Coordinate with John Beard
5. Social Media Editor
- This is a new position and training will be provided.
- Create Facebook and Instagram postings that are linked to the GOTG media page.
- Posts will include a photo and description of the artist’s work.
- This position begins after the first of the year.
Please contact Cindy if you can help.
Cindy Fowler, cafweave@gmail.com
Retreat News
Hello PDX Handweavers Guild Members and Fiber Friends –
We’re Back!!!
The Annual PHG Retreat 2023 is a go for Thursday March 30 – Sunday April 2, 2023 at Cedar Ridge Retreat & Conference Center in Vernonia, OR (https://www.CampCedarRidgeOR.org)! Sign-up for the Retreat begins soon and we’d love to include YOU!! Watch for more details in the coming weeks.
UPDATE: See full information to sign up below!
Diane McKinnon 971.219.1564 dimckinnon@aol.com
Upcoming Workshops
Krokbragd with Debby Greenlaw, via Zoom. January 13-15, 2023
The Krokbragd workshop is sold out; we are all getting our looms ready. However, as I have mentioned before, things happen and people have to drop out. If you get on the waiting list, which is, at this moment, empty, you could get in.
Tablet Weaving (3 1-day workshops) with John Mullarkey. March 9-12, 2023
As of December 27, the Ram’s Horn workshop is sold out (but get on the waiting list if you are interested!). There are still places in Threaded In Designs and Sulawesi.
These are all the workshops that will be scheduled for the balance of the membership year, as the ANWG Conference is in June, and there will be many workshops provided there, including several topics many of you are very interested in.
Fiberworks Lessons with Jerry Swick
The Fiberworks tutorials by Jerry Swick have been recorded and are viewable online by logging in and clicking here.
Guild News
Library and Rental News
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is behind us. We have plenty of long nights to relax and unwind while waiting for the warmth of spring. For some, it’s a time to reflect on the past. For others, it’s a time to plan for a new beginning. A good book from our guild library can take you to many places.
For those of you who can’t wait for spring, planning your garden can be one way to cope with the dreary, gray days. Have you dreamed of dyeing your fiber in a more natural and sustainable manner using plants that you grew yourself? Are you wondering what plants will give you the color you want? Browse through one of the many new natural dye books that have come out in the past few years for useful plants. Then grab your seed catalogs or pull up your favorite web site to see if it is something that you can grow yourself.
For others, it’s time to curl up in front of the fire with a good book. Fiber has been a significant part of our lives. It’s also had an outsized impact upon the history of the world. Pick up a volume to learn how its shaped the world around us. Eric Broudy’s The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present can take you on a journey from the earliest looms to the present and provide you a new appreciation for the loom you have. If your looking for something to brighten the gray skies, there is Kassia St. Clair’s The Secret Lives of Color. For fiction, try Carol Ann Martin’s Looming Murder: A Weaving Mystery. Discover these and many other titles in our guild library. For something a little different, peruse the Miscellaneous tag in our online catalog.
We have a guest reviewer this month. Darlene is a longtime guild member who has served her time as Newsletter Editor, President, and Librarian in the past while attending every workshop ever held. She now attempts to finish those workshop projects from long ago, while reading an occasional library book.
Book Review – The Fabric of Civilization, How Textiles Made the World By Virginia Postrel
“The story of humanity is the story of textiles. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture.”
According to the author textile production has driven most of the advances we have made over the centuries:
- Cotton seed is very specific for different climates, so if you can’t buy Mexican seed to take to the US, you just smuggle it into dolls and import them.
- Spinning on drop spindles could not supply enough yarn for advances in looms, so mechanical spinning mills (and patents) were invented, and then mechanized looms followed.
- Early handwriting and accounting was necessary to keep track of what you were owed by the dealer who exported your work overseas.
- The origins of chemistry lie in dyeing and finishing textiles. The first chemical dye was a side product of research for synthesize the antimalaria drug quinine.
- Current interest is centered on recycling textiles to avoid chemical waste.
Caught your interest yet? Of course, we knew textiles were the center of our world. With this book we can prove it is the center of all the world!
Darlene Wingfield
ANWG 2023 Conference: Fiber Connections
The 2023 ANWG Conference is a GO for June 11-18, 2023 at the Riverhouse Convention Center and Hotel in Bend. Portland Handweavers Guild is weaving the name tags. If you are interested in weaving some name tags, we can provide you with the draft, pre-made warp, weft, and instructions. Please contact Sue Walsh at sugar2311@comcast.net if you’d like more info. If you’d like to know more about the conference, or wish to sign up for the regular blogs, go to https://anwgconference2023.com/ Thanks in advance!
Latest ANWG Newsletter
The Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds has posted their October 2022 newsletter. Check out the creative ways other Northwest weaving guilds are getting their members together for fiber activities. All ANWG newsletters are available here.
News from Complex Weavers
ANY ONE INTERESTED IN Becoming a member of Complex Weavers should consider paying For it. PORTLAND Handweavers Guild does receive the Complex Weavers Journal. Membership for your personal copies is only about $70 for two years. All articles in the CWJ are written by Complex Weaver members. Unfortunately the latest issue is at the printers and has not been shipped yet.
There will be a Complex Weavers meeting at the Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds meeting in June of 2023 at Bend Oregon.
Thank you – Ladella Williams. Contact me if you have any questions or concerns (LadellawilliamsCZZ@gmail.com, text 503 729 1704m or write 16539 S.E. River Rd, Portland Oregon 97267-4504)
Bulletin Board
Instructor wanted
I am looking for an instructor familiar with the Glimakra countermarch floor loom who would be willing to give lessons in my home. I am a complete beginner. The loom is new and assembled.
I live in West Linn, five minutes off I 205 at the Stafford exit. Easy to get to from the freeway.
Lisa Ford (971-404-8811)
Cabin Fever Virtual Workshops
Registration for the Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners Cabin Fever Virtual workshops is open. They are offering Dorset Buttons by Pat Olski, 18th Century Knitted Latrine Hat by Barbara Landry & Dr. Annamarie Hatcher, Paper Weaving MAWS member Play Date led by Barb French, Fan Reeds to Create Ondulé Textiles by Norma Smayda Staley, and Introduction to Supplementary Warp Weaving by Deb Essen.
Shibori in the news
The New York Times has an article about the latest fashion trend where Shibori/tie dye is suddenly discovered! Tie-Dye, From Stylish to Traditional
Looking to Buy or Sell Weaving Equipment or Materials?
Check out the Items for Sale page.
Fiber News and Events
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.
The Weaving Guilds of Oregon (WeGO) committee is delighted to announce that the traveling show will take place beginning in January of 2023. This show travels around the state of Oregon showcasing the fiber arts in our communities. The Title of the show is “Filaments.” A prospectus for submissions (deadline December 15, 2022) is available now and we hope to have a large response from participating guild members. The WeGO Traveling Show has been well received in the past, so now is the time to begin to plan your Filaments project.
Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat
February 16-19, 2023
Tacoma, WA
More info: RedAlderFiberArts.com
RAGS Wearable Art Sale and Show
March 9-12, 2023
Artist applications for the 2023 RAGS wearable art sale & show are due by December 1, 2022. For more information go to https://www.ywcapiercecounty.org/wearable-art-sale
Fiber in the Forest
May 19-21, 2023
Myrtle Point, OR
More info: Fiber in the Forest
ANWG Conference – Fiber Connections
June 11-18, 2023
Riverhouse Convention Center, Bend, OR
Click the link below to read all the news for the ANWG Conference 2023.
anwgconference2023.com
Black Sheep Gathering
June 23-25, 2023
Albany, OR
More info: blacksheepgathering.org
Intermountain Weavers Conference
July 27-30, 2023
Logan, Utah
More info: intermountainweavers.org
Conference of Northern California Handweavers
August 3-6, 2023
San Luis Obispo, CA
More info: CNCH.org
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.
Your purchases can benefit PHG! Click on one of these links before buying and PHG will earn a commission from your purchase.
Connect with the handweaving world through Handwoven. Every issue is packed with projects, instruction, and inspiration to help you build technical skills and design confidence.
The Woolery is the place for weaving, spinning, felting, dyeing, rug hooking and knitting. Established in 1981, our extensive inventory of products, excellent customer service and in-house fiber arts experience make us the ideal source for all your fiber arts needs. We have one of the largest selections of weaving loom and spinning wheel floor models for you to test drive. Your Fiber Journey Starts Here!”
