Guild Calendar
Thursday, January 8, 2026 – January Meeting
No in person meeting this month! Only on Zoom.
All meetings are free and open to the public
10:00 am Day Meeting – Zoom
7:00 pm Evening Meeting – Zoom
Thursday, January 22, 2026 – Special Library/Rental Equipment Day
11:00am – 12:00pm – Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
Thursday, January 22, 2026 – Board Meeting
7:00pm – Zoom
See the website for full calendar including study group meetings.
President’s Message
I was listening to the radio and the DJ mentioned he did not do resolutions but in 2026 his plan is to do better. As DJ’s do, he went on to chat with the radio audience about what that meant to him. It didn’t mean he did anything wrong, that he didn’t meet a goal, or that he fell short, it just meant he wasn’t going to be disappointed if things didn’t go as planned. He’d just do better. It was really affirming to listen to as I too often wish I did more weaving, more gardening, more healthy eating, and be more outgoing; let’s be honest, weaving is not a group activity unless you take a workshop.
My inclination is to do solo things, weave, garden, exercise with a book and earbuds. Nothing says “don’t bother me” like a book and earbuds at the gym. I have a mental list of all the people I have been meaning to reach out to, from old friends and colleagues to new weavers I’ve wanted to check in on. I am pretty sure in another article, I said I planned to take a PHG workshop in 2025, I didn’t ☹
So, my plan for 2026 is to also do better. Reach out more, say hello more, greet new members more, weave more, craft more, maybe take a workshop and/or do whatever makes sense to accomplish doing better. As with any plans, life often gets in the way. Work, family, friends, pets, all can pop up and waylay plans for the day or week or year. But as the DJ said, nothing is wrong, things just didn’t go as planned, just do what makes you happy and try to do better. Here’s to a new year of weaving and anything that makes you happy.
Nora Gessert
Upcoming Programs
January 8, 2026 Meeting – Rebecca Smith – Transparent Tapestry
In this Zoom presentation, Rebecca will talk about her transparent weavings featuring a loosely woven background cloth that she creates with very fine linen, inlaying heavier threads during the weaving process to add designs and imagery. These weavings feel lighter than air.
Website: https://rebeccasmithtapestry.com/index.html
Note that there will not be an in-person meeting this month!
February 12, 2026 Meeting – In search of Wild Silk with Karen Selk
Wild silk is much more than the miraculous journey of metamorphosis from caterpillar to silken luxury. It is tightly woven to an ancient living culture raising tasar, muga, and eri silkworms in remote forests of central and eastern India. Raising wild silkworms, reeling cocoons, spinning fiber, and weaving silk cloth provides sustainable work and a regular income, while protecting the environment, lifting the status of women, and maintaining a traditional lifestyle.
In this Zoom presentation, Karen will share photos and stories captured from weavers, spinners, and silkworm farmers over thirty years of field research, and will transport you into their homes and villages to witness the love and dedication involved in each part of the process from soil to cloth.
Bio
All things silk has provided Karen Selk with a thread that binds together travel, research, writing, artwork, educating, and managing a successful business selling silk yarns and fibres for over 50 years. She has given hundreds of workshops and presentations on silk and weaving worldwide and has written over fifty articles on silk. Her passion to learn about everything silk has led her throughout Asia and the wild silk forests of India in particular, for more than 30 years. The culmination of her field research has been published in a book: In Search of Wild Silk: Exploring a Village Industry in the Jungles of India. She lives on Salt Spring Island, BC, in the Salish Sea on the west coast of Canada.
Publications
In Search of Wild Silk: Exploring a Village Industry in the Jungles of India, published March 2023 by Schiffer Publishing.
Magazine Articles in 2023/24
- Selvedge – Issue 113
- Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot – Summer 2023
- Textile Asia Journal – September 2023
- Creative Fibre – June 2023
- Embroidery Canada – Fall 2023
- Textile Fibre Forum – December 2023
- SpinOff – Winter 24/25
Website: www.karenselk.com
Note that there will not be an in-person meeting this month!
Upcoming Workshops
If you’d like some creative 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:
February 6-8, 2026: Zero to Sulawesi with Stacy Schlutsmeyer
This workshop is full. Spots opened due to cancellation will be filled from the waitlist. PHG is excited to host Stacy Schlutsmeyer as she leads students through an exploration of the mechanics of tablet weaving. Stacy provides all materials and major supplies for this 3 day workshop at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio. The class is appropriate for anyone from beginning band weavers to experienced weavers seeking a deeper understanding of tablet weaving. For information or to join the waitlist visit: Workshop: Zero to Sulawesi with Stacy Schlutsmeyer – Portland Handweavers Guild
March 14 & 15, 2026: Mastering Multiheddle Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom with Carly Jayne
Registration is open! This two day workshop at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio is led by PHG member and fiber artist Carly Jayne. Looking to explore the possibilities of a rigid heddle loom? This workshop will cover both 2 and 3 heddle weaving. You will be looking at threading drafts and profile drafts and discussing how they can be used on a loom with at least 3 shafts. This is an excellent class for shaft loom weavers who are structure nerds because you will create multiple structures (Summer and Winter, False Damask, Tabby, Taquete… etc) by manipulating slot threads while the heddles act as shafts one and two. Carly recommends this workshop for rigid heddle weavers, curious floor loom weavers with a little rigid heddle experience, and weavers curious about shaft switching. For information and registration visit: Double Trouble and Triple Treats – Mastering Multiheddle Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom
May 15-17, 2026: Doubleweave Discoveries with Jennifer Moore
This workshop is full. Spots opened due to cancellation will be filled from the waitlist. 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. This in person workshop will be held at the MAC. For information or to join the waitlist visit: Doubleweave Discoveries workshop with Jennifer Moore – Portland Handweavers Guild
November 13, 2026: Introduction to Japanese Book Binding
Registration is open! Learn how to build and hand-stitch your own books using the four classic Japanese book binding techniques. We are happy to announce that Barbara Setsu Pickett will teach a one day Introduction to Japanese Book Binding workshop at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio. Barbara is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art at the University of Oregon. The focuses of her research and creative practice are velvet weaving, shibori, natural dyeing, and the book arts. For information and registration visit: Workshop: Introduction to Japanese Book Binding with Barbara Setsu Pickett – Portland Handweavers Guild
February 13 and 20, 2027: Passimenterie with Elizabeth Ashdown (online)
Looking forward to 2027, Elizabeth Ashdown will be joining us virtually from her studio in London to lead an online workshop in Passimenterie. In this bespoke two day workshop, you will learn five woven passimenterie designs. Registration is not yet open. In the meantime, learn about Elizabeth’s amazing work at: Elizabeth Ashdown | Passementerie Artist – Textile Art – Weaving – Craft – Maker – Handmade | London – UK – US – International. Also, check the latest (Winter 2025) issue of Handwoven magazine. Elizabeth is featured twice: she has an article and fringe pattern, and there is a brief segment about her book, Passementerie: Handcrafting Contemporary Trimmings, Fringes, Tassels, and More. This workshop is for weavers on all loom types.
March 12-14, 2027: Rug Weaving Basics with Mary Zicafoose
We are excited to bring renowned artist Mary Zicafoose to PHG. Mary joins us for a program and workshop in March 2027. Learn, add to, or refresh your knowledge of a well constructed rug in Rug Weaving Basics. This is an in person workshop. Registration is not yet open. Learn more about Mary at: Mary Zicafoose Tapestries and Prints | Home Page
Happy weaving and learning!
Any question should be directed to workshops@portlandhandweaversguild.org.
Guild News
Teaching assistants needed
The Ruth Dabritz Legacy Weaving Project is looking for assistants for upcoming beginning floor loom classes. Dates for the 2026 classes are on the PHG website: https://portlandhandweaversguild.org/the-ruth-dabritz-legacy-project/legacy-project-schedule/
The Introduction to Weaving class covers all aspects of the basic floor loom weaving process. Students plan a project, make a warp, dress the loom and then, of course, throw the shuttle. They also learn how to correct common weaving errors, and afterwards they learn about finishing techniques to complete their projects at home. Classes are limited to 6 students and instruction is one-on-one for the first day. Assistants are asked to attend a brief orientation session of about 2hours. If you are interested in helping teach newcomers how to weave, please contact Sue Walsh and the Legacy team at legacy-chair@portlandhandweaversguild.org
WeGO Is Looking for Future Board Members
WeGO (Weaving Guilds of Oregon) is looking for folks to serve on the board in the next couple years. The two roles they expect to need help with are the positions of vice president and president. You can learn more about the group here: https://wegoregondotorg.wordpress.com/about/. PHG is a long time member of WeGO, and as one of the larger guilds in the state it would be great to have some representation on the board. Please contact Donna Wilson if you are interested or have questions about the group and their needs.
Grant Writers Wanted
Drew Haven has joined the 2027 Conference Committee as a Grant Chairperson. Many thanks to Drew for offering to help. Now we need some volunteers to help serve on the grant committee to seek out and apply for grants for the 2027 conference. If you have previous experience writing or reviewing grant applications and would like to help please contact him at grants@anwgconference.org.
Conference Committee Meets January 5
The 2027 ANWG Conference committee will meet on Monday, January 5 at 7:00. The main topics of discussion will be the final selection of the conference theme and selection of conference colors. Anyone interested in learning more is welcome to attend. Join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link:
https://zoom.us/j/2290207971?pwd=elJvd2w0L2NsMlJPZXhNM3JlTFphZz09
PHG Retreat – Registration Opens January 10
Here we go again!!! The retreat is scheduled for March 26-29, 2026 at Camp Cedar Ridge in Vernonia, OR. See below for information about the retreat, registration opens January 10!
Latest ANWG Newsletter
The Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds has posted their October 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 Update
Special Library Browsing Day – January 22
While at the new member tea in November, I overhead Nora say something about the January and February meetings being virtual only. This was news to me. I checked with her and that was the plan. Hmm. This would mean no library access for 3 months! Just when Santa had brought new toys or yarn. Or when you finally felt free to explore new things with the holidays over. I emailed the library team, Nora, Cindy, Vianne and Jacque, about this: Would you be willing to do a library/rental browsing time if I can get us a room on a Thursday morning between the virtual meetings? They were all in. So I emailed Nora to see if she was willing to book us a room. I asked for a small room. The MAC offered the conference room. A bit too small. Not much room for anything other than the table. Next on offer was Room 7 which many of you will remember from meetings before COVID. Even I was not willing to take the carts down the ramp. I was about to give up but the team encouraged me to ask again. MAC came back and offered us Room 33 in the senior center. Ah, this is just right. So if you need a book or small piece of equipment or if you just want to hang out for a little while with fiber friends, join us in Rm 33 in the MAC senior center on January 22 from 11 to 12, weather permitting.
Jacque DeBell will be there to assist with large and small equipment rental. If you desire large equipment please let her know via the Rental Request form that is on the web site or via an email to her at jacquedebell@gmail.com. We only have 1 table loom available at this time.
Profile Drafting for Handweavers: Designs, Projects & Expert Tips for Turning Your Ideas Into Weave Structures
It seems like publishers like to bring out the new titles during the fall in time for Christmas shopping. I generally try to get them on the new book shelf the first meeting after I receive or may not have time to read them. Although Profile Drafting for Handweavers: Designs, Projects & Expert Tips for Turning Your Ideas Into Weave Structures was published before the December meeting, it didn’t arrive until after it. This gave me time to read the book before the January newsletter deadline.
This is not Deb Essen’s first book. Among her other titles are Easy Weaving with Supplemental Warps and two accompanying videos. Having found these to have approachable and with practical information, I was looking forward to reading her latest book.
The book begins with an introduction to profile drafts. From Chapter 1, page 10:
What is a profile draft? The short answer is that profile drafts are a quick, easy way to draw out an overall design for a fabric without having to decide on a weave structure first! Think of it as a designing “shorthand.”
Deb Essen begins the lesson by taking a thread-by-thread summer & winter draft that we are familiar with and converting it to a profile draft. She then goes through the parts of this new profile draft and describes how they function. Yes, I know this may sound mysterious. She then converts this shorthand draft to a new log cabin thread by thread draft. Her explanations are detailed and clear. Before moving into the project section, the author shows how to design your own profile drafts. Of course she gives instructions to do this using weaving software. But for those of you without, she demonstrates not only using graph paper, but also software everyone has access to on their computer, a spreadsheet.
The majority of the book is dedicated to the presentation of weave structures and projects that are available to use with your profile drafts – from monk’s belt to lace to beiderwand. There is brief history of the structure before diving into its specifics. Rather than looking at the standard thread by thread drawdowns, Deb Essen provides the threading pattern for the blocks and then has you visualize how the weft thread is interacting with the warp to provide the pattern. Then your journey continues as you derive the tie-up and treadling for that structure with those interactions.
If you were hoping to pick up the book and just weave some of the projects, you will be disappointed. The projects are not presented with drafts we are accustomed to seeing in most books and magazines. These projects are designed to continue teaching you about the different structures and using profile drafts. You will need to read the text. You will come out with a greater understanding of the structure than just following the standard presentation. It’s like having your teacher stand over you and tell you why you are using that pick rather than using the black box that your floor loom tie-up can be.
The projects also present the thought process necessary to get to your own design. There is a discussion of the yarns required and determining the sett for the particular structure. From there, she walks you through the calculation of the number of ends for your project and calculating the number of heddles required for each shaft by looking at the number and threading pattern of your blocks. She provides tips on how to set up your treadles for easy use and how to organize your ends into block groups as you thread your heddles.
This book will provide new insights and information to weavers of all levels. Encountering the structures by a careful examination of the warp and weft interactions rather than studying the drawdowns is a welcome change. Not everyone learns the same way. You should have a basic understanding of the weaving process before picking up this book. However, I believe that an advanced beginner would benefit by reading this book. Even if you didn’t understand how the weave structure worked during your first reading, the thought process on planning your project is beneficial. More advanced weavers will find some new information. I was not familiar with the concept that summer and winter blocks could have ratios greater than 1:1 tiedown vs pattern pick, something that I plan to explore very soon.
—Robin K.
Browse the PHG library online from the comfort of your home anytime. The first tag for each item tells you in which section the item can be found. Newer acquisitions may be on the “new” shelf. Also explore tools you can check out from the Small Equipment Library. Both are available for browsing during our regular meetings.
Would you like to see a review of a rigid heddle, dyeing, tapestry, band weaving or spinning book in the newsletter? Write one! We would be thrilled to publish a review of any item we have in the PHG library, old or new; text or DVD, or good, bad or indifferent. Email your review to Robin K. for publication in a future newsletter.
Bulletin Board
Looking to Buy or Sell Weaving Equipment or Materials?
Check out the Items for Sale page.
Fiber News and Events
Damascus Fiber Arts School presents Tapestry Talks, on Saturday, January 17, at 10am Pacific, our guest will be Mary Zicafoose. Mary will talk about her life, her work, her goals and what lies ahead. A Nebraska artist, Mary Zicafoose is a master at weft ikat, a complex resist-dye weaving process. Her work in ikat tapestry has been represented in the International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland; Museo de Textil, Oaxaca, Mexico; China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou and the collections of over two dozen United States Embassy’s abroad. See Tapestry Talks Archives – Damascus Fiber Arts School for more information.
Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat
Date: Feb 12th – 15th, 2026
Location: Tacoma, Washington
RedAlderFiberArts.com
Conference of Northern California Handweavers
Date: May 14th – 17th, 2026
Location: Asilomar, California
CNCH.org
Fiber in the Forest
Date: May 15th – 17th, 2026
Location: Myrtle Point, Oregon
Fiber in the Forest
Fiber Fusion Northwest
Date: June 6th & 7th, 2026
Location: Monroe, Washington
FiberFusion.net
Black Sheep Gathering
Date: June 26 – 28, 2026
Location: Albany, Oregon
BlackSheepGathering.org
HGA Convergence
August 12-16, 2026
New Orleans, Louisiana
https://weavespindye.org/convergence/
ANWG 2027 Conference
June 14-19, 2027
Portland, Oregon
https://anwgconference.org/
Handweavers Guild of America
Textiles & Tea
Tuesdays
Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.’s (HGA)‘s 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.
Newsletter Contributions
Send news items and fiber events to Tim Prins by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s newsletter.
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.