November 2022 PHG Newsletter

Send your news items to Tim Prins by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s newsletter.

Guild Calendar

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Special Meeting: “Interlacements”, a film by Marilyn Romatka
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787 – Auditorium
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm: Library and social time
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Film

Saturday & Sunday, November 12-13, 2022

Fall Sale
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Hwy. (503) 823-2787 – Gym
10:00 am – 4:00 pm (Weftovers sale on Saturday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm in room 7).


President’s Message

There is lots going on with PHG, so I hope I don’t forget anything. 

  • First and foremost, this month’s program is a special screening of the film “Interlacements” by Marilyn Romatka. Many will remember Marilyn from last year’s program on tablet weaving. This year she’s back with her film about weaving. Due to the length of the film this will not be like our usual meetings, and there will be no ‘show and tell’. The library will be available between 1:30 and 2:00 in the auditorium, and we’ll use that time to socialize and catch up with everyone. The program will be begin promptly at 2:00. We are checking to see if captioning will be available, and will update the website as soon as we find out. PLEASE NOTE THE SPECIAL DATE AND TIME FOR THIS MONTH’S MEETING!! We will be meeting on Wednesday, November 9 at 2:00 in the MAC auditorium. There will be one meeting only in the afternoon with no option to attend via Zoom. There will NOT be a meeting on Thursday. Please update your calendars so you don’t miss this special presentation, made possible by a grant from the Weaving Guilds Of Oregon.
  • The WeGO Traveling Show is still looking for submissions for next year’s show.  The theme of the show is Filaments.  All weavers and fiber artists use filaments of some size and shape to create their work. This show celebrates those materials and how we use them. The deadline for entries is December 15, so time is running out. There are prizes available, and we’ve had good representation from PHG in the past.  Please, if you have any interest at all be sure to check out the prospectus at https://wegoregondotorg.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/wego-2023-ts-prospectus-ok.pdf and hopefully we’ll see some member works in next year’s show. 
  • For last month’s survey, I asked how many looms you have. The average number of looms is 4, but I think I throw the curve off a bit. I have a 4-shaft Allan Folding loom, an 8-shaft table loom, a 2-shaft table loom, 3 rigid heddles, 2 inkle looms, a pin loom, 3 kumihimo discs, and a set of tablet weaving cards. So that’s 13.  Oh, and Billy has a tablet loom made by John Mullarkey, so that gets us to 14. And don’t get me started on why I need so many looms. I think Daryl Lancaster is a bad influence
  • For this year’s theme of the year, we’re looking at and making Noh Coats.  There will be a show of Noh Coats at the ANWG conference in Bend next June, and the plan is to make coats for the mannequins that we’ll display in the guild booth at the conference.  So for this month’s survey, I’m asking, “Are you planning to make a Not Coat for the ANWG Conference?”  Let us know by taking the 1 question survey here: https://forms.gle/mGJzBW8QCpjaG8V2A
  • Lastly, we had a great time at the weftovers sale.  We cleared a bunch of stuff out of the closet, and raised some money for the guild in the process.  Many thanks to all who helped out, particularly Robin, Mike and Sarah. But if you missed this one, fear not. You’ll have another chance to find some fabulous bargains at our weftovers sale at the PHG Fall Sale, Saturday, November 12. There’ll be fiber, books, and maybe even a loom or two.  And if you want to contribute part of your own stash to the cause we’ll take donations at the next meeting, or that morning at 9:00.  The weftover sale part of the sale will run from 10 – 3, and we need some volunteers to help.  If you have some spare time on a Saturday let me know.  It’s lots of fun, and if you help setup you get first crack at items before we open the door to the public.

Phew! Hope I remembered everything. Be sure to make note of the change in the meeting date and time, and I hope to see you at a meeting soon!

Dan


Fall Sale

A special weftovers sale will also be held on Saturday November 12, 10am – 3pm at the MAC in room 7. If you would like to contribute to the weftovers sale you can do so at the guild meeting on Wednesday November 9, or at 9:00 am the day of the sale.


Programs

November Program – “Interlacements”, a film by Marilyn Romatka

Special date and time – Wednesday November 9, 2:00 pm

This month’s special program is a screening of the film “Interlacements” by Marilyn Romatka. Many will remember Marilyn from last year’s program on tablet weaving. This year she’s back with her film about weaving.

Due to the length of the film this will not be like our usual meetings, and there will be no ‘show and tell’. The library will be available between 1:30 and 2:00 in the auditorium, and we’ll use that time to socialize and catch up with everyone. The program will be begin promptly at 2:00. We are checking to see if captioning will be available, and will update this listing as soon as we find out.


Upcoming Workshops

Krokbragd with Debby Greenlaw, via Zoom. January 13-15, 2023

Debby is the author of two books on Krokbragd, and teaches workshops both in-person and virtually.

Weavers worldwide delight in the charming motifs of the Norwegian technique known as krokbragd. Journey into the history, structure, and design of traditional three-shaft krokbragd. Gain detailed instruction on the basics of krokbragd weaving, yarn and color selection, patterns and drafts, weaving tips, and finishing techniques. Each student will then design and weave their own unique sampler. Weaving experience and ability to wind and warp a loom independently are required.

This workshop is open to both shaft loom and rigid heddle loom weavers.

This workshop is half full, so every time another person registers the cost for each participant will go down. Registration is available on the website.

Tablet Weaving  (3 1-day workshops) with John Mullarkey. March 9-12, 2023

Three one day workshops will be held Friday-Sunday after the March guild meeting. Registration will be up soon.


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

Volunteer Opportunities!

Portland Handweavers Guild will be demonstrating Saturday , November 5 at the Washington Art Education Association Conference. We could still use a few more volunteers. This is a great opportunity to reach art teachers in Washington State and inspire them to introduce their students to weaving.  These professionals teach art to elementary through college level students. We will demonstrate on varied looms and help them see that local Weaving Guilds can be a resource for them. If you have a few hours that day, please sign up at the link below or contact Cooki Messmer at cookimessmer@comcast.net

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0948aca929a1f85-washington

Also, the PHG Annual Fall Show and Sale at Multnomah Arts Center can use a few volunteers to demonstrate on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13. To sign up go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0948aca929a1f85-annual


Button, button, who’s got the button?

A long time ago, a volunteer would use the button press to make name buttons for PHG members. These would be kept in the closet on a large blue cloth. They would appear during meetings where you could find your name and pin it to your clothing. This would help you to avoid those awkward moments when you couldn’t remember the name of the weaver/spinner/dyer that you had met at a prior meeting. At the end of the meeting, you would put it back on the cloth, ready for the next meeting.

The plan is to start making buttons again. Do away with the disposable adhesive name tags. There is quite a backlog of new and newish members who have never had a button. At some point before Covid, it was suggested to members who had buttons to take them home and bring them to meetings. If you have your button at home, please email PHG to let us know. This can help those who don’t have one get theirs sooner.

Hint: If you don’t like sticking the pin through your clothing, grab a ribbon. Tie knots on both ends. Fold it in half. Slip the loop of the ribbon through the pin clasp. The button will rest on the knots. Slip the ribbon over your head. No more pin snagging threads.


SAVE THE DATE!

This year has gotten off to a busy start and we have just set a date for our New Member Tea. We will mail out invitations as we get closer to the date, but we have chosen 11 December for our New Member Tea, so please mark your calendars. Our location is undetermined right now, but we will update once we have it figured out. We would like to invite all members who have joined since 2019 to celebrate all of our newest members which will include the years lost to the pandemic. Hope to see you then!

Thanks!
Sarah


Library and Rental News

Library available during the November meeting

The library will be available during the November meeting! Woo hoo! As we are scheduled to meet in the auditorium, it is safe for us to move the carts into that space. The library will be open for browsing starting at 1:30 for the half hour before the meeting. This is a great chance to spend time looking for old favorites and looking for new ones.

As a reminder, not all of our collection has been able to move onto the new cart. The Needlework section, as well as the periodicals, Warp & Weft, Prairie Wool Companion, and Weaver’s, are not on the shelves. If you need an item from these collections, please ask Robin for assistance retrieving it from the closet. You can browse our library catalog online anytime.

The library isn’t limited to media. There is a variety of equipment that you can check out. Did you buy some mystery yarn at the Weftover sale last month? Are you curious as to how many yards you have? Check out the yarn balance. See what else is available in the Small Equipment Library.

Book Highlight

Six years ago, PHG was lucky enough to have Inge Dam come from Canada to provide a program and workshop. Her work is gorgeous and inspiring. She incorporates tablet weaving with her floor loom weaving. Not to mention her hand-dyed warps. If you are considering the upcoming John Mullarkey table weaving workshops but not sure when you would use it, this is your answer. Though, Inge Dam refers to using her floor loom, this is not a limitation. During the workshop, we did have someone set up on a rigid heddle loom. For more examples of her work, check out her website.

Tablet-Woven Accents for Designer Fabrics: Contemporary Uses for Ancient Techniques by Inge Dam

If you are familiar with Inge Dam’s work, the first thing that comes to mind her awe-inspiring coats with the tablet bands woven in conjunction with the fabric that she submits to conference garment shows. Don’t let this intimidate you from picking up the book, even if you have no experience tablet weaving. She spends the first third of the book introducing you to tablet weaving starting with warping the tablets. She goes on to explain different techniques including regular double-faced tablet weaving, 3/1 broken twill, missed hole technique and pebble weave.

The next two sections explore tablet woven borders and selvages. After providing a brief Iron Age history to woven borders, there are instructions for adding different tablet selvages to your cloth during the weaving process along with recommendations for yarns and sett. Twenty-one different sample borders follow, some of which incorporate beads, buttons or soumak, providing plenty of inspiration for your next scarf, shawl or table runner.

It is only in the next to last section that you use what you have learned previously to put the tablet weaving within the fabric. She provides instructions on warping your loom along with suggestions for yarns, sett, and structures for both the tablets and fabric. The final section of the book shows examples of Inge Dam’s experiments creating textured fabrics alongside her bands. No one can not help but feel inspired after picking up Tablet-Woven Accents for Designer Fabrics.

– Robin

Please feel free to submit book or DVD reviews for publication in the newsletter. Especially appreciated would be those on tapestry weaving, rigid heddle and dyeing.


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.


A Message from Your Complex Weavers Representative

Anyone wishing to join or renew their Complex Weavers membership can find the address for Amy Norris in their copy of Complex Weavers Journal. They are great about sending the journal with an extra separate page giving the renewal date. The articles come from complex weavers themselves and there are extra notices about other Complex Weavers members affairs and conferences. The next conference is held by Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds in Bend, Oregon at the Riverhouse next June 11. There will be awesome exhibits and a fashion show, a wonderful surprise for all weavers attending. More news will follow as we get closer to 2023 in the spring. Also do not forget to cast your vote for public office in your own city/state and weaving guilds.

Any questions please contact Ladella Williams at 503 729 1704 (text) or LadellawilliamsCZZ@gmail.com.


Bulletin Board

Rain Spark Gallery Opening

Rain Spark Gallery will be opening for the holiday season November 1 in Lake Oswego featuring several PHG members.

CALL TO ARTISTS

2023 Weaving Guilds of Oregon Traveling Show

Weaving Guilds of Oregon (WeGO) will sponsor a juried traveling exhibit of weaving and other fiber art during calendar years 2023-24. The theme of the show is “Filaments”.

The Traveling Show is looming, and this is a reminder to show your work throughout the state. Your work will promote the fiber arts of Oregon.

The show will exhibit for a year, in six venues, including Roseburg, Lincoln City, Baker City, Eugene, Bend, and Salem. Items may be for sale or not. Sales are encouraged. There are awards in eight categories, including the People’s Choice award.

Submit entries between November 15 – December 15.
See the WeGO website https://wegoregondotorg.wordpress.com/traveling-shows/ to obtain the Prospectus.
Entries are open to WeGO guild members. Items are to arrive in Eugene between 11-15-22 to 12-15-22. If items will be delivered in person, contact Sarah Mostkoff at sardil@teleport.com. If items are mailed, send to Sarah Mostkoff at 1430 Willamette St. #619, Eugene, OR 97401, and contact Sarah at the above email to notify her when work is shipped.
For questions, contact Sarah at sardil@teleport.com, Charlene at cvirts@pacbell.net or Marilyn at marilyn@marilynrobert.com

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, Now-December, 2022

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.

More info here.


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


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.


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!”

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