NOBO Handweavers

Coming up soon is the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival, May 8 & 9, at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook. Same weekend, same place is also the New England Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association’s Alpaca Fest. Gates open at 9am both days, admission fee is $5, parking is free.

Not a festival to be missed!

Sometimes when I go web surfing, I find wonderful sites and don’t even know how I found them (serendipity!).

Here’s a case in point. I was on Ravelry which led to a site about the” fabulous Beekman boys”:

www.beekman1802.com

which led to Thistle Hill Weavers:

http://www.thistlehillweavers.com/

Thistle Hill Weavers create the most gorgeous loom woven rugs and stair risers. They also weave for Hollywood and have a long resume. Heck, they even wove loin cloths for Peruvian natives in the Indiana Jones movie!

I found them to be very inspirational—not that I’m about to attempt weaving historcal fabric yet!

On Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23, respectively, demonstrations will be held from1 – 4 p.m. in the Atrium at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem. There will be a total of three demos, one of which is entitled “Weaving the Waterways,” the description for which reads, in part, as follows: “Using back strap or stick looms, skilled weavers of Maya descent create a traditional huipil, or blouse with water motifs.” Unfortunately, no exact time for this particular exhibit is included in the PEM catalogue, but this is a lovely place to spend an afternoon, whether watching a weaving demo or something else.

This Thursday, April 22, 7-9 pm, is our 2nd Anniversary meeting. Come celebrate royally as we enjoy the planned festivities – please bring along something to add to the Feast (potluck), a skein or cone of yarn if you would like to participate in the Medieval Fiber Barter (aka Yankee Swap), and don’t forget something for Court Entertainment (Show and Share).  Our Exchequer would like to remind everyone to bring Gold Coins ($20/year dues now due, $10 one-time library fee).

April 18, 2010

If you read the March/April 2010 edition of Handwoven, you may have noticed the wonderful tribute to Russell Groff (1924-2010) on Page 8. The first paragraph reads as follows:

“For decades, Russell Groff has been a quiet force in the weaving world. From the time he was taught weaving by Army occupational therapists after suffering rheumatic fever during service in WW II, Russ was a tireless proponent of the craft. Fresh out of college, he “scrounged up” fifteen looms and started a weaving program in Santa Barbara, California, that has more than doubled in the ensuing years, and he established a commercial weaving business selling handwoven garments to retailers such as I. Magnin.”

The article goes on to discuss his business, Robin and Russ Handweavers, indicating that, in addition to providing weaving materials and tools from around the world, he published newsletters and books written either by himself or others. The article ends by saying that Mr. Groff admired people who had knowledge and were willing to share, and that many a weaver today has reason to thank him for those same gifts.

The NOBO library contains two books published by Robin and Russ Handweavers: “Card Weaving or Tablet Weaving” by Russell E. Groff and “1000+ Patterns in 4, 6, and 8 Harness Shadow Weaves” by Marian Powell. I’ll bring them with me to the meeting this week.

This Sunday, the 18th, distinguished knitter, weaver and color specialist, Cameron Taylor-Brown, (http://www.camerontaylor-brown.com/) , is presenting a workshop on the use of color in fiber arts. Details at http://www.seedstitchfineyarn.com/t-events.aspx .  The owner of Seed Stitch has informed me that if enough weavers sign-up Cameron will taylor the afternoon portion of the workshop to the application of her techniques in weaving. If you wish to attend for the afternoon portion only the cost is $35.

A local weaver is closing up her studio and is offering her Tools of the Trade loom and her vast supply of yarn ($1 ea!!!) for sale. If you are interested, please contact her directly.
Her loom info is here: Tools of the Trade
And the yarn info is here: YarnsFlyer