NOBO Handweavers

At the last meeting, the membership of NOBO voted unanimously to join NEWS (New England Weavers’ Seminar).  This volunteer organization of weaving guilds from New England gathers together to host an action packed conference every 2 years  to promote, what else, weaving and fiber related arts with courses, exhibits and speakers. The next NEWS will take place July 7-12, 2011 at Smith College.

With the planning process underway, NOBO will send 2 representatives to participate in planning this event. NOBO’s designated task during the conference will be to manage the installation of Guild Shows.  NOBO members will also have the option of submitting pieces in any of the juried shows to be displayed  during NEWS.

Congratulations, NOBO on stepping forward to support the mission of NEWS and thank you, reps Joan and Kathie for volunteering to represent NOBO.

Rose Corrigan, first to step forth and be our Lady Calendar aka Calendar Girl, will be on the lookout for fiber events AND will add them to our website calendar.  Please share any fiber-related activities, near and far, with Rose.

Gail Gentile has identified the lack of and agreed to fill the much needed position of … Town Crier.  Gail will be pronouncing the main agenda of upcoming meetings and “posting a notice” on our website.  She will do this well in advance of the meeting so everyone will know what is planned for the evening.  Some surprises are still guaranteed though!

Come join NoBo (North of Boston) Handweavers as we welcome Peruvian weaver Gaby Puma Sallo. Gaby is from Chinchero, a small village located in the center of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, halfway between Cusco and Machu Picchu. She will be demonstrating weaving on a backstrap loom and will also have textiles for show and sale (cash purchases only please).

Thursday, July 15, 7pm
Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm
5 Little’s Lane
Newbury, MA
$5 donation
Proceeds to benefit Gaby’s village

For those of you who missed the meeting last night, I am helping some friends sell a bunch of weaving and spinning equipment.

There’s also a little fiber.

Several items have already sold, but there’s still a lot left.

You can email me for the latest list, or start by reading this summary.

Please contact:

Polly Tomer
Windham, NH
603-889-7540
mhs47@comcast.net

Looms:

20″ 4H Wooden tapestry table loom, similar to Schact looms,
item # 1. Good condition. $45

24.5″ 4H Metier Clement table loom. No reed; needs some parts
reconnected; removable sections for warp beam. Item # 3. Fair
condition. $130

60″ 8H Swedish floor loom and bench. Likely a Glimakra. It’s
disassembled, but was in use prior to a recent move. Fair to
good condition. Item # 11. $650

15″ 4H Leclerc Dorothy Table loom. Good condition. Item #16. $125

Stands and Benches

Leclerc stand for Dorothy table loom. Good condition. Item #23. $52

Leclerc loom bench with lid and two open side wells. Good condition.
Item #12. 12.4″w, 38.5″l,  23″h. $125

Leclerc loom bench with lid and two open side wells. Good condition.
Item #24. 12.4″w, 38.5″l,  23″h. $125

Leclerc loom bench with lid and two open side wells. Good condition.
Item #25. 12.4″w, 38.5″l,  23″h. $125

Small loom bench with lid. 12″w, 24.5″l, 23″h. Good condition.
Item #13. $100

Warping Tools

Leclerc spool rack (creel) and spools. Good condition. 10 rods,
2 sections wide. Item #6. $57

Hand made warping board with blackboard back. Excellent for a
weaving teacher! Excellent condition, 36″x37″. Item #7. $170

Large Leclerc warping board. 63″w x 24″h. 21-yard board. Good
condition. Item #10. $52

1/2 yard warping board. Good condition. Similar to Leclerc
boards. Item #17. $25

Home made raddle. 1/2″ spacing. Long nails. Good condition.
Item # 9A. $15

Home made raddle. 1/2″ spacing. Long nails. Good condition.
Item # 9B. $15

Home made raddle. 1/2″ spacing. Long nails. Good condition.
Item # 9C. $15

Wooden swift. Good Condition. Item # 8. $30

Spinning Wheels

Louet Spinning Wheel.Probably the S10 model or similar.
Single treadle. Good condition. Item #4. $275

Unknown spinning wheel, similar to Louet. Single treadle.
Good condition. Item #5. $250

Fiber and Fabric

Brown Wool for spinning. Rough estimate is 1 pound. Good
condition. Item #20. $12

White wool for spinning. Rough estimate is 2 pounds. Good
condition. Item #21. $25

Box of fabric remants, roughly 10 pounds. Some folded, some
wide rolled strips. Good condition. Good for rag rug weaving.
Item #22. $22

Take a few moments to peruse the Fiber Reading List. Melissa and I have finished updating the original listing and Melissa has completed the descriptions. Thanks to Ted, it is now part of our website. The listing is accessible by going to the top Menu Bar on the Home page of the site, clicking on Fiber Reading List and using the same password that gives you access to the Library. We will discuss the list and plans for another type of listing during this week’s guild meeting on Thursday, June 24, 7pm at A Loom with a View, Newburyport.

Remember to bring your favorite weaving book to share with everyone. Also, showing of a piece or pieces inspired by the book is encouraged.

See you Thursday evening!

During the May meeting, we received some wonderful contributions to our library from long-time members Patricia Morton and Sue Jones (well, as “long-time” as is possible), in addition to several items from Linda Snook, Librarian for the Weavers’ Guild of Boston. Also during that meeting, Terry Anderson, a brand new member, donated her extensive collection of Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot magazines. These items, along with a book recently received from John Nove by way of Liz Sorenson, and a couple of publications donated from my personal collection, have been catalogued, shelved, and are in the process of being added to the NOBO Library Web site, compliments of Ted Gent. Thank you, one and all.

June 20, 2010:

The following quote, printed on the back cover of The Handspun Project Book, is attributed to one Joan Z. Rough:

“ ‘Where do you ever get the patience to raise the sheep, to spin the wool into yarn, to transform the spun fibres into a sweater or a pillow?’ I hear the question often, and it always surprises me: because I am not particularly patient with most of the everyday duties of an ordinary late twentieth century person. But patience doesn’t enter into my work with fibres. The time I can spend weaving, or spinning, or simply watching the sheep grazing in the field is relaxing time. It is time to be refilled with some of the wonder for life’s simplicity that we have lost with our childhood. It is time to recover from an hour’s bill paying, in which I have been warned in no uncertain terms about folding, spindling and mutilating. It is time to enjoy the beauty around me, when I am not asked to tamper with the natural rhythms of life. The birth of a lamb, the small of a sack of newly shorn wool, the sound of the spinning wheel and the pull of the fibers between my fingers, the color that develops from the weeds in the dyepot: these are what permit me to deal with a computerized society that too often challenges what little patience I have. My work is not a question of patience; it is a question of making the time to enjoy and appreciate what is left of the real world. And whatever I can turn out with that time, be it a sweater, or a wall-hanging, or a pillow, it is a product of myself, the proof of who I am and what I believe.”

Although the book was written and published by Deborah Kahn in 1978, I believe the above quote has just as much meaning today as it then. Perhaps more. It’s an interesting book; I’ll bring it to the meeting this week.