Piedmont Fiber Guild News
Volume 9, Number 3
November 2008
Check out our web site at http://www.piedmontfiberguild.org/
CALENDAR
2008-2009
BOARD MEMBERS
President
Shirley Young
Past President
Kathryn White
Membership
Jim Burke
Programs
Tanya Ortiz-Gansley
Service Projects
Lisa Matthews
Hospitality
Sallie Olson
Secretary
Ryan Matthews
Publicity
Dot Burns
Workshops
Sara Munday
Treasurer
Vivian Brenner
Librarian
Lynn Eskridge
Newsletter
Alice Harrill
Website
Maurice Blackburn
Saturday, November 8
9:00 – 3:00 Handwork Meeting at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens at
Textile Heritage Day.
Sunday, November 16
2:00 – 4:00 The November monthly meeting at Unity Place. This
month’s program is “A Horse and Pony Show by the Fiber Studio at
Yarns to Dye For.” Debbie and Stephanie will present a show and tell
of items from the studio, as well as information about classes. Becky
Patrick and Susan Proctor will bring food and Victoria Johansson will
bring drinks for this meeting.
November 8 – February 21
Lewis Hine Photo Exhibit at Gaston County Museum of Art and History
Upcoming Monthly Meetings
The Piedmont Fiber Guild holds its monthly meetings in Gastonia at
Unity Place, 201 West Franklin Street (HWY 29) at the corner of
Franklin and South Streets. The public is always welcome to attend the
monthly meetings, so invite your friends. Mark your calendars for
upcoming meetings: December Social TBA, January 18, February 15,
March 15, April 19, and May 17. January’s program is “From Field to
Factory,” a power point discussion by Jeff Pruett of the Gaston County
Museum of Art and History. He will present a historic overview of the
cotton process in Gaston County Mills. February features our own
Genie Greenlaw with “Exercises for the Wrist.”
PIEDMONT FIBER GUILD YAHOO GROUP
Keep up daily with the PFGuild! You can read and respond to e-mail
from our chat group on Yahoo. You never know what the subjects
might be, though they are usually fiber-related. The group is for
PFGuild members only. To join the group, go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/
Enter pfguild into the search window, and then follow the directions.
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Community Outreach and Handwork at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens
The Piedmont Fiber Guild is partnering with Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens to present
demonstrations and hands-on crafts at Textile Heritage Day on Saturday, November 8. The festival is
from 9:00-3:00 and will focus on plants as a source of fibers and dyes. Sara Munday is coordinating
the event for the guild, and is planning a number of activities for the public, including:
1. A fabric (or paper) bookmark with a leaf print on it - ie paint the leaf with fabric paint, lay it onto the
fabric and poof! A memento of the day!
2. Recycled CD drop spindles - make one and learn to spin yarn – we could include cards with more
info on where/how to get fiber to continue beyond the initial experience.
3. Felt bookmarks or coasters or pins or some small item.
In addition, there will be demonstrations of our handwork all day long. We hope to have everyone
there on November 8. Please contact Sara at zinniagirl28056@yahoo.com with your plans and further
ideas.
The Buzz on SAFF
The annual Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair attracted many of our guild members to Asheville on
October 24-26. Maurice Blackburn has posted pictures on the PFG website. Here are some reactions
gleaned from the PFG chat group:
Maurice: As it was our first visit to SAFF we could not compare it to previous years. We didn't take
part in any workshops but had a good day talking to a whole range of people. We went on Friday
when it was cold and wet. This only presented a problem when we visited one group of booths that
were not located in the main hall.
Genie: I kind of missed the huge crowds. That's part of the fun of these events. Didn't take any
classes this time. I did quite well in the buying department for someone who wasn't going to buy
anything--just a few things. Sunday can be a good day to go, because things are as picked over as
they're going to be then, and it helps one refrain.
Lisa: Ryan and Josh and I had a blast at SAFF on Friday and Sunday. I entered two pieces of
feltwork in the 2-D contest and got some very nice feedback. Tencil and sockyarn came home to be
dyed and several other things. Saw lots of friends and made new ones so that was really cool. The
lady weaving Sunday for the Sheep to Shawl area was just awesome and I'm deeply inspired by what
she showed me. I have a LOAD of singles that now are crying out to become weft:>. I haven't been
able to knit much in a while but wore a mohair shawl I have made. On Friday a lady came up to me,
took hold of the shawl, and really complemented me on it. She was an author and teacher there for
the weekend and I was just walking on cloud 9 after that! Silly of me I know.
Kathryn: What she's not sharing here is that the woman who admired her shawl was Charlene
Schurch. Nice to have your work admired by a pro, eh?
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Nomadic Looms: History and Construction
by Lisa Matthews
patience and a willingness to experiment since
there are few opportunities to see these looms in
use.
Lisa at her self-constructed loom
Photo by Lydia Towery
Nomadic peoples worldwide and throughout history
have been faced with the problem of how to create
cloth for their clothing, bags, tents, carpets, and
other items. Thought had to be given to ease of
use, portability, and the materials available to
create the tools used for the unending creation of
thread and cloth. The purpose of this class is to
look at the time-tested forms of nomadic and
portable looms and apply these concepts to
creating a loom appropriate for both the beginner
weaver on a budget and the weaving aficionado
who wishes to explore the engaging skills sets of
warp and weft substation, brocading, and other
period techniques. Variations of the ground loom,
first depicted in ancient Egypt for linen production,
are still in use in various forms from Central Asia
through the Middle East and in Africa. This timetested loom design is extremely versatile and can
be used to create a variety of fabric from fine linen
to cut pile carpets.
The basics of this design are similar to
the design of the backstrap loom which was found
in South America but is also a traditional loom in
Asia. The commonalities of these two designs give
us the ability to create a warp and heddle system
that can be moved from weaving on a ground loom
outdoors to being woven as a backstrap loom while
indoors by simply changing the method for
tensioning the warp. This creates a loom which can
be warped and taken to and from events, practices,
and homes, giving the weaver a lost cost loom to
create a period style fabric. For the novice weaver
this can represent a savings of hundreds of dollars
by allowing them to try the craft without buying
expensive loom equipment. The trade off is great
The ground loom was first suspected to
be in use in Catal Huyuk in Anatolia around 6000
B.C., but the ancient Egyptians depicted this type of
loom in their pottery decorations, wall paintings,
and funerary objects. The ground loom is also
called the two bar loom or the horizontal loom and
can be used with or without a heddle bar. Scholars
believe the first ground looms lacked heddles,
which would mean the weaver deftly picked the
warp threads up with her fingers to insert the weft
thread. As time went by the technological advance
of the heddle bar was added, allowing the process
of weaving to be sped up and the easier creation of
more complex weaving patterns such as the long
hop twills found on the Tarim mummies of China.
When either one heddle bar and a series of pick up
sticks or multiple heddle bars are used the
complexity of the fabric can be greatly embellished.
The beauty of this simple loom is that it can be
made simply with sticks and set up and torn down
quickly.
The humble ground loom can be used to
produce linens, silks, Persian rugs, kilims, yurt
bands, saddlebags and tent fabric among other
items. Varying the way the loom is warped enlarges
the weaver’s ability to create intricate decorative
designs. There are two different ways to warp the
loom. The nomads of the Middle East and the
ancient Egyptians are often pictured weaving with
the entirely of the warp spread out its whole length,
while many of the yurt band weavers of
Kazahkstan, Kyrgystan, Karakalpakastan and the
surrounding areas are pictured actually sitting on
the warp which is a continuous loop that they
simply move around as the need to advance arises.
Both techniques seem to work equally well, but with
experience, a weaver will decide which one suits
his or her needs.
The preceding article is an excerpt from
Lisa’s blog. She recently taught a class for the SCA
(Society for Creative Anachronism) in ground
looms. More information on these looms including
basic steps to build your own can be found at
http://www.alyclepal.blogspot.com/ Lisa has many
hobbies including felting and yurt building, historical
reenactments, heavy combat, knitting, weaving,
horses… the list goes on. A truly amazing woman!
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Classes at Full Circle Arts
Full Circle Arts in Hickory is offering the
following classes in November and December.
Contact info is:
Full Circle Arts
266 First Avenue NW
PO Box 3905, Hickory, NC 28603
322-7545
www.fullcirclearts.org
Classes at The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye
For
Contact information:
The Fibre Studio at Yarns To Dye For
4370 Colwick Road
Charlotte, NC 28211
704-366-7577
info@fibrestudioshop.com
Tapestry Weaving, Taught by Genie Greenlaw
Two Saturdays, Nov 15 and Dec. 13
1:00 – 3:00
Class - $30
Materials fee - $20
Please sign up by November 7.
Ages 16 to adult
Felted Clogs
Thursday, November 6, 13, and 20
12:30
Knitted then felted clogs
$45 plus materials
Creating a Surface Using Acrylic Paints and
Joint Compound. Taught by Andrew Atkin
Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23,
2:00 to 4:30
$60 for FCA members $80 for non-members
Registration deadline is Nov. 15. Class space
is limited to eight students, so please register
early. Ages 16 to adult
Reverse Stained Glass. Taught by Andrew
Atkin
Saturday, December 6, 10:00 to 1:00
$60 for FCA members $80 for non-members
Registration deadline is Nov. 29. Class space
is limited to eight students, so please register
early. Ages 16 to adult.
10:30-
Francis Revisited
Friday, November 14 & 21 10:30-12:30
Peruvian tweed sweater
For beginner/intermediate knitter
Mobeius Demystified
Wednesday, November 12 6-8pm
Free
Ideas or Suggestions for the
Newsletter?
Send an e-mail to Alice Harrill
aharrill@carolina,.rr.com. Submission deadline
is the 25th of the month for the following
month’s newsletter.
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