The Memphis Guild of Handloom Weavers
2009-2010 News & Events

Programs

Our May workshop was Daryl Lancaster's Jumpstart Jacket. We turned handwoven yardage into custom-tailored jackets.

MGHW hosted the Color Horoscope workshop with Bonnie Tarses January 23-24 at Eva & Victoria's studio in Hernando, MS. Members who not taking the workshop were invited to attend a potluck salad bar lunch and a presentation by Bonnie, "Exploring Not-So-Plain Weave" on Sunday.

Top Ten Meeting Highlights - February 27, 2010

Hello Weavers,

So it has been almost a week since our yarn sale and if you are like me you have been admiring all the goodies that you walked away with. Some walked away with trash bags full while others had there arms full. It was a successful day as some got yarn, others a nice spring cleaning, and the education fund increased substantially. Almost everything sold, and Mary Jorgensen said it was one of our most successful yarn sales. Here are the top 10 highlights from last weeks meeting.

1. We displayed some of the results of the Bonnie Tarses workshop and talked about our experiences. I think everyone who took the workshop was pleased with the results. There are still several people who have not finished their shawls. I hope these people will bring them in and show them off when they are finished. We also talked about the fact that Bonnie thought we were one of the best groups she has ever taught. Bonnie has also stated that she would love to come back and teach us again. Her suggestions were Woven Words and Ikat. If this is something you would be interested in put it on your survey. We have all workshops for next year, however, if there is enough interest we will keep it in mind for the future.

2.That brings me to my next point Surveys. NOT ONE single survey was completed. I hope people will take some time and write down the good the bad and the ugly. We really want to know what we can do to keep our guild at the top. That means trying to get programs and workshops that expand our knowledge and take us outside the box. We want to be the best that we can be.

3.With this in mind, that brings me to my third point. There are a few new members who feel like there is not enough geared toward their skill level. At the meeting I talked about this. It is a very tricky balancing act. The year before it was said that all the workshops were geared toward beginners, and yet many of the beginners did not take the workshops. We are really trying to have a wide range of workshops offered pleasing as many as possible. Unfortunately this year we had some rescheduling that was unforeseen. Everything that was planned did not take place. This being said, we intend to find that perfect balance for next year. We have already planned for workshop that will encompass all levels from novice to experienced weavers. Also we are trying to make that sure some are inexpensive. Our plans are to have several workshops/activities that are affordable and available for all to participate in.

4.We also discussed the study groups that the educational committee started. While we have made more progress than in years past, we are still unable to get to the point, where we have a well oiled machine. The problem I see is time. Everybody is so busy, and unless we make time for these programs, they will never get started. My suggestion is to first reduce the number of topics. We can designate a meeting toward making the study groups happen. Instead of having a program we would start the study groups. These are just some thoughts. I fear that if we do not create some sort of progress they continue to go by the wayside.

5.Also we talked about this year’s Weavers Challenge. Last year we had the topic PINK. Unfortunately we decided so late that we did not get that many entries. We will be voting on the topic at the next meeting. Bring all suggestions or email them to eccassel@aol.com I hope everyone will participate this year.

6.Time for a changing of the guard! It is the second year of service for many of the officers. So it is time to nominate people to fill open positions. If you are currently holding a committee or officer position, and do not want to keep it please let us know before the next meeting. If you want to nominate or put yourself up for a particular position please let us know too. We need all the help we can get and the more people that get involved the better it will be for the guild. I hope everyone will get involved!!!

7.We voted to continue donating to CERF Craft Emergency Relief Fund and to the HGA Fiber Trust. We were unable to vote on the WARP Weave a Real Peace because several members wanted to look up their current activities. We will be voting on this in March so please look up this group and come ready to vote.

8.The Daryl Lancaster workshop is getting close. I hope everybody who is participating has at least started to plan. If you have any questions please ask. We do not have anyone who has volunteered to host Daryl. We are looking for someone who is taking the workshop and does not live too far from the studio. If you are interested please let us know. We decided at the meeting, that if there are no volunteers then we will put her in a nice hotel or bed and breakfast in Hernando.

9.If anyone took good notes at the Tarses workshop we would like you to email or mail them to us. We would like to put together a worksheet of information to give to the members who were unable to attend due to the schedule change. You can email us at eccassel at aol dot com or mail it to Eva Cassel 2073 Green Chase Drive Hernando, MS 38632.

10.Last but not least I want to THANK everyone who participated in the yarn sale. A special thanks to Mary Jorgenson, Linda Weghorst, and Roni Engle who worked hard at the sale. Also thanks to everyone who brought and bought yarn. It is you that made this sale a success.

I look forward to seeing everybody at the next meeting on March 27th. Jennifer Sargent will be having a power point presentation on the textile museum in Washington. It looks like it will be very interesting.

Happy Weaving,
Victoria Port

Meeting Highlights - January 24, 2010

Dear Weavers,

Since this was not a traditional meeting I will not be able to get 10 highlights, however, here are some notes on this weekend. Let me say WOW I think I speak for everyone when I say that Bonnie Tarses was exceptional. We got a lot of information in a very short period of time. I think personally what I liked the most about the workshop was that it was not about restricted rules and patterns but instead the unlimited possibilities of color. I was inspired and I hope that everyone who took the workshop feels the same way. Please bring your finished project to the meeting in February for show and tell.

The meeting on Sunday was extremely short in order to conserve time. We did talk about some of the donations we have made annually and whether to continue all of these or not. We were unable to agree on which ones so we decided to move the decision to February. We will open the floor for discussion so bring your arguments. Also we asked everyone to bring back their survey sheet with your wishes for next years topics. If you do not have a survey you can get it on our web site.

Sharon Williams will be picking up any Pink Projects that you have on Thursday at the guild room. The project must have at least one strand of pink in it. Please email Sharon at sewweaver@gmail.com if you have something to contribute.
Now that we have completed the Bonnie Tarses workshop it is time to think about Darryl Lancaster. If you have not started to think about your fabric you need to soon. It is a lot of fabric to weave and time is running out. Some people said that they did not get the instructions for the Lancaster workshop. I have attached it to this email. If you are not taking the workshop just ignore the instructions. You can also find the instructions on Darryl's web site www.darryllancaster.com. It is under he topic workshops, The Jumpstart Jacket 3 day workshop prospectus. If you have problems ask questions.
DON'T WAIT TO THE LAST MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are plenty of people who are willing to help. If you do not allow for enough time there might be problems.

Last but not least, unfortunately Linda Weghorst will not be able to have the Painted Warp Workshop in February. She has promised to do it at a later date. So instead we will be having a normal meeting and the yarn sale that we have been talking about for a very long time. The money will go toward the Guild's education fund. If you have any yarn that you want to donate towards the sale please bring it. You can also bring anything that has to do with weaving to sell i.e. equipment and books. Come ready to buy.

The meeting was followed by Bonnie's presentation describing her weaving journey and what you can do with plain weave. It was interesting, inspiring, and very entertaining.

Finally a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the workshop and to everyone who brought yummy food. Carol your soup was delicious send the recipe to our newsletter please. A very special THANK YOU to Elizabeth Lewis who hosted Bonnie Tarses. Both Elizabeth and Bobbie Embrey put in a lot of work to make Bonnie's trip perfect!!!

Keep on weaving,

Sincerely,
Victoria

Top 10 Meeting Highlights - Saturday, December 12, 2009

Greetings,

I'm sending the 10 points from our December meeting. First of all I want to thank Linda Weghorst for being such a perfect hostess. The Christmas Luncheon was awesome. The Auction was great, and we got more money in to the Guild's Educational Fund.

1. The Bonnie Tarses Workshop will be January 23-24. The luncheon (Potluck salad bar) will be on Sunday the 24th at 1:00PM. You are all welcome. We will have a small meeting and hopefully a presentation by Bonnie. You will also see how our colorful horoscopes are working out. This is still in Hernando and instructions on how to get here will come later.

2. We have to move Linda’s workshop, Painted Warp, to February 27-28. We decided on a 2 day workshop. A list has been started and it is a limit of 15, so please contact us if you are interested. The cost is $25.00 (materials) and you will need a loom. You will receive instructions, but it will also be posted on our website. We are trying to have this workshop at the Fred Rawlinson Studio in Germantown.

3. The planned yarn sale will have to be moved and it will be on another weekend in February or after the meeting in Mars. Start packing down what you do not need, donate it to the Guild, buy some more yarn at the yarn sale, and the Guild will have more money for Education. We are planning to have instructors, that could be expensive, and if we have a fund to help substitute part of the cost, it will not be so difficult to participate. This is what the Guild is supposed to do for us... help us grow as weavers. We are also trying to plan ahead regarding instructors, because if you are in the "last minute" you will probably not get the instructor you want.

4. As we are discussing the Program for this coming spring we will try to have a 3hr Basket Weaving class during the summer.

5. The Nuno Felting will be postponed to next year.

6. Convergence in Albuquerque is almost here. Registration started Dec. 14th. You can go in on the website weavespindye.org and see what’s available... classes, instructors, exhibits, dates and registration forms. Many are going from the Guild.

7. The Blue Ridge Fiber show will take place in the fall of 2010. If you want to participate in a show this is a nice one. More info will come later.

8. Roni Engle reminded us about the Textiles and Embroidery from the Silk Road Exhibit at the Jewish Community Center on Poplar near Kirby. It is a must see show and will end January 10th.

9. Angela Schneider wants us all to sign up for the Yahoo group. Send a message to mghw-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

10. We have two new members: Timothy McCollum and Jane Wilcox.

Thanks for bringing good food, auction items, buying auction items, and last but not least your wonderful attitudes.

Merry Christmas,
Eva and Victoria

Top 10 Meeting Highlights - Saturday, September 26, 2009

Top 10 Highlights from September’s Meeting

We just came back from another great meeting. I want to thank everyone participating in the preparation for this year’s Pink Palace Craft Fair. Here are the highlights from September’s meeting:

1. Mary collected all the items to sell and display at the Pink Palace Craft Fair. If you have items that you would like to sell email Mary Jorgensen before October 1st in order to get them displayed in our booth.

2. Also we had a lot of volunteers sign up to teach the kids and man the booth at the fair. If you are interested in participating in the event there is still time to sign up contact Mary Jorgensen for more information. We hope everyone will come by the booth and support us some time during the fair.

3. On another topic, we are trying to start our study groups and are looking for people who are interested in the various topics that we are offering this year. The topics are:

Double Weave mentor to be determined
12 shafts and more mentored by Mary Jorgensen MDJWeaver at earthlink.net
Tablet weaving mentored by Angela Schneider angela at memphisfiberarts.org
Exploration in drafting mentored by Jennifer Sargent jsargent at mca.edu
Beginning weaving new start up project mentored by Linda Weghorst lgweghorst at comcast.net

If you are interested in any of these study groups email the mentor of the group to find out more information.

4. Angela has posted the classes for the next Scarf in a Day classes and we sent around a sign up sheet for volunteers to help with warping and teaching. The classes will be Saturday October 17th and Saturday October 24th. This is a great opportunity for new weavers to learn how to warp a loom. If you can help set up or teach please contact Angela. angela at memphisfiberarts.org

5. Not many people have signed up to write articles for our newsletter. We are trying to get one person to sign up each month and write an article about something interesting regarding weaving. Please contact Mary Ann May at mamay at comcast.net and help us make our newsletter interesting. The articles are due on the 8th of each month. Remember to send anything that you find interesting i.e. photos, articles, and recipes.

6. Membership fees are due by October 1st if you have not paid please send a $30.00 to the guild Mail Box: P.O Box 240661 Memphis, TN 38124-0661 You will not be in the directory if you do not pay your dues.

7. We are thinking ahead to next year’s weaver’s challenge. In order to get everybody excited to participate we are looking for suggestions on the topic. Bring your suggestions to the December lunch and we will vote on our next challenge.

8. We had a lot of interest in basket weaving at the meeting. So we are going to find out if we can get a class set up for the spring. We will send out more information about this when we have an idea about dates.

9. We are looking for a volunteer to host the Holiday Luncheon on December 12th. We would greatly appreciate anyone who can volunteer. Contact us at eccassel at aol.com

10. Roni Engle did a fabulous job leading the discussion on the pros and cons of weaving equipment. It was both interesting and informative. I think both the new and experienced weavers learned a few new tricks. Thank You Roni!!!

Last but not least there are a few out-of-towners who will need somewhere to sleep on November 14th for the Bonnie Tarses workshop. If you have an open guest room and are attending the workshop please let us know. Thank You! I look forward to seeing everyone at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair!

Happy Weaving,

Victoria Port

Top 10 Highlights - Saturday, August 22, 2009

Thank you to all who attended this first meeting of the 2009/2010 year. It looks like it will be a fun year! We have attempted to cover as many subjects as possible requested on the surveys this year. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Mary Jorgensen reminded everyone about the Pink Palace Craft Fair that is going to be held on October 1st through the 4th. The set up day will be on September 30th. We hope everyone is preparing items to be sold. Bring these items to the September 26th meeting. Also, we need people to sign up to work the booth. If you are able to help in any way please contact Mary Jorgensen
2. In addition we will need people to help prepare for the kids at the fair. We need volunteers to help warp the peacock looms and to help make tags for the kids. We are looking for as much help as we can get. Our work day is Wednesday, September 2 starting at 9:30 in the weaving room.
3. We also reminded everyone about Project Pink which we have as the weavers challenge for this year’s Pink Palace Fair. I hope everyone is intending on participating. Project Pink is based on breast cancer awareness. We will need your items to display at the September 26th meeting. You can sell these items if you want to, or save them and display them again in the North Mississippi’s Guild show in February. If you have any questions please email us.
4. Roni Engle will be leading the group in a discussion at the September 26th program. We will be discussing the good the bad and the ugly regarding different types of looms. This is an open forum for everyone to participate. I hope everyone will share information. For new weavers bring questions and we will try to answer. If you have equipment that you love please share why and where you got it etc. Please come prepared to add to the conversation. If you have questions contact Roni.
5. Bonnie Tarses was a large topic of discussion at the last meeting. It seems there were lots of questions regarding her workshop. Bonnie is an experienced colorist who has developed a system for color horoscopes. Everyone who takes the workshop will receive a recipe for their own horoscope with instructions for weaving. The guild voted at the last meeting to pick up part of the tab for this workshop. This means, that the workshop has been reduced from $150 per person to $100 per person. Now let me put a little perspective on this. The kit alone is $50 (not including yarn) so we will essentially be paying $25 dollar per day to have the class. Bonnie says that she will be discussing color exercises. If you come with an open mind and lots of questions we should learn something new. This will also make sure that we actually complete the kit. Should you want another horoscope Bonnie will sell additional horoscopes for $35. If you are interested and want to take the class please contact us soon as possible. If you have already signed up for the class you will be receiving an email from Bonnie directly telling you what to do.
6. Two of our own very talented members will be sharing their skills this year. Linda Weghorst will be having a workshop in January on painted warps. More information and sign up for this workshop will be held at a later meeting. This looks like it will be a fun workshop. Jennifer Sargent will be having a power point presentation in March on the Textile Museum in Washington DC. This looks like it will be very interesting. Thank you to both Linda and Jennifer for taking the time to help us out.
7. In May we will have Daryl Lancaster come and teach her jumpstart jacket workshop. This workshop deals with woven fabrics and sewing. There is one space left if you are interested email us and let us know.
8. The education committee met over the summer and developed a strategy for this year’s programs. Among these programs are several study groups. The topics will be:
   Double Weave - mentor to be determined
   12 shafts and more mentored by Mary Jorgensen
   Beginning weaving project support mentored by Linda Weghorst
   Tablet Weaving mentored by Angela Schneider
   Exploring Drafting mentored by Jennifer Sargent
   If you are interested in any of the following study groups please email the mentor for more information. If you are interested in Double Weave email Susanne Allen and we will get a mentor if there is enough interest.
   All of these study groups are based on interest so please participate.
9. This year we have decided to have members sign up to write articles for the newsletter. Mary Ann May sent around a sign up sheet however not many signed up. We are asking that everybody helps with this and contributes at least one article this year. To sign up for one of the months please email Mary Ann. Remember that all articles are due on the 8th of the month.
10. For the program Eva Cassel started off a discussion regarding weaving yardage. Notes from that program were distributed to members. If you have any questions please email us.

Thank you to Bobbie Embry for bringing wonderful refreshments. I hope everyone will participate in this year’s fun.

Happy Weaving,

Victoria

 Class offerings 

Wanna weave? Weave a Scarf in a Day workshops were held Saturday, October 17 and 24, 2009. We set up the looms, you weave!

Wanna weave? Weave a Scarf in a Day workshops were held Wednesday, January 13, Saturday, January 16 and Saturday, January 23, 2010.

Details and Registration

 Exhibits & Shows 

Overton Park Gallery is currently showing artwork by guild member Angela Schneider along with wood turner Joan Kelly and metal sculptors Barry Cantrell and Bob Lyman. 1581 Overton Park Ave, next to Diane's Art, Gift & Home. The show has been extended through the holidays. Pictures from the show.

MGHW was at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair October 1-4 at Audubon Park. The guild is in the Demonstrating Craftsmen's tent. We had a demonstrating weavers, small looms for visitors to try, and the work of a dozen weavers for shopping.

 Events

MGHW members enjoyed our annual Holiday Potluck Luncheon and Silent Auction on Saturday, December 12th. Thank you Linda for hosting us. Members enjoyed delicious food, fellowship and goodies from the auction.

 News