The Memphis Guild of Handloom Weavers

March 2010

The February issue of Common Threads, the MGHW newsletter, is now available. Send submissions now for the February issue.

Our March 27 meeting will feature our own Jennifer Sargent with a presentation on the collections from the Textile Museum in Washington DC – specifically a selection from their pre-Columbian and Coptic Collections. Also included in this presentation are some English Gardens and artwork Jennifer has done from that research.

Wanna Weave? A Beginning Weaving class will be held March 6-7. Design, prepare and weave your own scarf! Details and registration.

February 27 our weavers cleaned out their stashes and found great bargains from others at the MGHW Yarn Sale! We raised $950 for the guild's education fund.

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.

Participants - do you recognize your warp? Identify it to mghw@memphisfiberarts.org to add it to the image.

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.

Member Angela Schneider was the featured artist at the Overton Park Gallery in November and December 2009 along with wood turner Joan Kelly and metal sculptors Barry Cantrell and Bob Lyman. 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.

Our February meeting is a Yarn Sale! Start cleaning out your stash or get ready to build it up. In March we'll have a presentation by Jennifer Sargent about the Textile Museum in Washington DC and in April get ready to share your weaving experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly (but don't leave out the beautiful) - in a guild share program.

Our May workshop is Daryl Lancaster's Jumpstart Jacket. This class will teach you to turn your handwoven yardage into custom-tailored clothing. Weavers - be working on your yardage! Registration is now full! Workshop details and registration. We will keep a waiting list for any spots that open up.

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

2008-2009 Officers and Committee Chairmen and Membership Directory is available for members to update their handbooks.