Marshland tapestry and tapestry design workshops

 It's nice to put a tapestry weaver in the spotlight on these pages for a change. Tapestry proceeds so slowly. It can take months to complete a tapestry compared to a fabric weaver who can weave many things in that time, though not all fabric weavers do so. Here Walter Rothenburger stands proudly beside his beautiful rendition of his photogrpah of a canadian marsh. Many of us watched as Walter slowly and patiently wove this tapestry so we all felt the elation with him when the weaving part of it was finally done. Of course, many of us know that there is still the finishing work to do for this.

Many people have told how impressed they were with the images people painted for the Community Threads project in Alliston. Most of the people who painted these images had little if any, painting experience. I've been asked if I'd offer a painting and designing one week workshop for tapestry weavers and below are the details. Time is running out to reserve your spot so let me know asap.

DESIGNING FOR TAPESTRY WEAVINGAn intensive painting and design course for the tapestry weaver without art training. June 18 - 22 10am to 4pm
Toronto Weaving School, 255 Royal York Road, Toronto, On
$250. plus materials, $300 if you would like to include lunch.
Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca or telephone 905 836 1321
Register by May 1 2012

Lynne Wilson-Orr and Judite Vagners who have both studied tapestry with me,  have arrived in Peru to take Maximo Laura's tapestry weaving workshops organized by Puchka Tours. Lynne sent me an email recently and this is what she said:

Hello from Lima,

Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, we leave for Arequipa so I can

learn how to weave tapestries like this(turn sideways to see properly). 

We have been to museums, galleries, artist studios and a silver shop and 

eaten our way through a mountain of food. Almost no-one has been eating dinner as 

lunch starts at 1:30 and doesn't end until almost 4pm! There are 24 participants - 

4 husbands and 20 women, quite a few Australians, 9 Canadians and a couple of Americans. 

The photo is a detail of a tapestry by Maximo Laura who I will spend 4 days with as a teacher. 

His work is extraordinary and my family generously decided to give me money 

for a Peruvian artwork for my birthday so we now own one of his pieces. 

It is from his sun and moon series which resonates with me as the Spaniards 

referred to Peru as the land is the sweat of the sun(gold) and tears of the moon(silver). 

Debbie Harris has already done this workshop and bought a number of Maximo's tapestries as well.

Other info:

Alpaca roving for sale $7 / lb - contact Francois Seguin at frank257@sympatico.ca
Loom for sale

From: Kim Bushby [mailto:kbushby2@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 7:51 PMI have a 36" leclerc 4 shaft counterbalance

loom for 350.00 and a 45" leclerc 4 shaft counterbalance loom for 250.00. The 45"

is disassembled for transport but I have pics of it before being taken apart if anybody

is interested. Both looms are in good condition. Have a great weekend all,

Kim Bushby

Links
Remember the tapestry restoration we undertook recently? Mimma Draga sent us this link because the owner 's son, Joseph Rumi, was featured in the Mississauga paper

http://www.mississauga.com/what's%20on/article/1336783--historical-meets-contemporary-at-gallery

Another tapestry weaver and blog I enjoyed:

http://rebeccamezoff.blogspot.ca/2012/04/rhythm-and-rhyme-fuller-lodge.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+RebeccaMezoffTapestryArtist+(Rebecca+Mezoff,+Tapestry+Artist)

Designing for tapestry weaving one week course

DESIGNING FOR TAPESTRY WEAVING

An intensive painting and design course for the tapestry weaver without art training.

June 18 - 22 10am to 4pm

Toronto Weaving School, 255 Royal York Road, Toronto, On

$250. plus materials, $300 if you would like to include lunch.

Contact: Line Dufour tapestryline@sympatico.ca or telephone 905 836 1321

Register by May 1 2012

Bird's Eye rug, more scarf designs and workshops

Agota Dolinay modelling the silk scarf we showed you last week.

Spring is definitely in the air here in Toronto and the energy bursting from the earth comes through in the energy and enthusiasm of the participants of the weaving classes. The weaving class room is well lit ...lots of windows, and good indoor lighting making it a bright and cheerful place to be.  With the additional light of longer days its ideal conditions for the work we do.  Spring...with all that it connotes. Mostly hope...of renewed life and vitality, of looking forward to finishing projects and the anticipation of starting new ones.

Margaret Raines wove this bird's eye rug a gift for a friend.

Richard Rumi, and his son Joseph, picked up the Flemish verdure tapestry that they dropped off to us to do some restoration work on . Please check their website at www.rumigalleries.com where you will be dazzled by their array of antiques, and contemporary art. Their store/showroom is at 55 Woodlawn Avenue in Mississauga.

Michele Dubois has been cranking out scarves on her knitters loom. Here, a rayon chenille scarf in a log cabin pattern.

Workshops

A painted warp one  day workshop is scheduled for August 25 in Georgetown. If you have any questions about it please don't hesitate to ask.  RSVP if you are interested as space is limited. $30 for the day. includes dyes but other materials will be required. Deadline to register June 1.

A tapestry design one week workshop is scheduled for June 18-22. For more details see http://weavingworkshops.blogspot.ca/. deadline to register: May 1 2012.

Knitters Loom scarf by Michele Dubois

We'll be having a draw for a warping board. Winner will be announced first week in May. Tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5.

A note about this woven scarf pictured above .....although only plain weave, the order of the coloured threads created the patterning. Goes to show how interesting and diverse plain weave can be.

More knitters loom scarves by Michele Dubois.

Something for the tapestry weavers

Please read Lyn Hart's blog of what I think is a very inspiring tapestry experience.

http://www.desertsongstudio.com/2012/04/glen-canyon-lees-ferry-artist-residency-week-2-april-8-15-2012.htmlhttp://www.desertsongstudio.com/2012/04/glen-canyon-lees-ferry-artist-residency-week-2-april-8-15-2012.html

If you do not want to be receiving these emails please let me know.

An assortment of weaving activities and projects

From left to right: Sandi Dunn, Debbie Harris, Mimma Draga, Kate Kitchen and Agota Dolinay

Earlier in the week, I invited a number of weavers who take my weaving classes to assist me in doing some restoration work on a Flemish verdure tapestry.

From left to right: Kate Kitchen, Michele Dubois, Mimma Draga, Debbie Harris, Agota Dolinay and Sandi Dunn.

No one seems to know its title and we are unsure of who the figures are in the tapestry. I am also thinking that the tapestry is older than the owner believes it is - more in the neighbourhood of 500 years old, based on the fading of certain colours, the kind of composition and the figures. Here we are sewing on the hanging device.  By the end of the day we were tired but we thoroughly enjoyed each others company while doing such a mundane task! Kate kept us entertained with her singing!

Experimentation with new fibres is something that many weavers and knitters enjoy doing. Here, Agota Dolinay created her own huck design and used a subtly coloured silk yarn.

 Leslie Wynn wanted to share her latest project 'at home' project, using a combination of yarns, the warp being Harrisville, and the weft an unidentified yarn from an unknown supplier. She created this upholstery type fabric that is different on both sides, using a 1/3 herringbone.

 Kate Kitchen has taken up singing and the ukulele and has been spending much of her free time singing and playing when she is not weaving. She wove a bound weave strap for the ukulele and lots of people are asking to buy them.

 My students inspire me as much as they claim I inspire them. From each of them I discover qualities their qualities which provide me with a constant source of admiration. In this case, Fran was preparing a warp for a set of placemats. Unexpectedly the whole warp collapsed and her warp became an instant mess. She was determined to salvadge as much thread as possible and spent much of the day extracting the mutlicoloured threads from the body of the warp threads. What a task! One that I would definitely not endeavour. I doubt my sanity would hold out that long. Yet I know there are a number of you (and you know who you are) that go about this task calmly and with the utmost of patience. Bravo! Let's share more of our 'disaster' stories!

 

Two painted warps. On the left, by Anne Vagi, and on the right, Janet Andrews.

Another painted warp class and tonight we practiced gradation - trying to go from one end of the warp to the other by gradually changing from colour A to colour B (some used more colours).

[] Thank you to those who have paid their equipment fee. There are still some outstanding. Please remember to remit so that I can continue to provide you with some of the basics things we require for the class.

[] A correction to the schedule of the Wednesday weaving classes - May 16 is the last Wednesday class. If you picked up a sheet with the class dates on it, the last class does not appear.

[] I am doing a bike-a-thon for Heart & Stroke - Ride for Heart on the DVP (closed of course) on June 3. If you would like to make a donation go to https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=482564&supId=356112001 or if you don't feel comfortable doing it on-line, I'll be bringing in a pledge sheet. I'll be riding the 25k.

[] We have set a 'dye' day date to take place during the summer for those of who who wanted to participate in the 8 week one but could not. Anyone is welcome to join us but there is a limit as to how many people can do this one day intensive dye workshop so rsvp asap. The cost is $30. We are using only procion mx dyes which are for plant fibres such as tencel, bamboo, cotton. Silk can also be used. You must bring your own yarn and they must be either prepared as warps or in skeins. The date is August 25. It will take place in Georgetown. Maureen Krinicic has offered to host us at her house. She is providing the tables and a tent to shade us from direct sun and/or protect us from rain. We'll probably arrange car pooling.

Info from you

Susan Abrams writes:
Hi Line,
I noticed when I looked at your most recent Toronto Weaving School Newsletter and projects that the link for the "More Than Just a Yardage Sale" at the Textile Museum goes to "Mail Chimp". Unless I missed it I couldn't find either the poster below or the link to Strand News in my attachment. I just realized that maybe Mail Chimp comes up because it is shown on the bottom of the brochure..? The link to Strand News is www.strandnews.ca.   I realize this is a bit confusing. When I sent you the earlier email I tried to forward both the brochure (below) and the link to the website.
Also, the poster was intended to ask people to donate materials to the sale as well as attend it. People can either drop off their donations to the museum or, if they are large donations, have them picked up by phoning the number in the brochure.
If you wouldn't mind sending the information again when you send your next newsletter I'd appreciate it. Thanks again for your help.

From Petra a picture of newly born lambs in Wearyall Hill in Glastonbury in the UK.

Julia has a 21 inch width tapestry floor loom in perfect condition. It is Canadian made, and is a replica of the Ashford floor loom which retails for $600.00. A stretcher and a beater are included. She is asking $300.00 but is willing to negotiate.Contact Julia at juliajoyous@gmail.com.

 See you next week!

 

 

Flemish Tapestry Restoration and so much more

Scarf woven by Line Dufour

The spring weaving class session has started and the excitement and vitality among the students is energizing and stimulating as most are eager to undertake their respective projects or get them done before the spring session is over. Many, including myself, have had our share of weaving disasters ....and we have been happily sharing our mishaps. When I was sharing mine with Sandi Nemenyi a little while ago, she said that Cara Perry, the previous weaving instructor before me, used to say that you are a beginner with each new project. One way one could avoid that is  using the same fibre all the time  and making the same thing over and over again. Most of us don't want to do that.

The Community Threads tapestries continue and I am glad to report that enthusiasm is not waning in my absence. I visit them in Alliston once a month to discuss and assist in whatever way I can. Linda said they were deciding to create new designs and cartoons and she sent me some photos of some of the new possibilities as well as how much weaving they have accomplished thus far. They are choosing new designs and will be creating new cartoons to replace some of the preliminary cartoons. We are pleased that Jackie has done a wonderful job of weaving the section depicting the Fletcher monument, who are the founders of Alliston. A photo of their home is also included and was one of the first homes in Alliston. A plaque explains the history of the home. Included are photos of St.John's United Church in New Tecumseth.

A new tapestry adventure entered my life this week. An antique dealer named Richard came by with a historical verdure Flemish tapestry that is at least 300 years old. He has asked me to restore parts of it and to have it hang better than it does. I’ve selected a team of weavers to help me do some of the restoration work.

Our 8 week Painted Warp workshop is exciting and stimulating. We invited a guest co-instructor, Barbara Hilts, who is a renowned and talented silk painter and artist. We prepared warps to be dyed using mostly tencel, and some bamboo. We created our first low immersion dyed warp last Wednesday. This week we learned more about how to put colours together, sources of inspiration, and went over some technical details and preparations. Next week we look forward to doing some gradation dyeing on our warps.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was invited to the Pomegranate Guild in Toronto. I received this email from Rikki, person who hosted me:
Dear Line, What a lovely post you wrote in your blog! I am so impressed with the extensive research you made about the significance of the pomegranate! Very impressed! Your description of the meeting was very sweet. You truly captured the essence of our group. Your hostess, btw, is the president of the guild, and she was very happy to extend a warm welcome to you. As I told you I really love your work. Your choice of colours is magical. But more than that the colours and the designs come from a deep well of emotions and imagery that transcend verbal interpretation. And this is what I and the rest of the group responded to. You very rightly wrote that the fit was wonderful. When people of true faith come together, it doesn't mean that they have the same acts of observance, what matters is that they live true spiritual lives. You taught us a great deal that night. Not only about weaving and overcoming hard times, but also about listening to the voices of our creativity and following our hearts. We all felt the resonance of your words, and were inspired to continue in whatever art we do."Love and respect was palpable in this room: love of people, love of textiles, love of art and creativity."How very perceptive of you to capture our essence. Congratulations about having your work appear on a cover of a book! I am sure that it will give a lot of pleasure to many people for a very long time. It was a real pleasure to meet you and see your amazing work! Rikki.

Prayer Shawl with bag by Linda Morganstein. Linda also makes outstanding custom and artistic cakes for all occasions. She is truly a master at it and has received all kinds of media attention for them.

Toronto Weaving School Summer program
The summer one week kasuri/ikat courses are full, although the July 9-13 week can take a couple of more registrants. Cost is $250 payable immediately. The Designing for Tapestry has only 3 registrants so far. We need more registrants if this course is to run. For more details go to: http://weavingworkshops.blogspot.ca/ or email me. We are already planning our Summer 2013 courses. We will be happy to receive your suggestions, and we are inviting submissions to teach. Please contact me to know more details.

                                            Photo: scarf by Debbie Harris in shadow weave.

Buy, Sell, trade, donate, give, looking for......

http://www.sistering.org is always looking for donations for weaving, knitting, sewing. Contact them to know more details.
We need dry cleaner clear bags.
Toronto Weaving School needs more more table looms (donate, or buy)
For sale: a drum carder pictured below. Best offer. Address enquiries to me.

Events, Websites and Resources to check out.

• Susan Abrams is asking us to attend the Textile Museum of Canada’s ‘Garage Sale’ in May. The link gives you more details. http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8239d203275f20ac4c9994bcf&id=1cda020df9&e=15600efaec
• A tapestry blog worth checking out: http://www.debbieherd.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/australian-tapestry-workshop-masters-of.html
• Michele Dubois sends this along:
Creativ Festival - Spring 2012 (April 27-28): http://www.csnf.com/s12_index.html
2. 14th Annual Toronto Knitter's Frolic (April 28-29): http://www.downtownknitcollective.ca/dkc_frolic.html . While on the subject of knitting, check out Arlene Williams own knitting website....a new weaver to our class - http://webhome.idirect.com/~quanah/.
• Fran Gurwitz informs me of this exhibit at the Design Exchange: www.dx.org/index.cfm?pagePath=Exhibitions/Current_Exhibitions&id=19195
• Anne Vagi sent how to create easy to do patterned Easter eggs:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/16f3Kj/www.ourbestbites.com/2012/03/silk-dyed-eggs-aka-tie-dyed/
• An email from Kenny Dalsheimer, the director of the following movie sent this email:
We are happy to announce that "A Weaverly Path: The Tapestry Life of Silvia Heyden" is available for purchase on our website. We have DVD and Blu ray versions of the film for Home Use, Non-Profits/Weavers Guilds, and Universities/Institutions. We also have a limited number of DVD/Book Bundles which include the film and a signed copy of Silvia's book, The Making of Modern Tapestry. http://aweaverlypath.com/

More finished projects from the Toronto Weaving School

Scarf by Judy Hardy

Afghan by Karen Sinclair

2/16 tencel woven scarf in an 8 shaft plaited twill by Marion Kirkwood who is off to South Africa for 3 weeks.

A sweater knitted by Darlene Haywood over 20 years ago using Mano yarn. She’s kept the leftover yarn all these years and used it to make woven/felted scarves.

A rag rug by Joan McKenzie. Not sure what the socks are doing there.....maybe she knit them? To anyone sending pictures, make sure that you give me enough details and that it is well presented.

Diversity of weaving projects, purpose, techniques opportunities

 Weaving will keep one endlessly fascinated with the myraid array of weave structures and techniques. And if that doesn't make your head spin, there is much more to learn about looms and the assortment of equipment there is. Cassandra Morton is shown above with her just completed Doubleweave sampler based on Jennifer Moore's book. Cassandra took it  a step further, exploring how possible it is to create wavy lines instead of only straight and diagonal lines as well as introducing a third colour to explore the visual effect.

Leslie Wynn has been exploring her ideas at home and created a cushion and matching matt/wall hanging using mostly Harrisville yarn.

Cheryl Kerfoot brought in her exquisite collection of miniature overshot coverlets, handwoven and created for the doll house collectors. Below, a miniature weaving created by Margaret Tumity's husband based on one they had seen in the US. Apparently it was selling for $300. The loom actually works though the system is basic.

Amy Stein created this scarf using a  twill tapestry technique she learned while doing a workshop with Peter Harris. It is a very slow process requiring about 45 minutes for each row!!!!! The technique allows you to inlay a design. Amy created a free hand design which was then transferred to Stitch Painter on a grid, and using this grid as a reference, was able to create the design. She also wove this semi-sheer cotton curtain using an assortment of finger manipulated lace weaves. The picture below does it no justice and so we'll look forward to seeing another picture of it hanging on her French door, its intended destination. Amy will be leaving soon to live a year in France with her family.

Cheryl Yetman created this shimmering and almost psychodelic bamboo shawl using a pattern from the Handweavers Pattern Directory. Everyone was and is completely mesmerized by the impact of the design. It's inspired other people in the class to recreate the same pattern.

INTERESTING LINKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Carla Duncan writes: I have been looking for ideas about painted warp and found some images on this blog that helped give me ideas about the process. This may also be interesting to the other students taking the class.
http://lifeloomslarge.blogspot.com/2010/02/warp-painting-so-far-so-good.html

TASARA INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON TEXTILE, 1 July to 15 August 2012
A residential workshop exploring a variety of weaving and surface-design techniques, in a secluded, family-run setting. Experience India's legendary monsoon season in a place with year-round mild temperatures on Kerala's green coast.

Techniques include handweaving, natural dyeing, shibori, multicolour batik, wood block printing, silk screen printing, felting, tie and dye, etc. Instruction will be provided 5 days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Four-week residencies are offered during the workshop session which will run from 1 July (Sunday) to 15 August (Wednesday) 2012. The fee for a four-week residency will be 900 Euros per person, double occupancy, or 1200 Euros single occupancy. The fee covers tuition and basic workshop materials, accommodation in a spacious guest house, and all meals, including breakfast and dinner of south Indian cooking and self-catered lunch.

For more information and to register, please contact by March._26th. Confirmation of your registration by payment of 50% of the fee will be due by _30th April.
Registration is limited to 10 participants
vasudevantasara@yahoo.com www.tasaraindia.com

FINAL NOTES:

• If you are intending to return to the weaving classes for spring, please be sure to sign up if you have not already, especially if you have projects on the loom.
• Last Monday class is March 19. The spring Monday class starts April 2 and the Wednesday class starts March 28. The classes run for 8 weeks.
• The Painted Warp Off/On loom will start March 28 6-9pm.
• The Field Trip to the City of Toronto Textile Archives will be on June 6 Wednesday at 10:30 am. There is limited space so please book your spot asap.
• What to do when you've threaded your loom and you made a threading mistake and don't want to re-thread. A new items that I am excited about are clip on repair heddles  now available for both floor looms and table looms. They are $3 each.

Weaving Challenges have something to teach us and the latest woven projects

Each weaving project  captures a certain period in our life. While we are preparing the warp threads, dressing the loom, weaving the item, countless thoughts, feelings and events travels through our mind. The woven project becomes almost a record of that period, whether through easy or challenging times, it is a testament to our lives, our perserverance and our hope. We learn in weaving, as in life, that if we work steadily through the frustrations, the disappointments, the challenges that each project brings to us, we will still produce something that others will certainly admire, eventhough we may not being having such kind thoughts about our work. The lessons we learn while weaving can very much be applied to our daily lives and relationships with ourselves and others.

Anne is featured above in front of her doubleweave afghan. She had many challenges with this. She was very enthusiastic about this wonderful hand dyed mohair yarn from New Zealand which she purchased when she was there for a few months. We discovered that doubleweave with sticky yarn/wool is not a good idea, and using a counterbalance made it even more challenging. The project started out with the intention of being a cape, and due to the challenges, Anne decided to make it a throw. Anne responded to last week's blog and said:  "Thank you for this wonderful posting. It was very meaningful to me, as is your wise friendship. I finished my blanket, and it looks really lovely. I have decided to give it to Phil, my husband, as his 60th birthday present. I will tell him how this weaving project is similar to our relationship - imperfect, difficult in the making, but beautiful, warm, and worth the effort. I wanted to give up on it, and I now so appreciate your heartfelt encouragement to persist and complete it......" What you have said here Anne, I know inspires us all!

Gert Rogers completed this afghan for her daughter in Lemieux 2 ply.  She is making another for another daugther. Gert asked me why I write the blog. It's easy for me because you, and each student, what they say, how they react, what they do, inspires me and I enjoy writing about and sharing what inspires me.

Registration for the Spring weaving classes has begun. Please register asap. At risk are the evening classes in particular, Monday evening. If you have a project on a loom and are intending to complete, please get your registration in immediately. Spring weaving classes start Wednesday March 28 and Monday April 2. The special course offered for Wednesday evening is Painted Warp off and on Loom. Registration for this is directly with me (Line Dufour).

We love the versatility and gratification we get from the 12" Ashford Knitters Loom. We can whip a project up quickly and satisfy our weaving cravings! This is Michelle Dubois' first knitters loom project. If you like small looms, check out the Ashford Katie Loom....an 8 harness sampler loom. http://www.ashford.co.nz/newsite/weaving-wheels-looms/102/weaving/katie-table-loom/moredetail.html . If you'd like to order it, I'll give you $50. off and free shipping as the special of the day.

What is nice about weaving with other people around you is the positive energy it creates. Janice has been working on her family tartan blanket and another student left her a lovely and admiring note. Kate sent me an email saying : "I have really enjoyed this weaving that I am working on. And it is nice to just be working away back there and kind of listening to conversations. Last week a lot of people stopped by to see how my little weaving was going. That was very nice of them." We should have a picture of Kate's latest 'postcard' series soon.

Lynne Wilson-Orr just finished her tapestry sampler. This photograph does it no justice. She's off this spring to learn tapestry weaving with Maximo Laura in Peru. If you think you'd be interested in such an adventure go to : http://www.puchkaperu.com/. Debbie Harris has already been and loved it. Judite Vagners is also going, another weaver who regularly attends our classes.

LINKS YOU SEND ME

Weaving in nature video sent to us by Rose Ruffolo: http://www.snotr.com/video/7331/The_Living_Bridge. You never know just how well your weaving skills might might save the day!

Cheryl Kerfoot sent me this link about miniature weaving. There is a big market for well made miniature handwoven items for doll houses. http://www.weevings.com/. Cheryl has taken classes with this person.

See you next week!