The Allied Arts Council of Spruce Grove is calling for entries of art incorporating textiles into 2D or 3D artwork. Examples include: quilted wall hangings, art garments, sculpture with fabric, mixed media paintings, collages, embroidery, knit or crochet pieces.
Alberta artists over the age of 18 are eligible. The entry deadline is March 23, 2019. Click here for more information: Uncommon Threads Textile and 3D show
65 years of the EWG will be celebrated at a show at the Alberta Craft Council Discovery Gallery from April 27 to June 8, 2019.
EWG members are invited to submit handwoven tea towels. 25 towels will be selected to represent the range of styles, colours and fibres from the 65 year history of the EWG. The submission dates are March 1 and 2, 2019. Details of the selection criteria and submission process can be found on the EWG 65th Anniversary web page.
EWG Members check your stash! Do you have yarn, fibres, equipment or other items you don’t need and would be of interest to other members?
Fibre Mart will be Saturday, April 6, 2019 following the General Meeting. An instruction sheet, inventory sheet and price tags can be downloaded from the Members Forms and Documents web page. Printed copies will be available in the Guild in mid February.
The Prince George Fibre Arts Guild is hosting Confluences, the Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds Conference in Prince George from June 11 to 16, 2019. Online registration is now open. Register early to take advantage of early bird savings. Click here for a poster on the.ANWG Conference.
EWG member Adele Godwin has a piece featured in the show Portraits, at the Alberta Craft Council Feature Gallery running from January 26 to April 27. Adele’s complex shibori dyed silk, textile collage within a collage, and nuno felted fabric artwork was created during the three workshops with Melissa Arnold in September 2018, hosted by EWG and Focus on Fibre Arts (FFAA).
The show is free and open to the public. The opening reception is Saturday, January 26, 2019 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Alberta Craft Council, 10186 106 Street, Edmonton.
Volunteers from EWG and other organizations demonstrated their craft as part of The Prairie Homestead, at the Deep Freeze, a Byzantine Winter Festival on 118 Avenue in Edmonton. The Prairie Homestead allows the public to learn about spinning, weaving, and other skills.
A young participant is trying her hand at weaving with the help of EWG volunteer, Tara.
To request EWG at your public event or to volunteer, please contact demos@edmontonweavers.org.
EWG member and instructor, Kim McCollum provided an insightful and stimulating presentation on her recent trip to Morocco, artist Anni Albers, and Kim’s own approach to weaving. This was the second lecture in the “Master Wannabees” series open to all EWG members.
Kim showcased the weavers that she met in Morocco and described their inventiveness in making looms and their weaving tools, their teamwork, and the symbols and communication in their weaving. A beautiful example of symbolism was the Moroccan weaver calling the warping mill the heart of weaving – good weaving starts with a strong heart (a good warp).
Kim scheduled her travel to Morocco to be able to experience Anni Albers’ retrospective exhibition Weaving Magic at the Tate Modern in London. Anni Albers’ combination of the “ancient craft of handweaving with the language of modern art” has inspired Kim in her current MFA studies which explore new intersections between weaving and abstract painting.
Thank you Kim for an amazing presentation that touched on history, culture, and philosophy of weaving, and your push to continue its evolution.
Members enjoyed Christmas baking, information and an inspirational Show and Tell.
Annual Sale
Remembering Betty Takahashi
VP Needed
Next Meeting
Show and Tell
Participants had a fun and productive day with Carolyn Agopsowicz learning to make nuno felted scarfs. Amazing creations!
EWG has other felting, spinning and weaving classes and workshops. Check our Classes and Workshops page.
Members of the Fibre To Felt Study Group have a “show and tell” of recently completed felt textiles, some of which will be available for purchase at our annual sale.
Judy’s landscape Natalia’s hat and gloves Vicky’s scarf Carole’s bag
EWG members benefited from the knowledge of Master Spinner, Jen Black, in a presentation on October 15, 2018 on Everything a Weaver Needs to Know About Yarn. This session is the first of four, organized by the Master Wannabees Study Group and open to all EWG members.
Sandra, Master Wannabees Study Group Leader welcomed Jen. Jen introduced the basics of how yarn is constructed. She demonstrated spinning a long fibre – silk, a short fibre – cotton, and wool. The participants learned that the amount of twist in a yarn is dependent upon the fibre’s characteristics. A long fibre like silk needs less twist than a short fibre like cotton. She had many samples to illustrate. Jen stressed the importance of weavers understanding the characteristics of the fibre they wish to weave. She answered a list of questions generated by the Master Wannabees and took questions from participants. An informative evening. Thanks Jen!
EWG members demonstrated carding, spinning and weaving at a Sheep to Throw Demonstration held at the Alberta Craft Council as part of Alberta Culture Days. Below is a photo of the throw woven that day. See more photos on our 65th Anniversary web page.
Members were welcomed back with a lively meeting with inspiring work.
65th Anniversary
Melissa Arnold Workshop
Elizabeth, Joan and Gillian brought their fabulous Shibori Felted Wraps created in the September workshop.
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Ondule Weaving
Blanket and Afghan Weaves Course
Show and Tell
After socializing over a delicious potluck dinner, and the business meeting, the Juniors Study Group shared their fibre creations from the last year, and Members told stories of their early fibre creations from wall hangings, knitted self-portrait dolls, weaving, felting and quilting. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
Posted May 15, 2018
The Edmonton Weavers’ Guild sponsored two prizes in the FFAA Competition “Climate Change”.
The Felting category was won by Juanita Sauve from Ottawa for her piece Wildfires; A Terrible Beauty
It was wet felted roving and sari silk on art felt
paper with ne
edle felting, hand stitching and angelina fibres. Mounted on altered gallery canvas.
Dimensions – 45 cm w and 35 cm h. Completed February 2018.
The Tapestry Weaving category was won by Vladimira Fillion-Wackenre from Surrey, for Split Custody
It is a 10.5” x 8”, woven tapestry, framed with cotton warp set at 13 EPi, and weft of wool and cotton and completed in 2016
Posted May 11, 2018
Feltscape, the Spring Flowers Edition was a great weekend workshop. Students picked their favourite posies to recreate in felt. We spent the first day picking flowers, colours and design. Our pieces were pressed, albeit still wet, and ready to go for the following day. Mary Wilton lead us to our machines on day two. Mary shared her expert machine embroidery techniques. Some students preferred the hand-stitched versions, but you can see they all made beautiful pictures, putting us in the mood for Spring!
Posted April 7, 2018
To celebrate EWG’s 65th Anniversary, for the May Annual General Meeting (AGM), members are asked to bring one of the first fibre creations (whether you started creating in the 1950s or just last year), so that we have can see the evolution of our members’ fibre work over the decades. Members are also asked to bring their creation from last year’s AGM stash exchange challenge
Members were reminded to record their volunteer hours in the binder in the library.
May to October 2018 opportunities for members to demonstrate their fibre arts skills for the Guild are posted on the Demonstrations page. If you can volunteer or have questions, please contact demos@edmontonweavers.org
Members showcased a woven jacket and shawl, and a funky felted hat.
Thanks to Jen and Ev for their leadership, and all the volunteers that made Fibre Mart a success..
Posted March 28, 2018
EWG members recently benefitted from the exceptional knowledge and teaching skills of Ontario weaver, Jette Vandermeiden. She was hosted by Focus on Fibre Arts Association (FFAA) to provide a public lecture and two weaving workshops, March 20 to 25, 2018. EWG is a member of FFAA.
In her public evening lecture, Jette presented “Canadian, Eh?”, an informative and entertaining travelogue of the history and diversity of textiles in Canada. Jette began on the West Coast with Chilkat blankets, and continued across the country. She included Catalogne weavings from Quebec, Pangnirtung tapestries from the Arctic, and so much more.
Over 3 days, Jette shared her knowledge of weave theory and structure and cloth design of block weaves using profile drafts. Participants experimented with 8 different block weaves on 4 and 8 shaft looms. Pictured are the participants’ samples of “Quigley, broken twill”, an 8 shaft, 4 block, 4-tied weave.
In the 2-day “Confessions of a Crackle Addict” workshop, participants learned the theory and structure of crackle weave, and experimented to see what cloth was created when it was treadled as Bronson, Summer and Winter, twill, and many other ways. Magic!
A big thank you to FFAA and Arlene Tomnuk for bringing Jette to Edmonton.
Posted December 6, 2017
At the Master Wannabees Study Group, Diane K. guided members through the requirements for the Guild of Canadian Weavers basic requirements for the Summer and Winter weave structure on 4-shafts. She covered theory, and assisted weavers in the design of their thread-by-thread and profile drafts. Members completed their two-block drafts and warped their 4-shaft table looms at home. Two additional evenings were spent at the Guild under Diane’s guidance, experimenting with different wefts and the three methods of treadling. Thank you Diane for sharing your expertise and for your excellent instruction!
Posted December 3, 2017
We had two fully booked classes for our children’s weaving class this year. Each participant wove a scarf (or cowl) about 30 inches long by 7 inches wide on our Dorothy looms. Our children ranged in age from 6 to 13 and every one of them did a great job!
For our second project, they wove 3-dimensional paper stars (snowflakes) that could be hung as decorations in a window or on a Christmas tree. Many were so proficient that they even made two!
Posted November 27, 2017
The November 26, 2017 General Meeting featured a report on the Annual Sale, a discussion on courses and workshops, “Show and Tell”, and socializing over baked treats. New courses and workshops are being posted regularly. Members showcased felted boxes, a felted landscape, a tencel scarf woven on the Guild’s 12-shaft loom, a colourful band woven on an inkle loom, and knitting with handspun yarn.
Posted November 19, 2017
Their next conference is July 6 – 12, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. Online registration will open November 29, 2017. Please check their website for information on sessions, special events, tours and more.
The Convergence® Delegate Registration Book will be an insert in the next issue of Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot magazine and is available for download now. The Edmonton Weavers’ Guild is a member guild of HGA.
Posted November 5, 2017
Posted September 14, 2017
Members were welcomed back. The summer was busy with 24 members demonstrating spinning, weaving, and felting at 7 events. New members have joined bringing our membership up to 135.
As this is the last general meeting before the November 4th Annual Sale, members were reminded about important dates for standards submission that were noted in the newsletter. Standards for sale items can be found in Forms and Documents section in the Members area of the website.
The “Show and Tell” featured a felted jacked, tencel scarfs woven in 8-shafts in a Bronson Dogwood Lace (thanks to Mary Lou for allowing Get Sett weavers to tie on to her warp), a bamboo and cotton scarf woven with 12-shafts in autumn shades, and some amazing knitted socks!
Posted September 7, 2017
FibreNook – see them at 9864 – 63 Avenue 780-756-8077
Posted August 16, 2017
On August 13, 2017, Guild members had a peaceful day spinning and felting at Mission Hill Day at Father Lacombe Chapel in St Albert.
Tammi, Katherin and Brenda demonstrated spinning on wheels and drop spindles. Vicki was felting hearts and stars in cookie cutters (clever lady) for visitors to try their own hand.
You can experience the fun of sharing your fibre arts skills by volunteering. Members with skills at any level are welcome. This is a great way to meet and mingle with fellow members, and meet new friends. If you are not able to volunteer but would like to stop by, bring a drop spindle and come along!
See events and dates where we need your help on the Demonstrations page.
We made friends with the Michif Cultural Connections who were wearing, weaving and braiding ceintures fléchées. We shared with the St Albert Quilters who were hand stitching beautiful appliques and Julian entertained us with his cello and even played Metallica for us!
Brenda Foster
Posted July 27, 2017
If you are interested in teaching a class on dyeing warp or weft, particularly with procion dyes, please email classes@edmontonweavers.org.
Posted July 18, 2017
Read about the connection between Edmonton weavers and a women’s weaving cooperative in Guatemala by clicking on this link http://mailchi.mp/changeforchildren/weaving-bonds-in-guatemala-1932397?e=9c60dd1f3b
Posted June 26, 2017
Focus on Fibre Arts Association (FFAA) and its member guilds are part of The Works Art and Design Festival in downtown Edmonton. EWG volunteers demonstrated felting, spinning and weaving on June 23, 24, 25 and 26. Enjoy the fibre arts exhibit and chat with volunteer demonstrators at Site 3, the Vignettes Building (formerly the location of the Reuse Centre) at 10016 – 103A Avenue.
Posted June 5, 2017
President Brenda Foster presented Carole Dodd with an Honorary Membership to the Edmonton Weavers’ Guild in recognition for her years of service. Carole has been a member for 20 years and held several positions including webmaster as well as often volunteering for demonstrations, starting up the children’s class of “Weave a Gift for Christmas”, and organizing several of the annual sales. A well deserved recognition for a long-time hard working member! Carole – A big thank you for your leadership and support to EWG!
The Juniors Study Group wowed us with their many projects completed over the past year including felting, rag rugs, and a tapestry hanging. Treasurer Mary-Lou Hogg got into the Canada 150 spirit with her “shawl” and bag ensemble. The meeting including a Canadian History Fun Fibre Facts quiz and a “stash exchange”. Stash participants were challenged to be inspired by their new stash items and to complete a project for the November general meeting.
Posted June 3, 2017
EWG member and instructor, Kim McCollum has opened Okapi Weaving. Their “mission is to inspire the creation of textile art by providing the modern weaver with access to unique, beautiful, high quality weaving supplies.” You can order online at www.okapiweaving.com or by contacting kmccollum@okapiweaving.comor (780)278-7660 to make an appointment to shop in person at their Griesbach location.
Posted May 28, 2017
Join us for our potluck Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, May 31st at 6:00 p.m., upstairs at our Guild home in Strathcona. Two budget documents are now posted in the Members Area of the website under Forms/Documents.
See you Wednesday evening, May 31st.
Highlight of General Meetings is Show and Tell where members inspire each other with their recent creations. Some examples from the April 8th General Meeting which included the results of the March 26th Nuno Felted Scarf class.
Posted March 2017
Participants had fun making colourful nuno felted scarfs at a Guild class on Sunday March 26, 2017. Nuno Felted Scarf is offered again on April 30th. You can make a Felted Purse on April 28th, or learn Advanced Wet Felting on May 7th. Check out the Classes webpage as new courses are posted regularly.
