January 15, 2025 | "Sheep Tourism" with Marcia Weinert
Evening Guild Monthly Meeting
6:30pm, Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, via zoom
February 12, 2025 | "The Wide World of Narrow Bands" with Nancy Smothergill
Guild Monthly Meeting
9:30am, First Baptist Church in person and via zoom
In 2018 Nancy presented a program to the Guild on the Jacquard mechanism. But the band weaving for this lecture is done mostly with the simplest of equipment. Nancy has given several classes at WaFAC on beginning tablet weaving, tablet woven calligraphy, 2-holed tablet weaving, and Baltic Pic-Up band weaving.
About Nancy Smothergill
Nancy is a member of both the Rochester guild and the Syracuse Weavers Guild. She started off as a shaft loom weaver, learning to weave in an adult education class through the Syracuse City School District. When she started teaching kindergarten full time and had young children, she did not have the time to dress a floor loom, and turned to learning to weave narrow bands, much more portable.
She joined TWIST, Tablet Weavers International Studies and Techniques and has been the treasurer and membership chair for the last eleven years. She also belongs to The Braid Society based in England, and through their conferences and publications, furthered her love of weaving narrow bands. One of her favorites is combining tablet woven calligraphy with on-loom weaving.
February 19, 2025 | "Fiberworks verses Reality" with Susan Gilday
Evening Guild Monthly Meeting
6:30pm, Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, in person
Weaving software is a useful tool when designing a project, but what you see on screen isn’t always what you get. This presentation will point out both the advantages of using a program like Fiberworks to design and the limitations of relying on a computer drawdown. It will also demonstrate the happy accidents that result from taking the time to sample.
March 12, 2025 | "Just the Ticket" Auction
Guild Monthly Meeting
9:30am, First Baptist Church in person and via zoom
One weaver's unwanted stash is another fiber artist's treasure. Donated yarns, materials, books, equipment, gadgets, and so many more fiber surprises results in the guild's most successful fundraisers of the year, and a great bargain for those who support the guild by buying tickets to get that surprise treasure.
March 19, 2025 | "Waulking: Fabric Finishing the Scottish Way" with Miranda Howard
Evening Guild Monthly Meeting
6:30pm, Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, in person
Finish wool cloth fresh off the loom using traditional Scottish method of rhythmically thumping and squeezing the fabric. A group activity, the waulking technique softens, tightens, and evens out the weave making the cloth ready for use. Wear old clothes, apron, or smock for this hands-on activity using soap and water. Ability to sing is optional.
Before and After
May 21, 2025 | "Circular Weaving Make and Take" with Sherrie Hertweck and Barb Mauger
Evening Guild Monthly Meeting
6:30pm, Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, in person
Curious about circular weaving? In May’s evening guild meeting we will look at circular weaves people are creating. Join us in weaving spiral coasters to get started with circular weaving.
Coming Up: 2024-2025 Programs
April 9, 2025 | Presentation by Mary McMahon
April 16, 2025 | "Yarn Properties Silk/Cotton/Linen"
May 12-14, 2025 | "Transparency Weaves" Workshop with Rebecca Smith
June 11, 2025 | Annual Meeting and picnic
June 18, 2025 | "Celebrate a Year’s Worth of our Projects"
