National Spinning and Weaving Week
October starts with a bang this year as we celebrate National Spinning and Weaving Week here at WEBS October 3–8. We have a fun week of activities and events planned to highlight these wonderful fiber crafts. It’s a great time to see just how enjoyable it is to weave and spin and to enjoy the beautiful creations that are possible.
First up we will have daily demonstrations in the store. These are free and will give people a chance to see weaving and spinning up close and ask questions. The demos are from 11am–1pm each day and will be at the front of the store. Stop by and watch the fun unfold, as experienced crafters spin fleece into yarn and turn yarn into woven fabric.
We will also feature a variety of mini workshops for $5 each. If you’ve wondered about getting into weaving or spinning or are looking for a refresher, these workshops offer a taste of these techniques. Workshops offered include:
- Rigid Heddle Weaving for Knitters (Monday 2–4pm): Dip your toe into the weaving pool with this brief introduction to weaving on a rigid heddle loom. Knitters will learn how easy it is to use the yarns in their stash to create beautiful scarves, shawls and more. Leslie Ann will show how the loom works and discuss how to select yarns and finish projects.
- Loom Dressing (Tuesday 2–4 pm): WEBS founder Barbara Elkins will lead this workshop on getting your loom set up to weave. This is a great chance to learn (or re-learn) a simple, reliable way to warp your loom. Barbara will start with a wound warp and cover all the steps from getting it on the loom to being ready to weave.
- Drafting for Spinners (Thursday 2–4 pm): In this workshop, Ashley will teach the difference between worsted and woolen style yarns and how to draft for each. Learn how the way the twist enters the fiber can determine the behavior of your finished yarn.
On Tuesday night we will have a Spinning Open House in conjunction with the monthly meeting of the local spinning group. The store will be open late until 9 pm and we will showcase our spinning wheels with hands on demonstrations of the various brands we carry. This is a great chance to try out different wheels and see how they work. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to meet other spinners and connect with local folks who get together each month to spin together (and talk yarny talk!).
Wednesday is our big Spinning & Weaving Meetup Day because we know how much fun it is to hang out with other people who share our passion. We welcome weavers and spinners from near and far to meet each other and enjoy the company of like-minded fiber fiends. We will have goodie bags, raffles, a room to hang out in (with refreshments!) and more. Barbara Elkins will give a demonstration of weaving on a computer loom from 11am–12pm and Gail Callahan, the Kangaroodyer, will demonstrate dyeing roving for spinning from 12–1pm. We encourage people to bring show and tell and look forward to lots of laughter and fun.
It’s a full week, yet it just scratches the surface of what is possible with these crafts. We look forward to meeting friends old and new, to being inspired by each other and to sharing the richness of spinning and weaving. Come join us!
Leslie Ann
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September 29th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
KPG sent me. 😉 I am a spinner and sometimes a weaver 🙂