Summer School for Weavers
Here’s my true (and unashamed) confession – I chose to go to summer school in high school. As an overachiever with a competitive streak I certainly didn’t need it for academic success; I just found fascinating classes that weren’t taught at other times and knew I didn’t want to miss out. I feel the same when I look at our summer schedule for weaving classes here at WEBS – there’s some unique classes and teachers that are not to be missed.
Jason Collingwood is one of the rock stars of the weaving world, known for his masterful rug weaving and teaching skills. We are lucky to have him at WEBS for a 3-day weekend workshop which will cover 4-end blockweave for rug weaving, starting with simple two-color designs and moving on to designing within the blocks as well as the addition of a third color. He will also talk about techniques such as clasped wefts and summer and winter.
Closer to home, we have our local weaving superstars offering classes in their areas of expertise. Scott Norris is known for the beautiful linen textiles he weaves and sells throughout the Northeast. He says of his favorite fiber: “I weave with linen whenever possible, because it remains resilient and lustrous as it fades and softens over time. When treated respectfully, cloth woven from linen can last nearly forever, providing an element of permanence that I admire.” Scott designed a class that will give weavers experience in handling, weaving and caring for linen yarn using a variety of weave structures. The class meets once a month starting in August, giving participants time to weave samples between class sessions. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from a master and learn the tricks to tame and befriend linen.
For the rigid heddle weavers there is also an excellent chance to learn from an expert. Paula Veleta has been teaching RH weaving for years and has developed our curriculum for advanced beginner and intermediate weavers. In July she will teach a 2-day workshop on weaving with double heddles. This advanced-beginner class will teach students to weave using finer yarns to make more sophisticated projects. You’ll learn how to thread your loom using two rigid heddles, how to determine a proper sett, and how to created texture and pattern. Another don’t-miss event for deepening your skills.
For those looking to begin to weave, we will have our One-week Intensive for Beginning Weaving, also taught by Scott Norris. The class gets you started with all of the basics of weaving on a multi-shaft loom – warping, weaving, project planning and more. There are also a few spots left in our Introduction to Rigid Heddle Weaving 1-day class, which teaches you the basics of warping and weaving on a rigid heddle loom.
Summer is coming! School yourself in new ways to use your loom and expand your weaving horizons.
- Time to Learn - January 4, 2017
- Begin as You Mean to Go On - December 21, 2016
- It’s the little things - December 7, 2016
