Workshops September 2024–August 2025
Workshops are provided to enhance the understanding and skills of weaving and related topics. Non-members are welcome to
participate at a higher fee.
Please note that registration/payment has a date by which it is due. The Program Committee
has scheduled only workshops for which members indicated interest via informal polling and will give priority registration
to those who responded. If Guild members do not fill the minimum number by the registration/payment date, the Committee
will offer the openings to the public. Registrations on the day of an afternoon workshop will be accepted at the discretion
of the Program Committee and the Instructor. If a day-of registration is accepted, an additional fee of $10 will be charged.
If you find you cannot attend, please email Layne Tharp at LaynesGardenDesign@mac.com
to cancel. If your place can be filled from the wait list, you will receive a refund. In the unlikely event that a
workshop must be cancelled, you will be notified directly via email and posting in IOGroups and your registration fee will be refunded.
Complete the Registration Form to register for workshops.
Mail the completed Registration Form and fee to the address on the form.
2024–2025 Workshops
September 20, 2024
Field Trip: "Behind the Scenes Tour of Textiles" with Shelburne Museum curator, Katie Wood Kirchoff
Details:
Meet at the Shelburne Museum Admission Building at 12:30pm
You will have access to the museum grounds/buildings following the tour until 5pm
Cost: Member $25, Non-member $35
Maximum participants: 15
Register and pay by: August 15, 2024
October 12, 2024
Shannon Cunniff—"Mini workshop"—Spinning for Weavers
Shannon is an experienced weaver who has been spinning for over 8 years. The aim of this mini workshop is to dust off your spinning skills, learn about
spinning for weaving, share experiences, and if you aren't a spinner yet, to try it and different wheels to see if
you want to spin for your weaving.
Please let Shannon know if you plan to attend.
Details:
Cost: Free
Saturday, October 12, 12:45-2:30pm
White River Craft Center, Randolph, VT
Participants provide:
Please bring a wheel or spindle if you have such. Marty has some
roving she's willing to share. Shannon will bring an extra wheel and some spindles for folks to try their hand at
spinning.
October 13, 2024
Reformatted Back Strap Weaving Workshop
Pamela Wilson—Learn to Weave with a Backstrap Loom
Participants will learn to build, warp and weave on their own narrow-band backstrap looms.
In the morning, we'll learn the basics of loom mechanics, balance and ergonomics, practice weaving
on pre-warped looms, and begin imagining a loom scaled to our body's needs. In the afternoon we'll
warp and begin weaving on looms constructed with your weaving conditions in mind. With a focus on
using simple building materials and pre-cut rigid heddles with or without additional pattern threads,
each participant will leave with a basic, warped backstrap loom. New weavers can expect to gain the
basics of weaving mechanics and loom construction. More experienced weavers—including those who took
2024's Inkle loom series—can transfer their narrow-band, pick-up and tape-weaving skills to this highly-portable option.
Details:
Cost: Member $80, Non-member $110
Minimum/Maximum participants: 3/5
Sunday, October 13, 2024 9-4pm (with lunch break)
Studio Place Arts (SPA), 201 N. Main Street, Barre, VT
Register and pay by: October 1, 2024
Materials fee: $25 (paid directly to Pamela)
Participants provide:
Scissors, a cushion to sit on, a 2 yard length of fabric, bedsheet or Kraft paper
measuring 12-18 inches wide for storing your loom at the end of the day and any
warp yarns you'd like to experiment with.
November 9, 2024
Liz Moncrieft—Weaving Loom Compendium
This program will offer examples of some of the best information available regarding your
weaving equipment: looms in general, shed mechanisms, shafts, treadles, reeds, shuttles,
benches, and tips/tricks to help you achieve a better handwoven product...and it will make you
feel more comfortable at your loom. Weavers of all levels will benefit from this discussion of
tools that are so important to our work. I've repaired and rehabilitated looms for twenty-five
years, and have worked on nearly every make and model available. This past couple of years I've
had the opportunity to write blogs on all of the above for Handwoven Magazine and have now
compiled many of these tips into a focused program for guilds and groups. The staff at
Handwoven Magazine often forward questions to me regarding loom issues and malfunctions
and I'm a regular referral if an owner needs to identify a loom or loom part. I've also had the
pleasure of offering this program to eleven guilds in the Pacific Northwest including 4 in Canada
these past two years through virtual presentations and am scheduled for this presentation as a
seminar for the Association of Northwest Weavers' Guilds 2023 conference. The program will
include cover loom types, recommended looms for specific weaves, shafts, treadles, lamms, and
heddles. We will expand on braking mechanisms, reeds, beater assemblies, and how to fit the
proper shuttles and smaller tools not just to your weaving project but to your hands and body
movements.
Website: aweaversway.com
Instagram: instagram.com/moncriefliz/
Retired from a career in federal Forestry and Land Management, Liz now offers guild programs
and workshops in weaving, weave drafting, and loom maintenance along with beginning
weaving classes for Skagit Valley College, while tutoring individual students in her small studio.
She is also a frequent contributor to Handwoven Magazine and their online weavers' blog. She
presented this program to the HGA Spinning and Weaving Week Celebration in 2022 and the
Association of Northwest Weavers' Guilds Conference in 2023.
Details:
Cost: Member: $35, Non-member: $45 (Liz donates her workshop fees to animal rescue/causes.)
Minimum/Maximum participants: 10/30
Saturday, November 9, 2–4 pm
Zoom link will be made available to registered participants
Register and pay by: October 9, 2024
April 26–27, 2025
Leslie Fesperman—Historic Rag Rugs
Participants in this workshop will gain a better understanding of weaving rag style rugs. Students
will come with their looms warped in different patterns and weave round robin style so that a
maximum number of samples can be woven. We will look at a quick and simple way to create
rag strips. Discussion will include patterns through time and what we are still weaving today,
materials used throughout time, and what has been used the most. This workshop will give you
the tools and samples you need to help you choose and design your own rag style rugs for
weaving.
Details:
Cost: per participant: Member $200, Non-member $230
Minimum/Maximum participants: 12
Hours: 9am–4pm with a lunch break
Location: White River Craft Center, Randolph
Register and pay by: February 27, 2025
Materials fee: $15 (paid to Leslie)
Required equipment:
15" minimum 4 shaft loom, 12 dent reed
Cotton warp
Uncut fabric
Personal weaving tools
Participants must be experienced weavers who can read a draft and warp their loom
independently. Participants will be contacted with specific instructions for dressing looms in
advance of the workshop along with information on suitable fabrics.
May 17–18, 2025
Rebecca Smith—Transparent Weaving
Rebecca Smith will conduct a two-day workshop on Transparent Weaving which features a
loosely woven background cloth on which is inlaid heaver threads to create designs and imagery.
As a result, these unique weavings feel lighter than air and light can pass through portions of
them. Check out samples of Rebecca's Transparent weavings at
rebeccasmithtapestry.com/transparent-weavings.html to be inspired and get excited!
By April 1, Rebecca will provide participants with instructions for purchasing materials and
warping their looms before the workshop.
Space is limited at the Shelburne Craft School so we will be capping the class at 10–12 students—
but much depends on what looms folks are bringing. When registering, please indicate what
type of loom (table or portable floor loom) and its size. (Rigid heddle looms are not allowed for
this workshop.) Information on looms will enable us to optimally set up the room at the
Shelburne Craft School. If your table loom does not include a stand, please consider bringing a
small table for your loom (e.g., foldable card table) as this may provide more flexibility in room
set up. If you don't have one, don't worry, you will share a large table with someone.
Details:
Cost: per participant: Member $250, Non-member $280 (*Note: To ensure we can cover costs,
pricing will increase if we do not get more than 9 participants: $265 for 8 guild members (plus $30 for non-guild members),
$300 (+$30) for 7, and $350 (+$30) for 6 members.)
Minimum/Maximum participants: 12
Hours: 9am–4pm with a lunch break
Location: Shelburne Craft School, Shelburne, VT
Register and pay by: March 17, 2025
Materials fee: $5 (paid to Rebecca)
Required equipment:
Minimum 12", 2+ shaft table or floor loom (rigid heddle looms are not allowed)
Specified warp and weft materials
Personal weaving tools
August 15–16, 2025
Mary Zicafoose—Weft Ikat
Ikat weaving artist, Mary Zicafoose, returns to the Vermont Weavers Guild to teach Ikat weft-
faced techniques. This workshop covers rarely taught steps for creating weft-faced designs using
resist-dyed wefts. Students will create a weft ikat sampler illustrating the motifs created by nine
different Japanese kasuri, weft ikat wrapping, and weaving techniques to explore various lengths
and repetitions. Students will learn the sequential steps of measuring, stretching, wrapping,
dyeing, unwrapping, and weaving with the Ikat weft.
The class will take 2 days. Day 1 teaches how to create a variety of weft ikat variations and
patterns. Students will measure, wrap and dye a selection of weft ikat design elements. On Day
2 students will learn how to lay-in and weave the ikat weft variations. Weaving will be continued
on your own after the workshop.
This workshop is being supported by a community arts grant from Concept2, Inc of Morrisville, VT.
Details:
Cost: Member $125, Non-member $155
Minimum / Maximum participants: 13/15
Hours: 9am–4pm with a lunch break
Location: White River Craft Center, Randolph
Register and pay by: May 10, 2025
Materials fee: tbd, but likely $25 or less
Required equipment:
2 or 4 harness loom, warped with 5/2 indigo blue cotton
Tying pegs
Fly shuttle with bobbins
Weft yarn
Personal weaving supplies
Dye gloves
Directions to Kimball House
From I-89 take exit 4 onto Rte-66, head down hill to
Randolph. At the stop sign, keep going straight (south
on rte 12). Bear left (west) onto Rte-12 (N. Main St.), Go
past Chandler Arts Center. Before the gazebo, bear left onto
South Pleasant Street. Take the next road on the left, which
is Randolph Ave. Kimball House is at the end of the street,
sitting at the top of the hill. The drive to the right leads
to a parking area. See
map. |
