A monthly mini-newsletter from Becky. If you'd like to receive these announcements automatically by email, you can subscribe to the vavstuga-announce mailing list.
August 2008
We at Vävstuga have had the incredible fortune of receiving a generous gift from Mary Chase in Maine. We have built an entire new bookcase for her donation of weaving books. Her collection of woven pieces will be a wonderful resource for our future classes.
We are preparing for our trip to Sweden in September to their national weaving conference.
Watch for several 2-day class offerings in our 2009 schedule, which we hope to have posted by the beginning of September.
July 2008
We are delighted to inform you that The Swedish Weaving Book: Project Planning, Loom Dressing, and Finishing, the long-awaited instructional weaving book that Becky has been working on translating for several years, has arrived!! It is very much in stock and ready for immediate shipment.
Becky's new DVD, Weaving on the Julia, is also now available. Many of the straightforward and simple methods are applicable to many looms. It is an excellent instructional DVD for beginners, and presents different techniques from those found in her previous DVDs.
Our Vävstuga Club members have had a productive summer so far and we are looking forward to lots more weaving activity here in our busy months of August and September.
We will be putting together our 2009 schedule shortly. Feel free to send us your requests for the class schedule.
June 2008
Becky's new instructional DVD, Weaving on the Julia, is now ready for release with the first shipment of the new Julia looms!
Our new addition to the schedule from last month, Traditional Swedish Rosepath (July 28-29), is starting to fill, but we have room for a few more students.
Here is our update on special workshops for the summer. Please contact Susanna for more details about any of these. We hope that, despite the short notice, you might take advantage of some of these opportunities.
- Latvian Mittens (June 16-17): The accomplished knitter Linda Daniels, from Northampton Wools, is offering a 2-day class June 16-17 in knitting Latvian mittens using our wonderful Swedish yarns. Lunches will be provided and staying overnight is an option. Please let us know soon if you're interested.
- Straw Plaiting (June 29): The birch bark class scheduled for June 29 has been revised and will instead be another straw plaiting workshop with Lark Leonard, who did a wonderful straw ornament class for us last November. Today we'll start with simple techniques, and progress to more challenging hollow core plaiting in the afternoon. The fee for this class is $70 plus materials. Bring a bag lunch, or get carry-out from one of the local eateries.
- Natural Dye Workshop (July 7-8): Jody McKenzie, of Botanical Shades dye studio, will offer a 2-day dye workshop July 7-8. The first day will be spent mordanting fiber and dyeing with natural dye extracts, the second day will be dyeing with indigo. We will use wool, cotton and linen yarns. One may attend either one of these days for $90 or both days for $150, plus materials. Staying overnight is an option. Bring a bag lunch, or carry-out for us to enjoy together.
- Tatting (date TBA): There has been some interest in tatting, and Susanna would be happy to teach a session on this technique. Please let us know if you are interested and we will schedule a time and date.
[update 6/6/08]
We have another exciting new offering in our lineup of special summer classes:
| Weaving Design
special guest teacher from Sweden! |
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| We are pleased to offer a special design class for weavers with Marie Stålberg. Marie has been a professional rug weaver and weaving teacher in Sweden for many years, and taught a special week-long class in Swedish Rug Techniques at Becky's Vävstuga several years back. Her mother (Ulla Stålberg) was Becky's design teacher in Sweden at Sätergläntan in 1981. On the first day we will design stripes and plaids for rep weave, rag rugs, runners, and more; we'll also paint with watercolors and "linda med garn" (make wrappings with yarn). The second day we will use the same techniques for monksbelt and rosepath. You're welcome to attend for one day or for both. Some weaving experience recommended. |
May 2008
Lark Leonard, who taught a wonderful straw ornament workshop for us last year, will join us again to teach a class in making a small woven birch bark basket in the Scandinavian tradition. The class will take place Sunday, June 29, 10 AM - 5 PM, and will cost $50. Class size is limited, so contact us soon so as not to miss this opportunity.
Our Swedish Heirlooms class May 12-16 and our Weavers Choice class June 2-6 are filling with some wonderful weavers. There is still a chance for you to join them if you can squeeze it into your schedule.
Becky has been busy this spring doing the final edits on her translation of The Swedish Weaving Book (Väv Boken), which should appear in print later this summer.
Becky is also working on the final details of a new DVD, featuring streamlined basic weaving instruction on the new Julia loom from Glimakra. It is the instructional DVD that will come with the new looms, but it will also be of great use to anyone as an instructional tool for easy and readily accessible warping techniques using tools that require minimal investment.
We're adding another new class to our schedule: Traditional Swedish Rosepath, offered July 28-29. These stunning weft-faced techniques are simple to do and only require four shafts.
March/April 2008
Due to overflow from our winter classes, we have added a Vävstuga Basics class to the schedule April 14-18. We do still have some openings that week, so let us know if you are interested, and tell your friends.
One more scheduling change: Our fall Weavers Choice class will be moving to the week of October 20-24.
Vävstuga will host some special workshops during the summer months of June and July. In the planning stages are a day-long course to make a small Swedish style birch bark woven basket, a two-day Latvian mittens class using our wonderful wool yarns, and a woven backpack basket class. We will send more information as plans progress. Do let us know if any of these interest you, as these workshops will accommodate only a small number of students.
My friend Gisela Von Weisz is offering a very interesting class in Sweden next summer. I wish I could go, but maybe some of you can instead!
| 5-day workshop in Sweden, June 2009 |
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What: 5-day workshop in Shaftswitching with Gisela von Weisz. When: June 8-12, 2009 Where: At Hemse Folkhögskola (adult education school), on the island of Gotland, Sweden's largest island, situated in the Baltic Sea. Equipment: There are 7 countermarch looms, 8 other looms and a few other small looms. A lot of different yarns are for sale; if you choose to use rags, you will have to bring your own. Projects: Samples for carpets, upholstery, tablecloth, and clothing. All warps will be wound, but not beamed, threaded, etc. Techniques: Weft-faced compound tabby (taqueté), weft-faced compound twill (samit), and if there is time, liseré. (Corduroy is a liseré). Class size: Minimum 12 participants, maximum 14. Costs: Room prices are per person per day. All include full board: breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee breaks morning and afternoon, and an evening sandwich. Prices below are for summer 2008 at current exchange rates; next year's costs will be decided in August 2008.
The school has a bus that can take us on excursions at an extra cost. The bus will fetch you at the ferry or airport. We can stay 1 or 2 extra nights afterward for sightseeing. Gotland has a lot to offer, interesting craftspeople and a beautiful city, Visby, and interesting nature. For more information: Gisela von Weisz, giselavonweisz@telia.com |
February 2008
The new pricelist is now online. You'll see updated prices throughout our Store. Our new shipping policy provides simple and cost-effective flat-rate shipping for all purchases, and FREE SHIPPING for orders totalling over $300!
We have added a Vävstuga Basics class to our schedule April 14-18. (This will replace the Swedish Rug Techniques class previously scheduled at this time.)
I recently came home from a wonderful trip to Sweden. I had the pleasure of visiting with Doris Wicklund and her husband Jean in Kiruna, which lies above the Arctic Circle. She is the author of four wonderful weaving books, including Det Gamla Linneskåpet: Från tuskaft till damast (The Old Linen Closet: From plain weave to damask) and En Annan Bild av Lappland (Another picture of Lappland). I have been translating her second book, Old Swedish Weavings from North to South, and this was a chance for us to meet in person. We had a delightful time getting to know each other. The amount and quality of her weaving is simply astounding!
January 2008
Our mini-movie this month is Julia, the little red loom from Glimakra. The introductory price for the new loom is $595 for the two-shaft version. I have been working with the designers and manufacturers over the last several months to fine-tune this darling little loom for optimal comfort and function. It has easily produced a four-shaft rag rug in Rosepath, as well as a six-shaft twill and a six-shaft block weave. If you put your order in right away we can be sure that Glimakra will make enough of them in their first manufacturing run.
We also have two new yarns to offer this month. Brage yarn from Borgs is a 7/2 sport weight wool yarn with more twist and a tighter ply than the Tuna blanket wool. It is excellent for pattern floats and tapestry techniques. It comes in 100 g skeins of 350 meters and has lots of beautiful colors. Borgs Boucle is wonderful for towels with a cottolin warp! We have brought in the whole line; take a look.
Our substantial price increase is imminent but has not quite happened yet, so you still have a chance for a few more weeks at our current prices for equipment and yarns.
Our new class, Weaver's Choice, is holding its first session January 21-25. We have a great group, but there are still a few slots left in case any of you are interested. This class is open to first-timers with us.