2012 Vävstuga Days

Many people have asked us about Alumni Week and what it entails. The week of May 1-5 we hosted such a gathering. Alumni of Vävstuga Basics are invited to spend one day and up to five in the studio. Attendees may wind warps, use the mangle, explore the library and of course weave beautiful warps already on the looms (without a length limit). There is the option to stay in the dorm as well. The November 27-December 1st Alumni Week is now 65% full. We are planning some beautiful warps including some gorgeous yardage.

2012 May Alumni Week

Our 2013 schedule is currently in the works and will be published mid-September. We are constantly torn with the fact that there aren’t more than 24 hours in a day. Drats!

Basics class, February 13-17

Basics class, February 27 - March 2

Classics class, March 12-16

Treasures class, March 19-23

Basics class, April 2-6

As you can see, we’ve been busy. We couldn’t have been able to accomplish all that we do without the addition of our current apprentice, Mary Beebee, and our new employee Kim Sebrey. Kim joined the Vävstuga team in January as chief cook and gardener.

Kim Sebrey, Vävstuga's new chief cook and gardener

We’ve been tracking the number of warps we wind on a monthly basis and thought you’d like to know our statistics for February and March 2012. There were 236,808 meters of warp wound in 8/2 and 16/2 cottons, 16/2 and 20/2 line linens, 22/2 cottolin and Tuna wool. That equates to 258,976 yards or 147 miles. Any day now our warping mills will be reaching warp speed!

The adjustable and padded weaving benches that are so coveted in our studio are back in stock.

We’ve had two authors donate their books to benefit the Vävstuga Scholarship Fund: Kati Reeder Meek, who wrote Reflections of a Flaxen Past, and Barbara Michelson, who authored Leave Nothing on the Back Burner. You can find both titles in the new Scholarship Fund Benefit section of our Bookstore.

The response to Vävstuga Days has been overwhelming. There are just a few slots left on Friday, April 20th.

• February 13-17th, 1 spot with Room & Board available
• February 27-March 2nd, 2 spots with Room & Board, 2 spots without Room & Board
• April 2-6th, 2 spots with Room & Board
• June 18-22nd, 1 spot without Room & Board
• Jul 30-Aug 3rd, 3 spots with Room & Board

Our newly revised Swedish Classics in January was a grand success! Check out the beautiful work from last week’s students. Peacham (a stuffed frog) from the Peacham, VT library system visited us for the class — see his photo essay about his adventures.

Swedish Classics projects, January 2012

Vävstuga Treasures participants are at work this week doing equally amazing things!

This week's Treasures class

The Vävstuga apprentice program is picking up steam. Sarah Easton finished her six-month stint on January 13th. She spent two weeks training incoming apprentice, Mary Beebee. Mary has been initiated into the Vävstuga family, and is working/playing hard and has already done lots of weaving. Our next opening for this incredible opportunity will be mid-January 2013.

The latest Borgs order just arrived and is unpacked and on the shelves. Now is a good time to order Borgs wool yarns and string yarn, as most of our colors are currently in stock.

Book preview of the month: Väv Som Vi! (Weave Like Us!), by Mariana Eriksson & Kerstin Lovallius (available in our Store).

Mini movie of the month: Making choke ties

Due to a multitude of cancellations we have two spots available in Vävstuga Basics November 7-11, 2011. There is one bed available in our dorm for this particular week. If you’re interested, please contact us immediately. As always, a $200 deposit is required to secure a spot.

If you’d like to apply for a scholarship to one of our Basics classes offered in 2012, send in your scholarship application soon.

Becky has returned once more from a rich and fulfilling two-week trip to Sweden including the big national weaving conference “Väv” that happens every three years. She visited many of our suppliers.

Author Ann-Sofie Svansbo displaying Östgötadräll in her booth at Väv

After the conference Becky spent an inspirational week under the expert instruction of Gunvor Johansson to further her knowledge of the art weaving techniques of southern Sweden. Gunvor is a professional weaver as well as renowned teacher. She specializes in drawlooms, and in the techniques of krabbasnar, halvkrabba, dukagang, trensaflossa and rolakan.

Becky with Gunvor Johansson

New/returned to our bookstore:

• Östgötadräll: Vävda sängtäcken från Östergötland (Woven coverlets from Östergötland) is a wonderful new book that Becky brought back from Sweden. It represents a glorious collection of Östergötland’s woven bedcovers from the 1800s, works of art that kept people warm both in beds and in open sleighs.
• Back in stock: Börja Väv! (Begin to Weave) and Räknade Trådar – nya vävar (Counted Threads – new weaves)

Book preview of the month: Ann-Sofie Svansbo’s Östgötadräll (Woven coverlets from Östergötland)

Tropical Storm Irene was an unwelcome visitor on August 28, 2011. Our building did not suffer any damage but the retaining wall between our building and the Deerfield River was damaged considerably. We lost nearly 25′ of our 30′ backyard. Becky and her husband John lend scale to the size of the destruction.

What's left of the retaining wall behind our building after Tropical Storm Irene

Let’s hope that Autumn brings us all plenty of inspirational colors!

Becky and Susan

The following classes do not require any previous weaving experience:

• Vävstuga Basics
• Swedish Rag Rugs
• Bands – Plain & Fancy
• Rep Variations

We are also pleased to announce our newly configured Drawloom Basics class, a rare opportunity to explore the mystique of the drawloom. Our new drawloom studio is located at Becky’s childhood home, four miles out of town in a rural 1850s farmhouse surrounded by open land and tranquility. Weaving on a drawloom is not complicated and can open up an exhilarating world of patterning possibilities.

The Vävstuga Scholarship Committee will be awarding scholarships for the Vävstuga Basics classes in the first half of 2012. Get your application in by the end of November.

For those of you who are alumni of Vävstuga Basics, we offer Alumni Week, Swedish Classics and Vävstuga Treasures sessions.

We are now taking enrollments for 2012. Our store/telephone hours are Wed–Sat from 1-5 p.m. Eastern Time. We accept MasterCard or VISA as telephone payment. Enrollment in a class is made at the time we receive your $200 deposit.

Book preview of the month: Doris Wiklund’s Old Swedish Weavings from North to South

Mini movie of the month: “Making a sturdy selvedge with string yarn”

Our first week-long class in rep weave was an inspirational success. You can see in the photograph what our students were able to accomplish in just one week of immersion into this vivid design- and color-inspired technique.

Our first week-long immersion class in rep weave: an inspirational success

Our retail store is currently more beautifully stocked than ever with our high quality yarns in the infamous Swedish color palettes.

Our beautiful stock of high quality Swedish yarns

We have a new apprentice, Sarah Easton from Putney, VT.

Last but certainly not least, an absolutely beautiful event took place on Saturday, June 25, 2011. John Marcy and Becky Ashenden were married at Becky’s family home in Shelburne Center, MA. The celebrants included folks from as far away as Sweden. It was a joyful occasion for all. And yes, John wove his shirt material and Becky wove her dress.

Becky & John's wedding, 6/25/11

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Spring Vävstuga Days was a smashing time

Book Preview of the Month: Doris Wiklund’s Det Gamla Linneskåpet (available in our Store)

This month’s addition to our instructional mini movie series: “Bobbin winder maintenance”

The Rep Variations class July 18th-22nd will have a spectacular array of warps and is a one-time opportunity to delve into this wonderful weave structure. Vävstuga Basics is not a prerequisite for this particular class, so do take advantage of this. We have two slots available and one dorm room remaining.

The 2012 schedule will be published the last week of September. We will begin to take enrollment at that time.

Enjoy your summer!

Projects for spring Vavstuga Days

Vävstuga Basics has topped the charts once again … there is one spot remaining for this year for this comprehensive class the week of November 7-11.

The latest offering in our series of instructional mini movies, “Measuring the Width of Your Loom”, explains how to determine your loom width. Believe it or not, it is not that simple a task.

Check out our May “Book Preview of the Month” on film, showcasing the beautiful book Rep Weaves, which is recently back in print (available in our Store).

March 2011 Treasures class

April 2011 Bands class

April 2011 Rag Rugs class

Mini movies are back! The latest offering in our series of instructional mini movies, “Vävstuga treadling techniques”, explains how to find the next treadle on a floor loom without looking at your feet.

We are also proud to introduce our “Book Preview of the Month” on film, showcasing the beautiful book Varp och Inslag (available in our Store).

Snow angel gracing Vävstuga's entrance, made by Ruth and Yohannah from our February Basics class

Becky and John recently came back from a two-week trip to Sweden including a wonderful visit with Doris and Jean Wiklund way up north in Kiruna. Check out the beautiful reindeer we came across while out skiing in the way below 0° weather! The trip also included a superb visit to Holma Hälsinglands, where Margareta gave us a grand tour of where our high quality weaving yarns are produced, as well as side trips to the Dala Horse factory and Insjönsväveri. Come see the goodies we have in our store as a result!

Reindeer near the ski trail in Kiruna

Becky touring the Holma Hälsinglands factory

Doris’s book, En Annan Bild av Lappland, is now back in our bookstore (hand carried from Sweden). Becky has now completed the translation of Doris’s second book, Old Swedish Weavings from North to South: A Collection of Everyday Swedish Weavings from 1850 to 1950, which is currently in the process of being printed! We will let you know as soon as this wonderful book becomes available.