Hello weavers!  Spring is steadily moving into summer.  The natural beauty is a fabulous inspiration for our weaving.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Guild Meeting: Our next meeting is June 16, 2025, at 1:00 pm EST.  During the summer months, our meetings are on Mondays.

Emberlight Project: Our Guild is entering woven webs as part of the Emberlight Festival Art in the Park Exhibit at the Miners Memorial Park, Ironwood, Michigan.  Be sure to go and see it during July.

Retreats and Conferences:

    BUELLWOOD RETREAT: This retreat will be September 19 to 21, 2025 at the Marsin Center in the Hancock/Houghton Michigan area.  We will have classes and camaraderie!  It's a great time in a beautiful setting.

    MICHIGAN LEAGUE OF HANDWEAVERS: The next conference will be in June of 2026.  The conference will be in Marquette Michigan.  This is a great opportunity to go to the conference when it is close (relatively).    

MUSINGS AND GROUP QUESTION: 

Speaking of camaraderie, I just came back from the Michigan League of Handweavers' conference in Roscommon, Michigan.  Other members who went include Mary Brownell, Denise Engle and Melissa Mattson.  The classes included embroidery, hand manipulated weaves, shaft switching, 3D tapestry, and deep dive into color.  The conference was held at the State DNR conference center on Lake Higgins.  

I love going to conferences.  I come back inspired and energized.  Moreover, I usually meet a wonderful group of people who make me feel welcome.  Each participant has a great story to tell.  

This time I ventured into Contemporary Embroidery.  The teacher, Jennifer Gould, who was delightful and organized.  She had folders filled with pictures of a particular stitch in a completed piece for us to be inspired by.  

I have to admit that this class was way beyond my comfort zone.  There were no step-by-step recipes.   The teacher wanted us to experiment and choose our own path.  This was not my usual method, and I felt completed discomfited.  However, by the second day--I had ideas!!  I was getting excited, and I stayed late to plan.  By the end, my piece had started to come together.  More importantly, I was experimenting!  I was inspired and thinking of different things to do on future projects.  

What have you tried this year that was outside your comfort zone?  Have you incorporated the technique into your artistic practice?  

PICTURES FROM THE MAY MEETING:

The guild had a challenge for this month.  It was snow or snowflakes.  

Nate had multiple snow inspired fabrics.  The first up were his snow-dyed tee shirts.

He also had two rugs that he made after taking a class with Phyllis.  Each were inspired by snow.  On one he bound it with cloth that he ice dyed.  See the rugs and the binding material next.

Lisa showed us her snowflake inspired ryijy.

Phyllis explained the origin of Heike Lunta (the entity you dance to for snow) and did a name draft.

Anita wore her snowflake shirt for the occasion.

Melissa Lewis brought snowflakes made by a friend.

Cynthia , Mary B. and Mary H. made sewn snowflakes.

Mary H. also made ceramic buttons.

Ginger made a hat with her snowflake on top.

David showed us his winter quilt that he had made.

Denise paper pieced a runner.

Jada had her students make stuffed toys based on younger students' pictures.

I apologize, but there is one unknown.  Please let me know what the following photo is.

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.......

Friday, May 16, 2025

 Hello weavers!  Thank you all for your patience.  I have been traveling for the last few months. 

This is Part Two.  It covers MORE pictures!!!!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Guild Meeting: Our next meeting is May 17, 2025.   

Emberlight Project: Our Guild has decided to enter an exhibit in the Art in the Park exhibit this summer.  The Miners Memorial Park is in Ironwood, Michigan.  As part of the Emberlight festival, artists set up an exhibit in the Park.  Be sure to go and see it during July in the Art Part of the Miners Memorial Park.  

MUSINGS GROUP QUESTION:

See Part One which covered February's meeting and show and tell.

PHOTOS from April Meeting:

Annie showing the front and back of her täkänä inspired by a Finnish täkänä design.

Phyllis showing a rosepath rag rug she wove while teaching the rag rug workshop at the folk school.  Phyllis showing a Maltese Cross overshot mat and treadle sampling.

Sue Ellen and Marci showing Marci's samples woven from her study of the Collingwood Rug book.

Here is Gretchen with stencil prints she made in Kirsten Aune's workshop.

Gretchen knit the hats using a pattern she decoded from a sweater donated to the Finnish American Folk School that was knit by Melvi Grosnick of Traprock Valley who was a Finnish American and lived to be 104.

Kathie with her täkänä woven for her son's 30th anniversary of priesthood.

Sue Ellen and her rug woven almost entirely from used socks people gave her.

The Buellwood Weavers Guild name draft and drawdown Phyllis found in Marilyn Mason's archive.

Here Sean shows his cardwoven bands (the narrow one in linen and the wider one in knitting yarn with no color change that really enhances the structure) a towel in point twill.

Here is Karen's work.  The rag rug was woven in Phyllis' workshop in rosepath using the two-shuttle technique.

She was readying to teach basketry at Shenandoah.  The three small forms are salt cellars, the simple form she holds shows a successful corner and the complex basket expressive of the times we are living in.

See you soon!

 Hello weavers!  

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Guild Meeting: Our next meeting is May 17, 2025.   

Emberlight Project: Our Guild has decided to enter an exhibit in the Art in the Park exhibit this summer.  The Miners Memorial Park is in Ironwood, Michigan.  As part of the Emberlight festival, artists set up an exhibit in the Park.  Be sure to go and see it during July in the Art Part of the Miners Memorial Park.  

MUSINGS:

I took a road trip to Sturgeon's Bay, Wisconsin this week.  I went because Mirrix Looms was having an open house and I couldn't resist.  

I am absolutely a superfan and I had a great time. Seeing how my tools are made was interesting and I met the folks who do the making.  

I also met other, like-minded women and took some contact information.  I really appreciate making those connections.  Weavers are just the nicest people.

Is it time for another guild road trip?  I'm in if you are! 

GROUP QUESTION:

Do you have a weaving bucket list?    

PHOTOS:

All of these are Karen Tembruell's.  The heart, pie basket (with wine corks and beach-find wood handle) and berry basket are recent willow creations.  The tree-shaped ornament is a project she could teach at the retreat for example.  The mittens and hat are hers.

Marci brought in the peacock chenille bedspread.  She did research learning about the rural history of these in Georgia.

 The next three images are Jimalee's. The small, printed zipper pouch she made in the Folk School workshop taught by Kirsten Aune. Jimalee did the stenciled artwork she is holding in Kirsten's stenciling workshop. The embroidery was made by her mother... an animal sampler.

The colorwork mittens were knit by Jimalee.

Nate also took the stenciling workshop. The two hangings are backed and ready to hang.  The discontinuous brocades (on the table) are two sides of a zipped bag or pillow cover and were inspired by Annie's samples that were in the guild exhibit.

More of Nate's work...  The small pieces are sampling he did before starting the full weavings - each made into bags.  Nothing is wasted.

This was done by Diane inspired by a technique that was taken to India by the enslaved Africans and adapted by the Indian people.  There is no machine quilting.  It is started at the edge and each piece is added one by one and hand overlapped.  You can see the back stitching.... worked to the center.

Lisa's new ryijy was inspired by a frost pattern on her car window.  She used left-over yarn and so did about 75% fewer knots.  We all liked both sides.

The mittens were handspun and knit by Gretchen using her angora rabbit's fur long ago.  She said she did not know you are supposed to blend it angora with other fibers.  They are so soft - like clouds.

Jade brought in her first weaving done in the beginning rag weaving workshop that Phyllis taught through the folk school.  She wants to do more!

John surprised us all with this Singer Featherweight sewing machine that was a gift to the guild along with a table loom that was recently donated.  It is in perfect shape.  He will have it tuned up at Sew Cranky.  What a treasure!

These are Phyllis' show and tell items.... Front and back of the "end of the warp" täkänä, two hats using colorwork charts for sweaters from the Knitted Kalevala Vol. 2 book.  Also showed Hannu's sweater finished, but can't get a good photo of that.  The swan hat was not finished on Sat. but it is now!  Sent to her sister for her 70th birthday 3/3.

Go to Blog Part Two for the next meetings' pictures!