All about Oaxaca
Jan H. will be sharing her recent visit that included dying and weaving, as well as learning cultural aspect of family life in Oaxaca. As part of the show and share, please be prepared to share any items or adventures from Oaxaca.
“Inspiration and Garment Design with Handwoven Fabrics”. Presented by Susan Lazear.
Handwoven fabrics are incredibly amazing. They combine color, texture, fiber, and structure and provide us with a material that is unique. Designing for Handwoven clothing should be fun and the process cutting the fabric should not be a hindrance. Susan Lazear will share inspirations and various decisions one makes when choosing styles and picking or creating patterns for handwoven fabrics. She will also cover a discussion of sewing and finishing techniques. You will see a variety of patterns created with Garment Designer, but you can apply what you learn to choosing commercial patterns. Mixed media projects will also be introduced as a design option.
Susan Lazear is the owner and Creative Director of Cochenille Design Studio. There she designs patternmaking and stitch design software for textile and fashion enthusiasts. She teaches educational webinars and develops other related how-to books and products. Susan is an Emeritus Professor of Fashion at Mesa College in San Diego, where she taught various textile and design courses, including patternmaking, computer design, and textiles and related fashion courses. She conducts workshops globally.
January’s program and workshop is all about buttons!
Bring your jar or tin of buttons! There will be a special prize for the most impressive.
Buttons are often viewed as the “smallest antiques”. Fancy or plain, we all have some special ones that we are saving for that perfect end use, or maybe we just have a jar or tin full of them, either inherited from Mom or Grandmom. Perhaps you have started your own collection.
Often the fasteners that hold our woven garments together are taken for granted, and yet we have been using buttons for centuries. As garments evolved from lose fitting to more shape, the need for better closures evolved from ties to buttons to zippers …. Some buttons have primitive function, and some are fancy and elaborate.
We will have a focus show and share will be sharing and learning more about buttons. Please bring your special and not so special button collection to the January meeting to share.
Pam F will be bringing several button books which might help identify types and origins of your treasured buttons. Looking at and learning where the buttons are from, and what material they are made of.
This will be an opportunity to do a little research and find out what you have. Are your buttons valuable or just treasured? Do they tell a story of travels, or are they linked to a memory?
There will also be a workshop making a Dorset Cross-wheel Button. Dorset buttons were a very important cottage industry in the 18th cehtury England. These buttons’ popularity declined with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of button making machines. More information about Dorset Buttons can be found at henrysbuttons.co.uk
We will be making a (hopefully) easy Dorset Button, that we can learn about and enjoy resurrecting an almost forgotten skill. It does involve a bit of weaving! Kits will be provided but bring embroidery scissors if you have them. The workshop will be taught by Pam F. and Margaret S, with assistance of other members. Hope to see you there.
ANNUAL HOLIDAY RAFFLE, Irvine Art Center, 10:30
Members only meeting.
November’s program will be informal sharing, fellowship and creating. What this means is come with a fiber project to work on. Share what it is and help others learn about your process.
Come with questions or share a technique.
Many members have unfinished things. Come and get some help on how best to finish.
SCWSG member Pam F., will be sharing her knowledge on penny rug technique, as well as a mini workshop, making a box with a ‘penny’ coin shaped wool felt piece.
The history of the penny rug seems to have many sources. What is known is that the penny rug was formed by stitching together coin-shaped fabric scraps, and dates to the 1800s.
Find out what a penny rug is (or is not). It is a form of up cycling used wool, it can be decorative or functional. It is fun. It is not a rug in current day terminology. It uses blanket stitch, and Pam will be helping start and join thread in blanket stitch.
Bring a pair of scissors and Chenille needle if you have one. Pam will have some needles, thread, and lots of precut circles. Kit will also include a small box to mount the penny on,
Summer Fun - A show and share to include your summer activities. If you have recently been to a conference/class or special fiber event and would like to give a 10-15 minute presentation detailing your experience, please contact Susan F. (in our guild directory or use the contact link) to get on the agenda.
We’d love to see your summer projects, too.
End of year catered celebration – venue TBD.
More details are forthcoming.
Irvine Fine Arts Center’s Studio Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 9 AM to 5 PM at the Fine Arts Center. Please plan to join us. Sign up sheets are included in the newsletter and at our May meeting.
Dianna McNair will Present: Dianna’s Journey with Wool… I have always loved to explore the creative arts: twining, rug hooking, basketry, crocheting, sashiko, felting, etc.; and have had a love of native American culture. My journey in weaving began around 9 years ago when I was introduced to Charter Oak Weavers & Spinners. My first big project was 9 yards of upholstery fabric to cover two chairs. My love of using wool yarns came when I chose to weave two saddle blankets as a gift. Note: saddle blankets need to be all wool because of the horse's sweat. Off I went on my weaving with wool journey—Navajo weaving, Rio Grande style weaving, tapestry classes and wedge weave classes. I finally landed at wool rugs and runners incorporating Navajo, Rio Grande and tapestry styles/ techniques. It's been a wonderful journey which continues to who knows where....?
From Plymouth Rock to Kyoto: My Unusual Overshot Journey.
Kathleen Waln will be speaking about her personal journey with overshot. She will discuss the history of the structure, including a short diversion on the American Coverlet and its connection to overshot. But the lecture will focus upon her own discoveries with this versatile weaving structure. From a pattern called “The Mayflower” to discussing overshot weaving with a Shibori master in Kyoto Japan, Kathleen’s relationship with overshot is unusual!
Workshop with Kathleen on April 15th
On Tuesday April15, an all-day workshop (9:30 am to 4:00pm) is planned. The workshop will include some more details on Overshot, and is planned as a combined lecture and hands on event. Members may participate at any level but are asked to remain silent during lecture portion. Planned as 3 mini lectures with 3 breaks to share and experiment with each other.
In this beginning workshop, Kathleen will first continue her discussion of the history of the structure as it explains the basics of weaving, and beyond. Time and interest will dictate the other mini lecture topics, Possible topics are tips and tricks for warping and weaving, Ask Kathleen your questions, or exploring more advanced techniques related to overshot: pick up, name draft, woven shibori. For those that want to weave you will need to bring a 4-shaft loom dressed with 5/2 cotton.
The hands-on weaver will get a Workshop Booklet, extra wefts for student use & exploration, and samples of overshot and woven shibori. The fee for this portion is $15. For planning purposes you MUST SIGN UP FOR THIS PART AT THE MARCH MEETING !
March 10th Program – Share your Fiber Collection and Fiber Treasures
The February “super” show and share event was so fun that everyone wanted to continue it in March. Once again everyone will get a chance to show what theyhave been doing, go into details about where they have been, or what they have been doing.
In addition to the regular show and share, we will again have a participative event where members bring textiles or fiber items they have gathered in their travels, heirlooms they treasure, or mystery cloth for a fun ‘what is that’? All members are encouraged to join in and contribute to the discussion.
Details are forthcoming.
Our program this month will be on Twining with Dawn Ahlert - a twining lecture, followed by a workshop on Tuesday January 14. The workshop is limited to 15 people and requires advanced registration. See Newsletter for further details.
It is time for our Holiday Silent Auction run by Margie B!
Please bring cared-for items that you would like to part with. Margie will be placing brown bags on the tables for the auction tickets so cash will be needed.
This is a great opportunity to pick up/put down lovely textile related items.
November 11 (Veterans Day) Will focus on Textiles and Worship. Meeting will be a field trip to the Congregation B'nai Israel, 2111 Bryan, Tustin. Anne, the Rabi’s wife, will discuss some of the traditions and fiber related items of the Jewish faith. Then we will have a discussion of any religious textiles that members could bring to share.
