Tromp as Writ May 2014

May 2014 | Tromp as Writ 1

Blomsterfönstret (The Flower Window)Carl Larsson

(1894)

Tromp as WritMay 2014

MISSOULA WEAVERSGUILD

May Meeting

Date & Time: Saturday, May 17, 2013, 1:00 pm.

Place: Barbara Hand’s house, 4104 S. 7th St. W., telephone 406-544-3713. We’ll get to see Barbara’s new loom and watch her cut a rug off her big loom!

Program: The Study Group will give a presentation on their doubleweave projects.

Refreshments: Potluck. Bring a dish to share.

On the Agenda: We’ll have show-and-tell and time for sharing. We’ll also talk about ideas for the coming year, including the re-treat, and possible exchanges, study groups, and weekend classes. And we’ll elect officers for the coming year. If you are interested in serving or know someone who is, please contact Terri at 406-493-0349.


Swedish Weavers in AmericaIn 2006, Marion Marzolf of the University of Michigan presented a paper

called The Swedish Presence in 20th-Century American Weaving at the Textile Soci-ety of America Symposium. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:

“Swedish weavers who arrived in the United States in the early 20th century before World War I found handweaving a dying art in the United States, . . . Sweden, by contrast, had retained its strong craft tradition in the face of late-arriving industrialization. A system of preservation societies and craft training in the folk (free public) schools and in arts and crafts schools in Sweden meant that such skills were widely known and valued. For Americans interested in weaving in the early 20th century, Sweden and Swedish sources became an important source of knowledge, equipment, tools, yarns, books and personal instruction. Swedish weavers taught fine, traditional weaving in several American craft communities, art centers, schools and colleges prior to WWII.”

For the whole article go to http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.gi?article=1313&context=tsaconf`.—H.T.

Tromp as WritNewsletter of the Missoula Weavers’ Guild

Co-Presidents: Jenne Pugh [email protected] Schaub [email protected]

Treasurer: Karla Long [email protected]

Program Coordinator: Bonnie Tarses [email protected]

LibrarianCoby Johnson [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Heather Torgenrud [email protected]

Dues $25/year, $20 if paid by October 31. Missoula Weavers’ GuildP.O. Box 454Missoula, MT 59806

Contents herein copyrighted 2014 by named authors & owners of photos. All rights reserved.

Editor’s NotesOff for June and July

Tromp as Writ isn’t published in June or July, but look for the August meeting details in the August issue. Have a good summer and send newsletter items at any time.

Guild NewsFrom the April Meeting

Thanks to Shelley Peters for hosting the April meeting at her home in Corvallis, and for presenting an information-packed program on sewing with handwovens—it was lots of fun and very inspiring! See page 6 for a bit about the program, page 5 for a photo of Shelley’s alpacas, and pages 7–12 for show-and-tell from the meeting.

In MemoriamBetty Sue Flannigan passed away in

August of 2013 at the age of 71. She lived in Minnesota but had been a member of the Missoula Weavers’ Guild for many years. She often attended the MAWS conferences, where she entered pieces in the open shows, and she contributed several tips to Tromp as Writ in recent years.

At the April meeting Vanetta gave me a write-up about Betty that had appeared in Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot (Winter 2013/14). Apparently Betty’s stash included 300 bins of fleece and yarn, hundreds of tools, over 250 drop spindles, numerous looms, 20 spinning wheels, and over 2,000 books.

The Weavers’ Guild of Minnesota held a sale and the Flannigan family generously shared the proceeds with them, ensuring that Betty’s work will help encourage others involved in spinning and weaving.

Coming UpDoubleweave Study Group

Our last meeting for this year is May 8, 2014, from 7 to 9 pm at Bonnie Schuster’s.

Garment Study GroupWe’re organizing a new study group on

sewing garments with handwovens. If you’re interested, let Heather know.

MAWS ConferenceJune, 2014. Check often for the latest

details at http://www.greatfallsmaws.org/.

Guild BoothPlease bring the items you’d like to

include in our conference guild booth to the meeting on May 17, or to study group, or let Karla know what you’re planning and then arrange to get the items to her by the end of May. This will give her a few days to come up with an arrangement based on the submissions, and to gather props. The con-ference colors are electric blue, moss green, and grey, but we aren’t bound by those col-ors. Also, if you’re attending the conference and can assist Karla with the booth, let her know at 543-4076 or [email protected].

RetreatSeptember 19, 20, 21, 2014 at Heart

View Center. Details in August newsletter.Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840), Flower-of-an-hour

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1313&context=tsaconf

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1313&context=tsaconf

mailto:jennepugh%40blackfoot.net?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild

mailto:dlstks%40bresnan.net?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild

mailto:wklong%40bresnan.net?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild

mailto:bonnie%40bonnietarses.com?subject=

mailto:coburn47%40hotmail.com?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild

mailto:fjord%40blackfoot.net?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild

http://www.greatfallsmaws.org/

mailto:wklong%40bresnan.net?subject=Weavers%27%20Guild


The painting by Carl Larsson on page 1 of this newsletter shows a room in the Larsson home in Sundborn,

Sweden, in the province of Dalarna. Notice the knitting in progress on the table, the handwoven rug on the floor, and the blue and white striped upholstery fabric on the chair. The handwoven and embroidered textiles seen in many of Carl Larsson’s paintings were the work of his wife, Karin, a gifted designer, who is shown in the paint-ing above with her loom.

Karin trained as a painter in Stockholm, and later in Paris where she met her future husband. The couple married in 1883 and the first of their eight children was born in 1884.

After their marriage, Karin turned her ar-

tistic talents to decorating the home, and to weaving and embroidery. She also designed furniture and her own and the children’s clothes. She drew on traditional textiles for inspiration but her own style was very mod-ern for the time—simple, bold, and often abstract. Her creativity and taste became an important component in her husband’s art, as she created much of the home that he so often depicted.

In 1997, an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London noted that “Karin’s textiles were absolutely original. Pre-modern in character they introduced a new abstract style in tapestry. Her bold compositions were executed in vibrant colours; her embroidery frequently used stylised plants. In black and white linen she

reinterpreted Japanese motifs. Technically adventurous, she explored folk techniques and experimented with others. A good example of her bold weaving is the tapestry ‘The Four Elements’ that she composed in 1903 to be hung above the new sofa in the dining room.”

In 2007 I visited the Larsson home on a textile tour of Norway and Sweden. You can see ‘The Four Elements’ tapestry with its zigzag lines in a photo on the home’s official website at http://www.clg.se/matsalen.aspx. Also in that photo, on the sofa beneath the tapestry, is a blue and yellow pillow that Karin embroidered, with the sunflower divided into four sections and placed in the corners. And note how the chair cushions are held in place with bands.—H.T.

Carl Larsson

Karin LarssonHandweaver, designer, wife of Swedish artist Carl Larsson

http://www.clg.se/matsalen.aspx


On the Market: Louet Loom

FOR SALE: I am downsizing and selling my 48" Louet Hollandia Countermarch loom. It has 4 shafts and 6 treadles. It is the precursor to the Louet Delta which starts at over $6000. Comes with instruction manual, 10-dent reed, lease sticks, boat shuttles, warping board, and whatever else I can find to go with it! There is

no bench, but Richard made me a raddle for on top of the castle and that will go with it. The shed is a full 4". The back beam folds flat for moving the loom, or setting it closer to the wall when not in use. The Hollandia also has the floating breast beam that eases the tension of the warp as you weave. $1400.00. Call or

email me for more information. I have a Louet brochure describing the loom in more detail and can email that to you. Shelley Peters, telephone 360-4776 or click this link to email [email protected].

Photos: Shelley Peters

Wanted: Spinning WheelPeggy Schlesinger is looking for a used spinning wheel that’s portable or semi- portable. If anyone knows of someone who is selling a wheel, please let her know. Call 370-2919 or email [email protected].

mailto:Shelley%40MontanaSuriAlpacas.com?subject=Louet%20loom

mailto:peggy.schlesinger%40gmail.com?subject=Spinning%20wheel


Kiss Me, I’m CuteVisiting the Suri alpacas

When I stopped to take a picture of Shelley Peter’s Suri alpaca boys (the girls were in the other paddock) they seemed very curious about what I was up to and came over to the fence, making a purring noise. I asked Shelley what the sound was called and she said, “We just call that noise humming. It is a form of com-

munication which means all is well in their world. You should hear the gosh awful noise they make when they think an intruder like a stray dog or deer is going to threaten their world! It’s kind of like a donkey bray gone ber-serk and very loud. That one wakes us up from a dead sleep. A good night is when the girls are

down below our bedroom, in their barn stall, humming to each other. Makes me smile and just like them, feel all is well in the world. :-)” Thanks to Shelley for this wonderful story and for hosting our April meeting at her place—it was a very enjoyable day!—H.T.

Photo: Heather Torgenrud


At the April meeting at Shelley Peter’s house we were lucky to have Shelley share her wisdom about sewing garments with us. Here Shelley discusses a vest (at left) and jacket (below), both made by Leslie Taylor from handwoven fabric and lovely examples of shaping and finishing techniques.

Some of Shelley’s suggestions:• Look at the beauty of the

handwoven fabric and let that suggest what to make with it. Consider the drape of the fabric when choosing a pattern.

• Start with a simple proj-ect, like a hat, pillow, or sewing machine cover.

• Make sure you lay out your pattern on grain—very important since you want your garment to hang nicely and keep its shape.

• Use good quality pins with large heads—T-pins and pins with tiny heads will snag—and keep them sharp.

• Use a rotary cutter and mat to minimize the stretching that always oc-curs when cutting fabric. If you use scissors don’t cut all the way to the tip for the same reason. Tear-away stabilizers and Steam-a-Seam can stabi-lize for cutting, if needed, and then be removed.

• Press each seam as soon as you stitch it.

• Finish all seams to prevent raveling—one option is binding them with Seams Great.

Photos: Heather Torgenrud

Shelley Shares her ExpertiseTips for sewing with handwovens at the April meeting


This is Leslie Taylor’s vest, the one that Shelley is talking about in the top photo on page 6. Leslie says, “The fabric was woven with 5/2 perle cotton. I used the Weavers’ Book of 8-shaft Patterns. Boulevard Weave pattern #607 on page 180. The warp was black and I dyed the weft a coppery color. I didn’t write down what vest pattern I used but it’s a pretty basic one.” Leslie used one face of the fabric for the body of the vest, and the other for the contrast collar, lapels, back yoke and pockets. She stitched it beautifully, even making self-fabric button loops as you can see in the top left section of the pocket detail at right.

A Handwoven VestLeslie used her double-faced fabric in an interesting way

Photos: Leslie Taylor


Leslie Taylor wove the plain weave fabric for her purple jacket from a variety of textured yarns in different colors, and stitched and finished it beautifully. This is the jacket that Shelley is talking about in the bottom photo on page 6.

Photo: Leslie Taylor

A Handwoven JacketLeslie wove a textured plain weave using a variety of yarns

Bog Jacket LinksFor those interested in the bog jacket pattern Shelley passed around at the April meet-ing, here is the link: http://www.mtnladyarns.com/weaving.pdf. And here is another pattern for a bog jacket that Shelley found: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/assets/pdf-download/Custom-cost.pdf.

http://www.mtnladyarns.com/weaving.pdf

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/assets/pdf-download/Custom-cost.pdf

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/assets/pdf-download/Custom-cost.pdf


Vanetta Burton wove the fabric for a vest to wear at her son’s wedding last summer, but found she needed help when it came to sewing the garment. Shelley Peters spent a day with Vanetta, fitting, sewing, and adding some stellar detailing in the form of shoulder pleats. Here Vanetta’s mother adjusts the collar as we take photos.

Shelley Peters makes beautiful hats, using high-end millinery techniques and fabric that she makes by fulling hand-knitted or crocheted alpaca. Here are three of her latest creations.


Wonderful WearablesApril show-and tell included Vanetta’s vest and Shelley’s latest hats


A fun frog Nancy Edwards made from a Deb Essen Swatch Critters kit.

A baby jacket Jenne Pugh knit-ted for her expected grandbaby, with a delightful pattern of pea pods and tendrils at the top of the hood. The pattern is from 60 Quick Baby Knits and Jenne reports that the garment is indeed quick—it only took two months!


Frogs and PeapodsApril show-and-tell from Nancy and Jenne


Colorful StripesSharon’s scarves for April show-and-tell

Sharon Schroeder wove both of these scarves using concepts that she learned from the classes Bonnie Tarses taught at the last MAWS confer-ence. She says, “The more colorful scarf is from the Woven Words class. Letters are assigned a color and the scarf can be interpreted if you know the code. The second scarf has bands of Ikat separating the color. Both are made of bamboo.”

Photo: Bonnie Tarses


When Coby Johnson needed to demonstrate weaving at an Historical Museum event she decided to check her stash for available yarn and was happy to find just what she needed for this overshot in textured linen and ramie. She intended to make a set of placemats, but since she wove some items while demonstrating and the rest later, catch as catch can over a period of months, all of the pieces are a different length. Coby’s tip: measure items as you go and don’t take ten months to weave off a warp!

Diana Hachenberger brought four lovely pieces for show-and-tell. I’m so sorry, but I stepped out of the room before she pre-sented them, and I wasn’t able to reach her by “press time” to get the details that I missed.


Texture and PatternApril show-and-tell from Coby and Diana


Virtual Quilt in Lavender SachetsBonnie Tarses plays with a display idea for her upcoming show and sale

Bonnie Tarses’s show, The Power of Gather-ing Over Time, opens May 2 from 5-7 at the 4 Ravens Gallery at 248 N. Higgins, and continues throughout May. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10-6. Bonnie created an installation entitled Lavender Retrospective, from 144 lavender “pillows” using samples of

her handwoven fabric from over 30 years of past projects. Bonnie lovingly filled each pillow with lavender from The Garden of One Thou-sand Buddhas. The pillows will be sold for $24 each, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the maintenance of Siobhan’s Grove (planted last year at The Garden in memory

of Bonnie’s daughter). To display the pillows, Bonnie created a “virtual quilt,” with each pil-low individually attached to the wall, creating a diamond shape 66" square. Bonnie says, “As pillows are sold, the negative space remaining will continue to redesign the installation with unknown and surprising results.”

Photo: Bonnie Tarses


Leslie Taylor, in apron, ex-plains how the dye is added to the natural yarn.

Leslie Taylor, in apron, and her business partner, Diana McKay, in purple sweater, talk to us in the showroom at Mountain Colors.


At Mountain Colors in MarchLearning about dyeing yarn


Looking at yarn, books, tools and equipment—what fun!

Deb Essen’s Swatch Critters and more, on display at Wil-lows & Wool.


At Willows & Wool in MarchLots of shopping opportunities and a trunk show


Yarn drying on the rack at Mountain Colors.

Throws knitted with Mountain Colors yarn on display at Wil-lows & Wool.


Colors GaloreMore from the March field trip


Snapshots from IndianaJoan Contraman teaches workshops in carding and dyeing

At the last minute Joan Contraman was asked to fill in for another instructor, giving a lecture and teaching workshops in carding and dyeing in Indiana, on the last weekend in April. The organizer of the event flew in Joan and her husband and Joan’s many boxes of supplies. On Friday Joan wrote, “Susan, my hostess, has treated us like royalty with a hotel suite complete with a handmade locally made box of chocolate on the bed, use of her van while we are here and tonight a wonderful prime rib dinner. Boy do they treat their teachers well.” Here you see Joan’s rainbow of dyed fleece for the students to use and some of the students at work in the card-ing classes.

Photos: Joan Contraman


Snapshots from IndianaJoan Contraman teaches workshops in carding and dyeing

Joan reports that the classes went very well—the students seemed happy and were a very nice group. She wrote, “Monday we move from the hotel to Susan’s ranch. We will do some sightseeing on Monday and Tuesday and fly home on Wednesday. Have had an absolutely wonderful experi-ence!”

Above left: A finished batt from carding class, along with its inspiration. Above right: Joan, at center, with two of her thirty students. Below right: A student models a piece she had earlier spun and knitted from one of Joan’s Crosspatch Cre-ations batts. Below left: Students work on dyeing a batt.

Photos: Joan Contraman

Tromp as Writ May 2014

Documents

Transcript of Tromp as Writ May 2014