The Sheep to Shawl Team representing our Langley Weavers and Spinners Guild competed on Saturday, May 6, 2017, against the Peach Arch Weavers and Spinners Guild. The friendly but intense competition lasted all day as the two teams worked to create shawls from raw, washed fleece provided at the start of the day.

Our team decided to focus on M & Ws for their weaving pattern and chose a theme of Mountains and Water to showcase our work. The warp was prepped and spun by Diana Twiss. It was then handpainted by Kelsey Tremblett and Rachel Smith with navy and black acid dyes. The loom was warped during our final practice session and on the day, we were ready and raring to go!

Hosted by the Surrey Museum, the competition started at 10:30am. The teams had until 3pm to complete a shawl measuring 20” x 72”. This year, we decided to use our hackles and comb the fleece, which created a wonderful prep for our five spinners, who rotated in and out throughout the day. Sandra Kiechle, Rachel Smith, Lois Hunter, Denise Parks and Debbie Stapleton performed a variety of tasks throughout the day including picking out the best locks for combing, hackling and spinning. It was fast paced and a lot of fun!

Krista Graham plied up a storm from about 11:15am onwards and had many bystanders watching her as she spun quickly through bobbin after bobbin. Finally, our incredible weaver, Kelsey Tremblett was the picture of cool, calm and collected.

The judge of the competition could not find one mistake in her weaving – Bravo Kelsey! That’s a huge accomplishment on a pressure-filled day!

Finally, each member of the team pitched in to trim and wind fringe in the final thirty minutes of the competition – a very special thank you to Heather Moyer who was able to jump in at the last minute and help complete the shawl!

Lastly, the competition would not be complete without the help of our team steward and publicity team! All day, they were providing information and answering numerous questions. Shari Bronson was friendly, informative and kind to the many people and children who came to see our progress. June, Rachel and Karla-Ann Lee created an incredible board of information about our guild, theme and weaving structure that helped everyone learn a little more about this incredible craft that we all love so much!

Our team is so pleased to have been named the winning team this year, and thank the PAWS Guild for a wonderful day of competition to showcase our skills and love of these crafts. Well done!

Spring 2017 Workshops

Project Photography: Katrina and Eric Stewart have presented one, and will be presenting another 2 hour workshop on basic project photography. Bring a couple of projects, your camera or phone and we’ll show you how to create interesting photographs of your work using basic window light and a few simple props. The second course is already full.

Basketry Workshop: with Joan Carrigan – still in the planning stage. We plan to schedule two one-day workshops . Check out her website http://www.joancarrigan.com/ws_archives.html for possibilities. Dates will depend on her schedule but we are hoping for late May/June.

Fall 2017 Workshops

Eco Indigo: Ann Embra will pass on what she has learned from Michel Garcia at the Maiwa Symposiums about producing indigo dye baths without harsh and noxious chemicals. Tentatively set for Saturday, September 16.

Mystery Fibre

There will be another Mystery fleece, to be distributed at the April meeting. Sign-ups will be available at the March meeting. Cost is $5 for a bag of unwashed, unprepped fibre from a breed we don’t often see here.

General Workshop Info 

Your Education Co-ordinators for this year are Ann Embra and Rachel Smith. Contact us for information on upcoming workshops, and for suggestions of classes and instructors you would like us to book. Beginner Spinners and Weavers: we can put you in touch with people who do individual classes – talk to us.

How to sign up for workshops

Give us a post-dated cheque in the full amount of the workshop, payable to LWSG. Materials costs are usually paid at the workshop directly to the instructor.Fees are non-refundable, unless you arrange for someone to attend in your place or someone attends from the waiting list. You are responsible for your own equipment, unless otherwise noted. An equipment/supplies list will be provided well in advance of each workshop. If you require any Guild equipment for the course, please contact the Equipment person.
And please sign up early. We cancel low registration workshops 4-6 weeks ahead of the date.