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!
