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The Anchorage Weavers and Spinners Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to the encouragement of the fiber arts in Alaska. The guild seeks to promote the exhibition of fiber arts and to inform its members and the public through lectures, workshops and craft demonstrations.

We hold monthly meetings from September through May, often featuring a guest speaker. at 10:00 a.m. the second Saturday of the month at the First Congregational Christian Church, 2610 E Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99508. Entrance and parking on the lower, east side parking area only. Other Guild activities include beginning weaving and spinning classes, workshops led by professional instructors, demonstration of weaving and spinning at local events, participation in the Alaska State Fair, and fiber retreats.

Weaving patterned bands using the double slotted heddle - March 4, 2023

Weaving Patterned Bands

One Day Workshop: Saturday March 4, 2023 10:00 – 4:00
Tutor: Lorri (Haugan) Wright

Image from class taught by Susan Foulkes at the 2016 Braids Conference in Tacoma, WA
Link for registration: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E44AEAC2BA1FC1-weaving

Learn the technique for weaving a Sami band using a double slotted heddle. This is the same technique that is used to weave other Norwegian bands used on Bunad’s in various regions of Norway.

Students will weave a sample band in class using the Sunna double slotted heddle and the Sami Gehpa shuttle. All materials for the class are provided. Each student will take home a Sunna Heddle, Gehpa Shuttle, Woven band, Band lock, Warp Lasso and instructions.

The class will start with each student weaving their band using the prepared heddle. The Sunna heddles will be managed with a rigid heddle loom for classroom use only. The end of the class will include a demonstration of preparing the loom for weaving in the future.

This technique can be used to earn a Cultural Skills pin in Weaving. An overview of the Cultural Skills pin will be provided in class along with an example of the paperwork to complete.

The class assumes the student has no prior knowledge of weaving. The goal is that each student will gain a new understanding of the technique used in some of the bands of Norway and will have confidence to weave one of the many beautiful patterns!

Class Fee –$68 USD
Maximum No. of Participants – 10
Date: Saturday 03/04/2023
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Sons of Norway Bernt Balchen Lodge, Viking Hall, 8141 Briarwood St, Anchorage, AK 99518
Payment: $68 will be required at registration which can be paid on-line via PayPal to awsgworkshop@gmail.com - (reference Sami Bandweaving) or checks may be sent to:

Anchorage Weavers & Spinners Guild
PO Box 244055
Anchorage, AK 99524-4055

Cancellations shall result in the forfeiture of the class fee, unless a replacement can be found, whether from the waiting list or arranged by the person cancelling the registration in the workshop. Last day of cancellation without forfeiture is February 25, 2023.

If you have questions, please contact Lorri Wright, (907) 360-0276, lorrihome@live.com.

Solar Dyeing your own Handspun with Deborah Gray

Solar Dyeing with Deborah GrayDeborah Gray is a textile artist based in Oban, on the West Coast of Scotland. Her recent work examines the links between land(scape), the natural materials (fibre, plants) which grow there, and the work created from those materials which reflects elements of the land(scape). Completed projects can be seen at www.deborahgraytextiles.co.uk/projects. She is currently working on a community artwork using wool fabrics and yarns which she has dyed with the 18 trees associated with the Gaelic alphabet.

Deborah works mainly with wool, and has taught hand spinning, natural dyeing and knitting techniques for over 40 years, including workshops in Scotland, Italy, Iceland and Greenland and 10 consecutive years as guest tutor at Shetland Wool Week.

She has been Artist-in-Residence at The Icelandic Textile Centre, Blönduós, NorthWest Iceland in 2018, 2019 and 2021. She was Lead Practitioner for the Eco Creative Cluster dye garden project at The Rockfield Centre, Oban, developing a dye garden and programme of natural dyeing workshops while building a network of local and international practitioners focusing on the use of natural dyes and related practices. She is a collaborator in Wool in the North, a project seeking to address the waste of wool around the North Atlantic by developing sustainable wool-based tourism and other initiatives.

Solar Dyeing Workshop Notes