The New York Guild of Handweavers

Overview | 2009-2010 Calendar | Weavers Exchange | Newsletter Info

The meetings begin with a social hour that starts at noon. At this time other weavers will be gathering and networking. There is also an information desk set up at which there are publications about current exhibits in the New York areas as well as educational and travel possibilities. You are free to look at these and take them at the end of the meeting if no one else wants them. There will also be a few books from the Guild's library available for members to check out. On occasion, there will be copies of the Guild's sample books on display. Members may check out individual samples for further study at home if they like.

In addition there is the Weavers Exchange. Here folks can bring yarn to sell as well as any small weaving related items (shuttles, heddle hooks, etc.) and publications. This is a good place to look for bargains or clear your supply closet of items no longer needed.

You may also bring your lunch to enjoy during this period. Some refreshments like cookies and such may be available. At 1 o'clock there is usually a brief business meeting. At this any announcements about weaving events, textiles, etc. may be made by anyone attending. If anyone wishes to ask a weaving question or get advise this is the appropriate forum. This is followed by the featured speaker or presentation. These usually run from an hour and a half to two hours depending on the presenter. Afterwards you are free to stay and talk to other weavers, ask questions of the presenter and examine some of the presentation materials if any.

The Guild currently meets at:
The School of Visual Arts
214 East 21st Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
New York, NY
The meeting is usually in room 206A.

Non-members are welcome for $8.00 per lecture.

We have a wonderful lineup of lectures, workshops and events for the 2009-2010 season. Check it out!!

September 26th. 2009
Cynthia Alberto, Textile Arts Center (Brooklyn NY) and Collective Communal Consciousness
The MetaLoom: Textile Artists Using Art to Create a Communally Woven Piece
Artist and teacher. In 2007 Cynthia founded Weaving Hands, now the Textile Arts Center, a Brooklyn-based studio for children and adults. Her studio focuses on the weaving styles of countries such as Guatemala, Nepal, Morocco and the Phillipines. Cynthia has exhibited her work internationally; she recently was a guest artist at the Open Studios of the Museum of Art and Design. She will describe her current work and interests. http://www.weavinghand.com

October 31st, 2009
Susan Davis, Anthropologist
Moroccan Women Weavers OnLine: Their Rugs and Their Roles
An anthropologist who has continued her involvement with Morocco since she was there with the Peace Corps in the 1960's. She has written about her work there and returns frequently with groups who are interested in Moroccan textiles and the weavers with whom Susan has had a long friendship. Her talk will focus on a group of Berber women in southern Morocco with whom she has developed an online web shop (www.marrakeshexpress.org). She will give an overview of varied types of Moroccan rugs and bring samples to examine.

December 5th, 2009
Holiday Party showing Peter Collingwood Interview and Studio Tour DVD

January 30, 2010
Susan Edmunds, Rug and Tapestry Weaver
Lines of Color: Color Choices and the Design Process
A weaver of rugs and tapestries, will talk about Lines of Color, an illustration of her design process, focusing on color choices. She is inspired by the infinite variation of color and light that is at play in the surface of almost any object in the world around her. Her "Striped Rug #5" received the Michigan Surface Design Award at their 2006 exhibition; her tapestry, "Aran Islands Kilim", appears in Tapestry Handbook: the New Generation by Carol Russell.

February 27, 2010
Show and Tell
Guild members bring in and share their work with each other.

March 27, 2010
Yarn Tasting
This meeting is about exploring new yarns and fibers. There are so many new yarns and fibers that it is difficult to know which ones to try. Thanks to the generosity of several yarn suppliers and donations from Guild members, we will have twelve looms, each warped with a different yarn. There will also be many wefts to mix with these warps. Have you wanted to try Tencel, Soy Silk, bamboo or even corn yarn? How about ramie, paper or hemp or luxury yarns like silk and cashmere? Come to the March meeting to try these and other yarns that you may not have considered.

The meeting will run from 10am to 4pm and is free to Guild members, $15 for guests. Sign-up is appreciated but not required. Contact: librarian@nyhandweavers.org

April 24, 2009
Sara Goodman, Textile Artist
Tales of a Textile Tourist: Traveling as Inspration A textile artist with a studio/school, House of Dreams, in Lyme, New Hampshire. Her work has been featured in Handwoven and Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot and her one-of-a-kind garments have won awards from Complex Weavers and the New England Weavers Seminar. Over the last several years she has been traveling to several fabulous textile "hot spots" (Bali, Guatemala and Japan to name a few); she will be showing images from these adventures and talking about how these experiences have influenced her work as a fiber artist. http://www.saragoodmanfiberstudio.com/overview.php

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Members are invited to submit items of interest for consideration to be published in our newsletter, New York Threads. Items can be sent to msthimble@aol.com. Below are the closing dates for next season's newsletters. Have a great summer!!

August 26, 2009	Newsletter closes	For September issue
September 29, 2009	Newsletter closes	For October issue
November 1, 2009	Newsletter closes	For November/December issue
December 30, 2009	Newsletter closes	For January issue
January 31, 2010	Newsletter closes	For February issue
March 1, 2010	Newsletter closes	For March issue
April 3, 2010	Newsletter closes	For April issue

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At every meeting THE NEW YORK GUILD OF HANDWEAVERS will have a Weavers Exchange sale. Folks can bring yarn to sell as well as any small weaving related items (shuttles, heddle hooks, etc.) and publications. This is a good place to look for bargains or clear your supply closet of items no longer needed. The Guild charges 25% of items sold at the table.

The following are the rules for selling and buying at the yarn sale.

The yarn sale is open for members only to sell surplus yarn, fibers, fiber related books and publications and small tools.
Each unit of yarn (skein, cone, ball, hank or whatever) submitted for sale must be tagged with a tag with the following information on it. Sellers Name Fiber Content (if known) Price per unit. A supply of suitable tags will be made available at the time of the sale but it is highly recommended that all items be tagged at home and be brought ready to sell.
A display table will be set up for the yarn at each meeting for members and non-members to purchase as they desire.
Yarn that is to be purchased is brought to the sale administrator with its tag and payment is made at that time. Payments are to be cash only. Exact change for purchase is appreciated. Round number prices for calculating refund is appreciated as well.
The tag is kept by the sale administrator for accounting and fund distribution later. Each item sold is recorded in a Yarn Sale Log kept with the cash box.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of the sale price will be reserved for the Guild. These funds will be used as the board of directors see fit. It is suggested that the proceeds be used to defray some of the costs of running the guild (newsletter publication, postage, insurance for the show, etc. are all worthy items).
After the close of the meeting the sale will be considered officially over and the sales will stop. At this point all items not sold must be redeemed by the seller. The Guild has no place for storing yarn from one meeting to the next.
Before the next meeting, envelopes will be prepared for each person who had sales. Calculate their portion of the funds using the tags and the Yarn Sale Log as a cross reference. Include the tags and the cash owed to each person in the envelope. The envelopes may be picked up at the next meeting by the seller.

P.O. Box 1623, Madison Square Station • New York, NY 10159