Handwoven

from the editor

I DON’T BELIEVE I’M ALONE in remembering my first “real” weaving-yarn purchase. I had finished my beginner’s sampler and chosen a twill draft from Marguerite Porter Davison’s A Handweaver’s Pattern Book for some placemats. I drove to WEBS in Northampton, Massachusetts, with my pattern in hand, excited about my first foray into the world of weaving yarns. And then I got confused and perhaps a bit intimidated by the whole experience. I was making four placemats using 3/2 cotton, and even though I had done my calculations and knew the colors I wanted to use, I didn’t quite know what to buy. In the end, I bought five full pound-plus cones, three of which I still own 23 years later. (The other thing I did that day was buy my…

handwoven

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anne Merrow EDITOR Susan E. Horton ASSOCIATE EDITOR Christina Garton MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Prose TECHNICAL EDITORS Deanna Deeds, Anita Osterhaug, Angela K. Schneider, Bettie Zakon-Anderson COPY EDITOR Katie Bright PROOFREADER Nancy Arndt CREATIVE DESIGN Kit Kinseth STILL PHOTOGRAPHY Matt Graves MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY Harper Point Photography STYLING Ann Sabin Swanson HAIR AND MAKEUP Beauty on Location FOUNDERS Linda Ligon, Anne Merrow, John Bolton MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR Sommer Street Associates DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Haydn Strauss EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Halcyon Blake, Maggie Casey, Sophia Gfroerer, Elisabeth Hill, Sara Lamb, Amy Norris, Sarah Wroot…

letters

After Handwoven’s sale to Long Thread Media was announced, we received many letters—far too many to publish. We received lots of congratulations and excellent feedback, although we regret to inform you that for every letter requesting more eight-shaft-plus projects, we received an equal number of letters asking for more rigid-heddle or four-shaft projects. We won’t be able to make everyone happy all the time, but we promise to put out the best version of Handwoven we can. Cheers to the future! THOUGHTS ON SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 Your purchase of Handwoven is such good news! Although your 40th anniversary issue (September/October 2019) focused on editors, I was surprised it was completely silent about Joe Coca, Handwoven’s photographer for the ages. His photographs—especially before the digital era—were truly amazing. I wanted to plan new projects and…

weaving as protest

FOR ABOUT AS LONG AS THERE’S BEEN ART, artists have found inspiration in nature. Ancient humans around the world sought out caves and stones to create cave paintings and petroglyphs depicting the world around them. Art technology advanced, and artists found new and exciting ways to depict the natural world and use that art to comment on it as well. In their new exhibit, IMPACT: Climate Change, members of Tapestry Weavers West (TWW) and Tapestry Weavers in New England (TWiNE) showcase woven works focusing on the artists’ concerns related to climate change and how it affects the natural environment. For this juried show, 81 tapestries were submitted, and 32 works by 28 weavers were ultimately selected by curators Kerri Hurtado of Artsource Consulting and TWW artists Deborah Corsini and Alex Friedman.…

celebracting with schacht

ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2019, the Schacht Spindle Company threw itself a 50th anniversary party, inviting friends and associates to the plant in Boulder, Colorado. It was a fitting celebration for a company that started from the ground up with a simple drop spindle and a primitive loom that grew into the Schacht we know today: a thriving manufacturing company building a wide range of looms, spinning equipment, and shuttles. Special invitees included Madelyn van der Hoogt, Linda Ligon, Deborah Chandler, Judy Steinkoenig, and Maggie Casey. Many weavers and spinners traveled to Colorado for the day simply to meet and rub shoulders with some of their personal heroes. In true fiber-festival fashion, the day included food trucks, a marketplace, a spinning contest, a shuttle race, and a demo barn with looms and spinning…

the little upholstery book:

Shelly Miller Leer For many weavers, upholstering a piece of furniture with their own carefully designed handwoven cloth is a dream, and for those with no idea where to begin, The Little Upholstery Book by Shelly Miller Leer is an excellent starting point. Knowing next to nothing about upholstery before beginning the book, I ended up daydreaming of finding the perfect little distressed stool at an estate sale to try my hand at it. Leer is detail oriented in her presentation. The first three chapters focus on the necessities of upholstering: shop space, tools, and supplies. Large, beautiful photographs illustrate just about every page as she carefully explains what basics are needed to get started, what is nice to have, and in some cases, what she herself prefers. Personal touches are sprinkled…