Midwest Weavers Convention

A week after MLH convention, I drove 10 and a half hours to St. Paul for the Midwest Weavers Convention, held on the campus of the University of St. Thomas.  Happily, I had arranged in advance to stay with others from my local weaving guild, so the four single rooms in our suite (2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen) were shared with people I knew. (I like meeting new people, but I really liked getting to know members of my guild better--not that we had a lot of time in the suite.)

My first class was an afternoon survey of Norwegian weaving, taught by Robbie LaFleur, and it was a real delight. I was most interested in medieval tapestries, but throughly enjoyed slides and books shared with us.

This is a friend of Robbie, wearing the bunad or traditional clothing Robbie had made for her mother. Incredibly beautiful embroidery!

Saturday I was lucky enough to be in Carol James's all-day class in Sprang.  What is that? Sprang is not weaving but manipulated warp, and has quite an ancient history--more than 2,000 known years.

This is Carol James, wearing a reproduction she made of a 1,000 year old tunic found in Arizona. Yes, 1,000 years old!

Stockings researched and made by Carol.

This is a loom Carol is using to make a sprang scarf with beads. Our class looms were the same but with 24 inch side bars. To make the tall one, all we have to do is go to a hardware store and buy two 6 foot tall dowels.

 

Here is Carol showing another tunic she made.

And this is the most amazing reproduction of the silk Burgoyne sash the general gave young George Washington before Burgoyne's death. Officers in the 18th century wore these sprang sashes as a sign of their rank, and they could also be carried in them if they became wounded. Check out Carol James's YouTube videos for all kinds of information on sprang.

After several wonderful but exhausting days, I drove home another 10 and a half hours, listening to a fascinating Mary Russell mystery by Laurie R. King.

Since my trip, I've researched a lot more about medieval Scandinavian tapestries and started a sprang project--but those are for another post.

Happy textile working!