March Monthly Meeting
2023-03-12 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
“Interpreting Nineteenth-century Weaving Drafts” – Frances
Richardson
This was changed to a Zoom meeting, due to the weather.

Summer and Winter with Jill Staubitz
2023-03-18 08:00 - 17:00
First class March 18, 2023, second session March 20, 2023.

April Monthly Meeting
2023-04-16 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
The program will be “Triangle Loom Weaving/ Continuous Strand Weaving”, presented by Jackie Martin.
This will be an in-person meeting.

May Monthly Meeting
2023-05-21 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
This meeting will include the guild’s annual “Yard Sale”. Bring fiber-related items you wish to sell.
This is an in-person meeting.

September Monthly Meeting
2023-09-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
First meeting of the new guild year. This is a business meeting, and will be in person at our Shawsville location.

October Monthly Meeting
2023-10-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
This will be an in person meeting, at the Community Center in Shawsville. No Zoom, and no recording.
Program from member Alyce Quinn: “Fiber Animal to Fabric”

November Monthly Meeting
2023-11-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Member Heather Laing will present a program on “Little Looms”, with an emphasis on rigid heddle looms.
Rigid Heddle looms are often called “the gateway drug to weaving”, for good reason! Affordable, needing less space and specialized equipment, and providing a quicker setup than shaft looms – what is not to love?

December Monthly Meeting
2023-12-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Member Pat Tracy will present a program on “Tips and Tricks” for weaving scarves. Anyone who has seen Pat’s beautiful work will really want to see this program!

January Monthly Meeting
2024-01-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Library, 267 Alleghany Spring Road, Shawsville, VA, 24162, United States
This meeting will be held in the community room of Meadowbrook Library. We will be watching a movie on weaving on their big screen TV and enjoying popcorn.
The Meadowbrook Library is next door to the Community Center where we normally meet. It is accessible from Rt 460.

February Monthly Meeting (Zoom)
2024-02-11 14:00 - 16:00
Nicole Bunting will present a program on “Introduction to Tapestry Weaving”.

Tapestry is more than just imagery in weaving, but that can be a big part of it too! Today and throughout history, tapestry has been misunderstood and misrepresented. The true definition of tapestry is simple even if the techniques are wide and varied. We will be learning about the history of tapestry, the essentials of creating a tapestry – including cartoons, materials, equipment, and the one technique you NEED to know for a successful tapestry – as well as about my personal tapestry practice and studio.

Nicole received her BFA in Craft and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She is a weaver, embroiderer, and paper artist that likes to combine all of these materials to create her work. She has been a weaving instructor in the Richmond area since 2015, assisted Susan Iverson at Penland during the summer of 2018, and taught as an adjunct at VCU in 2019. Nicole created the website Warped Fibers in 2020 to share her weaving knowledge and love with anyone willing to listen! Since then she has created 3 e-books, an online tapestry course, and an online shop that can all be found on her site – with plans for many more!

You can learn more about Nicole at her website: https://nicolebunting.com/

Members Only Workshop - Accessing Online Weaving Drafts and Software and Their Usage
2024-02-24 13:00 - 16:00 | Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA, 24153, United States
HWGNRV Presents “Accessing Online Weaving Drafts and Software and Their Usage” with Instructors Pat Tracy and Judy Wills
Dates: Saturday, February 24, 2024, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Cost $10 Member
Location: Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA 24153
Maximum Number of Participants: 15
Workshop Level: Beginner
Workshop Description: An overview of purchasing weaving drafts online and being able to use them. Also a discussion of weaving software programs available for purchase and if there is a way to avoid having to buy the software.
The form to register for this February workshop can be found on the Forms page.

March Monthly Meeting (Zoom)
2024-03-10 14:00 - 16:00
Take a virtual fiber-oriented trip to Japan, with Daryl Lancaster! Daryl will present slides and info about her trip to Japan with a fiber group, sponsored by Red Stone Glen.
This is a Zoom meeting.

April Monthly Meeting - Backstrap Weaving
2024-04-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Weaving for the Future Cooperative

The Maya weavers who live in the DC metropolitan area have come together to continue their weaving tradition on the back strap loom, share it with the public, teach their children, and create beautiful items for sale to enable a sustainable cooperative. Cooperativa Tejiendo Para El Futuro is an initiative of the of the Friends of the Ixchel Museum (FOIM). It is one of the ways they fulfill their mission to promote and preserve the Maya textile tradition in the United States and the work of the Museo Ixchel in Guatemala.
The weavers continue to use the back strap loom, or stick loom, an ingenious and simple device native to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The warp unites a series of sticks to facilitate the insertion of the weft. It is in the weft that the brocade designs you see originate. As the weaver sets up the loom, she determines the width of the textile, its colors and design. She controls the tension on the threads via the back strap which is wrapped around her lower back; the other end is tied to a sturdy anchor. In the Maya communities, weaving brings a sense of identity not only to the weavers but to the entire community.
Our program presenter, Yolanda Alcorta, is a longtime Board member of the FOIM. She has curated Maya textile exhibits at Longwood Gardens and the Morris Arboretum, established the Education Department at the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, co-founded Raíces Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) in Philadelphia, created cultural corridors between Philadelphia and Washington artists and audiences, served on the board of the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission and Humanities DC and public school committees, and worked on various interpretive projects at the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Folklife Center. She is currently a committee member of the GuateFest, a large annual Guatemalan community festival, is a bilingual consultant to museums and the non-profit community, and presents and develops programs for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. One of her many current projects is the formation of a women’s weaving cooperative, Weaving For The Future, sponsored by FOIM.
Jenny Juarez Lopez, Intermediate Weaver and Virginia Tech graduate, will be demonstrating Maya backstrap weaving for us. “For me weaving is acknowledging the Guatemalan Maya side of me. I was born in the U.S., but I was raised with the culture and the traditions that my mother grew up with, and weaving is one of the traditions deeply rooted in Guatemala’s Maya culture. Currently, I enjoy demonstrating at many events, showcasing the beauty of weaving.”
Join us to learn about this ancient, portable method of weaving. You will even have the opportunity to try it yourself.

September Monthly Meeting
2024-09-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Business Meeting, What Did You Weave This Summer?, Round Robin Discussions (Programs, Workshops, and Outreach)

October Monthly Meeting - "Thrum Birds"
2024-10-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Come see a fun use for all those thrums! You will see how to create a small bird. The heavier weight thrums are best for this program.

November Monthly Meeting - In Person
2024-11-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Panel discussion by members discussing online classes they’ve taken.

December Monthly Meeting - In Person
2024-12-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Holiday Party, gift exchange, weaving paper Swedish hearts (Joan W).

January Monthly Meeting
2025-01-12 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Library, 267 Alleghany Spring Road, Shawsville, VA, 24162, United States
We will be making items for the goody bags at MAFA at this meeting. More information will be in the December meeting minutes and also the January newsletter. The previously scheduled movie will be moved to another meeting.
NOTE: This month’s meeting will be in the Community room of the Meadowbrook Library (the building on the highway across from the building where we usually meet.

February Meeting - Zoom, Garden Palettes: Exuberant Design from Glorious Gardens with Cameron Taylor-Brown
2025-02-09 14:00 - 16:00
Program Title: Garden Palettes: Exuberant Design from Glorious Gardens with Cameron Taylor-Brown
Color, texture, pattern, balance, proportion – the vocabulary for a well-designed garden is the same as for a composition in fiber. Get excited by photographs of glorious gardens and the design ideas they inspire. Begin by looking at one garden in particular – the Robert Irwin garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles – “a stunning variety of colors and textures…a sculpture in the form of a garden aspiring to be art.” At the conclusion of the presentation, there is an option to do some hands-on experimenting using your own garden photo, stash yarn, a piece of cardboard and a large-eye needle. The presentation shows examples of how these materials are used.
You can read more about Cameron’s Program at her website:
Cameron Taylor-Brown Programs

March Meeting - Zoom, "Oh, the Things You Can Do With a Rigid Heddle Loom" - Kelly Casanova
2025-03-09 18:00 - 20:00
NOTE: Due to the presenter being in a different time zone, the time for this meeting is not our usual 2 pm, but instead will start at 6 pm.
“Oh, the Things You Can Do With a Rigid Heddle Loom” – Kelly Casanova
Kelly is a weaver and teacher from Australia. She loves to share her passion for weaving through her online weaving school and digital weaving patterns. Kelly enjoys exploring many different weaving styles but is best know for her rigid heddle loom classes.
Kelly’s presentation will be a deep dive into the rigid heddle loom. She will start with the basics and progress to more intensive topics so that there will be something of interest for every weaving level.
We will be covering what a rigid heddle loom is, plain weave, colour and weave, pick up sticks, additional heddles and some weave structures you can weave with a rigid heddle loom.
The aim is to not just inform but inspire you to go further with your rigid heddle loom!
Following the presentation there will be time for questions and discussion.
An internet search will reveal much information about this popular teacher of all things “Rigid Heddle”.

Beginner Inkle Weaving Workshop
2025-03-22 10:00 - 14:00 | Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA, 24153, United States
Learn how to make warp-faced plain weave bands on an inkle loom. Students will make a simple 2-color band about 3/4 inch in width, and approximately 60 inches long.
This class will go over the basics:

parts of an inkle loom
how to make heddles
creating a pattern
winding the warp onto the loom
starting and finishing a band
steps in weaving

The techniques in this class will follow the methods presented in Anne Dixon’s “The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory.”
No previous weaving experience is necessary. You will need an inkle loom, belt shuttle, and some yarn, preferably 5/2 perle cotton (I can supply some to anyone who may need it). A complete supply list (miscellaneous items such as scissors, tape measure, etc.) will be provided before the class.
Dates: Saturday, March 22, 2025 – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Cost: $15 Member $40 Non-Member
Location: Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd., Salem, VA 24153
Maximum Number of Participants: 10
Registration Deadline: March 10th, 2025
Workshop Level: Beginner
Required Loom: Inkle
Lunch: Please bring a snack or lunch
Questions? Please call Annette Meyer at 540-798-1589 or
email ameyer8848@gmail.com.
To register for this workshop, please complete this registration form:
https://forms.gle/G6c9Yv25Szsnqy3YA
Please note: All workshop registrations are on a first-come, first-serve basis with full payment due to confirm your registration. Registration is non-refundable but in case of health or family emergency, refunds will be determined by the board on an individual basis. Refunds for other reasons will be made only if another participant fills the space.

April Meeting - Incorporating Twining into Your Weaving
2025-04-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Incorporating Twining into Your Weaving

While twining is a stand alone technique that can be used to create rugs and mats, it can also be incorporated into other weaving projects to add color, texture, and structure. First and foremost, twining is a great way to keep warp threads spaced evenly.

During this session, you will practice:

Adding an attractive header
Outlining a shape
Bring:
Any size pre-warped open back frame loom with 2″ of tabby already woven (a rigid heddle loom will also work)
Enough weft to complete 6″ of plain weave
Scissors, shuttle, tapestry needle
Assortment of fibers such as thread, jute, yarn, fabric strips that contrast with weft
For each row of twining, you will need a minimum of 2 lengths that are 3x the width

If you are using a frame loom, 8/4 cotton is the standard but almost any warp will work – cotton, twine, fabric strips. Since this is a sample, use your leftovers and save the good stuff for another project.
Use the sett that is standard for your loom. Do not double warp. If your loom does not have preset pegs or notches, try to wrap a 6-8 epi to make it easier to get your hands through the threads.
If you are using a rigid heddle loom, use an 8 or 10 dent reed.

Baltic Style Pickup Inkle Workshop
2025-04-26 10:00 - 14:00 | Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA, 24153, United States
Dates: Saturday, April 26, 2025 – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Cost: $15 Member $40 Non-Member
Location: Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd., Salem, VA 24153
Maximum Number of Participants: 10
Registration Deadline: April 15th, 2025
Workshop Level: Advanced Beginner
Required Loom: Inkle
Lunch: Please bring a snack or lunch
Workshop Description: There are various techniques to weave patterns in inkle weaving. In this class, we will learn how to make Baltic-style pattern bands, one of the easiest methods. Students will make a 2- or 4-color band with 7 pickup threads, ¾ inch in width, and approximately 60 inches long.This type of patterning involves both picking up threads from the bottom shed and dropping threads from the top shed. Typically, the bands are woven with a thinner warp for the background, and a thicker warp (or double the thin yarn) for the pattern. Patterns are created on the front and back of the band. This class will make a band with a center of 7 patterns within a border of 22 plain weave threads
The techniques in this class will follow the methods presented in Anne Dixon’s “The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory,” including some of her patterns.
You must be able to warp an inkle loom from a given pattern. You will need an inkle loom, a belt shuttle, and 2 weights of yarn, preferably 5/2 and 3/2 perle cotton. If you only have the thinner yarn (5/2 or some substitute, you can use it doubled for the pattern yarn). The colors of the thick and thin yarns should have good contrast or the pattern will not be visible. A complete supply list (miscellaneous items such as scissors, tape measure, etc.) will be provided before the class.
Questions? Please call Annette Meyer at 540-798-1589 or
email ameyer8848@gmail.com.
To register for this workshop, please complete this registration form:
https://forms.gle/dHAUEmrDTvh6R6G87
Please note: All workshop registrations are on a first-come, first-serve basis with full payment due to confirm your registration. Registration is non-refundable but in case of health or family emergency, refunds will be determined by the board on an individual basis. Refunds for other reasons will be made only if another participant fills the space.

May Meeting - Annual guild "Yard Sale" of fiber related material
2025-05-04 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
NOTE: this is one week earlier than our “normal” monthly meeting of second Sunday, due to Mother’s Day falling on the second Sunday. And this is the last meeting of our 2024-2025 guild year. We start the 2025-2026 year in September.
Annual guild “Yard Sale” of fiber related material

Basic Ice Dyeing with Instructor Dena Manchester
2025-05-09 10:00 - 12:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
Dates: Saturday, May 9, 2025, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm or 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Cost $25 Member $50 Non-Member
Location: Shawsville Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, VA 24162
Maximum Number of Participants: 6 per session
Registration Deadline: April 26, 2025
Workshop Level: Beginner
Workshop Description: Learn the basics of fabric ice dyeing. Dena will provide the presoak chemicals and dyes. Be sure to wear clothing that would be all right if dyed.
Participants will carry home their dishpans with prepared ice-dyed fabric they will need to rinse and wash at least 24 hours later.
Participants Must Bring:
Prewashed fabric: either cotton, rayon, tencel, silk, or linen, washed with laundry soap and dried without fabric softeners. Maximum – six t-shirts per dishpan.
Ice – a 7-pound bag
Dishpans for processing the fabric. Perhaps two that are about 10” x 12”.
Mask if desired
Plastic gloves
Apron if desired to cover your clothing
Notebook and Pen
Questions? Please call Dena Manchester at 540-598-8149 or email denadweaves@gmail.com
To register for this May workshop, please click this link: https://forms.gle/MoA7AcYVr8nooYT47

Deflected Double Weave Study Group Zoom (Members only)
2025-06-03 09:30 - 11:00
This event is for members only. More detail about this event is on the library page under Miscellaneous in the Members Only section.
This will be an ongoing Zoom meeting, starting June 3, twice monthly on Tuesdays.

Beginners Rigid Heddle Weaving
2025-06-07 10:00 - 16:00 | Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA, 24153, United States
“Beginning Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom” Workshop
with Instructor Heather Laing

Dates: Saturday, June 7, 2025 – 10 am – 4 pm
Cost: $20 Member, $30 non-member
Location: Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd., Salem, VA 24153
Maximum Number of Participants: 8
Workshop Level: Beginner
Required Loom: Rigid Heddle
Lunch: Please bring a snack or lunch

Workshop Description: Create a scarf using colorful worsted weight yarn on the rigid heddle loom. Learn the basics of weaving on the rigid heddle loom, warping, weaving, creating straight edges, and finishing.
Materials Needed: Rigid Heddle Loom with an 8 dent Reed, worsted weight yarn (instructor will communicate quantity of yarn needed and tools to bring to the workshop)
Questions? Please call Annette Meyer at 540-798-1589 or email ameyer8848@gmail.com
To register for this workshop, please complete this registration form: https://forms.gle/woJ2BR2M4C692b7s9

Basics of Tapestry Weaving
2025-07-12 10:00 - 16:00 | Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd, Salem, VA, 24153, United States
“Basics of Tapestry Weaving”
with Instructor Heather Laing
Dates: Saturday, July 12, 2025 10 am – 4 pm
Cost: $20 Member $30 non-member (Includes partial year Annual Membership Fee)
Location: Glenvar Library, 3917 Daugherty Rd., Salem, VA 24153
Maximum Number of Participants: 10
Workshop Level: Beginner
Required Loom: Looms will be provided
Lunch: Please bring a snack
Workshop Description: Learn the basics of tapestry weaving in this hands-on presentation with Heather. Learn how to put the warp on a simple frame loom and create a small sampler using different tapestry techniques.
Materials Needed: Materials needed will include, yarn, cotton, wool, or acrylic in a worsted weight, 8/4 cotton yarn for warp, and a fork or comb beater. A small frame loom will be provided for you to borrow.
Questions? Please call Annette Meyer at 540-798-1589 or email ameyer8848@gmail.com
To register for this workshop, please complete this registration form: https://forms.gle/1WEnL7zX5dcoD6kGA

September Meeting - Business Meeting
2025-09-14 14:00 - 16:00 | Meadowbrook Community Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Rd, Shawsville, 24162, United States
The first meeting of the 2025-2026 guild year. Program TBA.

October Meeting (ZOOM) Split-Shed Weaving
2025-10-12 14:00 - 16:00
Deborah Silver will present a PowerPoint lecture explaining the split-shed weaving process, including how to read a split-shed draft, how to form a split shed on different loom types, and the numerous structures that can be created using a split shed with just four shafts. Deborah will also show examples of her woven art and discuss her creative process.
Deborah Silver is an artist, author and weaving instructor. She is a 2021 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, with a BFA in Fiber. She has applied her knowledge to commissioned interior design textiles, as well as creating her own unique woven art. Her works have been shown in many national juried exhibitions and have received numerous awards, including First Place and the award for excellence in complex weaving at “Complexity 2018”. In 2019, she published The Technique of Split-Shed Weaving, a book for 4-shaft weavers, illustrating the split-shed weaving process and the myriad structures that can be woven with this method. She is a 2015 recipient of a Cleveland Jewish Arts and Culture Fellowship Grant and the winner of a 2019 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award. Deborah now teaches split-shed weaving workshops internationally.
You can view more info about Deborah on her website: https://www.deborahsilverstudio.com/
