KIM MCKENNA, Immersion Dyeing.  Friday, March 26th @10:30am, AgRec Hall Stage

Kim’s lecture presents a straight forward approach to the immersion dyeing process. As well as learning the procedures entailed in mixing dye stock solutions she will take you, step by step, through the ins and outs of a successful dye run. Kim will also share her techniques for dyeing wool, silk and other exotic fibres (such as mohair, alpaca and llama).

 

 

 

 KIM WERKER, Taking your fibre passion online.   Friday, March 26th @ 2pm, AgRec Hall Stage

 The internet is like a gigantic arts and crafts playground, gallery, inspiration board, employment service and collaboration space.  No matter what your goal, no matter what you create with fibre, a world awaits online.  Learn about what you can do with a blog or website, with digital photography, with words and with passion.  You don’t need to have experience online.  Come with lots of questions and prepare for lots of discussion.

Kim Werker made her first website in 1998 and has been blogging for fun and work in some form or another for the last six years.  She founded CrochetMe.com, has written or co-authored six crochet books including Crochet Me (which was based on the website, the people who contributed to it, and their passion for the craft) and Interweave Presents: Crocheted Gifts, co-hosted Knitting Daily TV and written for crafts related blogs that aren’t hers.  She currently works at (and blogs for) www.LexPubli.ca, a non-crafts-related endeavour to open source the law.  Follow her at her blog, http://kimwerker.com, or on Twitter, http://twitter.com/kpwerker.

 

 JANE STAFFORD, a wee chat on Colour and Design for Handweavers.  Saturday, March 27th @ 10:30AM, AgRec Hall Stage

Not everyone is born with an innate sense of colour and design, but if you know a few tricks of the trade, everyone can get there. Jane Stafford will share some of the tricks she has learned about designing handwoven fabrics from her 30 years of weaving experience. Join her for a one hour talk and you’ll be amazed at how simple things can be.  www.janestaffordtextiles.com

 

 

 

 JOLOM MAYA’ETIK, weaving cooperative from Chiapas, Mexico. Saturday, March 27th @ 12:30pm, AgRec Hall Stage

 Jolom Maya’etik is a cooperative of 300+ indigenous women from throughout Chiapas, Mexico.  The cooperative is democratically run under the exclusive leadership of indigenous women themselves.  Education and empowerment in the areas of women’s and indigenous peoples rights, coop management, leadership, sexual and reproductive health, and weaving techniques are provided to members.

“We are tsotsil and tseltal indigenous artisan women of the Highlands region of Chiapas, Mexico who have been walking together in search of new possibilities that will allow us to strengthen our family and community economy.  We participate in social, political, and economic spaces because we believe that the commercialization of our products does resolve the multiple problems that we confront every day: poverty, marginalization, and racism. Assuming our organizational process, making decisions with regards to our cooperative, and administering it ourselves has allowed us to begin to construct our autonomy”.  www.cooperativajolom.blogspot.com

Celia Sanchez, president of the cooperative and Marla Gutierrez of K’inal Antzetik will be talking about the work of the cooperative, and Celia will give a demonstration on the back-strap loom. The work of Jolom Maya’etik’s artisans is of the highest quality, and their stunning weavings will be available for sale.

 

CAROLINE SOMMERFELD, Spindle Spinning: its legacy in Art, Literature, and Culture (Or How the Spindle Shaped the World!).    Saturday, March 27th @ 2pm, AgRec Hall Stage

Archaeological evidence shows that humanity has been spinning with spindles for at least 10,000 years, although we have archaeological evidence of twisted (possibly spun) fibres that are over 27,000 years old ! During this long history of spinning, many types of spindles have been developed based on the types of fibres being spun, the types of yarn being produced, and the cultrues producing the yarns, but all have one factor in common: they are a response to a critical need to clothe ourselves. Thanks to this most basic of needs, spindle spinning has been an integral force in the formation of all societies, and has shaped gender roles, art forms, and societal values. Western society is no exception where spinning continues to be a subtle but still ever present part of our own culture and values.