Getting ready for the stroll

The River Arts District in Asheville, where our new gallery/teaching studio will be located, is having its fall Studio Stroll Nov. 14 & 15 2009, from 10 am-6 pm. Barb Butler and I are among 120 artists working in studios in this converted warehouse area beside the French Broad River.

During the spring and fall ‘strolls,’ artists open their doors to meet personally with customers and sell their work. Barb and I have both joined the RAD and will be displaying a sampling of our woven pieces in the Curve Studios, home of our new shop. Look for Barb at Pattiy Torno’s Quilts, Clothing & Fun Fleece studio.

Today I’ve been preparing a small assortment of my handwovens to send to Barb for the stroll. Here’s one of my scarves that will be for sale.

I’ll be in New Jersey that weekend and plan to visit the Outlet sale at Silk City Fibers looking for yarn for my first class at Sutherland in January.

The new shop

My friend Barb Butler and I have been emailing all day about our plans to open a weaving gallery/teaching studio in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. I met Barb at the Convergence in Grand Rapids, where we learned we were both planning to relocate to Asheville soon. Barb, from Columbia, SC, got there first. I followed when we bought our home there last January.

This summer Barb started talking about opening some kind of shop in Asheville where she could sell her handwovens. She has a studio in Columbia, and had received such good response that she wanted to expand her offerings in her new home. She asked whether I’d be interested in joining her in the venture, and I said sure, as long as I can teach some classes.

Barb found a studio space in the Curve Studios in Asheville’s River Arts District. We move our shop, named Sutherland, into the space Dec. 1. We’re planning a grand opening for early December.

There is much to decide and plan and I’ll share more news as things take shape. Stay tuned!

Back to Tapestry

I’m not a serious tapestry weaver, but I’m lucky to know and learn from two members of Archie Brennan’s and Susan Martin Maffei’s Wednesday Group . Betsy Snope and Rita Landau, two close friends and members of my New Jersey weaving guild, began sharing the techniques they’ve learned from Archie and Susan with a small group of local weavers interested in learning tapestry. I wouldn’t have completed the tapestry samples for my Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving without their instruction and support.

Their class has morphed into a Tuesday morning study group attracting anywhere from three to 10 weavers each week, all working at their levels. After a long absence, I finally made it back to tapestry today. My latest work in progress is a 12-inch wide by 12 or 14-tall representation of a puffin I am adapting from a photo in a book. I’m working in the body of the black bird, blending my blacks with dark brown, dark gray and even dark green. It’s slow because I don’t get back to him very often. But when I need a change of pace from the shaft loom, I pull him out and continue painting with yarn. It’s very contemplative.

Welcome to my blog

I am starting a new adventure in weaving with my recent move to Western North Carolina. This means leaving behind the weaving friends in New Jersey who started me on my fiber path. I will miss them tremendously. But I hope this blog will keep the bond between my fiber family and me strong. I look forward to sharing the next chapter of my life with you and hope you'll continue to keep me grounded, inspired, encouraged and moving forward.