Silk Spinning Workshop with Maggie Casey and Double Rainbow Workshop with Jennifer Moore

Shades Of New Mexico
Oct 13 - Nov 24, 2018

A Las Aranas ​Fiber Event

October 13 - November 24, 2018
First Unitarian Church
3301 Carlisle NE
Corner of Carlisle & Comanche
Open to Public
MERCADO:
Sunday October 14th 9:30 am -12:30 pm ARTIST RECEPTION:
Sunday October 21st 2 -4 pm (Otherwise accessible during church business hours with a LasArañas escort)
​For more info: martistadesigns@gmail.com

Spinning Classes

​Silk Spinning Workshop
by Maggie Casey
​Thur & Fri, Oct. 25-26, 9—4
 
​Silk is the Queen of fibers, loved for its beauty and strength. We will make our own mawata from bombyx mori cocoons and then move to spinning silk hankies. We will spin tussah, bombyx, muga and eri silk and explore the difference between top, noil & bricks. Preparation, blending with other fibers and finishing will be included as well.  Beginning spinning skills required. Students should be able to spin a continuous yarn and be comfortable with their wheel.   Students bring: spinning wheel & all its parts, Lazy Kate & 3 bobbins. Fine wool carders if they already own them.  Instructor will provide: handouts, silk fibers, fibers for blending.   This is a Las Arañas workshop & the cost is $120 (plus $35 for non-members) plus a $40 material fee. Limited to 15 students. A $25 deposit is required. Please fill in the registration form in the newsletter or on the workshop page

Magical Turkish Spindles Class
by Ilisha Helfman Sun, Oct. 14, 10-5, $90.
 
This class provides an overview of lots of possibilities for using Turkish spindles. Learn to wind gorgeous cops, to ply from your cops and to use them for easy skein winding. Plying in beads will be demonstrated as will ply on the fly (chain plying as you spin your singles). Support spindling with your Turk as well as spinning energized singles (and their uses). Special emphasis will be placed on ergonometric hand positions to provide hours of comfort and safety. Turkish spindles in 2 versions will be available to purchased.

This class is  at the Yarn Store at Nob Hill Call the Store at 717-1535 for more info. 

Weaving Classes

Double Rainbow Workshop
by Jennifer Moore
Fri & Sat, Nov. 9-10, 9—4   
In this workshop you will weave 2 layers on 4 or 8-shafts using 6 colors. This is perhaps the ultimate color sampler! You will begin by winding a warp and setting up your loom according to Jennifer’s system for working with multiple colors in a rotational sequence and bringing it to the workshop. A basic two-layered structure will enable us to mix and match our colors, creating an amazing array of color mixtures. As you weave and your warp colors move past each other, you will experience a visual feast of iridescence and moiré patterns. We will also experiment with single layered structures such as warp rep and warp faced twills and the effects that they create on this versatile warp. This sampler will provide a remarkable education in color theory and how optical mixtures work in weaving, as well as a great source of inspiration for future weaving projects.  This is an intermediate workshop. Students must know how to warp a loom.  This is a Las Arañas workshop & the cost is $120 (plus $35 for non-members) plus a $10 material fee. A $25 deposit is required. Please fill in the registration form in newsletter or on the workshop page

Beginning 4-Shaft Weaving
by Cathlena Burr
Wed-Fri, Nov. 7-9 AND Mon-Wed, Nov. 12-14, 9:30-4
  A beginning weaving class for absolute beginners! All equipment and fibers provided! I stress warping (dressing the loom) so you will be comfortable with it and keep weaving long after class is over. We will put on 3 warps: 2 samplers (to learn technique, color play, pattern etc.) and a project of your choice. You will learn how to calculate materials, read drafts, fix mistakes and have fun! Cost is $323.63 (includes tax) plus a $10 materials fee. Contact Cathlena at gingkoweavesbyc@ gmail.com or 264-7969 for info or to sign up.

Curves in Tapestry  Workshop
by Elizabeth Buckley
Thur-Sun, Oct. 25-28, 9:30-3:30

  Curves present unique technical challenges in tapestry. In this workshop we will explore several approaches to weaving curves as shapes, as well as lines. Participants can expect to become more familiar with empty and full warps, eccentric wefts and shading techniques to depict shallow or steep curves, organic shapes, and meandering lines. This workshop will incorporate the use of shapebuilding and how to design weavable curves in tapestry, working from either the front or the back. Beginning/Intermediate level. Need to know who to warp your loom and basic tapestry techniques. The workshop is at Elizabeth Buckley’s studio in the South Valley. Contact her for more info and to sign up at: Elizabeth@elizabethbuckelytapestryartist.com

The Language OF Tapestry

Las Arañas Tapestry Artists Show
Unitarian Universalist Church in Las Cruces
Nov. 4—28
  The Tapestry artists of Las Arañas will show their work in a show entitled The Language of Tapestry at the Unitarian, Universalist Church of Las Cruces, Tombaugh Gallery. Show dates are November 4-28. Opening reception and gallery talk is Sunday, November 4 at 11:30 at the Tombaugh Gallery.   The church is location at 2000 South Solano Dr., Las Cruces, NM. The show is open Tuesday—Friday between 10-2. For more info on the Gallery go to The church web site at www.uuchurchlc.org. For further information on the exhibit contact Linda Giesen  or Nancy Wohlenberg at nancy@cnw6561.com

:: Upcoming ::

Next meeting

When: Oct 25, 2018 6:30pm
Location: Raymond Sanchez Community Center
​What: Yarn Characteristics by Maggie Casey

    The next meeting of the Las Arañas Spinners & Weavers guild is Thursday evening, October 25 at 6:30 at the Raymond Sanchez Community Center, 9800 4th St. NW. Maggie Casey will present a program on the characteristics of yarn. What happens when a garment looks incredible the first few times we wear it and then loses its appeal? It might be your choice of fiber or the way the yarn was spun and plied. We all know that wool felts, cotton is soft and silk is smooth and lustrous but that is only a small part of the picture. Some yarns drape beautifully, some stretch, some pill and some itch. Often we can adapt our design to compensate for a yarn’s shortcomings. Whether you are a spinner, knitter or weaver, knowing a little about a yarn’s properties will increase your chances of success.  Maggie Casey is co-0wner of Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins  in Boulder, CO. She has been addicted to spinning for more than 30 years. She teaches spinning, is a skein judge and the author of Start Spinning, Everything you need to know to make Great Yarn—an Interweave Press book. Her DVDs include: Start Spinning, Getting Started on a Drop Spindle and Big and Lofty Yarns.

2018 Las Arañas Schedule

October 25 Maggie Casey.  Program to be determined
2 day workshop in "Spinning Silk." 

November 8 (a.m.) Jennifer Moore "Textile Adventures in Peru" 2+ day workshop in "Double Rainbow in 4 and 8 shafts"

2018-2019 Meetings:
Most meetings for Las Aranas through will be at the 
Raymond Sanchez Community Center 9800 Fourth Street NW
It is located on the east side of Fourth Street a little ways north of the intersection with Alameda.

Raymond Sanchez community center

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Felting Classes

Felting Classes
by Judy Chapman

Needle Felt a Pumpkin - October 2; 10:30—1:30, $40. Bring a lunch. 

Needle Felt a Christmas Ornament - October 10; 10:30—1:30, $40. Bring a lunch. 

Working with an Armature - Needle Felt a Small Pig
October 16; 10:30—3:30, $85. And October 23; 10:30—3:30, $50. This is planned as a 2-day class; (The 2nd day is optional.) You will receive a foam pad, needles & wool to take home. In day 1 you will build the armature and begin wrapping it with the core wool. We will also cover the basic techniques for the details on the pig. You will complete your core pig over the next week and return on the 23rd (if needed) to implement the final color, address issues & finish your pig. Prior needle felting experience required. Bring a lunch. 

Needle Felt a Pumpkin - October  17; 10:30—1:30, $40. Bring a lunch. 

Needle Felt a Christmas Ornament - October 30; 10:30—1:30, $40. Bring a lunch.  

All classes are at Nob Hill Fabrics. All materials included. Call Judy at (540) 661-2748 to schedule.   If you don’t see a class you want or want a different date or time or class in your own home, Contact Judy. Classes can be arranged for a Saturday.
Silk 

Knitting Classes

 Jazz knitting Class
by Ilisha Helfman Sat, Oct. 13, 10-5, $90.
  Jazz knitting is a new way to let the colors in hand-painted yarns define the shape of your knitting. We start with gingko leaves, move to peacocks, sea lettuces, etc. All these shapes are made from a single continuous strand of hand painted yarn and many can appear to have had their tips dipped in dye just from the way you will learn to place the existing colors. Bring a hand-painted yarn (several skeins or balls if possible) there must be a repeat in the color sequence each being about 6” to 8” long. Lace or sock weight yarns using size 0 or 1 double pointed (or circular) needles work best.

This class is at The Yarn Store at Nob Hill.  Call the Store at 717-1535 for more info or Go to www.theyarnstoreatnobhill.com for more information and to register.

Temari Class

Advanced Temari Class
by Cathlena Burr Fri
​Oct. 19 & Tue, Oct. 23, 1-4:30
  This class is for those who have had at least 1 Temari class and would like to try a complex division ball. We will meet for two afternoons in order to learn all the parts. Bring a pre-wrapped ball (and all accoutrements) to class and we will do the gridding in the first class. Cost is $63.73 (includes tax). Contact Cathlena at gingkoweavesbyc@gmail.com or 264-7969 for info or to sign up.

Our Guild Library Has Great Books

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