Summer Challenge

Sorry not to post for a week. I've issued a summer challenge to my students, and will do the same to you. It's for the weavers. It's just to get you planning your projects, and to inspire you to think of ways to use color and the interconnectivity of color and your draft. The challenge is as follows:
Let's get the creative juices flowing with something to stretch your
imagination. Looking at your draft....assuming it's 4 harness, I want
you to choose 4 colors. color 1 is a shade or tint of color 2. Color
2 is a pure color (primary- it doesn't really have to be the primary,
but not mauve, or some other secondary or tertiary color). Color 3 is
the compliment of color 2 on the color wheel, and color 4 is a neutral
(black, white or grey).
Now for the hard part.

The dominant will be whatever color you put on the harness that
appears most in your draft.
So if your draft is 1,2,1,3,1,4,1,3,1,2,1, whatever color you put on
harness #1 would be the dominant color. Whatever you put on 4 will be
the diminutive color. Each color has a specific harness.
So all threads on harness #1 will be the same color, on harness #2
will all be the same, etc. You get to choose your pattern, but no
straight twills!

Are you in?
Cherri

What are the kids classes I'm offering?

This is for those of you who have asked what classes I'm offering for youth this summer.

The Visual Art Center of Richmond got theirs up on the website early, so some of them are already full, but here they are:
July 14-18
9 am - noon Weaving (this is on the floor loom) for ages 9-12
12:45 - 3:45 Tie-dye ages 9-12

July 21 - 25
9 am - noon Felting (making felt from wool; not knit and shrink) ages 9-12
12:45 - 3:45 Weaving (floor loom class) ages 10-13

Aug 4 - 8
9 am - noon Felting (making felt from wool, not knit and shrink) ages
12:45 - 3:45 Weaving (floor loom class) ages 10-13
If you would like to contact the Visual Arts Center about registering for a class, please call 804.353.0094

At the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, the classes have just gone onto the web, so you may find openings here. The class offerings and dates are different also.

July 28 - Aug 1
9 am - noon Tie-dye ages: 9-12
1 pm - 4 pm Felting (making felt from wool; not knit and shrink) 9-12 years

Aug 11 - 15
9 am - noon Tapestry weaving with a twist ( students will learn tapestry weaving)9-12
1 - 4 pm Gettin’ Stitchy We will sew and embroider projects the kids choose 9-12

If you want to register for classes at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, call 804.261-2782

just a couple more

Here is my fav, and another.

Amazing workshop!

What a great time!!!! This was one of those perfect days, in which I enjoyed the workshop, and the students as much as the students did. These 3 ladies are so full of joy and fun that they filled the studio with it.
All 3 ladies got their projects on the looms quickly and without any problems. Hazel was working with chiengora yarn that she spun from her dog's fur. It is a very clean white and turned out to be a nice warp. She really seemed to have found exactly what she wanted from the loom and the workshop. She is also an accomplished painter.

Cyndee got her loom dressed with a fine linen, which is a little inflexible, but it is really working for her. She crossed the first inch or two with alpaca and it feels soft and nurturing.

Helen dressed her loom with a 20/2 mercerized cotton warp in a sort of ruby red. She is interested in doing some fine tapestry work. She is a cool lady, strong in her faith which encourages me, also! She did the most tapestry work today, working on some interlocking and some slit tapestry.

Don't forget that I'm starting a Tues morning weaving group at roseneath rd, and have an opening now. We will meet from 10 am - 12:30 am, right in the fan district of Richmond, va. Hope you will join us.
Cherri

Openings in Thurs night weaving class

There are still openings in the Thursday evening class at the Visual Art Center of Richmond, also.
That would be the Art Center formerly known as The Hand Workshop. 1812 W. Main St.
You can review classes at http://www.visarts.org
Hope to see you tonight for the first night of class. If you have questions, e-mail me at maidensweaver@earthlink.net
Cherri

Weave in a Weekend - Finished work

Glen Allen work and Felting workshop

Here are pics of some of the work going on at Glen Allen. The multi-color, highly textured piece is a set of place mats that I am weaving. The taupe and burgundy is Nancy's. She has done 2 or 3 scarves out of that, and these pics are just to show how pretty the weave and fiber are. She is weaving off the loom waste. The fiber is tencel.
The chenille piece is also taupe, and has beads woven in. This is Julie's work.
She is truly a 'natural' fiber artist.



Tomorrow I have a hatfelting workshop at The Visual Art Center of Richmond. I'll try to remember to take the camera and upload pics afterward. It's a busy weekend, so I may not get it done until sometime during the week.
Take care.

Cherri

Learn to weave in a weekend class

Some of you have been looking for a quick opportunity to try weaving. The Visual Art Center of Richmond is offering that opportunity. On January 25, I will be teaching a weaving intensive at the Visual Art Center of Richmond. You have the opportunity to completely immerse yourself in 3 days of weaving. Friday night, we will work from 6:30 - 9:00 pm measuring out our yarn to put on the loom. On Saturday morning, from 10-12:30, we will wind the yarn onto the loom, and pull the threads through the heddles. In the afternoon, we will finish pulling through heddles, and sley the reed, tie onto the loom and begin weaving these beautiful mohair shawls which we will finish on Sunday afternoon.
I have openings in this class, if you would like to join us. It's a wonderful refresher course for you if you just haven't woven in a while. If you are new to weaving, and want yet another opportunity to set up and weave under the instruction of a teacher before working on your own at home, or you just want to know if weaving is something you might want to pursue deeper, this is a good opportunity for you.
The class is designed for mohair shawls because they weave up quickly. I hope to see you there.
If you are not local, there are many lodging opportunities in the area. We are very close to VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), and the thriving heart of Richmond, Virginia. Come join the fun and be a part of a vital weaving community.
Cherri

My bizarre tapestry

Ok, here are 2 pics of the odd little tapestry I did this week. I wanted to do some pattern weaving in a tapestry type piece, and wanted some rya knots in it also. So here is the strange little piece I did. Yech!
I'm still working on the new tapestry loom that I hope to have saleable in a few weeks....4-6. After talking to Sue and Stu I'm thinking is should weave at least 24 inches, and maybe should have some sort of reed-like divise. Hmmm, it's still a work in progress.
Please click on the pictures and you can see much more detail.
Cherri

Student work and "What's on your loom"

Hi,
Well, there are several new students at the Glen Allen location. I knew I had 2 new students coming in yesterday, so I brought in a new loom, Had one of the current students bring in her own loom, where she had been using one of mine, and felt that we were set to go. Well, as luck would have it, we had 3 students come in! There was a last minute registration and I am full beyond capacity! The good news is that usually students don't get on the loom the first night of class. They usually plan their project, measure warp, tie the choke ties, and the ties that preserve the cross and insert lea sticks. Week 2, we go to the loom. What a lifesaver that is! Now I have a week to find another loom. Of course, I could just weave madly and get my work off the loom I'm using.....hey, that's a great idea. She can have my loom. How long do you think it will take me to weave 13 yards? Guess we'll find out.

Here are a few pictures of what's in the works. Margaret has the white on dark brown warp. That's at Roseneath. She is making pillows. The orange and pink on dark brown is Kelly's. She is making pillows also. The fiesta colors is Rebecca's linen huck table runner. It's an inspired piece. Rebecca is a very accomplished weaver. Let's see, the grey and black reversing twill is Lisa's. Do all Lisa's make wonderful weavers, and if I change my name, will it make me a better weaver? Hahahaha.
Uhm, let's see, where was I? Oh yes. the beautiful black and blue piece is a scarf that Erika is making. She is working on a sampler, using p.13 of Marguerite Davison's pattern book. This is only Erika's 3rd weaving. Isn't she doing well? I'm so proud of her;0)

Well, I'll post pics of my stuff in a few minutes.
Cherri

A Loom Review

Hi,
I thought I would do a loom review today. Since I own, or have owned so many looms that I rate many of them for you. Mind you, some of them aren't made anymore, but many of us/you buy used looms, so I'm reviewing any that I have used or taught on regularly that you might still encounter. If it isn't here, I haven't used it, and so I can't offer you advice on it, OK?

My #1 most favorite loom is my 16 harness, 45" Macomber. It's sturdy, never walks around when I use it. I like the tie-up system and for the most part, I like the super clips. The loom is very stable and durable. It can weave linen, mohair, wool, silk, tencel, cotton, qiviut, camel, alpaca, or whatever you can think to throw it's way, and you can beat the livin daylights out of whatever you are using for weft without ever phasing this loom. It's a wonderful loom. If we were talking about cars, Macomber would be a Mercedes! (yes, there are more expensive cars and there are more expensive looms, but Mercedes represents both performance and durability as well as stability, so it fits). I would recommend Macomber looms over any other loom available.

I also have 2 baby Macs, which are very good looms and I enjoy them tremendously. For my studio, they are very versitile, and fold up to an incredibly compact state. Once, I even got one in a rolling suitcase:0) There are drawbacks, however. These looms tend to pop the pins used for tie-up. I have taken these looms for demos, and not been able to weave because the super hooks, would not stay on the loom. Similarly, you can't fold the loom up with the super clips on, as they fall off easily. The loom doesn't have as much stability as Leclerc's Compact 24 and although I love them (they are Macombers), I do recognize their failings. My students don't like them as much as the Leclerc's because they are so small that they seem like miniature looms. In general, Macs are my favorite looms.

Next, I have a Lillstina, 6 Leclerc Compact 24's, an AVL 12 harness mechanical dobby and 2 students in my Roseneath studio have hand made looms by private individuals. Once is fashioned after the HD looms and the other is a lot like a hardwood Norwood loom. I have taught on Hammets and Leclerc Fanny's.
So let's discuss them.
I love the Lillistina. It's very light despite the fact that it weaves 45". I can push this loom across the floor with a finger. It doesn't walk as I weave with it, and it can be folded up and packed away fairly easily and flat. I like most Scandinavian looms. They are just SIMPLE! The harnesses are raised and lowered by balances, not rollers. Think of drilling a hole in the 6" mark of a 12" ruler, and hanging weights on it so you could tilt one side or the other to raise. It's like that. I keeps a nice tension and fits my personality. Problems? If you crank the tension too tight, the hooks that hold it together release and the loom collapses into it's folded position, which I believe could break your warp not to mention the fright that it gives the weaver.
Oh well, some things we love simply because we have chemistry with them. I have chemistry with my Lillstina.

My AVl I loved and continue to love each time I use it. I just don't use it that much. It's a great weave. It was wonderful when the kids were little and I needed to be able to set it up in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep, and then I could weave mindlessly during the day. Now, I want to think about my weaving more, and watch what is happening, trouble shoot, and even alter the treadling as I go. Yes, I can be a rather stream of consciousness weaver sometimes. The AVL has a great built in raddle, which I love. I has a friction brake, love it, has texsolve heddles, is a little noisy, folds compactly, and is light. Similarly, I like the beauty of the loom. It's designed very differently than most looms. It's not great for anything that needs very tight tension and I like to weave linen, so it's not my favorite, but it's a very good loom. Bear in mind that mine is maybe 20+ years old.

Hammetts, I think are simple looms and very useful. I definitely have taught on my share of them. They have a few problems, ie., the lamm pins slip out of the harnesses a lot, but I conquered that fairly early on. These looms are very stable, but a bit blocky. If I had the space and a free one found it's way into the studio, I would keep it for a while, but would eventually have to have Macombers or Leclercs instead.

I would hope to never own a Herrald loom. I taught on one for years, and it created misery in my life the whole time. When we finally sold those looms and bought new ones, I wouldn't give that one away. It had caused me so much misery that I wanted to burn it! Instead, I decided it would pay for the misery it caused and I took it apart and used the various parts to mount fiber art for sale. It would pay me back!!!!! The first piece that I mounted that way was burned up in a fire. The gallery it was in, was arsonized. Can you believe it? Anyway, stay away from Herrald looms.

Leclerc Looms.....Hmmm, I have always considered Leclerc as the Chevrolet of looms. It is a sturdy loom that can go the distance. It's reliable. It's well thought out, but would never make you feel special weaving on one. They are for the most part functional looms. That's what looms are for, right? Well, sometimes, you can weave on a loom and know that the designer was a weaver. Although I know that Msr. Leclerc was a weaver, his looms don't reflect that to me. I just don't see the innovation that I see in Mr. Ahrens' looms, or in Louet looms, or even the Macomber's looms. But they will do the job and probably never let you down (I can speak from the perspective of one who has owned or woven on the Artisat, Nilus, Compact 24, the Dorothy, the Fanny, and the Bergere). So the Leclerc is a very good buy for someone who is on a budget, and wants to never regret the money they have spent to get a functional loom. I would also group the old Union rug looms in with these since the roller type counter-balance looms are all quite similar.

For tapestry, I am developing my own loom. I don't like the rigid heddle looms much, and don't think you should have to pay a fortune for a tapestry loom. Hopefully this loom will be out in late Feb.

Hope this helps you. If I mentioned one, but didn't review it, I'm sorry. My tendonitis is starting to hurt.
Talk later.
Cherri

Spinning and weaving in Richmond,va

I have been advertising my spinning and weaving classes on several online venues, trying to boost enrollment at the Visual Art Center of Richmond. We have pretty good response to the "learn to weave in a weekend", but are still waiting for enrollment to increase for the regular and ongoing weaving class. It meets on Thursday nights, right here in Richmond, VA. We meet from 6:30 - 9:00. I have room for 8 students. I think I'm offering 4 or 5 sessions of it this spring, so you could actually learn a great deal just this spring alone. You don't have to have your own loom. Floor looms are provided by the art center. There is also plenty of open studio time, so you can come in outside of class and do various steps outside of class, so you can maximize your instructional time. No previous experience is necessary. If you can't make it, you can e-mail me, as I frequently have openings at one of my own studios for private lessons, or in one of my studio classes (Wed. nights, or Sunday afternoons).
I sell looms, spinning wheels, fiber for spinning, and yarn for your projects in class. If you are looking for someone to do loom repair, or spinning wheel repair, I do that and sell parts.
The looms I carry are Louet, Leclerc, and whatever used Looms I might have for sale at any given time. Currently, I have a 12 harness mechanical dobby loom by AVL that is for sale. You can e-mail me about that if you are interested. I also have a horizontal warping mill/reel for sale. It's a floor model, but folded up, it fits behind a door.

spaces available in Thurs. night weaving class

We have a weaving class starting Thurs. night at the Visual Art Center of Richmond. We meet from 6:30 - 9:00 pm and there are openings! Please join us for this 4 week session. In that time, you can learn to dress a loom, and weave off a project. We work on 8 harness Leclerc floor looms. There is a mix of new weavers (never woven before) and returning weavers, so no matter what your experience level, you will feel right at home.
Come join us.
804.353.0094
Thanks!

felting at Bay school - christmas tree

Here is an image of the type of felt rug we will be making at Bay school of the arts in Nov. The class was requested by some of my felting students who wanted to make a similar rug.
Hope you like it, and feel inspired to take the class. I will be leaving Richmond at 8 am, if anyone needs a ride,e-mail me.
Cherri

upcoming classes

I've got a very busy schedule for the end of Oct and through Nov. If you are interested in taking a class to learn to make felt hats, I have several hatfelting classes in Virginia. There is one Oct. 27, in Mathews, Va. We will be wetfelting hats from wool roving. Students will have the opportunity to make either berets, or broad brimmed hats. I am also offering that class at Crossroads Art Center on Staples Mill Rd, in Richmond In Nov. 12. Thats a Monday. We will be there from 10 am - 4 pm. The following Monday, I will be teaching rug felting at Crossroads Art Center. For either of the Crossroads classes, you need to contact me for registration. that's maidensweaver@earthlink.net

I'm teaching hatfelting at the Visual Art center of Richmond on 11/3, but that class is full, although the Cultural Art Center at Glen Allen has my hatfelting class on 11/10. It is not full yet.

Rug felting on 11/17 at Visual art center of Richmond and the last time I checked, there were 2 openings for that class if you can't get an opening at Visarts, you might still find an opening for rug felting at the Cultural Art Center at Glen Allen. The rugfelting there is on Dec. 1.

One last mention of the felting classes. I have a class in Mathews to felt a rug like my Christmas Tree rug. It is called "Oh Christmas Tree". It also had openings. You don't have to felt the Christmas tree, but it was a class put together by special request, so I will be showing how it was done.

My weaving classes at The Visual Art Center of Richmond have openings for the Nov. Session. I hope to get 3 more people in that class. It meets on Thurs. nights from 6:30 - 9:00 pm. I had an opening occur briefly for the Roseneath studio, but it was filled from the 'waiting list'. I know several of you are still looking for openings there, and I am still trying to get additional studio space there. Glen Allen has 2 openings for weavers, and we will be starting a couple of spinners there on sunday afternoons also. If you are interested in spinning lessons, e-mail me at maidensweaver@earthlink.net

The Visual Art Center of Richmond also still has openings in the spinning class for Monday nights beginning Nov. 12 and continueing through Dec. 3, i think. This class is for beginners or intermediates. We keep the classes small enough to offer very personal instruction to everyone.

I think that covers it. I think I have some pics of handfelted hats to add to this. I will see if there is anything else. Stay in touch.
Cherri

Oh, one more thing. My church does a re-enactment of Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. It's called Bethlehem Walk, and is wonderful. You can catch it in December (15,16,17 I think) on Broad St. Rd.just west of the Food Lion on the South side of Broad St. e-mail me with questions.
C.

More on Summer Events and Activities

In addiiton to the June Summer Sewing Class, I have been working on several tallit commissions. One is a handspun, handwoven superwash merino tallit, and the other is a honey colored tencel tallit with very victorian colors. Here is a pic of one of the tallit warps. Our son, the marine, and his buddies have been home many weekends, and I've been teaching at Bay School of the Arts. We are working on expanding their fiber program to include regular weaving classes, and to really promote my fiber classes there. Let's see If I can post a couple of pics of our first weaving class down there. We had a two day 'Beginning Weaving" class this past week, using rigid heddle looms. In that process, I discovered that 75% of the class had their own looms, and they wanted something ongoing. Another 'regular' at the center came in, and said that he is interested in a weaving class also. So it looks like we may be off to a fair start.

Life Buzzes by

Oh my, I haven't written in a month! Things have been busy. Here are some pictures of a sewing class I did in my Roseneath studio. It was a kids summer class, and we will be doing it again.

Learn to Weave in a Week

Monday, a new class begins at the Visual Art Center of Richmond. It is my Learn to Weave in a Week class. We will meet mornings M-F and dress the looms, and weave off a nice project. If you are interested, check out my classes in the list of fiber classes for adults at http://www.visarts.org
I am also teaching kids to embroider, weave, tie-dye, and spin yarn. So you can enjoy the fiber arts, and sign your tween or teen to do the same.
If you are looking for sewing classes, I have a class upcoming June 18 from 1-4 pm at my own studio at Roseneath. This is for students 11-16. Bring your own machine, or use mine. e-mail me for more information.
maidensweaver@earthlink.net
Spots are still available at the Glen Allen studio for weavers. We meet on Sunday afternoons from 1:30 - 4 pm.
I accept spinning students during this time also. It is a group class, so you will also meet other weavers and spinners.
If you don't see what you are looking for, you can e-mail me, or check out my website at
http://cherrihankins.com

kumihimo as jewelery

Tomorrow I have a class called Kumihimo as jewelery. We have openings still. The class meets from 10-4.
We will be making lovely kumihimo braids and turning them into jewelery. I will try to post pics tomorrow.
If you are interested, sign up through the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center. It would be nice to meet other folks with fiber interests.

Remember also that I have a weaving and spinning "teaching studio" at Glen Allen now. I have 3 openings for new students on the looms, and can take many spinning students. I teach weaving for beginners, intermediate weaving, specialty weaves, spinning yarn from the spinning wheel beginning, intermediate, and advanced, drop spindling, then I teach workshops in felting and workshops on dyeing at my home in Goochland. My next dye workshop is Saturday, May 4, 2007. I have openings still, if you would like to join us, e-mail me maidensweaver@earthlink.net

Current Happenings

Hi, Have you been looking for a new post? Things have been really busy lately. The classes at Bay Schol have been great. I taught one on rug felting, and another felting class on Purses, pouches, and pocketbooks. We have also had several classes at the new studio. It's going well.
I'll try to post pictures, once I get my new camera figured out. I'm having some problems getting my new HP camera to interface with my computer.
I have a dye workshop coming up the first Saturday in May.
We will be dyeing wool and protein yarns from 10 am - noon. At noon, we will be dyeing cotton and other cellulose yarns and at 2 pm, we will be dyeing wool/protein rovings. If you are interested in vat dyeing (all one color), contact me in advance.

Each 2 hour session is $20.00, and you will need to bring your own yarn, or purchase yarn here. You are more likely to get what you want, if you reserve your yarn when you book your space in the workshop.

Also available, are private lessons in spinning yarn with the drop spindle, or spinning wheel, weaving, and felting. You can also book a group lesson for yourself and friends or family. I have great workshops in felting rugs; felting purses, pouches and pocketbooks; and hat felting; Can't wait to hear from you!
Cherri