Weavers of Orlando (WoO), an active non-profit organization, promotes and encourages interest in the fiber arts such as weaving, spinning, basketry, dyeing, felting, and beading through monthly programs.
When:  The 3rd Saturday of each month (see monthly schedule below)

• Socializing & Weaving questions answered starting at 9:30 am

• Business meeting starts at 10 a.m.

• Show and tell usually starts around 10:30 am

• Program starts around 11:00 am

Where:  Westminster Winter Park Towers meeting room at 1111 South Lakemont Avenue Winter Park FL 32792, unless otherwise stated below.

2019 Programs

January 19, 2019 Spinning Techniques by Nancy Reed

    The January 19, 2019 meeting of the Weavers of Orlando, WoO, is ‘Spinning Techniques’ and will be presented by WoO member Nancy Reed. The program will take place in the first floor meeting room of Westminster Winter Park Towers, located at 1111 South Lakemont Avenue, Winter Park FL, 32792 at 9:30 AM.

    Ms. Reed has been spinning for nearly 15 years, beginning with a “student” top whorl-drop type of spindle.  She has acquired almost 20 different types of spindles and owns two treadle wheels and two kick-starter campaign electric wheels.  She regularly offers demos and often provides introductory spindle lessons in her spinning group. She uses her hand-spun for knitting, crocheting and weaving projects on her rigid heddle looms.

    There are many different types of spinning methods: wheels, spindles or both.  In her presentation, Ms. Reed will cover some basic tools, types of fiber, and how to prep the fiber. Fiber artists use both prepared fiber or prep their own. She will also share the differences in yarn samples and introduce weavers to different yarn sources and will cover the different types of fiber blends such as sheep’s wool, alpaca wool, cotton, silk, Tencel^TM , bamboo, and others.  Guests can familiarize themselves with the variety of equipment and samples she will display.

February 16, 17, and 18

Program and Workshop by Jennifer Moore

Double Rainbow 2 1/2 day workshop- 2 Layers, 4 (or 8) Shafts, 6 Colors – Infinite Possibilities

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 moire 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.

Level: Intermediate. No prior experience in doubleweave is necessary, but students must know how to warp a loom

Students will bring a 4- or 8-shaft loom warped according to instructions.

From the first time that Jennifer Moore sat down at a loom, she was drawn to the orderly universe of colored threads and the rhythmic repetition in the process of weaving. Because of her background in piano and pipe organ, she felt an immediate affinity with this new stringed instrument whose patterns flowed from her hands in the form of color and design rather than sound.

After experimenting with various structures for several years, she found her home in the ancient technique of doubleweave pick-up. In doubleweave two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously, one above the other on the loom. Through the exacting process of hand pick-up, she exchanges threads between the two layers, building original designs onto the underlying grid. By blending numerous colors together in both my warp and weft and playing one layer against the other, she is able to create a nearly limitless range of subtle color gradations. Over the years she has developed new methods of setting up and weaving doubleweave that she feels make it more accessible and easier to weave. She travels extensively to teach these techniques and has recently written the book The Weaver’s Studio: Doubleweave, published by Interweave Press.

March 23, 2019

Annual Picnic

(FOURTH Saturday—FTWG Conference is the third weekend in March).

April 20, 2019 

Demos—You too can help demo!

The WoO Demo Crew will provide a panel discussion regarding demos that the Crew provides at festivals, schools, etc. They will also offer opportunities to those in attendance to weave on a loom, spin on a wheel, and help create the Crew’s “make and take” projects that they take for children to be able to make a project and take it with them. This year the Crew is having children finish the make and take the following projects:  God’s Eye, butterflies, and turtles. Plan to stay after meeting and help create the kits for these projects.

May 18, 2019  TBA

June 15, 2019 

Discussion of Summer and Winter weave structure by Berna Lowenstein

The program will be an introduction to Summer and Winter, which is an ancient weave structure that consists of a plain weave ground cloth in cotton or linen, and a thicker pattern weft traditionally in wool.  The fabric is reversible and with the colors completely reversed on the backside.   Summer and Winter was traditionally used for coverlets, with the dark colored side being used in Winter time and the light colored used in Summer time.   But S&W fabric can be used for everything from fine scarves to rugs.

July 15, 2019 

Tied Weaves, Beyond Summer and Winter by Audrey Smith

More info to come. . . .

Bio: Audrey learned to weave in 1954 on a big, old barn loom which stood in the middle of my art classroom.   Students were allowed to weave on the loom after their art project was finished.  I would quickly finish my project just to have a chance to weave.  After high school I married and raised four daughters.  There was little time for weaving or even money to buy a loom of my own.  It wasn’t until I moved to Orlando in 1989 that I had the time, money and opportunity to buy a loom and truly learn to weave.  Under the guidance of Betty TerLouw I studied for several years and learned much of what Betty had to teach.  For many years the loom became my best friend.  Today, I mainly weave greeting cards and small projects.

August 17, 2019 

Do you want to know more about Rug Hooking?

More to come. . . .

September 21, 2019 

WoO’s Annual Auction

This is a fundraiser for the guild. This is a way for members to support our Weaving Guild and share fiber items that they no longer want or use with other members.  It’s always fun to buy those items that others no longer need or use but are just what we need! You never know what you’ll be able to find! In the recent years, lucky individuals were able to buy such wonderful and useful items as reeds, warping wheels, inkle looms, knitting yarn, cones of various weaving threads, silk, books, and magazines.  We even had  looms one year so you never know what you might find at the Guild Auction.

October 21, 2019 

Transparencies by Laura Viada

Transparencies are fun to weave and present a wealth of opportunities for expression and design.  A close relative of the tapestry, the distinguishing characteristic of the transparency is the contrast between opaque areas of pattern inlay and the sheer background cloth.  Transparency techniques can be used to create expressive art pieces, or for dramatic functional items such as window coverings, table linens, and wearables.

 LAURA VIADA is a handweaver and fiber artist who creates works of art in natural fibers – primarily, linen, silk, and wool.   Her guiding philosophy is that humans have an intimate relationship with the objects that surround us – the things we see, wear, use, and share with friends and family — and that the human spirit thrives when these things are beautiful and sensual.   In addition to art pieces, such as wall hangings, window coverings, and room dividers, Laura creates textiles designed to add a touch of luxury and mindfulness to our daily routines.   For Laura, a beautiful, handcrafted kitchen towel turns a daily chore into a ritual, a handwoven bath towel adds a touch of luxury to daily grooming, and a handwoven napkin makes even the simplest meal into a special occasion.

Laura grew up in Houston, Texas.  While taking a pause from demanding career in law, she learned to weave and fell in love with the world of fiber.  For the past 20 years, Laura has been an active member of Houston’s art community.  Her work has been exhibited nationally and has won numerous awards, and she spent 9 months in 2008 as an Artist-in-Residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  Laura lives in Houston and maintains a studio at the Art Square Studios complex near Downtown Houston. Her work can also be seen at Archway Gallery in Houston, Texas.

November 16, 2019 

Beautiful Handwoven Hems by Margarete Griffiths

Presentation will cover how to plan and execute beautiful hems primarily for towels and napkins.  Both hand sewn and machine hems will be discussed.  If you don’t look forward to hemming, this program will show you how to take the guesswork and pain out of finishing your handwovens – plus probably eliminate several unnecessary steps suggested by Handwoven.

Bio:  Margarete has been weaving for over 20 years.  She enjoys weaving towels, placemats, napkins, table runners, and, since moving to Florida, the occasional lightweight scarf or shawl.  In her non-weaving life she was a teacher, seminar presenter, and international sales account manager.  She enjoys retirement and the time it gives her to be involved in several weaving guilds and almost unlimited time for weaving.

December 21, 2019

Annual Holiday Potluck Luncheon

Weavers of Orlando will have our annual holiday potluck luncheon, with a gift exchange, door prizes, the Betty Terlouw scholarship drawing, and yummy food! Come join us!