There are 5 of us here now. So it seems the best way to start would be qith introductions! Please feel free to shate what you like. If you don't know what to say, I would suggest letting us know what you like to be called, where you live, and where you are at on your CoE/Certificate journey.

Comments

Wed, 01/29/2014 - 20:05

Erica J

Hello!

I'm Erica, but you probably already know that. My mom taught me to weave when I was 8. She was a very busy woman, but we worked on several warps over the years. I went to college and did not have a table loom in the dorm.

I know own a Glimakra Standard, several table looms, vertical looms, etc. 

I have the syllabi for both the CoE and CoA (UKWSD Certificate). They are very similar. 

I'll admit the outline for the written portion of the CoE just looks long! I'll get over it eventually.

Where are you all at?

Thu, 01/30/2014 - 19:29

warpology

My name is Lois Erbland my business name is  Warpology.I bought the COE booklet in 2012 got started with it and realize that I had done a lot of it in the Professional Crafts / Fiber at Haywood Community College in NC. I graduated from the program in 2008. I guess you could call my business a misnomer  as I haven't been able to be very active in it due to health problems. Currently I am working on building up stock to sell at craft fairs. I tried the online route but feel texiles to be really tactile and  haven't had much luck.

I've been weaving since 1973, Learned at Norwood looms in Baldwin MI, off and on due to children, college twice.Then in 1992 I really got back into weaving after the purchase of a new to me Glimakra ideal loom. Knew there was something missing and haven't looked back! I've still got the glimakra but it has company, a 8 shaft Norwood, 16 shaft Louet Megado computerized and AVL 24 shaft Compudobby.

I have a new studio but we need to work on the heat, I realized I might use this time to work on the COE again!

 

Fri, 01/31/2014 - 13:26

cmbottorff

My name is Chris.  My grandmother wove on a newcomb loom.  My mom inheirited it when she passed away, and now, my sister has it.  We weave rag rugs and make beach bags out of them.  I have to admit, they are so cute when they are completed.  Since I don't get to see her that often, I finally found myself a little table loom.  I am having fun learning patterns and reading drafts.  My loom is a LeClerc Dorothy.  My goal is to sell our wares so I can purchase a floor loom next.  Possibly 8 shafts.  Happy weaving everyone!

 

Sat, 02/01/2014 - 02:33

ingamarie

I don't really remember when I started weaving at first. Both my grandmother and mom were weavers.. I wove here and there as a kid and always had a fascination with it.  I pursued a 'real' career (landscape architecture design/build) for 25 years until a combination of job burn-out, cancer and having a small child convinced me to move on-- that was 11 years ago. And at that point I decided to 'get serious' about what I had actually wanted to do when I grew up!  So I started focussing on weaving. I went to summer classes at Sätergläntan in Sweden two summers in a row (I'm a life-long expat-- we emigrated when I was almost 8 in 1965).  I'm really drawn to Scandinavian weaving.  For me weaving is eye-candy, a connection to my family and I really love the puzzles and problem solving. I weave mostly on a 4 shaft counterbalance Glimåkra standard.. but have a small herd of other looms as well. Some day I'll convert it to more shafts and countermarche, but I'm in no hurry.  I'm a terrible production weaver (I enjoy the puzzles of something new too much) but I love to teach and teach a series of  beginner weaving classes at the Art School connected with the museum here.

I'm really enjoying working on the COE-- I started in earnest last summer and I'm aiming for 2016-- after our son goes to College (;  .  I have a handful of samples woven, and most of the written stuff researched. I have a guild mate here in Austin who is sending her stuff in this year... she doesn't have a family and lives alone so she can work on it more. And she's more focussed than me!  I'm going through much of it along with her, but not able to weave every sample. When she sends her stuff in I'll start at the beginning again and refine what I did on the first go around.  I love how it makes me explore subjects that I never thought I would be interested in, and push my boundaries. Also that it requires some focus, which has always been a problem.  It's a good exercise for me.

 

Wow.. that was a lot to read.

Mon, 03/31/2014 - 13:25

Robin Monogue

I am new to floor loom weaving, but started with card weaving over twenty years ago. I have an 8 shaft Norwood floor loom, and an 8 shaft Pioneer table loom. Weaving books on different techniques litter the house. I listened to all of the Weavecast episodes, and have been weaving projects as time allows. I want to learn more! I am also considering making this a career, as my youngest is in high school, and will be off to college in a couple of years. Joining this group seemed a good way to follow along and discover more of what goes into getting a CoE, beyond what it says on the website I have heard a number of people say that it makes a great study course in weaving. I have been wondering if getting the certificate would be worth the time and effort involved, or the money for that matter. I am still on the fence about it. I have looked at requirements for the Canadian certificate, since they have embraced the 21st century and have the documents as a free PDF. :) I would imagine the US requirements to be similar. I saw that the guild in Boston also has a ranking system in place. Deciding which, if any of these, to pursue is what I would like more information on. Thanks for having me here, I will order the requirements next month when my fiber budget resets. :)
Wed, 02/18/2015 - 18:44

Kate in Scotland

Hi! I'm Kate. I'm American but have lived abroad for 17 years and now live in a stone cottage next to a river in a remote part of Scotland. In my regular life I'm a medieval art history professor. I recently moved my kitchen furniture out of the cottage so that I could install an AVL. There's also a 150 cm Ulla Cyrus in the living room, and a Harisville jack loom in the bathroom, and another AVL in my office in Weimar. I usually get up at 5 to weave for a few hours before going to the office. I do quite a bit of dyeing, and I've recently been using wool from the local sheep. 

I started working on the CoE booklet 2 months ago. My first step was to put everything into a spread sheet! At the moment, I'm doing pile weaves, which are new to me, but which I'm thoroughly enjoying.

I often have to sit through boring lectures and meetings, and either I think about sex, or else design new projects for the various looms. Lately, more often the latter. 

 

Wed, 02/18/2015 - 23:22

Artistry

I realize I haven't gone yet ! I had a Great Aunt in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ( where I'm originally from) who I spent a great amount of time with from the ages of 5-9. She was a retired elementary school teacher and weaver, perfect! We were a wonderful fit. We moved away in' ' 62 then in '68 when I was 16 and in California she sent me my first loom, a 4 shaft Nilus LeClerc Loom 36". The first piece I wove was overshot, lol! I wove off and on until 1978 when it seemed I always had a project going. But was I weaving well was another story ! I moved to Cincinnati and got hooked up to a wonderful guild. After awhile there i decided to really study weaving. But there was no University near me that still had a Masters in Fiber Arts Program Concentration in Weaving left. So after talking to my teacher and mentor she encouraged me to go after the COE. My first reaction was sheer panic! I could never do that! But after 6 years of really hard work and self discipline I had both Levels I and II Master. Level l ( ( 1994) I took 4 years to do that one, 1996 for Level ll Specialization in Multicolored 3 Block 5 Shaft Damask. Phew, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I'm sticking around to see if I can answer any general questions and be a major cheerleader! Cathie
Thu, 02/19/2015 - 08:07

CallunaVee

Hello

I'm Heather Seddon and I've been a weaver and tapestry weaver for about 20 years, plus a bit of spinning and dyeing on the way. Erika has kindly invited me to join this group because I'm the Co-ordinator for the Certificate of Achievement which is run by the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers. I think my next move will be to get a copy of the COE syllabus to see what that involves and how it differs from the CoA.

Looking forward to following you on your COE journeys.

Kind regards

Heather

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 08:20

Artistry

Hi Heather, I've heard a lot of good things about the CoA that I think I'll get a copy of that booklet, to do what you're doing, see what the other program is about. It's so nice to know what other's experiences are! I'm a Tapestry weaver now too :) Cathie
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 17:32

Erica J

We have had a few new folks in the past few weeks, but I don't think everyone has introduced themself yet, please feel free to do so here! :)

Wed, 05/20/2015 - 21:31

ibrsmith

When I was little my mom developed and interest in textiles and weaving, and started attending meetings at the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin. She towed me along to some of these meetings, and at some point I actually started to pay attention to what was going on. Since then I have learned as much as I can by reading and learning from the other guild members. I have a 4-shaft countermarche, and have also experimented with card weaving and tri-loom weaving. I am also a spinner and am particularly interested in spinning warp-grade linen. For the past three years I have been working on a replica of an Icelandic girl's jumper, and am almost finished with that. Now I am starting work on my COE, hopefully to submit in 2016. Since I am a full-time university student, I am going to have to do most of the work over the summer, and I am ready to dive right in!

Sat, 05/23/2015 - 08:59

Erica J

Welcome Irene! 

Our path to weaving was quite similar, though I had long since left University, when 

I got my first real loom! Good luck, I look forward to seeing your progress and discussing our explorations!

Mon, 09/07/2015 - 13:06

Erica J

We, again have some new members. For those who are new, please feel free to read through these introductions and leave your own here! :)

Welcome!

Tue, 09/08/2015 - 14:54

Tamasine

I live just north of Glasgow and have just started the CoA.  I started weaving with a knitters loom two years ago and now have an Ashford 4 shaft loom, plus attic workspace and North-East light which is a real luxury!  Up to now, I've woven lots of scarves and very small pieces based on the colours and images of Scotland.  Also some cushions.  Right now, I'm lining a waistcoat, which has handwoven front panels.  Bit nerve-wracking.  Playing with colour has been my primary focus and I love the possibilities of plain weave.  Now, I'm looking more closely at structure and am sampling with linen - so different from wool!  It's been very helpful to read all your comments and thoughts - this is the first time I've contributed to any sort of chat group as my ITskills don't go any further than email and internet searches.  It's going to take me some time to figure how to do this but my desire to communicate with other weavers is a great motivator!  (I do belong to the local Guild of WSD).  Hope I've done this right.  Tamasine

Tue, 09/08/2015 - 16:21

Erica J

Welcome Tamasine!

It looks like you did everything right to me! 

I look forward to seeing some of your weaving! 

Have a great day,

Erica 

Thu, 11/05/2015 - 01:46

Robin Monogue

After lurking for most of this time, I recently joined a COE study group in my local guild. There are three of us interested in pursuing the COE, and we have a mentor who has already completed level 1. I expect to be more active here as well as I immerse myself in this project. It sounds like many of you have already made great progress! I can tell you after reading the requirements, and seeing all the samples needed, it seems quite daunting!

Thu, 11/05/2015 - 06:49

Erica J

Welcome Robin!

I think you are really going to enjoy your studies! I knew weaving was a vast art when I started my studies, but did not realize I would love some structures as much as I do!

I look forward to seeing your explorations and learning from what you do!

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 17:55

frithuswith

Hi all,

I'm Liz and I've just signed up for the CoA in the UK. I was really pleased when I saw mention of the weavolution group - I spend a good chunk of my life online so a dedicated CoA/CoE group where we can share what we get up to is perfect for me!

I'm pretty new to weaving - I got my first loom a couple of years ago and promptly got pregnant which put the kibosh on any weaving activities until the little one arrived. Thankfully she is a fairly chilled out soul so I have managed to fit a fair amount in the last year on my Ashford 8-shaft table loom.

I've partly signed up for the CoA to get a good overview of weaving and to rein in my tendencies to wander off into network drafting everything in sight for months on end while not making sure I get really proficient (or at least passably so) in the basics. So I am hoping the structure will encourage me to do some of those fundamentals properly, as well as exploring some aspects I might not have investigated otherwise (at least in the short term).

So, I'm looking forward to hanging out with you all, and learning from each other. Though in the mean time, I really need to get the loom warped and start experimenting for the complex weavers tied weaves sample exchange. I have some mad polychrome summer and winter ideas to try out, which could end up being one of my "free" balanced weaves... if in five-odd years' time I end up deciding it's well-enough woven. (Did I mention I have no plans to rush through the CoA? This will probably mean it takes closer to 10 years rather than five, but if I'm learning stuff it's all good.)

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 18:06

Erica J

Welcome, Liz!

I originallystarted tge CoA just before I got pregnant, now that my son is 3, I hope to submit this June. I was fairly proficient when I started and have not had to learn too many structures from scratch.

I look forward to seeing your work soon. I will post more of my samples soon, too!

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 18:13

frithuswith

That sounds great, thanks Erica. I am excited to see what other people have come up with. I have some fairly mad ideas that I dare say will be tamed as I run up against the difficulties of actually implementing them... 

Does submitting this summer mean you'll be exhibiting at Killerton? I'm really hoping to get to that - I'm Oxfordshire based but my sister lives a couple of miles up the road from Killerton so it would be a shame to miss out!

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 18:54

Erica J

I originally wanted Killerton, but there are enough submission from farther South, Heather asked me to submit at the AGM in Cumbria.

I also forgot to mention, I joined CWTW Study Group as well! I need to get started on my samples for that over the holidays as well.