Jacquard Threads are using conductive metal alloys that are incredibly thin, so they can be combined with a variety of natural and synthetic fibers to create different yarns. Click on the image for more details about Jacquard by Google where they design "smart textiles" that work behind the seams and allow you to control your apps with a touch of the sleeve.

By Kelly Grotzinger

My fiber holdings, that is, my stash, was acquired...

• from retail shops--both large and indie
• from local and regional fiber shows
• at household auctions
• through Guild swap meets
• from going-out-of-business sales or liquidations of shops' contents, and
• as the result of the well-meaning friend or acquaintance saying "here, it will go to the trash otherwise."

Any source can result in modest to extensive additions to stash. I was reminded this past week that I have responsibilities regarding the fiber that I accrue if I intend to use it and not just look at it, pet it, or store it. Source in and of itself does not make a fiber second choice or second quality. Origin does not make a yarn useful or special. Age doesn't imply degradation. However, time and source may inform your use of your fiber.

​I was pointedly reminded of the following this past month:

Mary Parsons (left) and Laura Campbell (right) are two of our Guild members honored to receive donations from the Schulder family in memory of their mother, Patricia Schulder, a weaver from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Click on the photo for a link to this fascinating article!

Rose Meagher recently completed this gorgeous weaving during a one-day workshop with Joyce Schamm (notable basket weaver from Westminster, MD). 

By Kelly Grotzinger

​We are all mortal. We all have stash. We don't all have family or friends who are as into fiber as we. At the March meeting of CPGH I showed three twill lap blankets, the weft for which comprised 200 +/- skeins of hand spun wool/llama. Yes, a lot of handspun yarn. The blankets were not special because of the weaving, the weaver (ahem), or the use of the handspun, but because the yarn came from the dispersal via public auction of the estate of Cynthia Spayd outside of Hamburg PA. Ms Spayd died unexpectedly at 62 in October 2017. On the coldest day in January 2018 (0 degrees F at 8 AM at an open air on-site auction), the lifetime contents of books, fleece, cone and skein yarn, thread, tape and floor looms, spinning wheels, carders, et cetera were sold. There were no small number of containers, tubs and cardboard boxes of fleece, handspun wool, and weaving thread.  And, there evidently was no family to share her passions. Obviously I was fortunate to purchase handspun, thread, yarn, and even some fleece. No I did not know Ms. Spayd; I had no knowledge of her interest in fiber; I went to the sale following the lure of weaving yarn and books. However, I wove the blankets to honor her and her fiber 'legacy' and to acknowledge our shared mortality, stash, and commitment to fiber and weaving.

The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and The Weavers’ Roundtable are presenting their annual weaving workshop on Thursday, March 28, 2019 in the museum atrium. 

Students will learn how to weave Atwater Bronson Lace and how to vary its lace block placement. 

Registration is required. 

Thanks to Pat Flynn for recommending this story for our blog. Click on the image to access tale published by Atlas Obscura. Enjoy!