April 28 to May 1: The Weavers' Guild of Rochester 75th Anniversary Celebration!

The Weavers' Guild of Rochester celebrates its 75th anniversary this month. We are so proud of our longevity and our growth that we've planned a four-day-long series of events, all free and open to the public. Hope you can join us!

EXHIBIT 

Most important is our exhibit, featuring beautiful pieces that are woven, spun, knitted, dyed, felted, beaded, and crocheted (among other fiber-art techniques) by our members. These works will be on display for four days at the Eisenhart Auditorium of the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Some will be for sale and some will be juried -- by Wendy Marks, director of Shop One and the University Gallery at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Prizes will be announced at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 28.

RECEPTION

The opening reception takes place on Friday, April 29, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

On Saturday, April 30, from 4 to 5 p.m., Marcia Weiss, director of the textile design program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, will give the keynote presentation.

FASHION SHOW:

And on Sunday, May 1, we'll have a fashion show at 2 p.m. 

DEMONSTRATIONS

In addition, we'll hold demonstrations of loom weaving, tapestry weaving, spinning, and knitting throughout the exhibit.

American Sign Language interpreting will be available during the announcement of the awards, the juror's walkabout after the awards presentation, and the keynote address.

The Weavers' Guild of Rochester was formed in 1946, with early meetings taking place at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester. As the guild grew, we met at a variety of different venues, most recently at the First Baptist Church of Rochester. More than 75 years since we began, we have our own Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, a highly successful Holiday Show and Sale, and nearly 200 members active in all of the fiber arts.

And what will I be entering in the exhibit?

The theme of the exhibit is "Diamonds," in honor of our diamond anniversary -- so I had to enter this 16-shaft deflected double weave infinity scarf, of course! It's woven with two hand-painted warps in 18/2 merino and 10/2 cotton, then fulled by hand to create the puckering of the cotton layer.

A second piece I'm entering is the coat above, which I call "Blue Rills" because of the cascading blue motifs that cover the burgundy ground cloth. This is woven in 8-shaft deflected double weave using two hand-painted warps. Like the scarf above, I used differential-shrinkage techniques, washing the fabric with hot water, soap, and agitation so that the ground cloth (in 18/2 merino) fulled and the pattern layer (in 20/2 cotton) collapsed into curves that look like lace. The pattern is by Marcy Tilton.

Finally, I'm entering this scarf of degummed reeled silk, woven on three hand-painted warps in a 12-shaft extended-parallel threading tied up and treadled as Rep, without the thick-and-thin wefts. I call it "Pagoda" because the pattern reminds me of the curves of the pagoda roofs that are so famous in China.

Thanks for reading!