Fiber Frolic
Our Fiber Frolic week is co-sponsored by Fabric of Life & Vävstuga Weaving School
July 1st – 5th, 2019
Weaving, Spinning, & Dyeing for Ages 10 to Adult
(ages 7–9 with adult family member)
Living traditions & life arts for the young and the young at heart
Would your child like to spend a week in a beautiful natural setting, unplugged, picnicking, playing hoops and other old-fashioned games in addition to weaving on hand looms both big and small in our barn studio? — Would you? — Come join us!
- Weave on a really big floor loom
- Make a rag rug
- Make a towel or napkin
- Weave on a band loom
- Weave on a replica of a Viking loom!
FOOD
- Bring a lunch for our adventurous picnics!
- Enjoy snacks with local food eaten on table linens made by you!
Weaving for the young
This unusual opportunity to try your hand at weaving on a floor loom is good idea because a floor loom is really fun to use! You get to throw a shuttle back and forth and beat with a big hanging beater. Each participant can expect to take home their very own rag rug and handwoven towel or napkin. There will also be time allotted on our band looms and rigid heddle looms to make other smaller items. A group project of making a tablecloth on our biggest loom will be raffled to benefit future weaving weeks of this kind.
Viking style warp weighted loom
On day one, we will start right off the bat working on a large loom together in groups to learn the basic skills of throwing a shuttle, stepping on the treadles, and beating with the beater. Participants will get a taste of all of our projects as they rotate from one piece of equipment to the next, sometimes weaving in groups, and sometimes working on individual projects.
Weaving on an old Viking style loom(a warp weighted loom), is an experience never to be forgotten. The swinging loom weights weighting the warp threads, the big stick pulled back and forth to open the shed, and the big wooden sword used to beat in the weft are all very tactile and memorable experiences to be had.
woodland picnic
Noontime adventures
Who can resist a picnic? Each day our picnic lunch will offer new experiences, adventures, and old-fashioned games. Our handwoven napkins will be used to wrap lunches, tie them to a stick with the a handwoven band, and over the shoulder and away we go into the woods to a beautiful private spot to enjoy our lunches in the fresh summer air.
Stylish afternoons
Our afternoon snack time at 3 PM will be served on a new and beautiful table setting each day featuring various locally grown foods and handwoven tablecloths. Our week culminates with a grand feast Friday afternoon, when we invite parents to join in the fun with our “candle light dinner”. We will pull the shades, dress the table with all of our newly handwoven goods, and enjoy a candlelight high tea.
Learning to make textiles is indeed part of the “Fabric of Life”.
1850’s Farmhouse setting
The Details:
Floor loom with a view
Hosted by Vävstuga Weaving School in Shelburne, Massachusetts and Fabric of Life in Buckland, Massachusetts.
Date: July 1st – 5th 2019
Hours: 9am – 3pm
Location: Barn Studio at 80 Bassett Rd., Shelburne MA
Number of participants: 16
Cost: $325 (+ $50 materials fee)
Carpooling: We will gladly connect parents who may want to carpool.
Fabric of Life Summer Weaving Workshop flyer
Please feel free to phone our partner organization, Vävstuga Weaving School with any questions that you may have – (413) 625-8241 (phone hours Tue–Fri 9–3)
