Weaving on the Radio: re:loom – Weaving a Difference

Our friends at re:loom – weaving a better life were featured on the December 12, 2012 WABE City Cafe with John Lemley program.  WABE’s Kate Sweeney interviewed re:loom weaver Fred Brown and asked about what he thinks about while he is weaving.  Brown has worked for almost a year at re:loom, a subsidiary of Atlanta’s Initiative for Affordable Housing, Inc.

CHG member and Initiative Executive Director, Lisa Wise, explains how the re:loom programs help homeless and low-income families in metro Atlanta secure housing and break the cycle of poverty.

A rug on the loom at the re:loom WeaveHouse

Listen to Weaving a Difference.

2012 Georgia National Fair

The Georgia National Fair hosts competitions in spinning, weaving, felting, and other fiber arts in the Fine Arts Department.

The Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild Award for Excellence in Handweaving went to Bonnie Carter of Savannah, GA.

Congratulations to CHG members for their award winning entries in the
2012 Georgia National Fair

Apprentice Division

Meredith Austin
Weaving and Felting

• 2nd place Class 8 – Scarves – mixed yarns, less than 10 inches wide
• 3rd place Class 8 – Scarves – mixed yarns, less than 10 inches wide

Master Division

Linda Jarrett

• Peachtree Handspinners Guild Award
• Natural Dye Award

Spinning

• 1st place Class 1 – Blends
• 1st place Class 2 – Cellulose – (100%; no blends)
• 1st place Class 3 – Exotics – (silks, mohair, cashmere,
• 3rd place Class 6 – Wool – 100% wool, 20 or more wpi
• 3rd place Class 7 – Wool – 100% wool, less than 20 wpi

Weaving and Felting

• 1st place Class 2 – Decorative – smaller than 20 inches wide
• 1st place Class 8 – Scarves – mixed yarns, less than 10 inches wide
• 3st place Class 7 – Scarves – 100% handspun, less than 10 inches wide

Judith Krone
Weaving and Felting

• 1st place Class 10 – Shawls or other shapes – mixed yarns, 11 inches or wider
• 1st place Class 13 – Project completed by two or more people
• 2nd place Class 8 – Scarves – mixed yarns, less than 10 inches wide
• 2nd place Class 10 – Shawls or other shapes – mixed yarns, 11 inches or wider

Kim Wall
Spinning

• 1st place Class 7 – Wool – 100% wool, less than 20 wpi
• 2nd place Class 1 – Blends
• Honorable Mention Class 7 – Wool – 100% wool, less than 20 wpi

Paula Vester is the superintendent of the Spinning and Weaving Competition for the Fair.  Sue Gilmurray, CHG Standards and Ratings chair, handles the CHG Award for Excellence.

Spinning and Weaving Week 2012

Spinning and Weaving Week is October 1-7, 2012. The Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild joins with HGA and spinners and weavers all over the world to celebrate our fiber heritage.

As they have done in years past, the CHG evening weaving classes invite anyone interested in weaving to stop by our classes to see the works in progress.  A “Try Me” loom is ready for you to try your hand at weaving.

Stop by Dunwoody’s North DeKalb Cultural Center during the Open Studio hours:

• Beginners Plus class, Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

• Continuing Weaving class, Thursday, October 4, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Read more about Spinning and Weaving Week and how you can organize your own celebration!

Atlanta tapestry artist Jon Eric Riis receives $50,000 grant

Congratulations to our friend, tapestry weaver Jon Eric Riis, who has received a United States Artists Fellows Award. You can view some of Jon’s work in the exhibit “The Opulent Object in Wood Metal and Fiber” at Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) until January 1.

Art in Transit

Athens Mayor Nancy Denson (third from the left) joins members of the Athens Fibercraft Guild at the opening of the Art in Transit show at Athens/Clarke County beautiful new modular transit station. – photo submitted by Clairelis Baxter

On Tuesday, September 6, the Athens Fibercraft Guild rode the local transit buses to celebrate the guild’s “Art in Transit” case exhibit at the Athens-Clarke Multimodal Transportation Center and to build local interest in the fiber arts.
Over twenty members of the AFG boarded various buses and demonstrated knitting, crochet, kumihimo, and other fiber techniques that can be carried along on a trip. Unsuspecting bus riders were asked to join in and learn a new craft. For more on the story, see this OnlineAthens article

Craft in America: Family

PBS series Craft in America: Family will feature work by workers with a connection to CHG. 

Moulthrop Exhibit

The exhibit will feature the distinctive work of Atlantans Ed Moulthrop, his son Philip, and his grandson, Matt and will consist of works on loan from Southern collectors. 

Spinning and Weaving Week 2011

October 3-9 is Spinning and Weaving Week, the celebration of our fiber heritage. In coordination with HGA, CHG plans demonstrations, events, and exhibits to promote spinning and weaving.

Georgia HGA Representative, Suz Weitzel, will demonstrate weaving and spinning in the lobby of the Rose Creek Library in Woodstock, Georgia, on October 1, 2011, 10:00 – 4:00. The library will also display