October 2011

As of October 1st we will be ceasing our regularly scheduled retail store hours and dedicating more of our precious time to our mail order business. This equates to more quality time available to spend with you, both in person and on the phone. You are always welcome to visit our store, but please call first to make an appointment. Our telephone hours will remain the same, Wednesday-Saturday 1-5 p.m. Eastern Time. Due to a multitude of cancellations we have two spots available in Vävstuga Basics November 7-11, 2011. There is one bed available in our dorm for this particular week. If you’re interested, please contact us immediately. As always, a $200 deposit is required to secure a spot. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship to one of our Basics classes offered in 2012, send in your scholarship application soon. Becky has returned once more from a rich and fulfilling two-week trip to Sweden including the big national weaving conference “Väv” that happens every three years. She visited many of our suppliers.

After the conference Becky spent an inspirational week under the expert instruction of Gunvor Johansson to further her knowledge of the art weaving techniques of southern Sweden. Gunvor is a professional weaver as well as renowned teacher. She specializes in drawlooms, and in the techniques of krabbasnar, halvkrabba, dukagang, trensaflossa and rolakan.

New/returned to our bookstore:

• Östgötadräll: Vävda sängtäcken från Östergötland (Woven coverlets from Östergötland) is a wonderful new book that Becky brought back from Sweden. It represents a glorious collection of Östergötland’s woven bedcovers from the 1800s, works of art that kept people warm both in beds and in open sleighs.
• Back in stock: Börja Väv! (Begin to Weave) and Räknade Trådar – nya vävar (Counted Threads – new weaves)

Book preview of the month: Ann-Sofie Svansbo’s Östgötadräll (Woven coverlets from Östergötland) Tropical Storm Irene was an unwelcome visitor on August 28, 2011. Our building did not suffer any damage but the retaining wall between our building and the Deerfield River was damaged considerably. We lost nearly 25′ of our 30′ backyard. Becky and her husband John lend scale to the size of the destruction.

Let’s hope that Autumn brings us all plenty of inspirational colors! Becky and Susan