Study Groups for the Handweavers Guild of Boise Valley

All study groups are open to any Guild members who wish to attend. Come join the fun and education these groups  provide.  For all groups, please contact the people for up-to-date times and locations of meetings. 

The Spinning Group

The Spinning Study Group meets once a month in the evening on the second Thursday of the month. This is an informal group with an informal agenda – we share information on fibers, fiber processing, fiber events, spinning techniques and finishing of yarns. Spinners of any level are welcome. Bring a wheel or
spindle, and fiber to spin. If you need assistance in improving your spinning, we have members who will help you. This is not a beginning spinning class: if you would like to learn to spin, one of the members can meet with you privately to get you started.

We have done several fiber studies including flax, cotton, and mohair. Anyone in the group can volunteer to coordinate a particular subject. The coordinator provides fibers, articles on the fibers, or whatever information is available to the participants. Members will pay a small fee for the fiber samples and
handouts.

We usually meet at Maralyn Larson's clubhouse in Meridian. If you are new to the group, contact Lynn Ruggles (208)375-9172 for information on the meeting location and dates. We do not meet during the summer, and some meeting dates are cancelled due to holidays or Maralyn's availability.

Contact - Lynn Ruggles 

The Weaving Study Group

The Weaving Study Group is in hiatus until there is a renewed interest in having meetings.  If you want to help revitalize the weaving study group, contact - Julie Gerrard

Certificate of Excellence (COE) Study Group

The Handweaver’s Guild of America (HGA) sponsors many educational programs. One of them is called the Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving. Participants in the HGA COE program complete woven and basic design work prescribed by the program. If the work is judged to be of excellent quality, the participant is awarded the Certificate of Excellence. You may find more information about the COE program on the HGA website www.weavespindye.org

Our COE Study Group offers support and encouragement for anyone pursuing this lofty goal. We offer critique of the work, but honor the fact that part of the HGA philosophy for the COE is the participant
completes the work on their own. We may call the group a study group, but in reality it is more of a support group.

Our group meets generally every other month. All are welcome to join the study.

Contact - Mary Berent or Vila Cox

Bobbin Lace Study Group

The Bobbin Lace Study Group was started in the Spring of 2011.  New lace makers were guided through a series of 6 lessons to learn the basics of making Torchon Bobbin Lace.  The group now meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.  New members are welcome and will be provided with the basic lessons to get them started.

Contact - Vila Cox

Weaving Intensive

For the past several years the Handweaver’s Guild of Boise Valley has offered a "Weaving Intensive" to it’s membership. These are very similar to weaving workshops, only there is no teacher hired to come in to offer their expertise. Instead, we rely on the members sharing their expertise with the group. There is a facilitator who merely assures all the organizational details are accomplished, such as having a variety of weaves or having the coffee pot on.

For the "Weaving Intensive" we gather for a three day weekend, lately over the Martin Luther holiday, Saturday thru Monday. We chose and agree upon a topic of study, and participants choose one aspect of the topic for their draft. Then we each bring a loom warped with our draft and others may weave a sample on our loom in a round robin fashion. There is also a time when each participant tells the group about the project they choose. The may include aspects of the draft, yarn, sett, what they learned about the draft, etc.

We call this weekend an intensive, because it is an opportunity to do a lot of weaving and talking about weaving in a short period of time. Fees are small and cover the estimated cost of the intensive. If you are interested in participating this year contact Vila Cox for more information.

The 2012 INTENSIVE has been announced!!!

This year the topic is Color Harmonies. You can view the flyer on the website or print out the PDF version so you have the information and form to send in to register.

Here are the links:  To view or print the Color Harmonies Intensive sign up sheet