Tag: beginning weaving

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Fall Classes in Old and New Locations

At The Fiber Loft in Harvard MA

Classes haven’t been posted yet, but I will be teaching a wide variety of classes. To sign up, call the shop directly. If there’s something in particular you are looking for, please let me know! I also offer private lessons at the Fiber Loft.

  • Beginning shaft loom weaving (2 full-day classes)
  • Advanced beginning weaving (series of 8 3-hour classes)
  • Intro to inkle loom weaving (full day)
  • Intro to Inkle pick-up (full day)
  • Beginning spinning on a treadle wheel (full day)
  • Beginning drop spindle (half day)
  • Flax spinning (full day) – NEW
Samplers from a Beginning Weaving class

At A Place to Weave in Leominster MA

Sunday afternoons in September, 3 classes have been scheduled – Intro to drop spindle, Triangle loom weaving, and Yarn explorations. Sign up through the website.

Shawl woven on a continuous strand triangle loom

At The Unruly Stitch in Weston MA – NEW this fall!

New this fall, I’ll be offering private lessons and group spinning classes at this cozy new shop in Weston! For details on individual classes, go here. If you would like sign up for a class or schedule a private spinning lesson at the Unruly Stitch (on a Monday or another time), please contact me directly.

  • 9 Sept
    • 10am-12:30pm – Beginning spinning on a wheel, part 1
    • 2pm-5pm – Drop spindle spinning
    • 5pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
  • 23 Sept
    • 10am-12:30pm – Beginning spinning on a wheel, part 2
    • 2pm-5pm – Drop spindle spinning
    • 5pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
  • 14 Oct
    • 10am-1pm – Drop spindle spinning
    • 1pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
  • 28 Oct
    • 10am-3pm (with a break for lunch)– Beginning spinning on a wheel
    • 1pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
  • 11 Nov
    • 10am-1pm – Drop spindle spinning
    • 1pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
  • 25 Nov (Thanksgiving week, so only if there are private lessons* booked)
  • 9 Dec
    • 10am-3pm (with a break for lunch)– Beginning spinning on a wheel
    • 1pm to whenever needed – private spinning lessons*
Skeins from a Beginning Spinning class

Upcoming Presentations to Guilds

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Weaving Shorts

What’s new? I’ve been teaching classes on Zoom and have recently joined the ranks of YouTubers!

It’s so nice to be back to teaching after these months of separation. I’ve really missed it! I’ve been teaching beginning and advanced beginning weaving classes as well as some specialized topics. The beginning and advanced beginning classes are 5 sessions, 2 hours each. We cover a different step of the weaving process in each session, and students complete that step as homework. Project planning, drafting, tips & tricks, weaving equipment and finishing techniques are also covered, at the appropriate level.

Teaching on Zoom has its own challenges, but that’s part of the fun. Teaching from my own studio means I have all my own tools right at hand. I do the exercises along with my students using a mix of live demos, videos, show & tell and lecture based instruction. Connecting my phone as well as my computer camera to the Zoom session enables me to show different views to focus on the action.

My students also often connect their phones so they can show me their looms and what they are doing. Sometimes it gets pretty funny trying to describe what I want them to do. “Pick up that thread, the one to the left of your index finger. No, the other thread…”

That’s where some of the video shorts come in handy. These “weaving shorts” demonstrate some of the small steps in the weaving process, and students can go back and watch them after class as many times as they need to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7exv5cm4E

My YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/PennyLacroix for those who want to delve deeper. The videos are simple, but hopefully helpful. I’ve been adding them as I recognize the need in my classes and intend to keep adding more. Suggestions for future videos are welcome!

In addition to some standard classes through The Fiber Loft, I recently taught a morning workshop for the Weavers’ Guild of Boston on how to create a doubleweave V-shaped shawl with no sewing. I mixed videos, interactive worksheets and live instruction to keep participants engaged.

It was alot of work to put together, but the folks I worked with in the Guild were extremely helpful, and we were able to present a high quality workshop on Zoom. A year ago, who would have thought this would be our normal now? So many new challenges and new opportunities. I’m loving it!

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New classes are posted!

The summer classes at The Fiber Loft have been posted! I’ve got some spinning and weaving classes scheduled.

In addition, if there’s a class you’d like to take but don’t see it scheduled, call the shop and give them your name. When we have enough people interested , well schedule it at everyone’s convenience. We have a couple people already interested in a great wheel class.

Here’s a little video from my last beginning weaving class, when Kendra pulled her sampler off the loom – a happy moment!