Hey! Has Anybody else had this Problem?

I have been looking back at the blog lately, I started reading at the very beginning in 2009. Way back then there were several of us who blogged weekly. Tina (me), Maggie, LouAnn, Linda B, Ann and Carol. You really get a chance to know the weavers when you see what they were making in their home studios. I posted about endless baby blankets and bread cloths,(mutliple posts about organizing my stuff and my studio space), spinning and knitting, and later on about the various goats that invaded my life (much later still I added bobbin lace because Carol made me do it!) Maggie posted about her job as a chef, weaving on various looms, knitting, gardening and her kitties. LouAnn would post about her various kinds of looms and what they had on them, from bags to rugs to scarves, she also posted about her kitties and her flower and veggie garden and about doing demos with me at the Museum of Appalachia, which is across the street from the Craft Center. Linda posted about rennovating the small house next door to her own home, into her very own weaving studio, Linda also posted about her time at a fort in Kentucky demonstrating pioneer life and her wee dairy goats. Ann posted about her own weaving projects I remember a rep weave rug that was stunning! Carol would post about bobbin lace, quilting, embroidery, trips to Canada and various conventions and what she was weaving, sometimes it was towels or rugs but the bulk of her weaving was fabric for dresses, tops and vests. Carol developed a unique color progression for all of her garments. Her booth which was usually right next to ours at the Fall Show was a kaleidoscope of color.

I found a post that Carol wrote about how she got to the Craft Center, I thought I would post it here.

"How it all began, I guess I've been with the center the longest so I thought I'd just write a bit of a history. We moved here in 1980. I'd learnt to weave tapestry in Guadalajara in 1978. So when we moved to Augusta, GA I kept doing that. However, my goal had been to learn how to use the looms. At a bluegrass picking party, Liz Batchelor (who's now one of our weavers) told me about this place in Norris where they'd teach you to weave. The center had been going for several years, having moved from renting just one room in there, to renting the whole place to buying the property. I think they were still renting it when I joined. We went to check this place out the first chance we had after we moved to Knoxville. At the time it was called the Community Craft Center. We were in a very old red building. The weaving area was smaller than ours is now but we had fewer looms. The building had no heat or running water. We used electric heaters in winter but it was still cold. We had the only wheel chair accessible outhouse in East Tennessee, at least that we knew of. The out house had no heat at all! Ellen Cain, who was the weaving instructor at the time, was my teacher. She had developed the weaving department. They wove placemats and rugs on a variety of looms that they'd been able to acquire as a group. Weaving on the table loom that first time was so cool! I absolutely loved it. We had moved up here in July. I knew immediately that I wanted a floor loom. They told me that I needed a LeClerc Nilus, the jack loom. So I ordered a loom and bench, sight unseen. We were pretty poor at the time but this was an important investment and we just did it. The loom boxes arrived Thanksgiving weekend so I took them home and we set it up. Since then I've woven on that loom almost every day. It's still my work horse and I love nothing more than to sit on the bench and see the fabric develop as I throw the shuttle. Most of the people that were weaving then aren't at the center anymore. Some has passed away, others have moved away or developed other interests. As time goes by, we have new students and it's great to watch them develop their style of weaving. Each of us have different interests. I think that's what makes us great. We learn from each other. From that old red building we moved across the street to a modern building that we built. The center has been very successful in keeping the crafts going. When the building was built, we thought it was so huge and just perfect for our needs. Now we're bursting at the seams, especially the weaving department. Looking forward, we hope to raise money to add to the building. The potential for more classes is really great and we just need more room for our looms! Carol"

In 2001 Ellen Caine, the head of the weaving dept, passed away. Ellen along with Grace Foster helped start the Community Craft Center, which is now called the Appalachian Arts Craft Center. Carl asked Carol if she would please step in as head of the Weaving department. She agreed to do the job for a year. One year turned into 25! What Carol did in those 25 years was create an atmosphere of encouragement, creativity and joy in weaving. In 2001 there were a handful of us at the Craft Center now we number well over 25 active weavers with more friends around the country who are considered friends of the weavers who can no longer come to the Center but still want to be kept in the loop. Carol had a deep knowledge of weaving structure and a flawless eye for color. She pushed us when we needed a challenge but was always there to help us figure out what went wrong, and how to fix it. Carol kept a close eye on the new students on the table looms, walking them through the basic steps of making fabric. As the students began spreading their wings on floor looms, weaving placemats in Ellen's pattern or rugs on the Barn Loom. They learned how to transfer what they had learned on table looms to the bigger floor looms. Many times there would be a mistake in the threading or the sleighing or many other ways mistakes can be made. When Carol was quietly consulted she would reassure the young weaver that it was totally normal. Then she would call out to the room, "Hey, has anybody else made this mistake?" We would all call out and raise our hands to signify that the new weavers were in good company, we had all made mistakes and continue to this day to make mistakes that have to be fixed before the weaving can begin.

Carol had many creative interests, quilting, embroidery of all sorts, bobbin lace, crochet and weaving. Carol was also active in the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society started in 1983. Carol's Husband has been the President of the Chet Atkins Fan club and they worked hard to put on the yearly Convention in Nashville TN for years. They had a team of volunteers that are as tight if not tighter than the Tuesday Weavers! As I write this post Carol is slipping away from us and by the time you read this she will be gone. Mentor, teacher, encourager and friend, Carol your booming laugh will be missed by your family, Quilters and Bobbin Lacers across the country, Musicians across the globe, and last but not least the Tuesday Weavers! We will continue to carry on your kind and encouraging method of teaching weaving to every new student that comes to the Craft Center. We miss you terribly already! Tina, for all

Another Tuesday in the Books!

We will get straight to the weavers and their projects! We will begin with the back row from Left to right. Linda is busy threading this lovely hand dyed warp and Laura is still weaving on the first placemat using her Mother's favorite pattern. (I'll come back to Laura when we get to show and tell)

Next we have Angela who is weaving a crammed and spaced towel project. Then Sally is weaving mug rugs, and her small overall pattern is a being woven in a lovely green!

Jenny has begun weaving that beautiful hand dyed warp that she was threading last week (the yarn is still on the banner above when I am writing this post)! Wendy is wowing us with her color sense on the project on her table loom!

Cathy's cloth beam is getting really full! and her Sister Nikki is making some eye dazzeling fabric with red and green weft!

I brought my Leksand band loom today to show to the band weavers amongst us. Marilyn was captivated by it and she kept giving me the eye and telling me I was enabling her! Then speaking of bands Alice is all about UT orange and white!

When Betsy settled in to thread the heddles for her next fabric, I saw that I was going to have to set the barn loom up for easier threading, luckily I have a barn loom at home so I knew what to do! I moved the lease sticks closer to the heddles and I pushed the swinging beater bar closer to the heddles as well. Then we placed a stool in the middle of the loom and helped Betsy literally get into the loom to thread!

Hey friends it is time for Show and Tell! Shannon made another purse using handwoven fabric, and leather. She told us she is keeping this one herself! Jenny hand dyed a rayon warp last Thursday when a few of the weavers got together to play with color!

Linda finished this lovely towel warp recently. She said that she followed Carol's advice to wind the white warp first then the colored stripes using a second warp stick and wind them on together. Thursday Laura was one of the weavers that played with color. She dyed some fabric to go with some 8/4 cotton some of which was from her Mother's stash, for rugs using once again her Mother's favorite rug pattern!

Mark had just a little bit of warp left over from his placemat project. So he combined his 2 different wefts and made a clever table mat!

That is all the news for today, join us next week for some more weaving fun! Until then, this is Tina for all

Tuesday is Happening!

I snapped a few pictures of the looms as I walked in early for once!

Before you know it the weavers began to file in, Alice came to work on her rigid heddle project that had been warped last week when there was a little more room on the white tables, after the bulk of the weavers had left.

Colleen is on the last towel on her Summer Winter towels and she has already picked out her next warp. It is a warp that she dyed during the last Dye day.

Betsy is putting a new warp on the old Barn Frame loom with a little help from some friends.

We used our lease stick holders again!

Marilyn has begun weaving on her towels after several re-threadings and re-sleying.

Mary, one of our newer weavers has finished her first warp! She is already talking about a floor loom! Of course after you cut the fabric off of the loom you need to stabilize the ends in whatever way seems neccesary.

Pearl is weaving a white with colors warp with a medium color in a tan/linen color which makes the twill runs really stand out!

Oh Hey! It is time for Show and Tell! Betsy wove some fabric at home last year and Laura took it home and made a lovely top out of it, and then Shannon loved it so much that it will never make it into the shop upstairs!!!!

Speaking of Shannon, she has made another bag or two using her handwoven fabric and a little bit of Inkle wove belt and cork fabric!

This Tuesday is done, the looms are closed and back in place in the corrall and the lights are out. We will be back next week with more weaving fun and who knows what else. Join us next week, until then this is Tina, for all!