Back in the May/June 2010 issue of Handwoven, we introduced the Handwoven Study Groups as part of our new website. Since that time, lots of you have joined a group. Your first job was to weave a sample, due January 1st.
The next phase of study is to weave a final project, due April 1st. This can be any type of fabric, from curtain to rug to scarf to vest. Study Group members will post photos of their pieces by April 1st to the Weaving Today Study Groups gallery under Galleries. Your editors will select one piece from each group to photograph for the 2012 Handwoven calendar (one photo will appear for each month plus the cover photo and the photo for January 2013). To see what it will be like if your piece is selected, check out the Handwoven calendar for 2011 (there is still a chance for you to get one—this calendar is a weaver’s delight, with dates of interest to weavers—conferences, for example— already written in for you).
There are fourteen study groups, and the subjects cover the gamut of weave structures, from plain weave to lace weaves to shadow weave to doubleweave. If you haven’t seen what’s been going on in the study groups, click on Forums, then on Weaving Today Study Groups, and start reading. We’ve loved seeing the shared questions and the depth of learning that has been taking place in many of the groups.
We’re also thinking of making the study groups ongoing. We’d love your thoughts on this and your suggestions for study group topics (what would YOU most like to study). To let us know, click here.
There are many advantages to online study groups—not just for weavers who live too far away to belong to a guild group. When someone asks a question and it is answered by the mentor, the question and the answer are there for everyone to see (no worry about “missing” a meeting). You can ask your question any time, day or night. You can reread the answers to questions without relying on your memory or capacity to take notes. If you are having trouble at your loom, you can immediately post a photo and get help. Best of all, being in an online study group puts you in contact with weavers from all over the world, not just with those living near you.
So, if you’re already in a group, start weaving that project. When you’re finished, take a photo of the full piece and a detail or two and post it on your forum by April 1st. We can’t wait to see them!
––Madelyn