Friday, August 6, 2010

Weaving Heroes- Part One

I had a fabulous and surprising time at Convergence, in the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico.
I figured I'd go, take some classes, do some shopping, get to visit with my friend Laverne and see some fantastic exhibits and demos. Well, I did all of that, but there was so much more that I did not expect.
Thanks to Alison Giachetti for inviting me to hang out and weave at the Weavolution booth. The whole world of who's who in weaving stopped by. (I also recommend reading  Laverne's stories about Convergence and seeing her photos here on her blog.)
The classes and lectures I took were great, but the most amazing things were the surprising contacts I made.
Everyday we use products that have the manufacturer's name on the label, but how often do you get to meet the person whose name that is? I had a stellar day when I got to meet BOTH  Barry Schacht of Schacht Spindle Company AND Richard Ashford of Ashford Handicrafts Ltd.
Mr. Schacht was minding his own business when I popped up and asked to shake the hand of the man whose name is on 3 of my inkle looms. He was very kind and stopped by the Weavolution booth later to visit when I was demonstrating there. I was thrilled to show off some of the things I have made on my Schacht looms.
My Ashford Inklette loom was the chosen one to come along to the conference with me as it is very petite and fits well in a suitcase. So there I was weaving some silk ribbon on the Ashford loom when along came Mr. Ashford and said "Nice loom."

He posed for some photos and kindly invited me to come to the Ashford booth and demonstrate. The next day I showed up prepared to weave lettering. I spent a couple of hours and made this piece which reads "Woven on an Ashford Inklette". That was fun.



Stay tuned for Part Two.

6 comments:

  1. How exciting! The inklette weaving looks just perfect. I'll bet you had a bevy of people watching and interested during that demo. Can't wait for part 2!

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  2. It sounds like you had a great time!!

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  3. What a great time! Love the colours on the lettered band. Must try lettering - so many things to learn.

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  4. Wow, very cool to meet Ashford and Schact (sounds like a singing duo... oh no wait, that was Ashford and Simpson). Wish I had been there. Maybe next year.

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  5. the vendor room is almost as exciting as the classes at convergence. I went to my last one in '96. Can;t wait for part 2

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  6. I think this has just been my lucky year! The timing was right and it was magic. I don't even know where the next one is going to be, but I'd like to go.

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