Monday, December 30, 2013




HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

DEEP COVE WEAVERS AND SPINNERS GUILD



FIRST MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR JANUARY 7TH

10:00 AM
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
MILLS RD / WEST SAANICH RD




LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!!


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

SEASONS GREETINGS

The Holiday Season officially kicked off with the Deep Cove Weavers and Spinners Guild annual Christmas luncheon.  This year we enjoyed the company of some of our past members.  It was great to catch up on what everyone has been doing and renew old friendships.  The joy of the occasion embodied the spirit of giving and I'm sure the warmth will carry on as we entertain our friends and family over the next couple of weeks.

The tradition of gift giving is especially exciting for those of us who lovingly handcraft items for special people on our list.  The anticipation of their reactions and the feeling of gratification when our hard work is acknowledged warms our hearts and inspires us to carry on.  The spirit of giving carries on to those less fortunate and what better way to show we care than with a warm article of clothing created with our hands.  The Deep Cove Weavers and Spinners proudly support the "Out of the Rain" project in Victoria and send our good wishes to the recipients of our labours.

As December comes to an end we reflect on the events of the past year and look forward to a creative New Year.

We wish you good health, the warmth of companionship and a Happy New Year!

Enjoy some of our favourite show and tell items from our Guild members.

Mary's beautiful shawl
Anita's colourful baby blanket
Tina's Rag Rugs
Anita's tea towels are a work of art!
Donna's Monks Belt Runners

Elaine's double weave Hammock
Isabel's Kaleidoscope Colours
Jo Anne's Spinning Wheel Bag
Kristin's prize winning afghan
Dave's Denim Rag Rugs
Fall Fair Prize winners












Saturday, November 23, 2013

A SAORI DAY

Terri Bibby, a SAORI weaving instructor from Salt Spring Island was the guest speaker at the Deep Cove Weavers & Spinners Guild meeting last Tuesday.  The tables were filled with books, equipment and a colourful array of clothing.

Terri explained that SAORI is a contemporary hand weaving program founded by a Japanese lady, Misao Jo about 40 years ago.  SAORI weaving was originally developed to be accessible to anyone, but especially those with disabilities.  Now weavers of all kinds use the methods and tools to enhance their own weaving experience.

In SAORI the weavers try to follow 4 slogans, because to free oneself from the conventional way of weaving is sometimes very challenging.

1)  Consider the difference between a machine and a human being.
2)  Be bold and adventurous.
3)  Let's look out through eyes that shine.
4)  Inspire one another, and everyone in the group.

The DCWS had a great time modelling the various creations from Terri's collection and were appreciative of the beautiful cloth.  Terri showed us how the garments were constructed and had us making paper patterns to demonstrate the simplicity of the designs.  Those who wished had a turn at the weaving loom and learned a few simple weaving techniques.  To learn more about SAORI weaving and Terri Bibby visit her website at: www.saorisaltspring.com

Here are a few pictures from our "SAORI Day" at the Guild.










Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fall 2013

October was a month full of events featuring art and handcrafted displays throughout the Saanich Peninsula.  It was nice to see the Deep Cove Weavers and spinners showing off their talents at several of the venues.




Our Guild was priviledged to host Richard Ashford, from Ashford Handicrafts in New Zealand.  Richard gave a presentation to our members and guests from the Victoria Guild; Tzouhalem Weavers and Salt Spring Island.  The audience was fully engaged as he demonstrated his techniques with the latest equipment.  For more information on Ashford visit their website at:  www.ashford.co.nz 











We are well into Fall and our thoughts turn to handcrafted gifts for family and friends.  A favourite amongst the Weavers is the tea towel.  There are so many design and colour combinations that the possibilities are limitless.





Let your imagination go and enjoy the simple pleasures of your craft.  What better way to embrace the beauty of this season.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Artsy October

The Deep Cove Weavers and Spinners & Friends have kicked started the “Art Scene” for the month with their display at the Sidney Museum.
Interesting, exciting, amazing! From the moment you walk in the door and are greeted with a 2’ tall felted blue heron; you know you’re in for something different. Enter the exhibition room and you are transported out of the Museum and into a colourful art gallery where the Artistic Licence : Cross Pollination show comes to life. Try to figure out who inspired whom in this interesting collaboration between artists. From starfish to armadillos it is a must see show on the circuit for October.


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Visit our “Events & News” page to see what else is happening on the Saanich Peninsula this month.


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

September Inspirations

September started off with a full day at the Saanich Fall Fair. The Deep Cove Weavers and Spinners were engaged with the crowd through weaving demonstrations, needle felting, wet felting and a very popular off loom weaving project. Both adults and children enjoyed creating their handcrafted Fish.


 
The first meeting back at the Guild included a business meeting followed by a vibrant show and tell.

 
Members were proudly showing off their prize-winning projects from the Fair and a great array of articles completed over the summer.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

August 2013 – Summer News and Fall Preparations

The wheels are still spinning outside the CACSP Art Gallery in Tulista Park on Tuesday mornings; gathering attention from lots of tourists and locals passing by. The DCWS Guild will be wrapping up the “spinning in the park” on September 3rd.
The DCWS have been busy in the community this summer. We were seen at the Thursday Night Market in Sidney at a booth with our CACSP friends and pets. It seems ‘Spike” was also interested in the wheel.
We were pleased to be part of the scene at the North Saanich Farm Market on August 3rd and again as a “Flavour Trail” participant August 24th. A very enjoyable morning was spent listening to the music in the background as we demonstrated spinning, weaving and needle felting techniques. This was a good warm up for the upcoming Saanich Fall Fair, where we will be doing more of the same on Sunday September 1st.


 
Some of our members attended the activities at ‘Fibrations’. Weavers use all sorts of fibres and produce interesting shapes.

Check out the “Events & News” page on this website to see what’s happening in our Community and at the Guild. September 10th is our first Fall Guild meeting where we are looking forward to a big “Show & Tell” of Fall Fair entries and Summer Challenge projects. This is also membership renewal day and a good opportunity for those interested in the Guild to come and see what we are all about.




Friday, July 26, 2013

Welcome to the first posting on our new site.

The DCWS Guild members have been busy out and about in the Community this summer. 
We were invited to the Deep Cove School’s 100thAnniversary the last week in June. It was fun to see the faces of the children as they participated in demonstrations of Carding, Drop Spindle, Spinning Wheel, Inkle Loom, Table Looms, Needle Felting and making Rope. We were a tired group after repeating the demos to several classes from Kindergarten to Grade 5. 


Saturday July 20th a few of our members could be seen at the Heritage Fair in Pioneer Park. A nice sunny day brought lots of people out to see demonstrations of the carder, drop spindle and spinning wheels.


Spinning with dog hair is always a good conversation starter.


A ‘Spin Off ‘ group of the DCWS meets regularly outside the CACSP Art Gallery at Tulista Park on Tuesdays (10-12). There are always people stopping to see the wheels spinning and chat with our colourful group. Drop by and see what we are up to. Don’t Spin? Bring your knitting and join us for the morning.