In this issue...

Visit www.montanaweavespin.org

Check out the

new MAWS website for

info and photos!

MAWSMontana Association of Weavers and Spinners

July, 2016

MAWS President’s MessageGreetings,

I am still reveling in the afterglow of the 2016 MAWS conference, Fibers on the Flathead! The com-bination of a glorious lakeside setting, superior class offerings for both new and seasoned fiberists, and the special camaraderie we share when we gather togeth-er, made this MAWS conference extraordinary for me.

Our deep gratitude and appreciation (hugs!) go out to co-chairwomen Joan Goldstein and Carole Bagin-ski, and the Alpine Weavers and Spinners Guild for organizing and orchestrating the Fibers on the Flat-head magic. Now, after two years of work, it’s time to warp up your own loom in an intriguing threading or spin up an inspiring fleece…and rest!

Congratulations to the 2016 MAWS “Living Trea-sures” Bonnie Tarses and Linda Shelhamer. I am deeply honored to be in your talented company!

Many thanks to Kathy O’Hern, Bev Polk, the Boze-man Weavers’ Guild and the Alpine Guild for their help in creating Lakeside Story, our open show of Montana fiber arts; the show was unique and welcom-ing. Thanks to Deb Essen, Marty Walters and Melissa Arnold for generously sharing their judging expertise with us. We coveted the colorful show ribbons woven by Marcy Foran, Laura Bennett and Connie Simonich.

I wish to personally thank these retiring board members for their commitment to MAWS and for sharing their time, wisdom, and vision during their tenures on the board: Sylvia Talsma, (past president) Kathy O’Hern (web coordinator) and Mary Melander, Julienne Valentine, Vanetta Burton and Bev Polk (MAL, members at large).

And I would like to extend a warm MAWS welcome to these newly elected board members for the 2016-2018 term: Sharon Schroeder (web coordinator), Lindsey Henson (HGA representative), Dawn Ahlert (MAL, Central Montana), Melody Murter (MAL, Bill-ings), Anita Krueger (MAL, Bozeman), Terri Schaub (MAL, Missoula) and Ann Keenan (MAL, Kalispell). I look forward to our first meeting together in October.

Volunteers are made of gold! You know who you are, so thanks to each and every one of you for your contributions both large and small. “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” -- Helen Keller

I weave on,Susan LohmullerMAWS President

Board Members . . . . . . . p . 2Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . p . 2Surviving Fibers on the Flathead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 3Convention Photos . . . . p . 3-6Open Show Winners . . . p . 5No Strings Attached . . . . p . 7Calling all Crocheters and Knitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 8-9Raven Ridge Happenings p . 10Alpine Weavers and Spinners Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . p . 11MAWS Board Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 12Treasurer’s Report . . . . . p . 13Missoula Weavers Guild Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . p . 14True Living Treasure . . . . p . 15Upcoming Events . . . . . . p . 16MAWS Grants . . . . . . . . . p . 17

President - Susan Lohmuller P.O. Box 522Lewistown, MT 59457406-538-2596 • susanlohmuller@gmail.com

Past President - Sylvia TalsmaP.O. Box 793Ronan, MT 59864406-833-2810 • c402bbblack@yahoo.com

Treasurer - Linda Shelhamer446 Tabriz DriveBillings, MT 59105406-259-9160 • shara@bresnan.net

Newsletter Editor/Secretary - Tracey Hensen1016 W. MontanaLewistown, MT 59457406-366-3738 • traceyhensen@gmail.com

Internet Coordinator - Sharon Schroederjimandsharon.schroeder@gmail.com

HGA Representative - Lindsey Henson

Barb French - 2018 Conference Chair

Lindsey Henson - 2018 Vice-Chair

Joan Goldstein - 2016 Conference Chair

Members-at-Large

Dawn Ahlert - Central Montana

Melody Murter - Billings

Anita Krueger - Bozeman

Terri Schaub - Missoula

Ann Keenan - Kalispell

Gwen Haferkamp - Eastern Montana136 Sam Leo RoadMiles City, MT 59301406-234-7603 • gwenmrh@midrivers.com

Classified ads are free to MAWS members. Send your ads to traceyhensen@gmail.com by

October 1st for inclusion in the next newsletter.

For Sale: (Via Linda Shelhamer) I received these pictures from DiAnne Wilder in Kalispell who has her loom for sale. It is a 8 Harness J-Made Loom which is 45” wide and has 10 treadles. The treadles can lock. This includes many accessories and extra heddles. She paid $3000 for it and wants offers of a similar price. Her contact info is DiAnne Wilder, 675 Second Avenue E, Kalispell, MT. Home phone: 406-257-2074; cell: 406-750-7040; djwilder@live.com

For Sale: (Via Judie Overbeek) A walking wheel for members to consider. Helen Gray is the owner, wants to downsize due to her husband’s illness and has no idea what to ask for it. Maybe some-one out there in MAWSland would be interested enough to give her a call about it. I think it’s in pretty good shape and most of its parts are there. It may be missing the drive band. Walking wheel, made 1860’s Appalachia (Kentucky), maybe walnut. If interested Helen Gray, 1488 Helena Flats Road, Kalispell, 756-1411.

For Sale: I have a Patrick Green carder with a 7 inch drum, which is very clean (no rust). It has been inside my weaving room since I bought it, and I just don’t card any more, I’ve decided to sell it. I am asking $350 for it. Thank you. Carol Roehm, Boze-man 587-3990 or cell 581-1551.

FOR SALE!

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Surviving Fibers on the Flathead, With the Help of Friends

by Joan Goldstein

Alpine Weavers and Spinners Guild announces the successful survival of Fibers on the Flathead. The venue for the MAWS 2016 Conference proved to be a tactical challenge with a total of about 140 people and a lot of ground to cover. Fortunately, volunteerism was unprecedented. Guilds around the state signed up for portions of the job, and board members took on the open show, producing the stupendous Lakeside Story Gallery. Attendees arrived early to help, and local guild members, family and friends filled in the void when needs surpassed the woman-power. An Open Market and Visitors’ Day brought in 35 people (beyond the total above) to see the gallery and support the vendors. Available space limited the number of vendors to 11 (a blessing to the sellers,) but a variety of products was offered. Feedback did point out a shortage of weaving supplies, a regional issue due to the move of the U.S. Glimakra dealer-ship from Clancy, Montana to Oregon.

For some people, the camp with dormitory sleeping would not have been their preference, but many attendees felt the beautiful lakeside setting was the true Montana experience. Those weaving in an unheated cabin on a cool, windy day rose to the homestead spirit, as if they were weaving in the barn to clothe their family. The weather would not have been our choice, but the dining hall was warm and accommodating. Robyn Spady’s entertaining keynote speech, Finding Your Fiber Path, offered good advice and produced a lot of laughter. Who could not be touched by the accep-tance speeches of the new Living Treasures, Susan Lohmuller, Linda Shelhamer and Bonnie Tarses? Those attending the pre-conference were also treated to a presentation by AWSG member Glenda Smith, The Clothing and Weaving Worn by the People in Myanmar.

And now MAWS and the Bozeman guild turn their attention to planning the next conference to be held at Big Sky in June of 2018. May the spirit of volunteerism continue, with great expectations of joining our fiber arts friends again.

Photos by Vicki Faulkner

2016 Living Treasures (from left)

Bonnie Tarses, Linda

Shelhamer and Susan Lohmuller

Living Treasures in attendance at

MAWS 2016 were (from left) Judith

Colvin, Milly Dover, Annette

Cade, Susan Lohmuller, Joan

Contraman, Mary Melander,

Bonnie Tarses, Joanne Hall and Linda Shelhamer

Carole Baginski and Joan Goldstein

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Visit www.montanaweavespin.org

Please visit the new MAWS website at montanaweavespin.org or the MAWS Facebook page for

more convention photos. Sylvia Talsma

The plant dying class. Photo by Edie Schilz

Robin enjoying one of the cabins by the lake.

A lovely group gathered together for fun and fiber.

Photos by Vicki Faulkner

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Lakeside Story Open Show Awards, MAWS 2016

Functional Non-Wearable1. Kathy O’Hern2. Diane Butler3. Vanetta Burton

Functional Wearable1. Linda Shelhamer2. Roxanne Zahller3. Sharon Schroeder

Best Decorative1. Kathy O’Hern2. Barb French3. Roxanne Zahller

Best Handspun1. Roxanne Zahller2. Roxanne Zahller3. Sylvia Talsma

Best Use of Handspun1. Judie Overbeek2. Cathy Marquard3. Cathy Marquard

Best of ShowKathy O’Hern

People’s ChoiceSharon Schroeder

Judges’ ChoiceBarb French

HGA AwardKathy O’Hern

Best Fiber Stories1. Susan Lohmuller2. Judie Overbeek3. Judie Overbeek4. Edie Schilz- Best Self-help Story5. Sharon Schroeder- Best Lake Story6. Mary Melander- Best Learning Story

Weaving art by Kathy O’Hern

Photos by Tracey Hensen

Yarn by Roxanne Zahller

Harlequin Vest by Sharon

Schroeder

“Kitty Dreams”

hand painted batik by

Anne Giuliano

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Photos by Tracey Hensen

Marvelous weather (above) on campfire night (below) made for a fine finish to the 2016 convention.Laura Bennett of Lewistown spins

in Jane Fournier’s color class.

Sea Urchin Pendants

Fan Mittens

Tapestry by Joanne

Hall

Please visit the new MAWS website at montanaweavespin.org or the MAWS Facebook page for

more convention photos.

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This is a long story with strings attached. Around 1980 my husband built me a loom. He was an aspir-ing young cabinetmaker and thought the construction of a loom would be a relatively simple undertaking. All we needed were a few measurements from the loom a friend had brought to Montana after having spent a year in Sweden. I thought the quaint Gunar Anderssons loom was enchanting. He measured it up.

The 48 inch Swedish-style loom he built from those measurements was a beauty with turned oak roll-

ers (we opted out of the “horse” counterbalance mechanism), a heavy oak overhead beater and dark walnut side rails. I tied string heddles with seine twine, learned how to tie up treadle cords using a lark’s head knot, and wove rag rugs out of old draperies while my babies crawled around under the loom, which occu-pied about half of the living space in our house. But the children grew and the loom was eventually disas-sembled and stored in the rafters of the garage. This is not a new story, just long, as I mentioned.

In 1999 my daughter was married and vacated a precious room in our house. I set my loom up again the day after the wedding, ordered new Texsolv heddles and dug out the colorful tubes of rug warp I had saved. Eventually I became dissatisfied with four harnesses so my husband modified the loom adding a jack box and four more shafts. We transformed the loom into a countermarche by adding a second set of lamms and a Texsolv tie up system. In addition, my husband milled four more treadles and added an oak treadle gate (copied from a friend’s Cranbrook). Eventually he also replaced the lower lamms using longer, lighter weight slats to improve the loom’s balance. I wove rag rugs and the loom worked well. It wove well, that is, until I warped it for the first time with (gasp!) fine threads. I am not talking 2/120 silk here. By “fine”, I mean 10/2! My unique loom began, on that day, to consume a steady diet of selvedge threads, one by one, warp by warp, year in, year out.

The constant breakage of selvedge threads became a given in my weaving world. I sometimes took it personally, “Real weavers don’t break selvedge threads.” I embraced end feed shuttles and reveled in the infintesimal tension adjustment they offer. I perfected my shuttle throw particularly from left to right as I am right handed. A new fine-toothed ratchet helped smooth out warp tension. I sought the advice of ex-perts on how to beam a perfect warp in fine threads. I became especially adept at repairing broken threads both on and off the loom. But the truth is I was a production weaver enslaved by broken selvedge threads. After years of tweaking and adjusting, nothing seemed to alleviate the problem. At one point, after a par-ticularly frustrating warp of 16/2 cotton, my husband suggested, “Maybe you should sell the loom.” And break my weaving heart? I wove on.

Recently I wove 15 yards of gebrochene twill runners on a watery-blue 10/2 warp managing to break only a thread or two per runner; after 17 years I was getting that good! Inspired, I warped another 15 yards this time in the warm reds and oranges reminiscent of the Utah desert, and sat down at the loom…

I believe it was divine intervention. Maybe the exasperated weaving muse resting on my shoulder had just had enough of the struggle. Or perhaps the spirit of Mary Atwater was hovering nearby in utter disbe-lief and could not resist whispering a suggestion. (It’s plausible, she used to live around here.) Or it could have been one of my Swedish ancestors crossing the globe on a whim to drop by and check on my weaving state of affairs. Whatever the case, I take no credit for my actions.

I stood up from the loom, walked around to the back and crawled underneath. I raised the upper lamms ½ inch and lowered the lower lamms ½ inch. I moved the beater back 1 ½ inches in its cradle and then lowered it by a mere ½ inch. For all these years the beater had been suspended by two old paintbrushes stuck into the same holes. And then I sat down and wove fifteen yards of runners in a starry twill pattern without breaking a single thread. Not one.

We used to throw three pennies seeking sage advice from the venerable text of the “I Ching”; in my case, the counsel would most likely have been, “Perserverance Furthers.” On that note, my personal advice to perplexed or challenged weavers (and wouldn’t that include all of us at one time or another?) is to just keep weaving. Weave on! And I sincerely hope that someday you, too, will receive a hot tip from your muse.

To be honest, I just can’t stop smiling at my new selvedges! And I’ll bet my muse is just as delighted as I am.

Susan LohmullerLewistown, MT

No Strings Attached: A Weaver’s Story

Fan Mittens

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* art * community * inspiration

Calling All Crocheters & Knitters!!!!

BACC is embarking on our first community art collaboration. We are seeking

people who crochet and knit from all levels--beginners to experts. We need

teachers as well as those who want to learn crochet and knitting techniques--

from simple to complex. BACC is seeking contributions of crochet and knitting

which will then be incorporated into one or more large crochet/ knit

collaborative artworks--in the spirit of Prudence Mapstone's collaborative

crochet Flower Power art project (in the photo below). The finished work will be

the centerpiece of our upcoming exhibition: Uncommon Threads: A Celebration of

Fiber Arts-- on view from August 24 - September 24th, 2016. The Opening

Reception will be on August 26th from 5 -7. Please join us (see other side for

more project details).

Bigfork Art & Cultural Center (BACC) 525 Electric Avenue, Bigfork MT 59911 406.837.6927 bigforkculture.org B

23 June 2016

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IMPORTANT: Due to the nature of the project, your crochet/knit contributions cannot be returned. The collaborative artwork will become a part of BACC’s Permanent Art Collection and will be exhibited during Uncommon Threads and other future exhibitions.

Grab your Hooks & Needles * Sign Up * Get Involved * BE A TEACHER * BE A STUDENT * BE A CONTRIBUTOR * HOST A CROCHET/KNIT PARTY

*ATTEND A CLASS

(Schedule to be announced soon--check our website for updates: bigforkculture.org)

TO SIGN UP, PLEAE SEND US AN EMAIL.

Send your email to:

info@bigforkculture.org

Please include your name, address, & phone number. Tell us how you would like to be involved: to teach, learn, contribute, host a crochet/knit party????? Let us know if you know how to crochet or knit or that you want to learn.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL BACC's DIRECTOR:

Valerie Vadala Homer

406-837-6927

BACC Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 5 (closed Sunday & Monday)

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Happenings at Raven Ridge Fiber Arts

11

Alpine Weavers and Spinners GuildSubmitted by

Judie Overbeek

Ann Keenan with her needle felted critters

Vicki Faulkner and Linda Kittle enjoying outdoor dye day.

Donna Carlson with her many baskets

Karl Leonard from New Zealand talks about the spinning and weaving of the Maori people.

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MAWS Board Meeting MinutesMAWS Board Meeting June 24

Submitted by Tracey Hensen, Secretary

Members present were Barbara French, Kathy O'Hern, Vanetta Burton, Julienne Valentine, Laura Heck, Susan Lohmuller, Sylvia Callentine, Tracey Hensen, Gwen Hafferkamp, Mary Melander, Joan Goldstein, Sharon Schroeder, Linda Shelhamer, and Lindsey Henson.

Sylvia called the meeting to order at 4:45 p.m. First order of business was the Living Treasure nomination process. The board decided to put more information in the next newsletter to get MAWS members thinking about the next nomina-tions. Several of the recently submitted letters were very well written and others were very short and not well written. The concern was that the guidelines weren't completely followed and it made it hard to decide which people were actually quali-fied for the award. The board agreed to discuss this at the next meeting.

Linda Shelhamer gave the treasurer's report. She reported that the Alpine Guild did a great job making sure all the convention attendees paid their MAWS dues this year. The dues and other details are reflected in the report on page 13 this newsletter. Linda will request a review of the MAWS account in writing, as per the policy hand-book, to be conducted by one or more qualified persons named by the president. The report will be submitted to the newly elected treasurer and pres-ident.

Joan gave the conference report. Attendance numbers were great and there was only one last minute cancelation.

Susan gave the new members report. She will be dealing with the nominations for new officers at tomorrow's general membership meeting. She was only missing a nomination for a member at large

from Helena. She decided to open the nomination up to include more of Central Montana. Dawn Ahlert from Ennis is now the nominee for this position. We also need an HGA representative. Susan explained to the board what the HGA rep would be expected to do.

Kathy O'Hern gave her final website report. Sharon Schroeder is the nominee for web mistress. She will be revamping the website using a new platform as the old platform will not work with Mac computers. The new website will have to have another domain name. The board decided that as long as the new domain included "maws" that Kathy and Sharon could choose the domain. They would like to have the transition completed by July 15. Sharon said the cost is $6.46 per month for the first month. Members will need to resubmit their classified ads and they will be online for 60 days.

Linda moved that we move to the new website option as outlined by Kathy and Sharon. Tracey seconded. The board unanimously agreed.

Barb French gave her report on the status of the 2018 convention. It was moved by Tracey to adjourn the meeting. Linda seconded. The meeting adjourned at 5:34 p.m.

MAWS General Membership Meeting June 24

Sylvia called the meeting to order. Susan pre-sented the slate of officers for the upcoming term, 2016-2018 and asked each nominee to stand up. Susan asked for nominations from the floor of which there were none. Tracey Hensen moved to approved the slate as presented, Joan Goldstein seconded. Vote was by a show of hands, motion approved. Sylvia thanked the retiring board mem-bers for their service. Vanetta Burton made a motion to adjourn and the motion was seconded. The meeting was adjourned.

Send in your stories and photos!As always, it is your user-submitted content

that helps makes this newsletter great. Please email any photos or articles you have that relate to your

guild, fiber, fiber animals or anything MAWS related to traceyhensen@gmail.com or tag me

(Tracey Hensen) in your fibery Facebook posts!

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Treasurer’s ReportSubmitted by Linda Shelhamer

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Submitted by Heather Torgenrud

Exchange Towels Galore!Photos (at right) by Heather Torgenrud

The towels were woven a variety of weave structures,including plain weave, point twill, twill stripes with

plain weave, huck, and shadow weave. And they were woven on a variety of looms. Nancy Edwards used eight shafts for her turned twill block pattern. Shelley Devine used a rigid heddle loom with a 10-dent reed, warping two strands of 8/2 cotton through each hole and slot. Shelley says, “I enjoyed weaving them; it is so peaceful.”

Many of the towels were woven in color-and-weave patterns because of the study group theme, and many were woven in the MAWS Conference colors of blue, green, and yellow. It was left up to the recipient wheth-er to submit the towel to decorate our Guild booth at the June conference. Sometimes the weaver had woven extra towels from the same warp for the Guild booth.

Twenty-four towels were put into the exchange by thirteen members. Karla Long had already done the work of dividing up the towels at home: On a tag she marked each towel with the weaver’s name, then she placed names in a bag, drawing them one-by-one and marking each tag with the recipient’s name.

Vanetta Burton and Jo Bernofsky collaborated and bartered to create this Overshot Quilt.

Before Vanetta went to Spain she began weaving nine Nassau Blue (5/2 Perle cotton) and Natural (10/2 Perle cotton) overshot squares, as well as yards and yards of plain weave strips. Making use of the strip sel-vedges, the squares were connected by a double sewing machine seam. The quilt was backed with a fine cotton sheet in Natural color and tied with Nassau Blue Perle cotton. In exchange for the quilt, Jo created for Vanetta and her husband Larry three large clay planters and fired them in three different Anagama wood kiln fir-ings. The planters had leaf and bark carved surfaces.

The quilt was made for Jo’s son David. Upon receiv-ing it he said, “I bet there is no other blanket like this anywhere in the world.”

—Vanetta Burton & Jo Bernofsky

Missoula Weavers Guild Happenings

June 2016 | Tromp as Writ 4

Exchange Towels Galore!

Photos: Heather Torgenrud

The towels were woven a variety of weave structures, including plain weave, point twill, twill stripes with plain weave, huck, and shadow weave. And they were woven on a variety of looms. Nancy Edwards used eight shafts for her turned twill block pattern. Shelley Devine used a rigid heddle loom with a 10-dent reed, warping two strands of 8/2 cotton through each hole and slot. Shelley says, “I enjoyed weaving them; it is so peaceful.”

Many of the towels were woven in color-and-weave patterns because of the study group theme, and many were woven in the MAWS Conference colors of blue, green, and yellow. It was left up to the recipient whether to submit the towel to decorate our Guild booth at the June conference. Sometimes the weaver had woven extra towels from the same warp for the Guild booth.

Twenty-four towels were put into the exchange by thirteen members. Karla Long had already done the work of divid-ing up the towels at home: On a tag she marked each towel with the weaver’s name, then she placed names in a bag, drawing them one-by-one and marking each tag with the recipient’s name.

June 2016 | Tromp as Writ 6

Vanetta Burton and Jo Bernofsky col-laborated and bartered to create this Overshot Quilt.

Before Vanetta went to Spain she began weaving nine Nassau Blue (5/2 Perle cotton) and Natural (10/2 Perle cotton) overshot squares, as well as yards and yards of plain weave strips.

Making use of the strip selvedges, the squares were connected by a double sewing machine seam. The quilt was backed with a fine cotton sheet in Natural color and tied with Nassau Blue Perle cotton.

In exchange for the quilt, Jo created for Vanetta and her husband Larry three large clay planters and fired them in three differ-ent Anagama wood kiln firings. The planters had leaf and bark carved surfaces.

The quilt was made for Jo’s son David. Upon receiving it he said, “I bet there is no other blanket like this anywhere in the world.”—Vanetta Burton & Jo Bernofsky

Vanetta and Jo Collaborate

Photos courtesy Vanetta Burton and Jo Bernofsky

June 2016 | Tromp as Writ 6

Vanetta Burton and Jo Bernofsky col-laborated and bartered to create this Overshot Quilt.

Before Vanetta went to Spain she began weaving nine Nassau Blue (5/2 Perle cotton) and Natural (10/2 Perle cotton) overshot squares, as well as yards and yards of plain weave strips.

Making use of the strip selvedges, the squares were connected by a double sewing machine seam. The quilt was backed with a fine cotton sheet in Natural color and tied with Nassau Blue Perle cotton.

In exchange for the quilt, Jo created for Vanetta and her husband Larry three large clay planters and fired them in three differ-ent Anagama wood kiln firings. The planters had leaf and bark carved surfaces.

The quilt was made for Jo’s son David. Upon receiving it he said, “I bet there is no other blanket like this anywhere in the world.”—Vanetta Burton & Jo Bernofsky

Vanetta and Jo Collaborate

Photos courtesy Vanetta Burton and Jo Bernofsky

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Missoula Weavers Guild Happenings

MAWS Creating Teachers DatabaseMAWS is routinely asked for the name of teachers of weaving, spinning, dyeing and other

fiber arts by its guild and others. We want to create a spreadsheet of teachers names, addresses, emails, etc. so that we can send them out to MAWS members who are organizing classes.

Please send information about the classes you teach along with your address, phone number, email address to Linda Shelhamer, shara@bresnan.net or mail to 446 Tabriz Drive, Billings, MT 59105. We will not be posting any addresses, etc. online without your specific approval. Any questions call Linda at 406-259-9160.

by Sarah Pilgrim

On Saturday June 25, at MAWS 2016, Fiber on the Flathead, Su-san Lohmuller, Linda Shelham-mer, and Bonnie Tarses were each awarded the MAWS 2016 Living Treasure.

Each of these women has made an important contribution to Mon-tana's weaving community, and today we are better for their being among us.

Since I know Susan Lohmuller better than I know the others, I'd like to share briefly with you her

particular contributions.

Susan is a teacher by nature.

Looking around the room at the awards ceremony and seeing Kathy O'Hearn, Anita Krueger, or Mar-cy Foran was enough to understand how pro-found an influence Su-san's teaching has had on many, many lives.

Susan taught a be-ginning weaving class one winter at Barb French's weaving shop

in Boze-man. With that class she launched several weavers. Among those is Kathy O'Hern who won "Best of Show" at MAWS's open show this year. Kathy came from West Yellowstone to Boz-eman every Saturday for ten weeks to participate in that class. That's how great an inspiration Su-san was to Kathy. Since then, Kathy has gone on to advance in her weav-ing with the solid base that Susan provided.

Another very note-worthy class Susan of-fered was her rag weav-ing class. She shared her years of experience in weaving techniques and

dyeing methods. Anita Krueger took that class and the Bozeman Weavers Guild saw one of its own blossom into the accomplished rug weaver Anita is today. Anita will

tell you that weaving has changed her life. One only needed to see her parading in the Style Show with her stunning rug for confirmation. Once again, Susan pro-foundly influenced a life with her teaching and mentoring.

Susan's move to Lewistown and the lack of a guild there did not slow her

down. Her solution? Teach be-ginning weaving then form a guild. Out of that beginning weaving class came some very good weav-ers, which is the only possible re-sult under Susan's tutelage. An example of that is Marcy Foran who proudly wore her beautiful handwoven ruana at MAWS 2016. Wherever she was on campus, that ruana was another reminder of Susan's very positive influence on weavers' lives.

And that's what makes a Living Treasure!

Congratulations to all our Liv-ing Treasures, most especially to our most recent ones.

And thank you for your numer-ous contributions to our weaving lives.One of Susan’s weavings.

Photo by Tracey Hensen

Susan Lohmuller, True Living Treasure

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Sept. 2-4, 2016 - Festival of the Thread, Livings-ton, www.thefestivalofthethread.com Sept. 24, 2016 - Prairie Handspinners First An-nual Fiber Fest. This is a One day, Free Event Sep-tember 24, 2016, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm held in-doors at the Billings Convention Center. Sponsored by the Prairie Handspinners Guild. October 5-9, 2016 - 20th Annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Idaho. Visit www.trailin-gofthesheep.org.

October 17-22 - 2016 - International Fungi and Fibre Symposium in Madeira Park, British Colum-bia, Canada, http://fungiandfibre2016.org,fungiandfibre2016@gmail.comJune 26-July 2, 2017 - Treadle Lightly 2017 ANWG Conference at the University of Victoria hosted by The Victoria Handweavers’ and Spin-ners’ Guild. More information at http://www.an-wgconference2017.com/.June 13-17, 2018 - MAWS 2018! Yellowstone Conference Center at Big Sky

Summer and Fall 2016 Classes

At Eugene Textile Center

Dyeing Ice Dyeing, August 17

Intro to Natural Dyeing , August 20Eco Print, August 31st

Mushroom Dyeing Sept 25

FeltingMixed Media felted Scarf October 5

Rug HookingNantucket Rug Hooking Sept 14

SpinningIntroduction to Spindle Spinning,

August 13Roving Reveal, Sept 3

Get to Know Your Wheel, October 1Feast Art Yarns Nov 2

Beginning Spinning, Dec 3

Surface DesignSerti Method for Silk Painting,

Sat & Sun, August 13 & 14Block Printing, September 10

Introduction to Katazome, Sept 17-18Thermofax Screen Printing, October 8

Heat Transfer Techniques, October 28-29-30

Shibori Techniques on Leather, November 11-12-13

Weaving

Rigid Heddle Weaving, August 20Warp & Weft Ikat Weaving, Thur - Sun August 25 -28

Beginning Weaving, Thursdays Sept 8, 15, 22, 29

Pine Needle Coiled Necklace, Oct 8Pine Needle Basket, Nov 5-6

Weaving Refresher, by appointment

More classes are added throughout the year.

PLANNING AHEAD for MAWS 2018!In our efforts to start

planning ahead for the MAWS 2018, the Bozeman Weavers Guild will be sending out a

survey in the fall to get your input and suggestions for

presenters and session topics. The survey will come to each MAWS member through an

email by Survey Monkey, asking for instructors and

topics that YOU would like to see in our next conference.

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Next Newsletter deadline is October 1, 2016.Email articles to Tracey Hensen at traceyhensen@gmail.com

Or snail mail: 1016 W. Montana, Lewistown, MT 59457Phone: 406-366-3738

Note: You can place quarter page paid ads for $15 an issue. Our newsletter reaches over 300 fiber artists. Contact Tracey Hensen: traceyhensen@gmail.com.

Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners (MAWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.Membership runs from November 1st through December 31st. Annual dues are $8 and include

a newsletter subscription. To join MAWS, send dues to: Linda Shelhamer, 446 Tabriz Drive, Billings, MT 59105. She can be reached at 406-259-9160 or by emailing shara@bresnan.net.

Donations to help offset expenses are gladly accepted and can be mailed to Linda.

Order of Rotation for MAWS

Conferences:Bozeman - 2018

HelenaBillings

MissoulaGreat Falls

Alpine

Dues policy for MAWS Guilds are encouraged to have the

date their dues are due be October 1st so that MAWS dues could then be sent

to Linda by November 1st. Thank you for your consideration.

Four MAWS Workshop grants of up to $250 each are available to member guilds at the discretion of the board. No grants are offered on conference years. These are used to help defray the expense of bringing an instructor to the host city. Participation in the workshop must be made available to MAWS mem-bers state-wide and must be advertised through the MAWS newsletter or by correspondence with the other MAWS guilds. Registration should be open on a date specified in the announcement of the workshop. Local guild members

will also be held to that date (no early registrations). Requests should contain the following information:

- Instructor name- Classes to be offered- Dates, time and place of workshop- Total cost to guild- Maximum number of participants- Plan for communicating to MAWS

members- Beginning registration date After the workshop is over, the host

guild will send the board a written re-port to include the following:

- Number of participants- A description of the workshop

content- How you liked it/or didn’t- Some photos if possible- Anything else you think might be

useful! The intent is to give future workshop

planners some concrete information about the instructor, their classes and teaching success.

Contact MAWS president Sylvia Cal-lantine (see page 2) with questions.