As craftsmen/women, members of the Guild are encouraged to share their knowledge and skills with their community. This can be accomplished through an individual process (one on one), but also can occur through members of the Guild coming together to present at various events and functions on southern Vancouver Island. The Guild supports this with assistance in organizing for the events, provision of equipment, etc. Inquiries and/or suggestions for Outreach can be sent to outreach@vhwsg.ca.
The following events have traditionally requested Guild volunteer involvement:
Victoria Highland Games (Long weekend in May)
Fibrations (Third Sunday in August)
Saanich Fair (September long weekend)
Metchosin Days (September)
Metchosin Sheep Dog Trials (September)
Follow this link for current CALLs for VOLUNTEERS (members only). You can sign up to volunteer for shifts at public events.
Guests are welcome at our regular meetings. In addition, the public are welcome to join in our Drop-In Evenings held in person on the last Tuesday of every month 7pm (except December) at St. Luke’s Church Hall on Cedar Hill X Road. We also hold a Drop-in on Zoom on the second Tuesday of every month 7pm – members will automatically receive an email invitation, others may request an invitation to attend by sending email to outreach@vhwsg.ca.
Current Guild Activities
Bring your finished projects and your Bingo Card, and with your hard work win a Bingo prize. Lynda and Brenda will also be leading another small challenge at the meeting.
Doors open at 6:30 so you can peruse
- the Free Table (items brought by guild members to be taken home by others without charge),
- the Library (full members can sign out books and or magazines for a month or until the next meeting) and
- items brought for the ‘Show and Tell’ table.
The business meeting will begin at 7 pm followed by the Bingo draw and show & tell.
Doors open at 6:30 so you can peruse
- the Free Table (items brought by guild members to be taken home by others without charge),
- the Library (full members can sign out books and or magazines for a month or until the next meeting) and
- items brought for the ‘Show and Tell’ table.
The business meeting will begin at 7 pm followed by members displaying items they have made and telling some details about it. Many of the items will be fresh from display and judging from the Saanich Fair. Lynda and Brenda are also planning a wee group project to end the meeting – details to be disclosed at the meeting.
Regular activities include access to the Library, a free table and lots of time for visiting with fibre friends.
Learn the vocabulary and basic skills of making your own fabric on a 4-shaft loom. The instructors will lead you through making a warp and dressing a loom as well as weaving techniques and planning a project. No experience or equipment is required, but if you have your own loom, please let the instructor examine it before class. An extra materials fee may be required for your final project.
September 23rd, (not October 14th) to October 28th, 2023
Five Saturday afternoons – 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
A sixth class may be added if necessary.
Number of Students: Maximum 6, minimum 3
Cost: $350.00 guild members ($390.00 for non-guild members)
Workshop registration form is available on the Victoria Handweavers’ and Spinners’ Guild web site: vhwsg.ca/activities/workshops/. Workshop fees are payable by e-transfer – See registration form. Phone 250-721-1873 if you require more information.
It was a fine day at the Highland Games this year (2023)! Click the link to see some great photos in a new window. 2023HighlandGamesreport
Tuesday, May 16, 7pm Karen Selk will give a talk “In Search of Wild Silk”.
Wild silk is much more than the miraculous journey of metamorphosis from caterpillar to silken luxury. It is tightly woven to an ancient living culture raising tasar, muga and eri silkworms in remote forests of central and eastern India. Raising wild silkworms, reeling cocoons, spinning fiber and weaving silk cloth provides sustainable work, while protecting the environment, and supporting communities. Photos and stories captured from weavers, spinners, and silkworm farmers over thirty years of research will transport you into their homes and villages to witness the love and dedication involved in each part of the process from soil to cloth.
The May meeting will be the Ruth Anstey lecture and challenge. The challenge will be to create something that contains silk, this could be a skein, a knitted or crocheted item, a woven item or a felted piece or anything your imagination can create. Be sure to describe/ point out the silk including what kind it is, whether it’s handspun, perhaps how long it’s been in your stash, and any other interesting facts about it.
Mary Jean Betts presenting Anke Keiser-Bles’s work for the Master Weaver program and in particular her final thesis on the Theo Moorman technique.
UPDATE: On account of the weather we’ve decided to switch tonight’s drop-in to Zoom so that no-one has to deal with getting to the church or back home. We’ll try the carding theme again in January, because it will work better in person. A zoom link has been sent by email to all members.
The Guild Drop-In evening is open to everyone – members and non-members alike. This is a time for visiting and getting to know each other. The Drop-In is held every month on the last Tuesday of the month from 7 – 9 pm at St. Luke’s Church Hall.
This month we’re adopting a loose theme of carding / fibre prep, so if you have any relevant work in progress or tools you’d enjoy telling people about, please bring them. And if you don’t, then please still come – this is only a loose theme.
In person drop-ins will take December off, and be back in 2023 on the last Tuesday of every month except December.
Virtual drop-ins continue as usual: second Tuesday of every month, 7-9pm, email dropin@vhwsg.ca to get the Zoom link if you don’t already have it.
Drop-In’s are a time to visit, share your creations and ideas, help others with problems and generally have a fibre-oriented social time! Everyone is welcome!
There are several workshops in the works for the coming year. There will be a Beginners Weaving Workshop in the Spring with Raven teaching and Brenda as her assistant. If there is interest, another Beginner Spinning Workshop could also happen in the Spring. There are two workshops planned in conjunction with Programs presentations, Indigo Dyeing with Jane Ireland in March and Yarn Construction for Spinners (one-day workshop),a follow up to the February lecture with Vanessa Bjerreskov. That will be held at the beginning of March. When the weather warms up and we can do an outside workshop, Joanne Byskov will show us how to make a garden trellis.
The next Zoom Drop-in is June 14th from 7-9pm.
Zoom Drop-in will occur year round, on the 2nd Tuesday every month. All current guild members will receive an invitation to the Zoom event. Non-members are welcome to join us, and they should send an email to dropin@vhwsg.ca to request an invitation.
This is an evening to get together from the comfort of your own home to chat with others and learn about their fibre projects, to offer and receive help with your own projects and get to know other guild members.
The in-person Drop-In evening continues on the Last Tuesday of every month (except December).
The Guild Drop-In Evening is an opportunity to get together with guild members for an informal evening of conversation and sharing. Bring your spinning wheel, knitting or other project to work on. Bring questions if you’d like help from other members. Bring Show & Tell to share. Non-members are welcome.
Our new meeting place is at St Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill Cross Road (www.bc.anglican.ca/greater-victoria/st-luke).
Masks required for now, and the venue has plenty of space for distancing. We cannot use the kitchen for now, so if you wish some tea/coffee, you must bring you own ready to drink.
Zoom drop-Ins are now held on the SECOND Tuesday of the month. Zoom invitations will be sent to all guild members by email shortly before the date.