Spring in the SouthWest

Back in Winnipeg the snow is melting slowly. Easter Monday I saw movement on the Red River for the first time this year. On my daily walk across the bridge I was mesmerised by the rapid movement of the ice, had to run home to fetch my camera.

Ice flow on the Red River

I was busy preparing warps for my sprang class.

Special dyed warps hanging out to dry. Note the snow on the ground in my back yard.

Two days later I was in Tucson, Arizona.

Cacti at the entrance to the Tucson airport

I participated in the Arizona weavers guild event Fibers Through Time. It was a lovely event, lots of eager textile people to meet. They invited members to bring items they had made to put on display in their ‘gallery’. Wow, was that every a treat to see such high quality work! I taught a 3-day class on sprang.
While in Tucson I visited the Arizona State Museum, and a famous cotton sprang shirt.

Expert cotton spinner Joan Ruane accompanied me, and was I ever glad to have her along, helping me to better understand this amazing textile. And another big thanks to Joan for taking me in.

Joan lent me some cotton thread. I made up a sample, and Joan returned to the museum to photograph the sample with the original.

On to Denver, where I examined sashes in the collection of the Denver Art Museum. It seems that a curator in the 1900s was very interested in these items, and they sure have a lovely collection. I found examples of sashes with interlinking, oblique interlace, arrow-and-lightning, as well as 3-3 interlace structures.
The yarn store called The Recycled Lamb hosted me for a sprang class. This is definitely a place to visit if you’re in the Denver area, and have any interest in fibers. They have a wide selection of yarns and ‘paraphernalia’ and the staff are knowledgeable and friendly.
The sprang class seems to have been a success. Participants completed their initial project and launched into a second one. Check the store’s website for photos of the class. There seems to be interest for a ‘sprang study group’ that just might start up meeting regularly at The Recycled Lamb.
Now on to New Mexico. I’m teaching at the Espinola Valley Fiber Arts Center.