Pam Carr will present our monthly program on January 10th. The topic will be ‘Stash Busting’. A perfect example of Pam’s skills is her beautiful towel. She used multiple colors in her warp to create an interesting stripe.
Also at our January meeting Julie Pitts will teach a beginners Kumihimo bracelet class. This will begin after the program at approximately 2:30. Extra supplies have been ordered so feel free to join in. If you have a round disc, feel free to bring it along.
January Mini-Workshop
On January 16th Cindy Hicks will teach a Mini-Workshop on weaving Rugs. It will begin at 12 Noon and go until 4 p.m. The location for this will be at the Bethel Mennonite Church. Cindy will teach us many ways to weave rugs.
December Brings Time for Giving
Our guild members came through again in a VERY BIG way!
154 place mats were woven and donated to the Meals on Wheels of Sarasota where they were received with delight by the workers!
All of the mats festively packaged and ready to go, then loaded into the car! Thanks to all of our members who contributed to the project and especially to Ruth, our star performer!
Next year we hope to do another project and our organizers are looking for new ideas. Please let Jacqueline know if you have a good one.
Good News from A Good Yarn!
Our local yarn store has stocked up on yarns for weaving! They have a good supply of Brassard 8/2 cotton along with Gist Mallo, Beam and Array. Hopefully if weavers are supportive more supplies will become available. Here’s a peek at what they have.
Jan Friedman Workshop News
In February members will have the special opportunity to learn from Jan Friedman. She is a vibrant and excellent teacher. She will be teaching us her color blending tricks and ways to add texture to our work. Though she will teach using a tapestry technique she will also discuss ways that she uses gradations in scarves, table runners, napkins and fabric collages.
Details for the workshop include:
Dates: February 11, 12 & 13, 2026
Location: Manatee Community Foundation, 2820 Manatee Ave. West, Bradenton
Cost: A $50 deposit is due by December 13, 2025. $125 is due in January, 2026 for a total of $175 (based on 15 participants). There will be a materials fee of $48.00 which will include all of the fiber that you will need for the workshop. These will be available for you in January, there will be multiple color choices.
Becky, our workshop coordinator, will be available at the November meeting to answer questions.
Do You Want to Learn to Weave?
The new Winter class schedule is available at Suncoast Community College ! Registration is currently open and classes will begin on the January 20th. This time we are offering an expanded curriculum. For those who have taken our Learn to Weave class we are now offering: Next Steps in Multi-Shaft Weaving. This class will teach more pattern reading and techniques for creating your own projects. Also being offered are two more advanced Rigid Heddle classes: Next Steps in Rigid Heddle Weaving 101 & 102. 101 will focus on Color & Weave techniques with pickup sticks to produce a textured table runner. 102 will focus on using multiple heddles and/or pickup sticks to learn different double weave techniques.
Learn to Weave and Weaving Rigid Heddle Style participants are able to weave different patterns and experiment with different threads. They learn how a loom works and get to meet other weavers and see things they’ve made. Click the above link to the school to access their catalogue. These two classes will be offered again in another session, either Spring or Summer 2026.
Students in the Learn to Weave class will learn how to make a warp and warp their looms. By the time they complete this class they will have all of the information needed to do a project independently. The class is very extensive and there is one-on-one help for students.
Weaving Rigid Heddle style is another way to create fantastic, unique, hand-made fabrics. the pictures below are examples of weaving done on such a loom.
Learn to Weave will be offered later in the winter, be sure to watch the ACE catalogue. Weaving Rigid Heddle style will be 6 3 hour sessions. Participants in both classes will be able to take their looms home to work on their projects.
In the fall Intro to Weaving classes participants will have the opportunity to try floor looms, table looms, rigid heddle, inkle and tapestry looms all in a 2 session class. Our students get to try actual weaving and learn about looms and weaving terminology. If you are curious about weaving come check us out!
In addition we will be adding an Advanced Rigid Heddle weaving class! Students in this class will learn to use pick up sticks and explore color & weave, expanding the techniques possible on a Rigid Heddle loom.
Get to know us
We’ve been in existence since 1964 as an organization, holding regular meetings and a variety of other activities. Below are links to many of the upcoming events for the coming year. Please explore our website to see all the interesting activities we offer. Also, visit our Facebook and Instagram pages to learn more. Click on any of the images below to learn more or explore the menu bar above.
Mission
Through monthly meetings, study groups and special workshops, Manasota Weavers Guild offers our members a range of opportunities to increase their knowledge and skills. We welcome new weavers and spinners and provide instruction and mentorship. Our members also promote awareness and appreciation of the fiber arts through a variety of community outreach programs.
Membership in the Guild is open to anyone interested in the arts of loom weaving, tapestry, spinning, knitting, basketry and related fiber arts.