Big Fun at IWC – Blog Post
Summer is the season we Lunatics go out into the weaving world: to see long-time friends, make new friends and learn new things at regional Conferences. This summer, Michele made a quick trip to Albuquerque to enjoy some time at Intermountain Weavers Conference (IWC). As summer winds down and we find time to reflect on the busy summer season, Michele wants to share her experiences with you.
By Michele B.
With a grandkid graduating from High School and yet another move coming up, attending a full conference was out of the question for me this summer. Fortunately, IWC offered a weekend version, and I was able to hop down to Albuquerque for a quick visit, some camaraderie and even a couple of seminar classes. What were my favorite things? Let me tell you!
Helping and Checking out the Weaving!
I arrived on Friday in time to help load out LOTS of looms from the 2- and 3-day workshops. That gave me a chance to catch up with friends who were not staying for the weekend festivities and to see the wonderful things on many of the looms!
Fabulous Fashion Show!
And then, I headed to what is always one of my favorite parts: The Fashion Show! Paula Becker did a great job of emceeing the show, that, of course included some western humor. The carefully constructed dishtowel garments were fun and charming. And naturally there were some gorgeous showstoppers too. Regional conferences are such a fun way to share our work. It encouraged me to work on something for the fashion shows to come!
IWC Fashion Show Participant and Paula Becker. Photo courtesy of Paula Becker.
IWC Fashion Show Participant. Photo courtesy of Paula Becker.
Gelato!
After the Fashion Show, even after ‘heavy appetizers’, a group of us went in search of more sustenance. Being a Friday night, places were busy, so we opted for dessert first. Area native and excellent tour guide, Jennifer Moore, introduced us to an AMAZING gelato shop, Frost. The Limoncello was my favorite!
Morning Seminars!
Saturday, I had the privilege of taking the Renegade Treadling seminar with Suzi Ballenger. I’ve admired her work since the 2014 Convergence in Rhode Island and was especially thrilled to take her seminar. Many of her samples were woven with our incredible Lyte Hemp™ yarn. It was fun to see our hemp yarns in action.
The class challenged me, gave me new perspective and hopefully will lead to more interaction with Suzi in the future. Stay tuned.
Suzi Ballenger Renegade Treadling with Hemp Yarn
Time for Food? Or Shopping!
Next was lunch and shopping. It was REALLY different being outside of the booths. I met some great vendors and look forward to learning more about them. And I spent a small fortune there and at the Silent Auction.
And Afternoon Seminars!
After lunch I took Marci Petrini’s interesting class, “The Way We See Color’. I’ve known Marci and her husband Terry Dwyer (her fantastic tech assistant) for a long time, and it was nice to see part of my old weaving group from my days in the southeastern US.
Marci has been exploring scientifically based new perspectives on color using the opponent system. Well, maybe not ‘new’ as Ewald Hering described the opponent system in 1874. You can read more about Marci’s exploration in a blog post on her website: Opponent Color Wheel. Marci’s color explorations showed me some new ways to look at things. And her handouts were excellent. She may make them available as a monograph. Keep an eye on her “Bookstore” and check out her other great offerings here: https://www.marcy-bookstore.com/
Many of her photographs and samples are woven with our Tubular Spectrum™ Mercerized Cotton yarns from her versions of Color Gamps. To learn more about color gamps check out our blog post here: Gamp Blog Post. It was lovely to catch up with Marci!!!
And of Course, More Gelato!
After a full fun day, I headed back to Frost for more gelato with some weaving friends. The perfect end to a great weekend!
What fun, Michele. I love the dishtowels-as-garment. Wish I’d seen it!