Sheep to Shawl - A Look at What Weaving is All About

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On September 25th, come and visit the Burr House Spinners & Weavers Guild. Watch Guild Members spin sheep's wool to weave a shawl. Early in the morning the spinners will begin to card the wool to prepare it for spinning on spinning wheels. Then a weaver will use the finished woolen yarn to weave a shawl. Will they finish it in one day?

And while you are here, try your hand at some hands on activities such as carding and weaving. You will also see many examples of hand crafted work that represents a range of Fibre Arts produced by our Members - woven fabric, clothing, hand spun yarn, baskets, quilts, tapestries and mixed media art works. The beauty of what we create is that items can be useful, decorative or both. Besides spinning & weaving, our Guild Members are involved in many aspects of the Fibre Arts: fibre dyeing, knitting, basket weaving, crocheting, metal weaving, felting, quilting, sewing, rug hooking, macramé, braiding, mending, silk painting, embroidery and much more. Chat with us if you might be interested in taking classes or learning more. Our Guild is currently accepting membership applications.

Current Covid-19 policies and regional health guidelines will be in effect. Our demonstration and Sheep to Shawl activity will take place on the covered porch of the historic Burr House. Please be prepared to wait in line for access to the activities and buildings should the event be well attended.

Links

• The Burr House Spinners' and Weavers' Guild burrhousefiberarts.com
• FB: The Burr House Spinners and Weavers Guild facebook.com

Organizer

The Burr House Spinners and Weavers Guild

The Burr House Spinners and Weavers Guild was started over 35 years ago and is located in the spacious Guild Hall which was originally built in 1857 as an Evangelical Church and is now a working studio space for the Guild. It is located next to the historic Burr House Artisans Gallery, which was originally built in 1820. It is jointly operated by the Burr House & Spinners Guild and the Richmond Hill Potters’ Guild and is used for events, workshops and sales of unique, handcrafted items by its Guild members.

The Guild was started by a group of fibre enthusiasts who were interested in all manner of handcrafted items. Through demonstration and teaching in the Richmond Hill community, the Guild attracted a group of artisans who were interested in learning and practicing their craft with like-minded fibre enthusiasts. Although founded with the historic connection to spinning and weaving, the Guild today has evolved into a collective of artisans interested in the past, present and future evolution of the Fibre Arts.

Our aim is to provide a supportive environment for our Guild members to create and grow. We do this by having a fully equipped studio accessible to members to create in, an extensive library, interest groups and monthly meetings with guest speakers. We encourage our members to improve and broaden their skills, to create useful and decorative items that bring them joy and to explore diverse artistic styles. And one of our most important functions as a Guild is to preserve, develop and pass on skills. We share knowledge among our guild members through group projects, study groups, informal instruction and classes. And to promote and heighten interest in the fibre arts among the public, we do presentations at local events, hold Drop Ins, have sales of our hand crafted items, and offer a variety of workshops and classes throughout the year.

Here at the Guild we have members who do spinning, weaving, fibre dyeing, knitting, basket weaving, crocheting, metal weaving, felting, quilting, sewing, rug hooking, macramé, braiding, mending, embroidery and much more. Our Guild is currently accepting membership applications.