MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER MEETING
The pros and cons of meeting every month were discussed, also the possibility
of then meeting every other month in Erie, possibly at Mercy Hurst. No decisions
were made, expecting that this would be discussed further at our December
meeting.
Kate and Cheryl asked for suggestions for programs, they especially would
like to hear from weavers. Suggestions made at the meeting included basic
help programs geared to new members.
Still looking for a new editor. Jill will continue to do the newsletter
mailing.
McCartney Gift. Discussion of how to handle a scholarship. Joyce Rose will
get the scholarship application used by the Rochester guild. Hopefully this
will be resolved at the Dec. meeting.
Mathilda Murphy announced a Schacht floor loom deal for free delivery plus
a 10% discount for looms delivered in Nov or Dec of this year.
Amy Albrecht announced that her church sponsored SERRV sale (in Waterford)
will be the first weekend in Dec.
There are no workshops scheduled yet for 2003. We need someone who wants
a particular workshop bad enough to organize it. Floating around somewhere
is a 3-ring binder with all the information needed to guide the workshop organizer.
ITEM
If you have yarn or items from the McCartney Gift which has not yet been
paid for, please see Barb and settle up. We need to make a report to the McCartney
family after the Dec meeting. We still have singles left--5 oz skeins @ 4.50,
and 8 oz cones at 7.50. These singles are good for knitting also. There are
two wool batts suitable for felting @ $3, a niddy noddy @ $15, and one 10-yd
cardboard warping roll @ $3.
A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME
Report by Mathilda Murphy
Those of us who attended the Oct 13th NWPA Guild meeting took
a trip back in time. It was one of the best, if not the best guild program
I have ever attended. Having heard about it on the news and in Handwoven a
number of years ago, I was thrilled to see the impression of the 27,000 year
old Czech textile. It was probably woven of nettle, since there was no cotton
or wool yet. Twining appears to have been the technique of choice for centuries.
And there was no evidence of a standing loom. The fiber could be as fine as
that of blue jeans. The oldest sandal, from Ft Rock Cave, Oregon, 9200 years
old, was found in 1942. It was made of "Z" twist twining with tufts
drawn through to the bottom, most probably to provide tranction --and we think
we are so smart today! Meadowcroft, in Washington Co., PA is being explored.
Some items, plaited baskets of birch bark dating back 16,000 years have been
found. Either a very dry climate, or a constantly wet one is needed for fiber
preservation. Burial cloths give much information;. At the Flo-Winds Bog,
near Cape Canaveral, cloths on bodies obviously 12 years or older show wear.
The bodies themselves are fairly well preserved. Those cloths on younger bodies
look new, but the bodies are not so well preserved. The contention is that
older individuals were already wearing their shrounds and were buried immediately.
Children probably ran around naked and in the time it took to weave their
shrouds, the bodies began to decompose.
At the Windover site six types of techniques were found. They
are close twining, treble S, close diagonal paired, balanced 1/1 plain weave,
simple twining S twist, close diagonal-treble S twist, and a general plain
weave.
In Jordan, in the area SE of the Dead Sea, "ridiculously"
standardized materials, usually balanced weave, burial shouds have been found.
As a result of the excavation, it is believed there was great religious significance
attached to textiles. They may have used multiple shuttles.
This is but a small portion of what we learned. We as fiber
artists are certainly fortunate that a resource like Mercy Hurst College is
located in our area. Thanks to Jeff Illingworth and his students for a wonderful
program.
