Handweavers Guild of BoulderA TEXTILE AND FIBER COMMUNITY |
Guest Request - The Handweaver’s Guild of Boulder welcomes non members to attend Zoom Program meetings. We require registration for non members by Friday prior to the Monday meeting. We can not accept any requests after this deadline. We will send you an email with the Zoom link before the meetings. Please fill out this form.
Video recordings from past HGB Presentations are available on the HGB YouTube Channel
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In-Person Meetings
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Claudia Pétursson
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In-Person Meetings
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Deane Bowers
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Workshop |
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 9am -4pm |
Dyeing with lichens and mushrooms with Deane BowersDiscover the fascinating world of natural dyes and learn about Colorado lichens and mushrooms. This workshop will introduce you to the rainbow of colors possible when dyeing with mushrooms and lichens. It will introduce you to some of the Colorado mushrooms and lichens, discuss the ethics of collecting these dye materials, and talk about the methods that are used. Each person will dye a silk scarf and we will dye a set of yarn samples for you to take home. We will dye with several different mushrooms and lichens and produce a rainbow of colors. All materials will be provided.
Workshop fee: $80. $15 materials fee. Payment method is online only with a credit card. If you would like to pay by check or cash, you must contact programs@handweaversofboulder.org to register for the workshop. Registration will open soon. |
Day Meeting | November 10, 2025 |
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Evening Meeting | November 11, 2025 |
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In-Person MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: You Can't Judge a Warp by Its ColorOften, weavers will express disappointment with the color of their warps -- yet, with the right design and a well-chosen weft, they can produce beautiful results. This presentation offers concepts and principles that can help weavers create a warp that, when combined with the right weft, can make a fabric sing. How is this accomplished? By using the principles of color harmony and color interaction, as promoted by color theorists such as Johannes Itten and Josef Albers, among others. Further, you will benefit from learning certain principles of how our eyes perceive color, not always accurately. From Leonardo to Newton to Geothe and on, artists and scientists have observed that color can be, at times, like an illusion -- that principles like optical mixing, the Bezold Effect, color blending, and simultaneous contrast can significantly alter the reality of colors by virtue of our own rods and cones. Evening Mini Worshop: Dorset Buttons: A Heritage CraftDenise will show us the basics to create colorful, whimsical buttons – for jewelry, surface decoration or fasteners for your handmade garments – using only curtain rings, a tapestry needle, yarn, and perhaps some beads! Based on 19th-century patterns from Dorset, England, these buttons are easy to create and customize to match your own fiber creations. Please bring to the evening meeting/workshop a current weaving, felting, or knitting project, and yarns from your stash (and beads, if you choose!) No prior experience needed. The workshop is 7pm-9pm. |
Denise Kovnat Handweaver and Teacher of Handweaving Denise Kovnat is a brilliant colorist, weaver, dyer, and "free-range" seamstress who loves painting warps, dimensional weaving, and extended-parallel threadings -- all to create colorful, textured cloth for teaching, shows, and sales. Her pieces have won many awards in regional, nationwide and international shows; including juried into the Handweavers Guild of America Convergence fashion shows since 2008. She teaches at conferences and guilds throughout the United States and Canada and as far away as Australia. Working out of her home, she weaves on a 32-shaft Louet Megado, 16-shaft Toika Eeva, a 16-shaft Germaine table loom, and a 12-shaft LeClerc table loom. Plus a lovely little 8-shaft Structo. Gallery: https://www.denisekovnat.com/p/gallery.html FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/denise.kovnat/?pnref=lhc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisekovnat/ |
Day Meeting |
December 8, 2025 | |
Evening Meeting | December 9, 2025 |
In-Person Meetings
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Ornament Exchange
Do I need to participate in the Ornament Exchange?
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Zoom MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: Discovering Felt (Mandy Nash)Mandy will talk about her love of feltmaking, how she encountered the technique and began her experiments with wool. During her twenty year relationship with this material, she has been constantly surprised by its versatility, infinite variations can be achieved by combining different wools, colours and patterns. She will explain her fascination with multiple resists and differential shrinkage to create texture and three dimensional shapes. Watch the presentation here. (will be posted after presentation) Evening Meeting Presentation: Corespinning: Simple to Complex (Charan Sachar)Exploring core spinning to make thick, airy, puffy yarns and also how to make neater and smoother yarns. In addition, enhancing your core spun with auto wrap thread and creating complex yarns with a combination of plying techniques. Charan will live-demo on Zoom creating art yarn for the 45 min and then Q&A. Watch the presentation here. (will be posted after presentation) |
Mandy Nash Mandy is primarily a jeweler, however, over the last twenty years, she has been slowly introducing textiles into her practice and it has now become her main focus. Traditional and contemporary textiles have consistently been a major influence, so the transition from creating colourful, non-precious jewelry to textiles is not a large step. Mandy’s main technique is feltmaking, which combines her three passions of colour, pattern and process. Wool is a natural, sustainable and versatile material that can be transformed into wonderful, tactile objects. The different characteristics of the wide variety of sheep breeds offer endless possibilities to create both functional and nonfunctional pieces. Mandy enjoys the challenge of transforming a flat material into a three dimensional form, she finds sanctuary in the mediative, feltmaking process, which allows time for reflection. The tactility of felt offers great comfort - touch something that feels good, you feel good too. Website: https://mandynash.co.uk |
Charan Sachar Charan Sachar is an artist whose work reflects his passion for the fiber arts, like knitting, spinning, weaving, quilting and he uses it as an inspiration for his clay work. In all the fields that he works in, he loves to accept challenges and approach the making with a “what if..” attitude. Charan specializes in creating art yarns with textures, using traditional spinning techniques and pushing them an extra step to create unique yarns. Website: http://www.creativewithclay.com |
Zoom MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: Ply-split braiding (Helen Leaf)Ply-split braiding is a unique textile technique, unknown in the West until the 1970s, and then explored fully by Peter Collingwood, whose 1998 book, The Techniques of Ply-Split Braiding, opened up all understanding and possibilities, and described the structures and techniques that are in use today. From this book, people learnt, and experimented with structures and patterns that took ply-splitting from its origins, to become a contemporary craft. Ply-splitting is still evolving today, with each active ply-splitter discovering new innovations, and with new thoughts and concepts being expressed. This presentation tells the story of this, showing examples of traditional and contemporary work. This presentation will not be recorded. Evening Meeting: The Backstrap Loom & Weaving on Simple Looms in South America (Laveren Waddington)From the coastal plains to highland valleys, up to the dizzying heights of the South American Andes and down to the tropical lowland jungles, indigenous and mestizo weavers create intricately patterned cloth on a variety of simple looms. Laverne will share stories of the weavers with whom she has studied in these regions, her love of the basic, yet often surprisingly complex, backstrap loom and show us how she has used all she’s learned in her own work. Watch the presentation here. (will be posted after presentation) |
Helen LeafPly-splitter (braiding) Helen Leaf is a UK ply-splitter, exploring color, pattern and structure, and passionate about tradition. She has taught and exhibited internationally, and is the creator of www.plysplitbraiding.com. When not ply-splitting, she’s in the forest with ancient trees. Helen is actively researching Peter Collingwood's collection of traditional ply-split camel belts from Rajasthan, in a UK archive, studying the patterns and structures used by traditional nomadic camel herders. This is the largest collection of work outside of India, and actually, the tradition has faded in its native land, with few skilled practitioners remaining. The quality of workmanship in archive pieces shows a height of sophistication and accomplishment that is not available to study by any other means. Website: www.helenleafdesigns.com Website: www.plysplitbraiding.com Instagram: @helenleafdesigns |
Laveren WaddingtonBackstrap Weaver Laverne Waddington has been learning to weave on various kinds of simple looms with indigenous teachers in South America since 1996. In her home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, she combines elements of ethnic design and her own original patterns to create unique pieces on a backstrap loom using the various techniques and structures she has studied in South and Central America as well as with backstrap weavers from Vietnam and Myanmar. Since 2010, she has published eight instructional manuals on the various woven structures and finishing techniques that she has studied and produced a dvd on Operating a Backstrap Loom. Her articles on backstrap weaving and indigenous textiles have appeared in Handwoven magazine, Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot, Piecework, Tiny Studio Creative Life and Spin Off as well as in the published proceedings of the 2012 and 2016 Braid Society conferences. She has shared her skills and experiences with many visitors to Bolivia over the years and now reaches a global audience with her weaving tutorials and travel tales on her blog. She provides online advice and support to weavers through forums such as Ravelry and Facebook groups and teaches and speaks via Zoom to weavers around the world. |
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In-Person Workshop 1 : Introduction to Inkle WeavingLearn to weave on an inkle loom! Whether you're interested in inkle weaving for personal projects or are wanting to help out at HGB community engagement events, this workshop will get you started. We will work with pre-warped inkle looms to practice and learn the simple techniques. We will also discuss the warping process.
Prerequisites/Experience: All levels - No weaving experience is necessary. Workshop fee: Free to Members (mini-workshop) Registration will open soon. In-Person Workshop 2 : Weaving Letters on an Inkle LoomExplore weaving letters on an inkle loom! This class is perfect for you whether you have a favorite saying or want to make bands for the special people in your life. We’ll begin by practicing upper and lowercase letters. You’ll walk away with a sampler and the skills to make any letters you’d like. Please bring inkle loom warped and ready to weave on.
Prerequisites/Experience: Weavers should be familiar with inkle weaving and confident with weaving plain weave and/or pick-up. Materials to Bring: 5/2 (you could also use 3/2 if that is all you have) perle cotton in two colors (200 yds of each). Please use colors that are contrasting. One light and one dark. Equipment Required to Bring: Inkle Loom warped according to the pattern provided using string or texsolv heddles that are the correct length for your loom. Workshop fee: $75 Registration will open soon. |
Sienna BoschWeaver Sienna holds a BFA in fiber art and art education from Colorado State University. She has taught at various locations across the United States, including HGA Convergence, John C. Campbell Folk School, the Schacht School of Textile Arts, the Northern Colorado Weavers Guild, and the Boulder Public Library. Currently, Sienna works as the Content Developer and Education Specialist at Schacht Spindle Company, where she conducts classes, produces educational videos, works as a graphic designer, and handles marketing on social media, as well as print and digital advertising, among other responsibilities. Sienna finds joy in teaching people of all ages how to weave and witnessing the positive impact it has on their lives. Website: https://www.feuer-und-wasser.com |
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In-Person MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: The Value of Color
It takes practice to identify where a color falls in this dizzying array of options. The more you use color theory and the value of color the more it will reveal its mysteries. The morning presentation will explore the different perspective on studying color as it relates to weaving:
Evening Meeting Presentation: Playing with color (mini-workshop, free to members)A deep look at color theory, with special consideration for how it intersects with fiber arts. An introduction to the 7 principles of contrast that affect how our textile projects are perceived. This is a quick guide to choosing the yarns to make projects what YOU want. Samples, slides, color exercises and more to make playing with color fun! |
Michele BelsonFiber Artist Michele Belson, weaver, stitcher, business owner, teacher, and general Lunatic, has played with bits of string and cloth for over half a century. She learned to sew sitting on her Grandmother’s lap before her feet reached the pedal on the floor. She weaves, sews, knits, knots, dyes, but more importantly, she teaches. From preschool story hour and to a beautiful group at the Long Beach (California) Senior Center, from University Graduate students to 4H Club, through articles in weaving publications, at weaving conferences across the country, and on Zoom. Michele loves nothing more than sharing her love of all things fiber. As the Co-owner of Lunatic Fringe Yarns, she helped design and use kits and projects to ‘teach’ while her customers aren’t even looking! (Lunatic Fringe Yarns kits are specifically built to build skills in weaving.) Her students have noted her ‘no man left behind’ style. When she isn’t helping steer Lunatic Fringe Yarns, weaving, or sewing, she enjoys cooking, spending time with family and friends, yoga, and, on rare occasions, sleeping. |
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The Value of Color with Michele Belson2-day off loom class Playing with Color! Explore Color Theory and the influence of Value in weaving and beyond through color exercise, paper and pencil work, yarn wrappings, your Smart Phone and Lunatic Fringe’s super fun Playing with Color cards. Bring an idea for a project and play together to find a perfect plan. Or just play!!
Workshop fee: $135 (total cost for both days) Materials fee: $15 materials fee |
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In-Person MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: Let’s Move the Needle - Craft as a Tool for Activism Shannon Downey, author of Let’s Move the Needle: an activism handbook for artists, crafters, creatives, and makers, will introduce you to the powerful world of craftivism. She will pull lessons from her book and share exciting case studies, both historic and modern. Most importantly, Downey will leave you inspired and ready to level up your own brilliant craft work for the greater good. Evening Meeting Presentation: Let’s Move the Needle - How YOU can engage in craftivismIn this second talk, Downey will guide you to ways to leverage your creative brilliance into meaningful action in service to social, cultural, and political change. Pulling from the major concepts of her book, Let’s Move the Needle: an activism handbook for artists, crafters, creatives, and makers, she will walk you through actionable steps for igniting or amplifying your inner activist. |
Shannon Downey
Embroiderer, Artist, Activist, Craftivist and Community Builder In addition to being an artist, activist, craftivist, and community builder, Shannon likes to blend politics, activism, and art into projects and work. The purpose is to inspire others to take action, think, discuss, engage with democracy and their community, and find some digital/analog balance. To move people from passive consumers of art into engaged creators. To leverage craft-based art forms to bring people together and offer them opportunities to transition from makers to change makers. Their work is about telling the truth and confronting harsh realities while simultaneously inspiring radical hope and a vision for what is possible. They are queer, anti-racist, feminist, anti-capitalist, highly political, and committed to growth, learning, honesty, and doing whatever they can to make this an equitable world. Their art generally tackles “the big three” systems of oppression: white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. They’ve lived a million lives so far and all of them have brought them to right now - doing EXACTLY what they're supposed to be doing in this world. They live for community, equity, art, and adventure. Shannon’s work is meant to disrupt. They disrupt via the medium, the application of the medium, the projects that they build, and by living and making outside of the rules. They also LOVE embroidery. It is an amazing tool for: creating digital/analog balance in your life providing the opportunity to express yourself slowing down creating space to think substantively about real issues using your hands much in the same way you use your devices, thereby bypassing the tactile need that our digital addictions demand. Plus, it’s easy to learn, fun to do in community, the material cost is minimal, and most importantly. It is joyful to use a medium that has historically been used as a tool of subjugation as a tool of subversion. Website: www.badasscrossstitch.com |
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In-Person MeetingsDay Meeting Presentation: Art It’s a ProcessEach artist has their own unique process. Some artists plan meticulously, and others are more spontaneous. Each of us has had our own journey. My artistic journey started in Minnesota growing up on a farm where I was surrounded by nature. My love of art and creating lead me to pursue an art and music degree in Minnesota. My introduction into basketry came later after moving to St. Louis where I began weaving traditional baskets in my basement and beginning to explore weaving more sculptural baskets. It was our move to Sedona where I expanded my exploration of materials and shapes delving into raku, gourds and other natural fibers to create my art. It was when I started working with gourds that things changed for me. I will walk you through the many steps and thought process I take to a finished piece of artwork, starting with choosing the gourd and allowing it to “speak” to me and embrace the earthy nature of the gourd. After making sure I have all the materials I need to create the final sculpture or gourd basket, I begin the process of preparing the base, cleaning the gourd, and adding the color. Once that is done, I then begin my weaving which is a very intuitive process. Evening Meeting Presentation: Continuing the Process What I do is much like what a weaver does when creating a woven piece. Each artist has their own process, whether you are a weaver, painting or ceramist. I think it is important for artists to share this with people, so they understand what it takes to create a work of art. |
Shirley Eichten Albrecht (she) Sculptural Basket WeaverIt’s understandable if the term “basket” doesn’t automatically come to mind when you see one of Shirley Eichten Albrecht’s sculptural works of art. That’s because Shirley has made a name for herself – first in St. Louis, where she became intrigued with basket weaving, and now in Sedona, where she is known fondly as “the basket lady” – reimagining her chosen medium. Her sculptures incorporate gourds, raku pottery she creates herself, stones, and antlers, all inextricably intertwined with natural fibers in ways that are new and fresh. Look closely and your mind’s eye might spy a Native American maiden or an artifact from an ancient pueblo. Shirley allows her materials to dictate form, elevating what is often considered craft to fine art. “When I begin working with a gourd or raku, I take time to explore its shape, examine its colors and the feelings it evokes, and listen to the story it wants to tell,” says Shirley. “Only then do I begin to weave. My raku and my gourds are my canvas, and my weaving is my paint. And each finished piece takes on its own voice.” Shirley grew up on a farm in Minnesota and graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in art and music. She taught in Minnesota and Texas before moving to St. Louis in 1987. Shirley cofounded a basket-weaving guild there and, when she moved to Sedona in 2001, she cofounded one in Red Rock Country. The artist has won numerous local, regional and national awards, and has been juried into prestigious shows in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio and Missouri. Her work has appeared in Phoenix Home & Garden, Discover Tlaquepaque and other local publications. Website: https://www.redrockbaskets.com/ FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/RedRockBaskets Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basket_lady21/ |
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In-Person Workshop 1 : Farmer's Market Tote or Market Basket (with space dyed reed)Join us to learn the process of creating your choice of a Market Basket Tote or a Market Basket with Space Dyed Reed. Not only functional at your local farmers market or carrying your textile goods, your finished basket makes for a beautiful decoration. During registration, you must select if you would like to make a Market Basket tote or Market Basket with Space Dyed Reed. Finished sizes: Farmer’s Market Tote - 9.5”H x 15”W x 11”D Market Basket with Space Dyed Reed - 8”H (14” Handle) x 18”W x 10”D
Prerequisites/Experience: All levels - No weaving experience is necessary. Workshop fee: $75 Materials fee: $75 Registration will open soon. In-Person Workshop 2 : Tortilla BasketJoin us for a hands-on, creative experience weaving a tortilla basket. This hands-on workshop offers an opportunity to learn essential basketry techniques in a 3-dimensional weaving. Finished size: 3”H x 9”W x 9”D
Prerequisites/Experience: Weavers should be familiar with inkle weaving and confident with weaving plain weave and/or pick-up. Materials to Bring: 5/2 (you could also use 3/2 if that is all you have) perle cotton in two colors (200 yds of each). Please use colors that are contrasting. One light and one dark. Equipment Required to Bring: Inkle Loom warped according to the pattern provided using string or texsolv heddles that are the correct length for your loom. Workshop fee: $75 Materials fee: $40 Registration will open soon. |
Past programs can be found on the Programs Archive page. |