Complex Weavers

Chair: Charlotte Lindsay Allison, lindsay78624@aol.com
Fees: $13 US, $15 Canada (US funds); others may increase to cover shipping
Publication: newsletter once a year in September.
Sample Exchange: two samples expected per year, in May
To Join: Not open for 2010..
Group began: January, 2005.
Closing Date: The group is full
Membership: Limited to 15.

Acadian was founded as a group to explore Acadian textiles based on historical manuscripts and references. Now closed to new members. The group has nearly completed its task and will be ending in 2010.

Norman Kennedy first mentioned seeing a private collection of Acadian textiles in Southern Louisiana, a number of years past. On a return trip to Texas the following year, he taught a group of us how to spin thick cotton for the Acadian blankets. These beautiful textiles and the simplicity of them piqued my interest. Audrey Bernard of Beau Bridge, Louisiana, encouraged me to catalogue as much of her collection as time permitted. At first, I thought I would play around with weaving the collection. Now that I have more insight (there are not enough days in my life to complete the task), I thought further about exposing as many weavers as possible to weave and share our discovery around the world.

In the study group, everyone will be encouraged to try to find more information on the Acadians. They were the first permanent French settlement near Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in 1604. We have a lot of history to examine.

As a member of Early Weaving Books and Manuscripts, it has been a tremendous joy when an old weaving book is found in someone's estate or attic. My hope is that early notes, textiles and journals will be found showing us more into the lives of the Acadians.

We will weave the collection. Warps and wefts will be assigned. They were all on 2 shaft looms, using 10/2 or 20/2 unmercerized cotton for warp. Very simple cloth.

The cotton ticking accompanying this introduction is blue and white. The cloth was 10/2 unmercerized in warp and weft. After weaving the samples, I took this cloth one step further, using 16/1 linen in the weft for a bed sheet.