Our first winter work study student - Kristen Rosser

We started off our winter season of work study students with Kristen Rosser form Phila., PA. She was a recent graduate of Tyler Art School in Philadelphia, looking to hone her textile skills. It wasn't until some weeks into the session that we found out how Kristen makes a living - shearing sheep….and what she likes to do in her spare time - swing dancing! For her project focus, Kristen decided to explore different clothing fabrics that she could sew with and she started out with a beautiful piece of Scottish style tweed. She then moved on to a 5 Shaft Cotton Spot Weave and then finished up with a fine cotton shirt fabric in four beautiful colors. In between all those, she also hand dyed some wool gleaned from her shearing jobs and wove a warp of a three color twill. All in all, a very productive four weeks!

Kristen threading her Spot Weave.

Winding Bobbins.

Justin and Kristen tying up the Spot Weave.

The fabric!

Cutting off the finished fabric.

The hand dyed yarn for the throws.

The finished throws.

16/2 Cotton Shirt Fabric.

Getting started on the Shirt Fabric.

Close- up of the Shirt Fabric.

How Kristen makes her living!

Celebrating the Dishtowel Exhibit - Dec. 2014

Last summer the school was asked to exhibit the work of our staff and students
at our local Marshfield library and we thought that the humble dishtowel
would be the perfect medium to show how incredibly versatile they really are.

The reason's why weaving dishtowels is important…thought it might be more legible.

The upstairs reading room at the Jacquith Library where the show was hung.

From the left - Norman's tartan and striped towel, Kate's ikat and calimanco
striped towels and Lynnette's herringbone towel.

L to R - Kate's houndstooth, Debroah Livington's plain weave, Norman's plain weave,
Deborah Bede's huck, Susan Osterman's huck, Jacques Tremblay's cottonlin twill.

L to R - The edge of Taylore Grymonnt's twill, Norman's striped twill and two
of Jacques Tremblay's cottolin twill.

L to R - Ada Schenk's twill, Jane Quimby's striped twill, Rose Diamond's
three shaft twill and Pat Mayhew's  M's & O's.

Zoe Sheehan Saldana's reproduction of a towel from Ikea (in photograph) which
she wove and then replaced at the store.

Norman's first dishtowel, woven 60 years ago.

Kate's first dishtowel woven in 1982 and still used in the MSW dye-room.

A collection of Norman's early linen towels.

L to R - Kate's linen 8 shaft turned twill, Jane Quimby's Shibori towel, Stevie
Spencer's Overshot towel.

The night of the opening we had over 50 people….and lots of good food!

Ada's mother - Melaine Viet admiring her daughter's handiwork.

Three generations of dishtowel weavers - Justin Squizzero, Kate Smith and Norman Kennedy.

Norman singing songs and telling stories to a very rapt crowd.