Silk and Natural Dye Talks at Weave Together with Handwoven

Presentations on wild and cultivated silk and natural dye gardening will be open to the public as part of the first-ever Weave Together with Handwoven event. On Sunday, February 25, 2024, from 3–6 pm, fiber artists are invited to attend presentations and enjoy free access to shopping in the marketplace at the Embassy Suites in Loveland, Colorado.

Members of the Rocky Mountain Weavers’ Guild cultivate, learn, and dye in the Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden, in cooperation with the Denver Botanic Gardens. Photos courtesy of RMWG

At 3 pm, Annie Scherer of the Rocky Mountain Weavers Guild will speak and present samples from the Janice Ford Memorial Dye Garden Project, a collaboration between the guild and the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms. First planted in 2014, the volunteer-led garden grows and studies a variety of plants as well as techniques for natural dyeing and botanical printing. Scherer will bring the “dye garden buffet” to show fiber artists what is possible with plant dyes.

Treenway Silks sources a variety of silk fibers and yarns, such as tussah, muga, and peduncle, in addition to classic bombyx silks. Photo by Tiffany Warble

At 3:30 pm, Susan Du Bois, owner of Treenway Silks, will present a talk entitled “Silk & Weaving Together.” Tracing the importance of silk through time and around the world, the presentation will focus on the unusual wild varieties that Treenway Silks finds, sometimes in remote villages. An expert in dyed and naturally colored silk fiber and thread, Du Bois will discuss the cultivation and uses of the silks in fiber art and craft. Following her talk, Treenway Silks invites the audience to explore silks for themselves in the marketplace. Each guest will also receive a poster showing the life cycle of a silk moth, free.

From 4–6 pm, the marketplace will be open for shopping. Sponsors Yarn Barn of Kansas and Bluebonnet Crafters (makers of Turtle Loom) will offer yarns, tools, accessories, and other products for handweavers and other fiber artists.

Questions? Contact us!