Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers, 80th Anniversary Souvenir Newsletter

This costume—a replica of a 1776 outfit—was totally handmade in 1976 by Pat Gray, a member of the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers. The dyeing and spinning of the wool and linen, weaving the cloth, and hand sewing with manufactured thread took 343 hours. The costume was on display at our guild booth in the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Pavilion at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1977. This dress was created as a project for the Ontario Handspinning Seminar which was founded in 1964.

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Table of Contents 1776 Dress (inside cover) Message from the Chair Introduction to the Guild Our Woven Lives: Ida Pittman In the News, 1940 A Travel Story The Bursary Profile of our October 2019 Speaker: James B. Fowler Past Exhibitions

Material in this booklet has come from the Archives of the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers along with additional material from the Canadian Women’s Art Association, the Breithaupt Hewetson Clark Collection, Special Collections & Archives at the University of Waterloo, the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre and Historic Newspaper Collection at the Toronto Reference Library, and members’ basements. © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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Message from the Chair Welcome to this special 80th anniversary issue of our newsletter. We are honoured and proud to share some of the history and achievements of the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers over the past 80 years.

Although the Guild has changed its name, its meeting location, its members, and its activities since its inception, it continues to be a venue for new spinners and weavers to be guided and supported by those with more experience, and for long-time artists and craftspeople to share information and inspire each other. Above all, it offers camaraderie among people who share a love of fibres, yarns, and textiles.

The Toronto Guild holds evening meetings on the second Wednesday of each month. Most meetings feature a visiting speaker, shared announcements, an opportunity for attendees to show off recently completed projects, and social time for catching up with friends. Meetings are also a chance to borrow resources from the Guild’s extensive library. Guests are welcome.

In addition to the evening meetings, Guild members meet up periodically to share and develop handson skills. Some members also attend the Spinning Drop-In sessions hosted by Riverdale Farm. And all members are invited to volunteer their time when the Farm hosts a special event. This is when we reach out to members of the public, young and old, to share our appreciation of fibres and textiles.

We hope to meet you at one of our upcoming gatherings.

Julia Lee Chair, Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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Introduction to the Guild reprinted from the first booklet printed in 1940 ORGANIZATION OF SPINNERS AND WEAVERS The Spinners and Weavers of Ontario became organized in September, 1939, as a group interested in furthering these two crafts by bringing the members together for the discussion of technical problems and for the purpose of bringing the opportunities of the present before the Canadian people by lectures, exhibits and other progressive effort.

Handspun yarns are becoming more popular, are more durable and of superior quality made from virgin wool. The modern “wheel” yields yarns of dog hair, silver fox, and angora rabbit, which tempt the spinner to venture in new and fascinating experiments.

Spinning is one of the oldest of all crafts and to this day is practiced in many countries and which at present is being revived throughout the western hemisphere.

Ancient and practical, too, is the art of hand loom weaving which in modern times holds unlimited possibilities to the weaver with imagination. Variety in the interlacing of threads is obtained in color, pattern and in the use of novel yarns and all can readily be expressed in the making of belts, bags and scarves – tweeds, draperies and upholsteries – linens and rugs.

Photo by Rapid Grip & Batten Ltd., #G1174 _2, provided by the Women’s Art Association of Canada This photo has been published in Gail Crawford’s book A Fine Line: Studio Crafts in Ontario from 1930 to the Present (Dundurn Press, 1998). Crawford included the following: “A weaving and spinning group met on the lower floor of the Lyceum Club and Women’s Art Association in mid Toronto for many years. This group was photographed in the mid war years, a time when wool was often in scare supply.”

This description is rather non-committal and, while the Spinners and Weavers of Ontario did meet at the Lyceum Club during their first two years, they had moved to meeting at Craft House, the Toronto base for the Handicraft Guild of Canada, for the 1941–1942 meetings.

If this photograph is from the mid war years it is more likely these women are part of the Home Weaving Service courses that were being taught in the Lyceum Club’s basement throughout the second World War. If they are the teachers, it is likely that they were guild members. (Names are written on the back of the photo but are illegible.)

© 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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Our Woven Lives: Ida Pitman

by Carolyn Franke, reprinted from December 2005 Newsletter I had always regarded Ida as one of the elder stateswomen of the guild, quiet and modest, but with a life packed with accomplishments in spinning and weaving waiting to be discovered by newer members such as myself. When I saw Ida’s work for her church at the Ecclesiastical Weaving program, I knew I wanted to interview her and find out more about both the weaver and the woman.

Ida invited me to the eyrie-condo that she shares with her husband, Walter, high on the 24th floor above the hustle and bustle of Yonge and Sheppard. I wasted no time in asking for a tour of her home and discovered evidence of Ida’s fibre interests in every room. From the white cushions in advancing twill in the living room to the 100” coverlet in white and yellow on the bed to the handspun being knitted up in the “media room” to the work on the looms in the weaving studio to the spinning wheel in the kitchen, Ida’s work added warmth and beauty to the surroundings. The pieces Ida wove for her church are, of course in service at the church so I feel lucky to have seen them at the guild meeting last winter.

After the tour, I asked Ida about her childhood and discovered she is a west ender like myself, growing up on Windermere Avenue, the youngest and only girl of six children. Ida’s parents immigrated to Canada from Yorkshire and, not surprisingly, both her mother and her grandfather had experience in the textile mills there. Although Ida’s mother was also an accomplished knitter and crocheter, skills she taught to Ida, her own experience of the fibre crafts would be very different. Ida attended Runnymede Public School and Humberside Collegiate and then Dominion Business College where she attained secretarial skills. She said she much preferred the truck drivers at the construction company to the back-stabbing admen at the advertising agency but soon marriage and motherhood rescued her from the daily grind of nine-to-five.

Ida has a lifelong love of music, particularly choral singing. From the age of five up until last year, Ida has been a member of one chorus or another. It is a passion she shares with her husband, Walter.

Indeed, the couple met in their church choir at Indian Road Baptist Church and have been singing together ever since. In his own right, Walter’s musical interests have led to biographies of Canadian composers Harry Freedman and Louis Applebaum. This is in addition to a distinguished career as an educator and politician. Walter, then a high school teacher in Peterborough, was the first MP ever to be elected in the newly formed “New Party”, the predecessor to the NDP, winning a landslide victory in 1960. Between stints in both federal and provincial legislatures, Walter was Director of Education at OISE, President of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, and the Dean of Arts and Science of Trent University in Peterborough.

Living in Peterborough and its proximity to Lang Village proved to be the catalyst for Ida’s education as a spinner and weaver. On a visit with their four children, Ida looked at the women weaving in the 6

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barn and said, “That’s for me.” How many of us have had a similar epiphany! Ida told me that she learned the wrong way around, by first winding a warp and then proceeding to the loom to weave but that proved to be a bad way to start because if you don't know what you're doing and you don't do a good job winding your warp, you'll pay for it later. You can imagine the sharp learning curve in that weaving class as one learned how much interaction there is between all the steps along the way in weaving.

Six months after starting weaving classes at the recreation centre in Peterborough, Ida learned to spin from the wife of a professor at Trent whose enthusiasm was contagious. Ida went on to be in the first graduating class of the OHS Spinning Certificate programme, graduating from Humber College in 1981. I saw some of Ida’s work for the course, including her work on designer yarns, something Ida later taught in numerous workshops. for local guilds. Her first and still favourite wheel was the one that came in the box all the way from New Zealand, the Ashford Traditional. It has pride of place in her kitchen with some incredibly evenly spun skeins of yarn on the floor beneath it. Ida spins both for knitting and weaving but she says when weaving with handspun one has to be careful not to lose the handmade quality of the yarn. Ida’s other wheel, which she keeps up at the cottage, is a wheel with a story. She was given the Rogvaldson wheel by the family of the late Margaret Bell, a former member of the TGSW. Ida is primarily a self-taught weaver. When the Pitmans returned to Toronto in 1975, again through a colleague of Walter’s, Ida joined the weaving community. After an interview with its founder, Mrs. Packham, Ida was deemed sufficiently serious about weaving to be invited to join the North End Study Group, a corps of crack weavers who to this day, gather to work on specific topics and to disseminate information within the group about what they have learned. Ida says she gained experience in many structures through her association with the group as well as enjoying the friendship of many of its members. Presently, Ida is working on a textural weave for this group on her eight-shaft Leclerc floor loom, while her eight-shaft table loom has a variegated warp set up for a scarf. She says she misses her old 45” Leclerc but the studio could just not be configured to hold it. She does have an extensive library of spinning, weaving and knitting books and is currently working on a knitted vest from Folk Vests in dark blue handspun.

I could have stayed much longer in Ida’s warm and welcoming home and enjoyed getting to know her better. I look forward to the show and tell when she will share the pieces currently on her looms and perhaps wear the vest currently on the needles. Ida’s output and achievements are truly inspirational!

Thank you, Ida for sharing them with us!

CF Ida Florence Pitman 1925–2016

This photograph shows Carrie Osborn weaving on the Barn Loom at Lang Pioneer Village in the summer of 2010. While this may not be the weaver Ida Pitman saw working at Lang, it is the same loom.

Photo by Joe Lewis © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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In the News, 1940 SPINNERS AND WEAVERS’ LYCEUM FASHION SHOW Spinners and weavers of Ontario will present a display and fashion show at the Lyceum Club and Woman's Art Galleries on Wednesday, when Mrs. Margaret Macpherson will demonstrate spinning and Miss Wanda Nelles of New York will speak on weaving in that state. Mr. Tony Foy will illustrate an address with his loom. Miss Gwedolyn Plant and Miss Margret Reid will model costumes, among them a gown made of material woven by Miss Reid’s mother. Hand-made jewelry and smart hats will be worn by the mannequins and there will be hand -woven yard goods in the display. Tea will be served, with Mrs. G.H. Smith and Mrs. J.A.M. Alley presiding at the table. Miss Joan Hall, president of the exhibiting group is general convener.

This announcement was in the Globe and Mail on November 11 or 12, 1940. It is very much a Society Announcement.

Toronto Telegram, Thursday November 14, 1940.

The heading above the photograph reads “Costumes in Handweaving”. The caption is reproduced below:

If you want to trace the early history of the Handweavers and Spinners of Ontario, look to Toronto’s daily newspapers in the WW2 period.

Finding stories about people’s ingenuity in rising above wartime shortages and celebrating the hand “Displayed at the Spinners’ and Weavers’ fashion made was just the ticket. The fashion show show at the Lyceum Women's Art Association mounted in November 1940, just 14 months after yesterday [November 13, 1940] were smart the forming of the organization, hit the right tone. clothes, the material of which was hand loomed. Obviously the shortages here in Ontario were the Shown above are Miss Eleanor Watson, left, in a result of raw materials being used in gray and white ribbed woolen, which has been manufacturing goods for the army. Wool blankets tailored into a one-piece dress. It has green and uniforms took precedence over fashion. velveteen collar, and the upsweeping hat is green. Pooling resources to buy fleece and spun wool The evening cape, centre, is made in shades of was one way the group dealt with shortages. peacock green and blue finely woven, the work done by Betty Banigan, and worn by Elisabeth Without European imports the concept of Harrison. Mrs. John Hall, right, wears a vest and Canadian made and—better still—locally made skirt outfit of brown wool run through with a high fashion was newsworthy. Aimed at society hairline of green, her own handicraft. The blouse women who could shop at Holt Renfrew: the she wears with it is a yellow flannel.”

Junior League not the Factory Girl.

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Toronto Telegram, Thursday, November 14, 1940 The Spinners and Weavers’ fashion show at the Lyceum Women’s Art Association yesterday proved beyond doubt that weaving is a Canadian art to be commended and fostered into a Canadian Industry.

Toronto Star, November 14, 1940 SPINNERS, WEAVERS HOLD FASHION SHOW Speakers Talk on Quality, Beauty and Sturdiness of Materials Members of the Spinners and Weavers of Ontario presented a delightful fashion show yesterday afternoon at the Lyceum Women’s Art Association under the direction of Joan Hall. The quality beauty and sturdiness of the handwoven materials, from which all the clothes were made, was stressed by the various members who spoke...

Among the many outstanding ensembles molded was one worn by Mrs. William Reid, formerly Miss Margret Brown. This costume was a teal blue dressmaker suit, the material for which was woven by her mother Mrs. Lou Brown. Mrs. Reid wore this ensemble on her wedding trip recently.”

Ed. Note: Mrs. Lois Brown (Lou in the article) was the founding President of the Spinners and Weavers

Globe and Mail, November 14, 1940 Provincial Spinners-Weavers Setting Pace for Americans, Wanda Nelles Says at Display A comprehensive idea of what Ontario has accomplished in producing good looking wearable apparel for which the material is grown in Canada, fast-dyed, with vegetable dyes, and meticulously tailored, was given in the fashion show for which Mrs. John Hall was the commentator, and which included fifteen outfits- suits, coats, evening wraps, sweaters and afternoon dresses…

These two ads are from the Spinners and Weavers’ 1940 and 1946 booklets. © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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Globe and Mail, November 14, 1940

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PROVINCIAL SPINNERS-WEAVERS SETTING PACE FOR AMERICANS, WANDA NELLES SAYS AT DISPLAY Story by unknown author Although weaving is much more developed in the United States than in Canada, and there is an enormous market in handicrafts there, and a great deal of wealth put into craft academies, which are well organized and endowed, Americans still look to Canada to supply them with things they cannot get elsewhere, said Miss Wanda Nelles, speaking at the fashion show staged by the Spinners and Weavers of Ontario, Wednesday, in the Women’s Art Association headquarters. Mrs. A.C. Mackie, president of the club, welcomed the visitors.

Miss Nelles spoke of work of the Cranbrook School—the largest of the several craft centres she visited—backed by a “fourteen or fifteen million dollar foundation,” where there are courses given in all kinds of crafts and the fine arts, as well as city and town planning, etc. “There are museums of modern and ancient decorative art, a wonderful library to which students have access, and the teachers are of European origins, so as to give a background in the arts of older countries,” she said. Studios are open all night, and students are encouraged to interest themselves in countries other than their own, “so that it is not an uncommon sight to see an architect spinning material for his own suit, or a town planning student working in pottery.”

“But in spite of all this, they come to Canada and are anxious to get Canadians organized so as to supply them with things they cannot now get in Europe,” said Miss Nelles. “Maybe it is that they want something distinctly Canadian. In any event, this is a challenge and an opportunity to establish here.”

A comprehensive idea of what Ontario has accomplished in producing good looking wearable apparel for which the material is grown in Canada, fast-dyed with Canadian vegetable dyes, and meticulously tailored, was given in the fashion show for which Mrs. John Hall was commentator, and which included fifteen outfits—suits, coats, evening wraps, sweaters and afternoon dresses, modelled by a group of young women, mostly University students.

Highlights of the show, which was similar to that staged at the C.N.E handicraft show this year, included and evening cape of peacock blue, lined with green matching the silk thread, woven into the material; a colorful red tartan sports cape, lined with white flannel; a powder blue wool suit, for which material was woven by Wanda Nelles and beautifully tailored by Andre, Toronto, who specializes in hand-made materials, and a stunning winter-weight coat of grape-juice shade, lavishly trimmed with Canadian beaver. Material for the coat was woven by Tony Foy, who also gave a demonstration of weaving on a hand-loom.

Mrs. Lois Brown wearing a grey and black stripe tailored dress—for which she had woven the material—directed the show. Models included: Miss Elaine Pequenat, Miss Bette Harrison, Mrs. William Reid, Miss Gwendolyn Plant, Miss Eleanor Watson.

Ed. notes: By 1946 Wanda Nelles began teaching full time in the Ontario Collage of Arts’ new Design Faculty, housed in its new building on Nassau Street. In 1960 she became craft editor for Chatelaine magazine, writing articles such as “Embroider a Canadian Tapestry”, p.63, August 1967 Volume 40 no.8, and producing “How To” craft catalogues.” © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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A Travel Story: Dyeing on the French River

by Ria Harting, reprinted from the December 2002 Newsletter At the beginning of September, seven members of the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers spent a wonderful weekend at the Lodge at Pine Cove, on the historic French River. We were very fortunate to be invited by Alex Strachan, the owner of the Lodge, to organize and participate in a weekend fibre arts program that would be suitable to the Lodge and its surroundings, and to give feedback as to any future fibre arts programs which could be held at the Lodge. We chose to make nature dyes from plants collected on the shores of the French River and obtained the assistance of a guide from the nearby Dokis First Nations area, Norm Dokis. He led us in a native ceremony prior to us gathering hemlock bark, ferns, lichens, elderberry, and other plants on a remote trail. Norm made us aware of the need to give something back to nature, or at least think about the abundance nature presents us. His understanding of the ecology of the French River landscape blended very well with the knowledge of Phyllis Carlton and Mieke Cryns of our group, who are co-authors of Spectrum, Dye Plants of Ontario by the Burr House Spinners and Weavers Guild—a handbook for those interested in dyeing with plants in this part of the world. To make the dye stock and dye our skeins, we were able to use the large industrial kitchen at the Lodge.

In addition to our main activity, we enjoyed our surroundings—the exquisitely built Lodge and cabins.

Mealtimes on the screened-in porch were a treat. Our group carved out a corner on this porch in which we spent a lot of time doing what spinners and weavers tend to do, i.e. either spin or weave or at least talk about spinning or weaving. I could easily imagine myself spinning an entire fleece with a drop spindle sitting on that porch, looking up from time to time to see the beautiful, natural landscape, wondering about the time when the French River was a major highway as part of the fur trade which started more than 400 years ago. Would the voyageurs have transported spinning wheels with their cargo of musical instruments or the fine linen tablecloths destined for the gentlemen in Fort William?

Probably they did, adding another fascinating aspect to the French River for visiting spinners and weavers.

Catherine Brackley, Phyllis Carlton, Mieke Cryns, Betty Elder, Hilde van der Schaaf, Denny McMillan and Ria Harting 12

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The Bursary The Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers offers an annual bursary of $300 to anyone who has been a member for two or more consecutive years. The bursary money can be put toward the costs of a specific project or course of study designed to improve the skills and artistry of those practicing our crafts. Bursary recipients are invited to share the results of their study with fellow Guild members.

In 1991 Ruth Carroll, as part of her exploration of “Holland Cloth”, produced this weaving.

Judith Fielder in1994 researched traditional Kumihimo (組み紐), which is a Japanese form of braidmaking.

In 1998 Elaine Clow-Martin researched lichen dyes.

Betty Parks displayed one of the many fabrics she wove as part of her colour study research in 2004.

A Green Approach to Natural Dyeing: 2013 bursary recipient Harriet Boon described her studies with French botanist, chemist, and dyer Michael Garcia.

Michelle Kortinen described her weaving study and displayed samples she produced in 2015 for the “Basic” stage of the Guild of Canadian Weavers’ testing program.

You can find the application for the bursary on the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers’ website https://toronto-guild-of-spinners-and-weavers.com/bursary/ © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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Profile of our October 2019 Speaker: James B. Fowler At age four James B. Fowler cut up a wedding dress trying to make clothes for his new Barbie doll.

Fast forward: James attends Vancouver City College in the Fine Arts department focusing on textile manipulation and then moves to Toronto as a student in Ryerson Polytechnic’s Fashion Design department. Later he does a stint at George Brown College in their Apparel Manufacturing program.

Fowler tested his skills at Marilyn Brooks, Inc. before setting out on his own, and then spent over a decade as a noted Canadian Fashion designer.

He then segued into the education field, at the International Academy of Design & Technology, first as an instructor, then as the first Chair of Fashion, and finally the Director of their School of Fashion in 2002.

Apparently, however, he missed the cloth, so he moved full circle and returned to cutting up old clothes to make art and accessories! Fowler started “TEXTI’LL” in 2005 and has exhibited and sold through numerous group and solo shows in Ontario. He is currently working on several pieces for a future exhibition.

James returned to the education field in 2009 and is currently an adjunct faculty member teaching Design and Colour, Fashion History, and Contemporary Fashion at the Toronto Film School and Ryerson University’s Chang School.

Fowler also collects vintage Ken dolls (1961–1966) and has exhibited his collection at the Fashion History Museum in Cambridge and the Markham Museum. He also wrote and produced the show catalogue, “Ken and Me”, in 2016. You can find more of Ken and James at www.jamesfowlervintageken.com.

James is also an avid fan of Canadian Fashion and its backstory, which he researches, collects, and archives on his web/blog site www.clothingcanadafashion.com.

James Fowler at his Texti'll, Booth, B-32, One of a Kind Show 2008 14

Sunburst Flower, 1 inch square pieces of boiled recycled wool garments, 2009

© 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

Past Exhibitions Exhibition of Contemporary Canadian Arts Art Gallery of Toronto (Art Gallery of Ontario) March 3 – April 16, 1950

Spinners and Weavers of Ontario Royal Ontario Museum May 18 – May 29, 1946

Invitation to the opening of a Royal Ontario Museum exhibition Weaving ′61 Royal Ontario Museum June 23 – September 23, 1961

This exhibition included painting, sculpture, and crafts. The item number 794 in the catalogue is identified as being from the Weavers and Spinners of Ontario, but that was not the only one. Founding member Signe Lundberg exhibited seven works: table linens and a rya rug. Most of 48 woven works in the exhibition were created by members.

Invitation to Weaving ′61 opening at Royal Ontario Museum June 27 1961. Opening remarks by Mrs. Leslie Frost, wife of the premier of Ontario

This publication shows a small part of the story of the Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers that began in September 1939 and continues today. The Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers aims to promote the crafts of handweaving, spinning and dyeing by advancing the skill and artistry of those practicing the crafts within the guild and the community through educational programs of interest and value to our members.

Guest Newsletter editor, Joe Lewis October 5, 2019 © 2019 Toronto Guild of Spinners and Weavers

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