March 2022

The Thousand Islands Arts Center (TIAC) is pleased to announce the opening of Cross Country Weavers in the Catherine C. Johnson Gallery. The exhibition, the first of the season, showcases a selection of one of TIAC’s permanent collections, Cross Country Weavers. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and will be on display through April 30^th.

                This exhibition highlights weavings and drafts by a select group of national weavers who hold annual swatch exchanges focused on technical and inspirational challenges that eventually culminate in a binder which is added to TIAC’s permanent collection. They will be on display as well as pieces woven by current members and our own Wednesday Weavers.

                In 1958, Evelyn Neher, a weaving instructor with a large network of friends and students, assembled 24 weavers to each weave one of twenty-four drafts on the cube of a binomial from Ada K. Dietz’ monograph, Algebraic Expressions in Handwoven Textiles. Her friend and fellow weaver Gail Redfield was the coordinator, and together they issued directions for a swatch exchange. The basics were simple: each weaver needed to produce enough yardage to be able to cut and mail swatches to the other members. There were also a few rules that had to be followed including: specific dimensions for the completed swatches; weavers were required to include the draft they had been assigned; there was a set timeline; and everyone had to use a 20/2 natural warp and tabby with a certain shade of blue for the pattern. In her notes, Gail wrote, “We wanted the samples studied for their technique and not for color.”

                The swatch exchange was a huge success, and Gail soon received a number of letters of encouragement for it to continue. But the challenge and joy of weaving weren’t the only reasons the weavers wanted a repeat. As one weaver wrote, “…I have had the pleasure of knowing [one member of our group] personally, others I have known through correspondence, and the rest are new acquaintances, but all are now friends, through the medium of cooperative weaving.” So the decision was made to continue, officially establishing the Cross Country Weavers as an annual swatch exchange and forging friendships across the country.

                After the first year, they increased their number to thirty, and alternated the annual challenge between either a technical or inspirational theme. Eventually they also loosened up requirements to allow weavers to choose their own yarns and colors. Today, the exclusive group continues to consist of 30 high-quality weavers across the United States, each of whom has been recommended by at least two CCW members. Topics are generally chosen when group members meet at events such as the New England Weavers Seminar, Convergence, or more recently, over Zoom. Past subjects have included Undulating Weft Effects; Curtains and Draperies; Non-traditional Name Drafts; Fabrics Using Three or More Shades of Green; Basket Weave Plus One Other Structure; and, most recently, Birds, Butterflies and Bugs, just to name a few.

                At some point the CCW began producing two extra sets of swatches in addition to those each member received, which were bound and used as traveling exhibits along the east and west coasts. Somewhere around 1995 it was agreed upon that TIAC would receive one of these copies after it had completed its exhibition rotation. We now receive a binder every year and have a nearly complete collection that dates back to the group’s beginnings. These binders are a cherished part of the Museum’s acquisitions. You won’t find them in other libraries and they are not available in bookstores. TIAC is the only textile library where the complete swatch collection can be studied.

                What makes these binders of swatches particularly significant to weavers and researchers is the way they have been assembled and cared for. The majority of the weaving samples are loose and not adhered or blocked behind mats, which provides an opportunity to better analyze structure and get a feel for the hand of the fabric. Thanks to the steps weavers have taken to prevent fraying, it’s also possible to handle the swatches and get a look at both the front and back of the weave. Drafts are kept with their associated swatches, providing well-written, clear, and informative instructions for replicating the weave. It’s particularly fun to read the notes weavers have included on why and how they created their pieces.

                Marina Loew, TIAC’s curator, remarked:  “I’m the lucky one who gets to see the binder when it first arrives each year. After I look through it, the binder is then passed around to the executive director, my co-workers, and the members of TIAC’s weaving group (the Wednesday Weavers), who use the samples and drafts as inspiration for their own projects. Once the binder is done circulating, I take it up to our library and put it on the shelf with the sixty-something others of its kind, where it remains for future visitors and researchers to enjoy.”

                The Thousand Islands Arts Center ~ Home of the Handweaving Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing art, craft, and our unique textile collection through education and exhibition. Founded in 1969 in Clayton, NY, TIAC houses over 20,000 textiles dedicated to American handweaving and has an extensive library that contains many rare, limited and out-of-print books and monographs. Weavers represented within the collections include Berta Frey, Mary Meigs Atwater, Theo Moorman, Mary Snyder, Ruth Holroyd, and Lucille Landis, among many others. Visitors and researchers are welcome to view the collections by appointment by contacting Marina at marina@tiartscenter.org