Friday, June 19, 2020

Online Teaching

We are living in a brave new world now, and along with a lot of other fiber teachers,  I am re-configuring my computer and other technology to help me adapt to more online teaching.

All of my slide lectures are now available for zoom meetings.  These were all designed to enhance my hands-on weaving, spinning and knitting classes but they also work very well as stand alone programs for guild meetings and other settings.  My fee is $200 for a 90 minute program followed by  live Q&A.  Email program inquiries to melissaweaverdunning@gmail.com.
UPDATED - Lecture fees are now $250.

Available programs include:

L’Amour de Maman - Acadian Weaving The earliest European settlers arrived in Maritime Canada beginning in 1632 and were known as Acadians.  Caught in the political conflict between France and England, the Acadians were forcibly removed from their homeland in 1755 and many spent ten long years imprisoned or homeless before eventually settling in Louisiana where they became known as Cajuns.  250 years later, Cajun weavers were following the same weaving traditions as their Acadian foremothers.  Come and hear about this remarkable story and see the beautiful fabrics they created on their two harness looms!

Donegal Tweed - The history of this unique Irish tweed from northwest Ireland dates back to the earliest textile factories in Ireland that gathered hand spinners and hand loom weavers together to provide income in an area of poor soils and subsistence farming.  Donegal tweed is still a thriving industry today 



Norman Kennedy's Ethnic Spinning Scrapbook - Master Weaver and Spinner Norman Kennedy was born in 1933 and he kept an old-fashioned scrapbook from the time he was a teenager, collecting images of spinners and weavers from around the world.  Melissa Weaver Dunning began her study of weaving and spinning in 1980 at The Marshfield School of Weaving in Vermont with Norman as her teacher.  This slide show presents a fascinating selection of spinners from around the world with enlightening commentary.


The Colorful History of Tartan, being a portrait of People, Places and Practices - Once a colorful pattern woven and worn by Scottish Highlanders, tartan was outlawed by the British government after the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745.  The history of how tartan came to be both a fashion icon and a national symbol of Scotland is full of fascinating characters and stories.

Tweeds and District Checks, Weaving from the Scottish Lowlands - Many modern suits and sport coats are made from this iconic twill cloth, using patterns that were developed from the age old Shepherd’s Check and from the colors of the surrounding landscape.  These color & weave designs and heathered dyed in the wool yarns have their own stories to tell, starting with a quick look back at tartans and moving on to the period after the Jacobite uprising and the Scottish Clearances.

18th c. Household Textiles - Domestic hand weavers produced a wide variety of fabric from their rustic looms for clothing, bed coverings, toweling and table linens. Modern weavers will be inspired as we explore two private antique textile collections to see samples of garments, cotton toweling, linen napery, linsey-woolsey, overshot, Venetian carpeting and wool blanketing.

Shaker Weaving and Textiles - Many are familiar with Shaker chairs or buildings, but the Shakers also applied their fundamental principles of utility, simplicity and proportion to textiles.  They are known for weaving poplar strips into cloth for baskets, bonnets and fans, utilitarian cloth for their own use, heavy fulled wool fabric for the Dorothy cloaks they wore and sold, and simple but unique rag rugs that still delight hand weavers today. We will examine hand woven textiles from the archives of three Shaker museums: Pleasant Hill in Kentucky, Hancock in Massachusetts and Canterbury in New Hampshire.
 Shaker Weaving with an emphasis on Shaker Rugs - As above, but with a special focus on the unique aspects of Shaker rugs.  
Traditional Knitting from England, Ireland and Scotland - Many of the foundations of traditional knitting come to us from England, Ireland, and Scotland: Fisherman’s ganseys, Aran cable knitting, Fair Isle multi-colored patterned knitting and delicate Shetland lace.  We will explore each of these traditions through images of garments and knitters, old and new.