SHARE is a Weavers & Spinners Society of Austin (WSSA) tradition, born from necessity when an ice storm forced the guild to cancel a guest-speaker-led workshop it already had reserved space for. Guild leaders quickly took matters into their own hands and turned lemons into lemonade (or would that be ice into ice cream?) with a last-minute round robin weaving event. It has since evolved into a free, members-teaching-members workshop – a way to share knowledge and help newcomers and beginners to get started.
While SHARE changes and adapts to guild members needs every year, we typically have looms setup for weaving, a activity of some sort (round robin weaving, spinning, bingo) and books, equipment, fiber, yarn, etc to play with.
Your fellow guild members will be there to demo, chat, and help with those kinds of questions and knotty problems that only seeing it and feeling it in person can help solve. Please join us to ask or answer questions, pipe in with suggestions, see what others have been up to with their craft, or just hang out for the fun of it.
Yes! SHARE is free to you as a paid member of WSSA.
The times when we hold SHARE at Laura’s Library, we put out a donation box to support the library for letting us have the meeting space for free.
SHARE is typically offered in the winter months in the early part of the year. Be aware that both unpredictable circumstances, and predictable Texas winter weather, can mean cancellations or abrupt adjustments to the schedule or nature of SHARE. It’s kind of a tradition at this point.
The location of SHARE can change from year to year, so check the event calendar.
This is a volunteer-run guild effort, so events can run the gamut from beginner-friendly demonstrations of how to warp a rigid heddle loom, to a hands-on experience threading a doubleweave. There might be hour-long formal presentations or several ten minute demonstrations huddled around a few portable looms. We’ve been known to show a fiber-related movie or two.
Essentially, this is a relaxed day of exploring what guild members offer to share that year. If there is something in particular you’d like to see included, speak up. We are, of course, somewhat limited by space, time, and available resources, but it never hurts to ask!
Registering helps us know how many people to expect so we have enough chairs for everyone, tables to put your portable looms on, space for any spinning wheel circle or equipment we’ve brought from storage, etc. It also helps us determine what your needs, if any, are. And, importantly, it helps us get in touch with you if weather cancels or changes the event.
Oh, bless you. Thank you.
Whether you’d like to demonstrate something, give a mini talk, help out with new weaver and spinner questions, help with setup and take down of equipment, or if you’re interested in helping put together next year’s SHARE, just let us know and we’ll get in touch.
SHARE 2025
Saturday, February 1st
noon to 2:00 p.m.
Northwest Recreation Center
2913 Northland Dr, Austin, TX 78757