blog - elizabeth mather

Amy in her studio Amy Putansu is teaching again at Penland this coming summer. It should be a great class. If you want more information about the class, check out this post.

Amy is an incredible teacher and very talented weaver. I had the pleasure to take another class from her at Penland in 2011. I thought I would share a few links with you in case you are considering the class this summer and want more background information:

I really enjoyed both the article in Ornament and the segment on the Martha Stewart show.

Details: Published: 02 January 2014

For Christmas 2013, my mom and I created handwoven and hand-sewn camels for her grandkids/my nieces/nephews. This is our 4th year doing a Christmas animal (previous years: giraffe, elephant, tortoise).

The sewing pattern for the camel was designed by Lois Boncer and printed in the August/September 2002 issue Soft Dolls & Animals magazine.

The handwoven skin is woven of Loro Piana 2/12 Camel yarn from Webs set 20 ends per inch. The weaving draft is a crepe weave by Alice Schlein and available at handweaving.net here.

My mom found the fake fur online (after quite a hunt) and it matched beautifully.

This year, like last year, we made a total of 9 animals - 7 for the kids and one for each of us.

Details: Published: 01 January 2014

I'm heading back to Penland June 22 - July 4, 2014 for the fabulous class listed below. The wonderful Amy Putansu (artist statement/bio: gallery) is teaching a doubleweave class and has been so kind as to select me as her studio assistant! Mark your calendars and come to Penland for 2 fantastic weeks of learning!

Doubleweave, Double Cloth, and Multi-layer Fabrics

These fascinating techniques are all possible on simple, 8-harness floor looms. The shuttles can be thrown by hand, and the harnesses raised manually. Hand woven cloth can be fine, atmospheric, and sophisticated. In this workshop students will work with fine yarns, learning techniques to handle an expanded repertoire of yarns as warp and weft to create a series of small fabrics woven in a variety of structural combinations that include multiple layers and blocks. The focus of the workshop will be technical: drafting double and multi-layer weaves; efficiency in warping; and many other tools and tips. In terms of woven textile design we will consider the loom our tool that works for us as we highlight materials within given structures for innovative fabrics.

Bio: Amy Putansu is the Professional Crafts fiber instructor at Haywood Community College since 2008. As a studio weaver before that, her hand woven fabrics were collected by figures such as Jack Lenor Larsen and Martha Stewart, and acquired by the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. She is currently a Southern Highlands Craft Guild member and has taught weaving workshops at Penland, Arrowmont, and Peter’s Valley over the past decade.

Image: Amy Putansu
‘Wheat’ detail. Silk ondulé doubleweave.
Photo: Steve Mann

Details: Published: 25 October 2013

I have embarked on my first journey into making handwovens to sell. I have recently finished a couple of woven-shibori, organic indigo vat-dyed scarves as well as baby blankets.