Recently the Totally Warped Weavers Guild competed in the

annual Sheep to Shawl competition at Friday Harbor on

San Juan Island. They came home with spirits soaring, a blue

ribbon and a perfect score.

The team consisted of Tamar White, Bellevue, team

captain/spinner; Kimberly Affleck, Auburn, weaver; Cindy

Douglass, Kirkland, plyer; Shelly Vollstedt, Redmond, steward;

Kitty Pearson, Issaquah, spinner; Kristy Herrick, Issaquah,

spinner; Adele Byrd, Mercer Island, spinner; Sue Atkielski,

Issaquah, spinner; Evelyn McGuirk, Maple Valley, spinner; Kathy

Nitsche, Seattle, spinner; and Jill Carrier, Kent, spinner.

The Totally Warped Weavers Guild was founded in 1998. Being

such a new guild, they had never competed in a “Sheep to

Shawl” competition. “For the first time out of the

chute, I think we did pretty well,” said White. What makes

the perfect score especially sweet for Kimberly Affleck, however,

is that she has only been weaving for six months.

The shawl was woven on an eight-shaft Loomcraft, floor loom.

The pattern selected was an undulating herringbone twill. Three

natural-colored fleeces were used in preparing a shaded warp _ a

dark, a medium and a light. Greater shade gradations were

achieved by blending a dark with a medium, and a medium with a

light. Competition guidelines stipulated that the shawl could be

no less than 20 inches wide by 72 inches long, exclusive of

fringe. The team’s finished shawl measured 23″ x 72″,

exclusive of fringe.

The Totally Warped Weavers Guild meets at Yarns Galore Inc.,

660 N.W. Gilman Blvd., #C4, Issaquah, WA 98027 on the third

Tuesday of every month from 6 until 9 p.m. For membership

information, call Sabina Jantz or Kate Jantz-Koprivnik at (425)

391-8553.