Handweavers Guild of America Certificate of Excellence

The Certificate of Excellence requirements came out in Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot in the summer of 1995. There was to be a pilot project of one year. I felt that I was destine to do the project because my piece was on the cover of the magazine, but I did not begin work in earnest until after moving to Murray, Kentucky on February 1, 1976.

In reviewing this work, please remember this project was done before we had the aid of much of the technology that has become part of our everyday life. My presentation and supporting materials would have risen to a much higher level if current.

I have gone through an excellent weaving program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago under the direction of Else Regensteiner and her assistant Lurene Stone. However, there were many challenges in the Certificate of Excellence weaving requirements that I had never actually tried. Drawing on my art school training, I built in extras such as using different fibers, yarn weights and textures, and a wide array of colors. In looking through the samples some I still like and others I know I should have done a better job. Below is the scoring chart used to evaluate my work.

Because I was doing all the samples and the major project in a six month period, I made a chart figuring out samples that could be combined on a warp. On a calendar, I charted exactly what would need to be completed each week and pretty much stuck to it. As an incentive to keep me going, I arranged the samples from my weakness to my strengths. At the beginning of the summer, I informed my college professor husband, that I was giving up cooking and that he was now working for me. It was his idea to have the form printed for my documentation. He cut the holes in the forms, typed the papers, sewed samples on cards, figured out shipping, and many other small, but necessary tasks. So, much gratitude goes to Gary Schroeder and our three boys -- Aaron, Ezra, and Isaac.