The Nanoose Bay Weavers and Spinners Guild presently has 20 members, with about half being both weavers and spinners. We are welcoming two new members this year. We meet monthly at member residences.

Our purpose is to foster exploration and growth in weaving and spinning, through informative meetings and workshops; encourage show and tell, and to remain a home-meeting guild.

Anyone with an interest in weaving or spinning is welcome to join. Yearly fees are $5.00. We do not have an executive. The hostess conducts the meeting, which is always held in the evening.

The guild began as an off-shoot of the Mid-Island Weavers Guild. A small group of weavers would travel down to Nanaimo for meetings in 1975 - 76. Elaine Duncan began teaching weaving in Nanoose in 1976, and the idea of forming a Nanoose Guild began to form.

We participated in our first ANWG conference with the Mid-Island weavers in 1977. It was held at the University of Victoria. The guild booth was a double one, divided into 4 sections, each depicting a season. Fran Holley painted four pictures of the same scene from a window - each one of course in a different season. The Nanoose group had the autumn season, with Elaine Duncan, Marie Olsen, Jean Chappell, Mary Davenport, Chris Cox and Barbara Steele participating. Of course they had to meet to discuss the booth, and from this our guild was born.

We wanted a guild that did weaving, encouraged lots of show and tell and held informative meetings that would be held in each other's homes. We did not want an executive, money, books or equipment rentals. We felt that Mid-Island could offer all of that. The Guild has grown and changed over the years, but our goals have always remained consistent.

For more information, please contact:

Elaine Duncan e-mail
1505 Errington Rd.
Errington B.C.
V0R 1V0
250-248-1279