All you need to spin your dreams
I have to admit to having a ‘thing’ about bags. If I ever feel like shopping for something really exciting, it always involves bags.. I have even purchased power tools purely because they came in a cute bag.. So of course, when Majacraft brings out […]
This is a little public service announcement post, prompted by some unexpected website issues (argh technology!) It seems that our contact form is not working as it should, and while we are receiving your messages from the contact form, it is not sending us your […]
Starting next month Majacraft will be hosting some special live broadcasts to both showcase their wheels and tools as well as answer your questions. Are you thinking of buying a wheel but aren’t sure which one is right for you? Or do you already have your Majacraft wheel and want to get some tips and tricks on making the most of it? Maybe you have a problem and could use some troubleshooting? Glynis Poad and Suzy Brown will be hosting these sessions, and we aim to make them informative and interactive, everyone is welcome! There will be a Q&A time during each livestream, so please send in your questions before the event, or join the chat on the day to ask! For anyone unable to attend please still post your questions on the event page and we will answer them during the livestream for you to watch later.
Following the live sessions, all videos will remain available as recordings on the Majacraft YouTube channel, come back and rewatch anytime.
Each session will run via YouTube, anyone can view, and if you want to join the live chat alongside the stream you only need to be logged into your YouTube account to participate. We will post links to each session here on the blog once we have those set up, and we will also create a Facebook Event for each session, you will be able to find the links there too and you will get a reminder when we are about to start! You are invited to ask your questions either during the event or earlier by posting on the Event page, we would love to know what you are most interested in!
Please make sure you are following our Facebook page for further updates on these live events!
March 27
1pm NZ Time
(Sunday 26 March 5pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 8pm Eastern Time)
Topic: Majacraft Wheels 101
Answering the FAQs on basic wheel use and Maintenance
Attaching and removing your flyer
Threading the flyer and different Majacraft orifices
Where to oil (and not oil) your wheel
Drive Band Maintenance – when to replace and when to cut and rejoin (for stretched bands)
Tension cord- to cross or not to cross?
Spinning head height
3 April
1pm NZ Time
(Sunday 2 April 6pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 9pm Eastern Time)
Topic: Wheel Focus: Get to know your Rose
New Rose Assembly Tips
What can you spin on a Rose?
Tension – scotch tension explained
Head adjustments for best spinning results
Accessories for the Rose
10 April
1pm, NZ Time
(Sunday 9 April 6pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 9pm Eastern Time)
Topic: Wheel Focus: The magic of the Little Gem
Why this is such a great travel wheel
Drive bands – direction and twist
Tips for easy treadling
Drive Band troubleshooting – when to replace?
Accessories
8 May
1pm NZ Time
(Sunday 7 May 6pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 9pm Eastern Time)
Topic: What’s on our wheels?
Glynis and Suzy share their spinning, show you their stash, and put their Majacraft wheels through their paces to show you what they are spinning and how they have their wheels set up for it. Share your pics and ask your questions during the livestream!
15 May
1pm NZ Time
(Sunday 14 May 6pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 9pm Eastern Time)
Topic: The Suzie’s – to Pro or not to Pro, what is the difference?
New wheel assembly tips
The history of Majacraft and the Suzie Wheel
Accessories for the Suzie and Suzie Pro
How do you choose between the Rose, the Suzie or the Aura?
22 May
1pm NZ time
(Sunday 21 May 6pm US Pacific Time, Sunday 9pm Eastern Time)
Topic: the Awesome Aura
What makes this ‘THE’ Majacraft wheel for spinning designer yarns
Assembly tips for the Aura
Modified Double Drive explained
Adjusting your wheel to suit your spinning
Expanding your range with the right accessories
The stylus kit – how great is this for longdraw on the Aura! Head tilting for max effect
Troubleshooting and wheel maintenance
We have been waiting (on the edge of our seats!) for the results of our big VOTE to determine the colour of this years Special Edition bobbin! You too? Waiting for me to mention what that result is? 😀 We had an overwhelming response on […]
We have wonderful adventures coming up this year, one of them being the opportunity to be involved in the Majacraft Retreat being held in the UK this October. The lovely Ruth of ‘The Wheel Ewe’ has organised an exciting event that will not only showcase […]
The time is going by so quickly, and its not so many months now till our next marvellous Magic Majacraft Camp! We know many of you are eagerly waiting to find out whats on offer this time around, and I am pleased to share with you the full teacher/workshop list for this great event!
This year we will have a wide variety to tempt you with – from spinning amazing textured yarns and learning how to use them, to felting, spin tech and plying, fibre preparation, and spin to wear. Scroll down to find the links to both the full workshop program and registration form.
Here is an example of work by one of our teachers Laurie Boyer, she will be travelling from the USA to be with us and share her skills and techniques:
And if thats not exciting enough! We have the lovely and talented Janet Day back from Australia, Isla Fabu, Suzy Brown, Lara Nettle, Pat Old, and Pauline Chapman, all bringing their individual creativity to share in our lovely relaxed camp environment.
Majacraft Camp will be held
Friday 10 – Sunday 12 February 2017
at
Keswick Christian Camp and Conference Centre, 5 Cooper Ave, Holdens Bay, Rotorua
To confirm your place at camp please send a deposit of $65 by Thursday 20th October 2016.
If you prefer to pay in instalments please pay $130 by Thursday 15th Dec.2016 and the final $130 by Thursday 12th Jan. 2017
Or full payment ($325 total) by Thursday 12th January 2017.
Payment method details are on the Registration Form
Please contact Glynis – Ph. 07 5433618, or email support@majacraft.co.nz if you have any questions about Camp 2017, we hope to see you there!
Are you one of those lovely creative fiber people who have purchased one of our Dynamic Heddle Looms? Or maybe you are thinking about it or curious about what makes it different from other rigid heddle looms.. So this months blogpost is devoted to the […]
Limited Edition bobbins? Different colours? Yes! We’ve got them! This is just a little heads-up if you didn’t know about these already, because they are proving very popular and just go to show that us spinners love colour! Last year we brought out some super […]
Growth, it’s all about movement, change, and outward expansion. This is what excites me about circular weaving! In my mind, it is an embodiment of these ideas, starting at the centre and working outwards, expanding into the space around it and changing it in a positive way, adding more all the time. When I start a circular weaving it is all about possibility, I have made the warp, or the framework for growth, and then begin to experiment with how to use that framework, using colours, textures, fibers both spun and unspun. When we designed our first circular loom for the Fiberygoodness spinning course (Journey to the Golden Fleece) it was not obvious that this was going to be ‘something’, although there were already a number of people who had been following my own early experiments with this kind of weaving and it seemed there might be a few people would also enjoy this quite retro ’70s idea. I started out with a large gear off a very old Louet drum carder (the teeth were broken). It was the right shape, and the teeth ideal for allowing me to warp it and still be able to lift the weaving off the loom when finished without cutting. Up to this time I had only seem looms that required the warp to be cut off and tied, or that used the loom as a final frame in the work, I wanted something we could reuse and to also remove the need to mess about tying knots (not my forte!) This was my very first circle weaving.
I made some sketches of ideas for the design, we decided that it should have ‘cut outs’ to make it easier to weave into, as the gear I had been using was just flat. You can see I had a few ideas! Some of them turned out to be not very practical in terms of making them, but we finally chose the one you see bottom left, as the unique shape for the Golden Fleece class. A little later Andrew added another design to become the ‘standard’ Majacraft loom that would be available to people not in the course too, it proved very popular!
Our first prototype was closer to the original gear, and while it worked really well and I loved using it, the material it was made of was too heavy, making it slightly harder to handle and also less portable, and this was another goal, to make something people could put in their bag and take with them, much like knitting! This was the first prototype:
After a bit of experimenting and discussion we settled upon using wood for the loom, it is strong and light, it feels nice to use and handle, and the colour of the wood compliments any colour, making it pleasing to use. We came up with these two looms 
and then added the smallest loom: 
There was so much interest in weaving circles on these looms that we set up a Facebook page for people to share their ideas, techniques and tips, and where we could post things we could offer such as the ‘Warp Speed‘ warping methods and the ‘make your own’ Template. You can find the group HERE and are very welcome to join in! It has been exciting to see the growth (yes we are back..ahem.. full circle again.) of this group and see the huge variety of projects people are using circle looms for! If you are starting to feel a little inspired to try your hand at circle weaving, you might enjoy the following videos, a ‘basic’ circle warp, an alternate warp for making earrings, and some ideas for creating textures in your weaving. I hope you enjoy them! Happy Weaving everyone Suzy x
It’s been a few days since we all reluctantly re-packed our bags and returned home from Majacraft Camp. Time to reflect on the wonderful atmosphere and marvellous things learned, as well as the good feeling of having spent time with old friends and new. Firstly […]