Beth Ross Johnson 

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Beth has been weaving since 1970 and her interests have gravitated toward the folk textiles Japan. She has had two extensive stays in Japan to study kasuri and sakiori. While studying for an MFA in Textiles at Georgia State University, she was given a book on weaving drafts collected during the 1930s Japan that includes examples of sashiko-ori and other structures not known in the US handweaving scene. 

 

A covid induced sideline teaching sashiko embroidery online compelled her to start weaving these designs and realizing their potential for exploration. She has published articles in VÄV magazine and a project for Handwoven in this subject and leads workshops nationally on sashiko ori and other weaving subjects. She writes frequently for other handweaving magazines such as Complex Weavers Journal, Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot, and was consulted for the Hitomezashi Sashiko Pattern Generator. 

 

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Phyllis Miller 

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Phyllis was inspired to learn to weave in 1968 after discovering the work of Sylvia Heyden in Durham, NC. Her curiosity has led her to explore many weaving techniques and structures alone and in a range of workshops with leaders in the field. Her interest has often included combining handwoven cloth with commercial cloth in wearables and accessories. 

 

She participated in Lord & Taylor’s Savannah Style week in New York City, exhibited in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Savannah, and Minnepolis and has been published in Handwoven magazine, most recently with two articles on sashiko ori.

 

Her interest in Japanese sashiko-ori grew from an appreciation of the rich tradition of Japanese textiles and their recurring representation of certain patterns produced in a variety of ways. In 2018, when she recognized that the initial guide stitches in a sashiko stitching pattern were very like a pattern made by supplemental warp threads in a handwoven cloth, she began to research and collect sashiko patterns and compile a portfolio of over 70 sashiko-ori weaving drafts and their woven samples. 

 

As current interest in the topic has increased, she has begun

teaching and collaborating with other weavers to explore the potential of sashiko-ori for contemporary weavers.