The move, in 1990, from the Community Centre to Oliver’s old CPR Station expanded the Guild’s offerings from one Thursday drop-in each month to one every week. At first, they had spinning every 3rd Thursday and meetings every 2nd, but eventually that merged into a Thursday drop-in for everyone, every week.
The CPR Station became their home, they wove new curtains and started the practice of Soup Days once a month. Like most homes, their storage space filled up with an ever-growing library and equipment, which now included an assortment of table looms, bobbin winders, wool carders, warping boards and a full-size 8-harness loom.
"Summer and Winter" weaving workshop in the Old CPR Station 1993
Throughout the decade, teaching and learning remained at the centre of Guild’s activity. Workshops ran the gamut from the most complicated weaving patterns to more homely tasks like darning socks. Beginner’s classes were offered regularly and the other fibre arts such as felting, knitting, rug hooking, even wheat weaving, had workshops.
The Station was shared with several other local groups including the Community Arts Council. The Guild participated in the Council's summer open-studio events through much of the 90s. They were also a part of Family Days, High School Culture Days, the Fairview Spring Sale, Rock Creek Fashion show and amongst many other projects they worked together on woven Friendship Quilts. The archives contain a surprising number of newspaper clippings with stories and photos from local dailies and weeklies throughout the South Okanagan. In addition to publicity and community outreach they had standing committees for organizing the workshops, taking care of the library, the equipment and the annual craft fair. Organizationally they were also evolving – moving towards two-year terms for the volunteer positions on the Executive and discussing in the meeting minutes putting aside a small surplus into their first term deposit to save up for another loom.
GUILD PRESIDENTS DURING THE DECADE
Sheila Weger 1987-88 Barbara Dunn 1988-89-90 Meg Lougheed 1990-91-92
Anna Brooks 1992-93-94 Isobel Lee 1994-95 Lynn Bremmer 1995-96-97
Lynn Bremmer and Cynthia Jones at a conference with the Victoria Weaving Guild
Children watching spinner Marnie Leake at a demo 1990
Laughing at the loom - Diane Lindsay and Hillary Thorp 1996
Meg Lougheed inspecting some fibres
1989 - The new Loom arrives - back row: Anna Brooks, Meg Lougheed, Joyce Thomson, Barb Levant, Mary Taylor, Cynthia Jones, Isobel Lee Marnie Leake, Front- Anya Lagodi, Barb Dunn and Helen Reynolds
Sandwich board for the Open Studio week at the Old CPR Station
Sampling of the Workshops offered during the early decades