Continuing Textile Traditions: Canadian Weaving Traditions Today
March 19, 2026
Join WARP for our March Continuing Textile Traditions panel discussion as panelists Alice Abbott, Bob Keates, and Ginette Bourdage, with moderator Mary-Anne Dalkowski, discuss the history and future of weaving in Canada! Alice Abbott with share the details and impact of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners’ Master Weaving program, now available online. Bob Keates will reflect on the legacy of Ingrid Bosel, weaver extraordinare and creator of Fiberworks weaving software. Ginette Bourdages will discuss the Jane Stafford School of Weaving, an amazing virtual resource available to weavers around the world.
Panelists:
Alice Abbott first came to the world of fibre arts through rug hooking at a local guild, where she met many fibre enthusiasts and wool producers. She was soon captivated by the idea of spinning my own wool. At a spinning event there was a loom for sale and through the generosity of friends she soon learned to weave. She is the past president of the Warkworth Spinners and Weavers Guild and also past president of the Belleville Weavers and Spinners Guild. She is currently the Weaving Education Chair for the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners (OHS). Alice regularly attends two weaving study groups, a spinning group, and likes to dabble in tapestry weaving. Alice lives with her family in Codrington, a small farming community in eastern Ontario.
Bob Keates met Ingrid Bosel while they were working in adjacent labs in Hamilton, Ontario. They married in 1978, and Bob’s job allowed Ingrid to devote her time to weaving. Ingrid wanted a means to help plan her weaving, and the arrival of the personal computer in the mid 1980’s led to the birth of the Fiberworks drafting program. This has now undergone several iterations, but was key to Ingrid being able to develop her designs.
Ginette Bourdages is a representative of the Jane Stafford School of Weaving. The Jane Stafford School of Weaving offers a series of instructional online video lessons to inspire weavers to design and create the best possible cloth through graphic, colour, hand, and drape. It allows anyone, anywhere, to access workshops from the comfort of their own home. From beginners wondering where to start to experienced production weavers searching for new horizons, they have over 80 lessons with step-by-step instructions for 4-shaft projects, but they do exciting 8-shaft variations of weave structures for those with 8-shaft looms.
