This statement is effective March 15, 2008.

Illuminated Threads, by majority vote of members, has decided to dissolve our textile guild within the Society for Creative Anachronism. Illuminated Threads will continue as an independent textile guild. SCA members will continue to be welcomed within our guild as will anyone with a genuine interest in the textile arts. The guild may continue to participate in joint activities with individual branches of the SCA including display of the Illuminated Threads Rolling Demo as local guild members determine. Guild members will participate in these activities as individuals representing an organization outside the SCA as they would for joint activities with any other organization.

There are several reasons for this decision:

In 2006 Illuminated Threads opened the scope of the Guild to the study of all historical periods and chose not to limit members to the SCA's 600-1600 time period.

The Guild has always accepted members from outside the SCA as well as other kingdoms and other regions within Ansteorra. Not all of our members participate in SCA activities.

At this time at least one member is considering establishing a chapter of Illuminated Threads outside the Kingdom of Ansteorra. As different Kingdoms have different rules and procedures governing the formation and operation of guilds, having chapters society-wide could prove to be problematic if the Guild were to remain within the SCA.

The founding chapter of Illuminated Threads contains members who are not from recently suspended shires in the region, given that not all members were suspended the guild continued to meet in our regular location (not where the shire normally meets) after the local shire was suspended. The local shire was then held responsible for violating their suspension because the guild met even though not all the guild members in attendance were suspended and the shire has no control or say over the guild. We just happen to meet within their zip code. Illuminated Threads does not wish to cause the local shire further difficulties but the guild must continue to meet in order to prepare for Celtfest Texas where we will be teaching textile classes and providing a display of textile crafts from the Celtic world. The Celtfest organizing committee is depending on us being at their event. This is the 5th year we have provided a demonstration of textile crafts at this event which is held in Odessa. Illuminated Threads does not wish to cause the Shire of Black Lake to be accused of violating their suspension because we are keeping our obligations to the Celtfest. The only way to prevent causing our friends and neighbors further difficulty and still keep our word to the Celtfest committee is to dissolve the guild within the SCA so that guild activity no longer constitutes a violation of suspension. It is honorable to keep one’s word and promises, if we must leave the SCA to do that, then we do so gladly.

Illuminated Threads is concerned with the study of historic textiles, the sharing of our knowledge of textile crafts with each other and the public and providing an atmosphere of fellowship in which artists can continue to learn and to perfect their own skills. We will continue to hold to those ideals as an independant organization.