workofmonth

March 2019 Meeting
(Thanks for the photos, Lisa!)

Betty

Betty Burian Kirk presented a very interesting and well illustrated program for our March meeting. Her topics were the principles of design and the history and application of color theory. Her presentation of both topics reflected her extensive research and deep understanding of how they could be applied to weaving. Betty is in the photo above with the elegant "Friendship Garment" she made inspired by Anita Luvera Mayer.

March Show and Tell


Joyce brought her President's Challenge project to show us. She wove this "Sunset over the Lake" pillow cover with progressively dyed roving and white fleece.		Fresh from her loom, Lizz brought a table runner she had woven with the same sari silk weft she used for her Weavers' Challenge project last month, but this time she used a red warp instead of a black warp.

Melvenea made her smock to remind her of all the first times she spun different yarns and tried new techniques, including the first dyed cotton yarn she spun, the first suri alpaca yarn she spun, and several other "firsts". The sides are tied with Melvenea's first tablet weaving of her own design and it all works together as a record of how she started out as a fiber artist.

Paula brought roving and cones of fine tencel yarn she had dyed.
And she showed us these three scarves she had woven with her hand-dyed 20/2 tencel.


For a cousin's birthday, Jackie made these "whatever" bags using fabric she wove and rayon velvet she embellished with the pattern of flowers.		Tom used 3/2 mercerized cotton in a point twill weave for his first four shaft weaving project. Note the contrasting color on the edges of his scarf.

Jamie brought several projects to show us, including this turned monk's belt runner she wove with 5/2 cotton.


Jamie again. This time she is holding a patchwork rug she wove.		For her first projects on her new floor loom, Leah wove two scarves.

Using yarn which had a blend of fibers, Tammy crocheted the wrap she is modeling in the photo above.

Shirley wove this one arm cloak for her daughter and embellished it with crossed maces and a richly patterned cuff.

Shelby, who will be our President next year, wove the shawl on the left using Zephyr wool/silk yarn in an undulating advancing twill. She knit the brioche knit shawl on the right with more than 17 different types of stitches, including 2 different brioche stitches.

Shelby again, this time with three color study towels (each one woven with a different colored weft on the same warp). They are for a towel exchange.


Ginni spun and knit her coat from gray Icelandic sheeps' wool to which she added colorful roving bits from her stash.		Thinking of Easter (?), Peggy made some cute rabbits, using recycled sweaters and pompoms.

Terry brought several batts she had made using wool, silk, sparklies, and locks.

Chris spun and knit this shawl starting with progressively dyed roving. Perhaps you can guess what she knit and is holding in the photo on the right?

February 2019 Meeting
(Thanks for the photos, Lisa!)

This was our Weavers' and Spinners' Challenge meeting at which volunteer Guild members either wove or spun following criteria assigned to them by the Program Committee. Here is the basic list of challenging criteria our weavers and spinners responded to this year:

1. Weave using a structure challenging for you or spin a type of yarn challenging for you.
2. Include a "POW" color.
3. Create fabric or a finished piece that evokes a memory or feeling for you.
4. Use a color that is challenging for you.
5. Use a yarn or fiber you haven't used before.

Each weaver or spinner could eliminate one of the five challenges. As you might expect, the fabrics and pieces they created reflected quite different interpretations of the challenges. All were very creative and attractive. Several weavers and spinners commented that it had been valuable to be challenged to produce a piece using materials or techniques that were new to them and/or outside their comfort zone, and the members of the audience who listened to their presentations very much enjoyed the program.

Above are the weavers with their challenge projects. From the left: Margie wove a rep weave runner using parachute cord as weft (her "POW" color is on the other side of the runner); Lizz, who prefers to weave with 5 epi of mohair and/or ribbon, wove a 12 epi runner using sari silk and black boucle; Margaret created a twill jacket using boucle she bought on a memorable trip to an Anita Mayer gathering (pink was her challenging color); Mary wove a shadow weave scarf of 3/2 cotton (and another with purple); and Mandy's challenging yarn was linen which she used to weave a runner and towels in Swedish lace patterns (Steve is holding the runner and assisted in the weaving project by managing their cat :-).

Here are the spinners with their challenge projects. From the left: Terry knit a hat with the yarn she had spun with sparkly fiber and bright colors that reminded her of childhood; Chris knit a scarf using yarn she had spun with bright "Highlighter" colors and black (the latter was her color challenge); Ginni, thinking of the winters of her childhood in northern Michigan, knit a cozy hat and scarf using merino yarn she had spun using "POW" colors; and Donna is holding two skeins of yarn she spun using wool from her own Cotswold sheep, plus some from Rambouillet sheep she had in the past. She chose to spin tweed for her new type of yarn and added some sari silk fibers to the acid-dyed wool blend.

February Show and Tell


Jacque knit her sweater using a pattern inspired by medieval tapestries and stained glass. She knit the colorful pattern on the sleeves with duplicate stitches.		Betty brought her first overshot weaving piece to show us. She used a bamboo warp at 20 epi and threaded the loom for the "Maltese Cross" pattern. For pattern weft she used a variegated yarn blended of 50% merino and 50% silk.

Inspired by last month's program, Ellen made a number of large complex Dorset buttons. She added a clothing magnet to the back of each one for attaching the button to fabric rather than using a pin so the button could be repeatedly attached and removed without damaging the fabric.


Here is another beaded knit scarf Mandy has been knitting. To see one she brought to show us earlier, have a look at September's Show and Tell. Mandy also does ceramics and made the yarn bowl in the background.		Melvenea is modeling the quilted apron she made. The quilting pattern is "Flying Geese", and Melvenea wove the pick-up pattern waistband and ties for the apron to coordinate nicely with the quilted wedges of geese.

Jessica brought a "Star of Bethlehem" twill baby blanket she had woven. Steve helped by holding up the right end of the blanket for the photo.


Using two types of wool yarn, Shelby wove this deflected doubleweave scarf. The red and orange yarns are superwash yarn that doesn't shrink, and the brown yarn is regular wool that can shrink. When Shelby wet finished the scarf with hot water, she produced this three dimensional texture with an orange lattice of connected ovals overlying puckered round red areas.		Ginni knit this Caribbean blue capelet while on a cruise, and she bought the pendant that matches it when she was shopping in one of the ports.

January 2019 Meeting
(Thanks for the photos, Lisa and Ken!)

Kate Larson presented a fascinating program and mini-workshop on Dorset buttons, followed by a two-day spinning workshop which was a great success. She began by mentioning that she was the 6th generation of her family to own the farm on which she raises Border Leicester and Horned Dorset sheep, and she told us that it was on a trip to England that she had learned about Dorset buttons. In a brief overview of the history of button-making in England, Kate described how making Dorset buttons was an important cottage industry during the 18th century and how it produced widely used buttons that were even exported to the colonies, including the colony that became the U.S. The original ring that was the base for the buttons was a fine slice of ram's horn. Eventually that was replaced by a metal wire ring and now crafters also use plastic rings. After the 18th century, Dorset buttons were gradually replaced by machine-made buttons stamped out of metal. When there was no longer a market for hand-made Dorset buttons, many former button makers needed a new source of work and emigrated to U.S. and Canada.

Above are the Dorset Button examples Kate brought to show us. The type of button we made in the mini-workshop is called Blandford Cartwheel. The variegated yarn button near the center top of the photo is that type.

After Kate's slide show, she gave us each a kit which contained three plastic rings and a needle. Using a strand of wool yarn she also provided, we set about following her very thorough and clear handout of instructions and made our own buttons. That's Kate standing in the center of the photo. She provided lots of encouraging advice and guided our making buttons that turned out to look much like the Blandford Cartwheel example she brought to show us.

Above is a view of some of the other members making their Dorset buttons. Because the buttons are small, making them required a bit of dexterity and close attention but we were up to the challenge. The mini-workshop was fun to do and we learned that making Dorset buttons has potential as a very portable and creative craft project.

January Show and Tell

Ellen

Ellen showed us a shawl she had woven with a fine silk warp and metallic weft in turned taquete weave. President Jeane is in the background.


In addition to showing us a Sharing Meadows baby blanket, Margaret modeled this huck lace bamboo scarf she had woven. It's the perfect length for inside a coat collar.		Terry has been preparing batts in blues and purples and spinning yarn (see the table top), and she knit this hat with her own handspun yarn.

Donna is behind this wool and alpaca shawl which she wove on her 32" rigid heddle loom. She now has floor looms and weaving and spinning equipment to spare. Contact her if you are interested.


Mary is knitting this scarf using a super chunky yarn. It's to go with a hat she knit earlier for a friend.		Ginni participated in a fiber exchange and knit this scarf with handspun yarn she received in the exchange.

Shelby wove this scarf in an Atwater-Bronson lace weave using silk as the warp and weft.

Using fiber she received in a fiber exchange, Leah spun yarn and wove these two shawls to which she added locks for texture.

The Kate Larson Spinning Workshop

SpinGp

The two-day spinning workshop started on Saturday afternoon in the Library Annex after our meeting. Chris, Donna, Christina, Leah, Ginni, Terry, Melvenea, Jeane, Michaelle and Sharon brought their wheels and participated in the workshop. On the table are items Kate brought as inspiration.

The second day of the workshop was at Hilltop House in Valparaiso. Above are some of the spinners who were there to continue to work with Kate. Everyone agreed that they had learned a lot from Kate and had had a great time. Chris will have more information about the workshop in the February Newsletter.

December 2018 Meeting
(Thanks for the photos and cropping, Lisa!)

Natalie Boyett, founder, owner and weaving guru of the Chicago Weaving School, presented our December program which was followed by a potluck of delicious food brought by members. Natalie's program was genuinely inspirational. It was full of encouraging advice on how to progress and find satisfaction as weavers and was the more convincing because it came from a weaver who had been teaching weaving at her 90-loom school since 2004. Many of her suggestions apply not only to weaving and other crafts, but also to life in general: for example, reduce the scale of challenges to get them done (she recommended cutting goals in half, repeatedly if necessary, and breaking down dauntingly complex tasks into more easily accomplished incremental steps). Everyone left with her\his own most memorable pieces of advice Natalie had presented in her very engaging program. We went home all fired up and ready to take on new challenges in our crafts and weave, weave, weave; spin, sin, spin; and knit, knit, knit.

Natalie Boyett who presented our December program is on the left with Ellen, the member of our Program Committee who invited Natalie, on the right.

December Show and Tell


Lizz brought two scarves to show us. She wove both with cotton/acrylic blend yarns in plain weave. The one on the left was woven with variegated yarn in the warp and weft, and the scarf on the right with a black warp and purple weft.		Shelby modified the pattern for this sweater when she had finished knitting it by converting the neck from a too floppy turtleneck into a more graceful cowl neckline.

In the photo above, Donna is holding one of the two pieces of fabric she wove and brought to show us. She wove the fabric shown here with a cotton warp and novelty yarn (nylon, cotton and acrylic) weft set at 7.5 epi. She will wet finish it and bring it back so we can see how it turns out.


Among the several skeins of yarn Terry spun and brought to the meeting, were these two skeins that started as a purchase batt and a separate silver thread.		Jeane showed us this runner she wove in an 8-shaft twill using 10/2 cotton.

On the tiny looms she is holding, Chris is weaving tiny fabrics to use on brooches she is making. She incorporates locks of fleece into the weaving. [A note to spelling police: the spelling is, indeed, brooches though I agree it looks odd :-).]

Joyce brought three items she had knit to the meeting. On the left she is holding the hoody vest with an Airborne patch she knit for her grandson, and on the right she is holding a hat with an opening at the top for her granddaughter's curly hair. She knit the alpaca vest she is wearing and re-purposed it for herself.

Ellen's weaving show and tell this month was the scarf she is holding in the photo above. She wove it with silk yarn of different weights with a variegated warp and tweedy weft in a crackle weave.


Michaelle brought four pieces of weaving to show us, including the shawl she is holding in the photo. She wove it in a shadow weave using tencel yarn.		Sue knit the toddler-size sweater she is holding for a great-nephew's birthday present.

September 2018 Meeting
(Thanks for the photos, Ken!)

The program for our September meeting was an extended show and tell in combination with members bringing their favorite textiles to show the group.
We also had a 50:50 sale of fiber-related things brought and bought by members.

Group

The photo above shows most of the people who attended our September meeting.
We welcomed several new people in addition to a good turnout of our current members.

5050

Above are some of the items members brought for the 50:50 sale.
We will have a silent auction (100% for the Guild) later in the year.


Lizz's favorite fiber is the mohair yarn she enjoys weaving with.		Mandy brought a beaded scarf she had knit over the summer.		Here is a closer look at the intricate pattern of beads at the ends of Mandy's scarf.

Jackie made this trick or treat bag for a Halloween trip to
Disney World with her daughter and grandson.

Jackie's favorite textile is this historic tulle embroidery sampler which was made by her great-grandmother in 1861.


This Hmong skirt is Melvenea's favorite textile piece. It is made of handspun indigo-dyed cotton, then decorated with batik, cross stitch and ribbon applique.		Melvenea has been experimenting with surface design. Her show and tell piece was a towel she wove and decorated with a gingko leaf stamp.


Jacque brought two favorite textiles: One was this rep weave table runner in desert colors.		This silk scarf is Jacque's other favorite. Look closely to appreciate how the weave patterns shift on it.

Jane's favorite textile was this threadwork sampler. It could be inspiration for a future workshop.

The basket above was a project Mary made in a workshop this summer On the right she is holding a quilt
which is a work-in-progress. She is making it for a one year-old.

Paula (on the left in both photos) with the help of Jeane (on the right) showed us both sides of the 8 block pattern
cotton coverlet she wove last summer.

Trio

Melvenea (in the center) led a workshop at Jackie's house on textile surface design.
In the photo above, Sue (on the left) and Margaret (on the right) showed us the scarves they had decorated
with freehand and stenciled wax batik in the workshop.

For show and tell Terry brought a red, white, blue and gray batt along with skeins of yarn she had spun with
fleece from Gotland Sheep (in the left side photo). She also showed us yarn she had spun
from a red, white, blue and gray batt (on the right).


Chris's "Fields of Clover" handspun yarn ran out before she was able to complete her project.		Marcia suggested that Chris could wear it as a scarf as in the photo above rather than having to tear out a lot of knitting and re-knitting it. The green doily is Chris's favorite textile. It was her grandmother's work.


Sherron's show and tell project was a tencel bird's eye twill shawl she wove using a kit from Halcyon.		Above is a closer look at the several different weave patterns in the shawl fabric.

Margaret wove this cute sample strip of carrots using rosepath weave pattern.
She promised us more vegetables (and fruits?) in the future.


Jamie, the owner of Spinnin' Yarns, brought a rug her husband had woven.		And she brought several colorful towels she had woven, including some using turned taquete weave.


In the photo above, Margaret is holding a photo of two stoles woven by a friend for the friend's brother who is a Deacon. Paula did some embroidery on the stoles.		Margaret won a blue ribbon at the Lake County Fair for this baby blanket she wove. She can add this year's blue ribbon to her collection of them :-).		More show and tell from Margaret: A scarf and fabric she wove using warps of painted tencel.


Joyce wove her scarf with wool yarn and ribbon and included metallics for glitz.		Using her funding after she was selected for to be a 2018 Artist by the Valpo CSA ( Community Supported Art organization), Chris developed an eyeglass case to add to her line of products.


Marianne completed a textile course as a part of her undergraduate degree. This jacket was a dyeing and weaving project she did in the course.		Shirley used linen yarn to weave this generous table runner (could also be a shawl?) in a huck lace weave.


On the left is crimp cloth fabric just taken off the loom. On the upper left edge you can see loops of upholstery thread. If you look closely, you can see long floats of the thread on the surface of the fabric. The fabric on the right had the pull threads drawn tight, the fabric (with its orlon weft) was steamed and cooled, and the pull threads were removed to make the richly textured cloth.		Cindy is holding the very handsome scarf she created with the fabric shown in the photo on the left. Her drawdown in the background shows how to weave fabric that can undergo this amazing transformation.		Above is another example of a crimp cloth scarf. Cindy wove this on a striped cotton warp, using a weft of pull threads woven in twill with orlon plain weave. The hem on this scarf was woven without pull threads to give a different effect and show the warp colors.


In her effort to use up her stash, Margaret wove both a cotton runner at 18epi and yardage at 12epi. The latter will become something wearable before long.		Lizz wove this scarf with a variegated worsted wool/nylon blend warp and weft.


Jeanne wove six inkle bands out of hemp yarn in a workshop and combined them to make this seat for a folding stool.		Look closely at Kathy's wool rug to appreciate the optical effects of the weave patttern she used		Mary wove the fabric for her vest using a variegated yarn and two different log cabin weave patterns.


Our busy Newsletter Chair Chris found time to knit this shawl.		And she also knit these tiny sweaters for Christmas ornaments.