Whorled News

The Newsletter of the Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers

           November 2007

  Whorled News is a bimonthly, published six times a year on odd months.

Carson Sierra Spinners & Weavers 
2120 Ives Ave
Reno NV 89503
Web Site: http://www.scs.unr.edu/~ashannon/cssw

Sharon Campbell, Editor
(775) 846-9095 (cell)
(775) 969-3121 (long distance)
 institches@rtci.net

Officers:

President: Heidi Erickson (775) 322-4790
VP: Kathleen Sensenig (775) 359-3764
Secretary: Connie Vann (775) 775-827-4218
Treasurer: Doris Woloszyn, (530) 993-4296

 

November 10th Guild Meeting  is in the multi-purpose room of the South Valleys Library.  Driving directions:  Exit onto Mt Rose Hwy from Hwy 395 and proceed west to the first stop light, which is Wedge Parkway.  Turn right and continue about a mile.  Turn right on Whites Creek Lane.  The library is bright yellow and quite visible. Brownbag.

December 8th Guild Meeting location is Bartley Ranch and is Potluck.  Drive .8 mile west from the intersection of McCarran Blvd and Hwy 395.  Turn left (south) on Lakeside Drive and continue .4 mile.  Bartley Ranch is at the north base of Windy Hill.  Turn left on Bartley Ranch Road and continue several hundred feet to the main parking lot.  This meeting is potluck and is the Christmas Party. Every year our members look forward to this celebration, of our craft, our guild, our friendships.  We always have a White Elephant Sale to raise money, so plan to bring something for the silent auction.  We also have an ornament exchange.  If you would like to participate, bring a gift-wrapped ornament, which will be placed in a basket and exchanged during the meeting.   Our creative and industrious members often bring “stuff” for sale, so expect shopping opportunities.  It’s the one meeting of the year that all members try to attend.

September 8th Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report:  $1,849.14.  Amy Shannon had receipts for items needed at the State Fair.  A motion was passed to pay for these items, which will be used for years to come.

Fair Report:  The Fair was a lot of fun.  The Fleece Auction yielded not as much in sales as in the past.  The Sheep-to-Shawl was deemed successful.  Maybe we will do it next year, with some modifications.  There were many wonderful display items, and the public certainly got excited about it.  The Bag Project was deemed successful.  Lots of great ideas and originality.  Heidi Erickson mentioned a member who is interested in helping run the Fair ‘08 (in Amy’s absence), as well as the concept of a committee to help out.  There will be more discussion about organizing State Fair ‘08 in future.

Newsletter Report:  Sharon Campbell was not present.

October Meeting:  Will be held in the Huffaker School Building at Bartley Ranch.  Focus will be on the Basics of Weaving.

Spinning Workshop:  Nancy Pryor will gather information as to fiber fees, directions to, and a time schedule so attendees will know what to expect.  There are still openings.

Old Business:  Regarding Guild equipment,  where did it all land since the Fair?  Motion to repair the Guild’s loom seconded and passed.

New Business: 

Heidi Erickson brought a flyer for the Paperwork for America 2009 Competition.

On 10/27, Hazel is liquidating her studio and will soon be moving to Spokane.  Information will be posted on email and Yahoo.

Mim Bullard brought brochures for Jeanette Miller’s Alpaca Festival to be held on 10/6 from 11 am to 5 pm.

Show ‘n Tell: 

Virva Porcelli brought the first fleece she had ever washed. 

Evelyn Belli brought before and after pictures of the old loom that was  in  Linda Loken’s garage.  Her husband restored it, piece-by-piece.

Nancy Pryor brought a spool of alpaca she spun from fleece purchased at the Fair.

Meeting adjourned followed by a brown bag lunch. 

Learning Tree:  Linda Loken showed members a method of dyeing that can be lots of fun.

 

October 13th Meeting Minutes

Welcome:  Members gathered for the first time at a new venue, Huffaker School Building at Bartley Ranch.  Two visiting Park Rangers came to see how CSSW was doing, and introduced themselves.

Introductions:  Several new members attending, as well as visiting.

Treasurer’s Report:  2 new members.  73 paid members.  Successful Spinning Workshop w/ Stephanie almost paid for itself. Motion passed to refund Angie her $30 paid for the workshop, as she could not attend.  Doris did a recap  of  ‘07 expenditures, garnering approval by the group.    $1,521.44 Balance.

Fair Report:  Amy reported a need for decision-making on various categories for Fair ’08.  CSSW members will be asked for suggestions for the Judging Categories, in particular.  Heidi E. remarked on how and why she really liked the Bag Project ’07.

Website Report:  Amy has been evaluating good vs. bad emails on the CSSW website.  She has been focusing on specific problems lately, and needs to hear from members.   Possibly, some problems can be solved at the November Meeting, since, luckily, we will be meeting at the South Valleys Library.  We can log-on there!

Newsletter Report:  Sharon is out of town, but always glad to receive articles for the Newsletter.

Bag Project:  Suggestion by Amy that we do a Scarf Project for Fair ’08, since they can also be made in a myriad of ways, and are therefore more interesting for the public to see (and ask about).  Criterion should be based on individual challenge, of course.

November Meeting:  To be held at South Valleys Library, instead of at Linda Loken’s house.  (Linda’s sprinkler broke, and flooded the house.)  It is Brown Bag.

Future Meetings:  December will be Xmas Party @ Bartley Ranch Park (see above).  January, April, June, & August - Huffaker School Building.  Questions:  Can CSSW members spin in the Huffaker School Building at other times than Meetings?  If so, do we pay and who do we talk to?

Learning Tree Report:  Linda asked CSSW members what they’d like to see TLT do in ‘08.  A table loom will be needed for demonstrations. 

Fiber Workshop Report:  Nancy Pryor would like to put together another workshop, and is sending out feelers to CSSW members.

Spinning Workshop Report:  Members were asked to express how they felt about Stephanie’s Workshop, as well as what they’d like to see.  Interest also expressed for Marilyn Clarke to give a natural dye workshop in warmer weather

Old Business: 

Doris brought leftover CSSW drop-spindles to sell to members.

Eileen Hickey mentioned donating her Louet to Fair ’07, however, there were no beginners competing this year.  Do  we need to stage our own competition for beginners?  (Louet now belongs to CSSW.)  Could Louet be coupled with a Fiber Friend, to help a beginner get started?

New Business:  Connie will compile a list of Fiber Friends to help new, as well as old, members advance through the level of skills within the group.

Show ’n Tell: 

Announcements:  Mary will be the conduit for hooking up those members who would like to crochet 6” granny squares for Kids’ Cottage blankets.  4,000 squares needed,  Size G hook. washable wool worsted yarn.

Adjournment followed by Pot Luck Lunch.

Learning Tree Workshop:  Video on “Learning to Weave” by Deb Chandler.  (Book accompanied.)

 

My Travels to SOAR* and Beyond, Part 1                                                                           Allison Judge

Leaving home on Saturday, 10/6, and arriving in Detroit on Sunday, 10/7 at 1 a.m., I began my journey.  After catching a bit of sleep at our daughter and son-in-law's home near Detroit, I borrowed their car and drove the 4 hours to Shanty Creek Resort, in Bellaire, MI, near Lake Michigan.

Monday, 10/8, was the first day of the 3-day workshops.  I took Sara Lamb's class, Weaving Silk Ribbons, not to learn how to make ribbon necessarily, but to learn to weave on an inkle loom.  The first thing we did was to spin the silk for the ribbons.  Sara briefly showed us how she spins silk - very fine, with lots of twist in the singles, over plying to make a crisp and hard yarn.  The grist of the finished yarn is determined by how many plies you use.  (The silk definitely softens after weaving and finishing with a hot steam iron.  A softly spun yarn would fuzz and lose definition).

We warped the Schact looms and wove the plain weave ribbons.  You're after a warp-faced fabric, and in my sample you can see a marked progression from a balanced weave to the warp-faced weave.  At the end of the day I had 6 inches of ribbon 3/8ths of an inch wide!  WhooHoo!

Day 2 was dedicated to learning pick up.  As a mostly non-weaver, it was something I'd hear lots about, but never had seen done or tried myself. I found that if you can find a very quiet area to work in, it goes much better....  I had lots of starts but suddenly at the end of the day had a Eureka! moment where things just clicked.

Day 3 was more complex pick up.  Nice to be using cotton thread instead of my handspun as the patterns were more distinct and I didn't need to be worrying that I'd be running out of yarn any time soon. 

The evening of Day 3 (Wednesday) is workshop review night.  All the participants set up tables in one room and display their accomplishments.  It's wonderful to see what everyone else has been working on - felted animals with Sharon Costello, Entrelac with Kathryn Alexander, Spinning 101 with Maggie Casey and Spinning 201 with Rudy Amann, Spinning Painted Roving with Janell Laidman, etc etc, including classes with Judith McKenzie McCuin, Carol Rhoades, Andrea Meilke, Robin Russo, and Joan Hoover.

Thursday is the day the Market opens, and as a rule I stay away until the frenzy dies down.  Heaven knows my stash is big enough to open my own shop, so there's nothing I need, but it's never a question of need, is it?  All I ended up buying was 4 bundles of dyed silk top from Chasing Rainbows and 3 "sticks" from Woody - a shed stick and 2 small shuttles for inkle and card weaving.

The gallery which is set up from participants' and mentors' work was impressive as ever.  What wonderful pieces were displayed!  Always inspirational and motivating.

Thursday evening we were treated to the SOAR 25th Anniversary sit-down dinner.  There was a slide show from years past.  Joyful memories, and some sadness to see those that have passed on.  Linda Ligon (founder of Interweave Press) and Marilyn Murphy, Interweave president spoke.  Scrapbooks were available which had been put together from all of the SOARS past.

Friday and Saturday were Retreat Session days - participants sign up for 2 sessions each day, and each mentor teaches the same class 4 times.  Since I hadn't quite got the inkle thing down, I signed up for the retreat class twice - on Friday and Saturday afternoons.  Amy Singer, of Knitty.com also signed up for those sessions twice.  Nice to meet her and have a little visit.  Friday morning I took a needle felting class with Sharon Costello, and Saturday morning I refreshed my American and British Long-Draw spinning skills with Maggie Casey.

Sunday we all said good-bye and I headed south to spend the next few days with our daughter and son-in-law.  Amanda is a horse trainer, and I was able to go to work with her and ride a couple of horses - the weather was perfect, foliage colors awesome!  Then on to Massachusetts to visit my brother Gus and his partner Bruce and help them prepare for their booth at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.  More on those escapades in the next newsletter!

 

The Learning Tree                                                                                                                 Linda Loken

We ended up watching a video after all to kick off our exploration of weaving.  At the Bartley Ranch October meeting, we watched Deborah Chandler in her cute little knee highs, full skirt that hit just below the knees and those darling little pointed pumps give an incredibly clear demonstration of winding a warp, dressing the loom front to back, and weaving a sampler of some basic weaving patterns. 

Now it's our turn to try!  We will have several looms dressed and ready to weave (special thanks to Barbara Hunt and Nancy Pryor) as well as a warping board, and a couple of looms ready to dress (sley the reed, thread the harness and beam the warp – funky language, I know!)  There should be plenty of time for everyone to get a chance weaving each of the different patterns seen in the video.   This is the perfect opportunity to get some hands on experience if you have never had any.  It might make you wanna sign up for a real weaving class! 

There's something for everyone.  We'll be counting on those of you out there who have already learned the basics of weaving to be on hand to “man the looms and warping boards” so that when the people trying them out have questions, we can help them find the answers!  Something for everyone I'm telling you!

I started to make it around the room at the October meeting in search of what members would like to see from the learning tree next year.  I'll be looking for the rest of you at the next meeting, but will gladly take you ideas at lindaloken@sbcglobal.net as well.  So far the list looks good.  I want to share it with you, but I am afraid that might keep you from telling me what YOU want, so I'm going to wait until next time. 

The next learning tree event will be in January as we opt out in search of socializing, shopping, and eating deserts at the Christmas Party meeting.  We will feature a hands on fiber preparation event with sorting the fleece, washing the fleece (how to only), picking, flicking, carding and combing.  We will need the guild carder for that event and I am looking for volunteers to bring their drum carders and combs so you can show people how to use them.  The more the merrier!

Tell me if you wanna see any of the things we did this year again....here's the past year's calendar...

The Learning Tree Calendar for 2007 – Where we have been (2008 coming soon):

  • January 13th  – Plying – basic 2 ply and Navajo plying.

  • February 10th – More Plying - with tones, tint and shade for effect

  • March 10th – Fiber preparation and multicolor blending techniques video borrowed from the Handweaver's Guild of America

  • April 14th –  Natural Dyes – what is mordant, where do you get it, what dye stuff gives what color, how do you get dye stuff, how do you prepare dye stuff, and all that kind of stuff!

  • May 12th – Dye Day – brings your collection of stuff and let’s get colorful!

  • June 9th – Boucle novelty yarns

  • July 14th - Drop Spindle Spinning – get caught spinning at Artown!!!

  • August 11th – Felting – We want more felting!!!

  • September 8th – Spinster's Retreat – no workshop (but I'm dyeing to see you!!!)

  • October 13th – Beginning Weaving overview

 

Question for the Newsletter:  What fiber-related book (or website) has been a big source of  inspiration for you?

Mary B:  I have had the need to knit several baby sweaters recently.  I wanted to do the Elizabeth Zimmermann February Sweater in each case.  It looked so cute in her book, and I have liked knitting many of her things in the past.  I know that her directions are always "pithy", but those for the February Sweater, they were unusually pithy!!!  I went on line and searched under February Sweater and found the site if Zimmermaniacs  http://zimmermaniacs.blogspot.com/

Using the links to those who have knit the project, I was able to fill out many of the areas I had questions about. Another mystery solved through the Internet.  Using links in the blogs of many of the Zimmermaniacs I have hit on some sites that are very useful and found some international sites that resemble the Knitty http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/index.html on-line magazine.  I really like exploring to see what I can find. 

Beryl Moody:  A weaving book that I find myself referring to frequently these days is the new Mastering Weave Structures by Sharon Alderman. It’s big and beautiful with lots of pictures which can’t help appeal to anyone in love with handwoven cloth. But there is much more to this book than a pretty face. Draw downs, thread cross sections and lots of how to do your own drafting instructions abide here. There is plenty for four and eight shaft weavers and enough multishaft drafts to whet your appetite for the world beyond. Work your way through this book and then tackle Madelyn van der Hoogt’s The Complete Book of Drafting for Handweavers. These two books hold the secrets to weaving literacy.

Becky Pennington:  A couple web sites, one I found later, after I had been spinning for awhile, 'The Bellwether' at http://www.thebellwether.biz/  The first site I found was when I was learning to spin; The Joy of Handspinning at http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/spindle-types.shtml  I couldn’t name just one book, 'Learn To Spin' was the first of course, and I have read several since then that have aided me, including a couple on weaving. Can’t say that any one book helped much though, the websites helped more.

As a fibery thing I am lusting after, everyone pretty much knows, I want a drum carder. I was about to settle on a Deb's but now am thinking about a Strauch... or a Louet... I have plenty of time to decide :)

Amy Shannon:  Possibly the most inspiring fiber-related book I have found is Priscilla Gibson-Roberts’ “Knitting in the Old Way”.  I encountered it at just the right time.  I was a fairly new knitter and (having taught myself using library books) didn’t know any other knitters.  The patterns I had were all line-by-line and arduous to follow.  Just when I was about to conclude that knitting was too structured to be fun, I found the first edition of this book.  It includes no line-by-line patterns.  Instead it shows how to easily custom-build a variety of sweaters using a simple percentage system.  No more swatching and swatching to get a pattern’s gauge!  No more going cross-eyed deciphering multitudinous lines of Ks, Ps, and SSKs!  This new system suited my taste for anarchy, allowing me to change the neckline or sleeve lengths just because I could.  My first successfully knitted sweater was a round-yoked sweater based on the book’s instructions.  Once I started down the design-your-own road, I never looked back.  I used the sweater-shaping instructions to design all kinds of things, including a teddy bear, complete with short-row shaped snout and tail.  And the book’s emphasis on the history of ethnic knitting traditions put me firmly on the road to handspinning and total fiberholism.  There is now a much expanded 2nd edition available with many more sweater variations.

  

CLASSIFIED ADS:  (A free service to our guild members.  Ads run four months unless otherwise requested)

2JP - Barn cleaning, FREE mohair fleeces, black and white, some white and a few red, A few wool fleeces, also free.   Merino wool/Angora rabbit blend socks.  Classic or Nordic(extra cushion) Very warm. Grey or cream colors.  Men's and ladies sizes.  Perfect gifts for anyone who works outside, skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, hunting or has poor circulation.  $16.00-$18.00 per pair.  Call Polly Holmes 775-577-2100 or email at holmes2jp@pyramid.net.

Instructions:   Spinning, knitting, crocheting and felting instruction available at my studio starting in January, 2008.  Beginners to more advanced, individuals or groups.  Wheel rentals available.  Email me with your needs or to obtain my class list.  Sorry, not handicapped accessible (private residence).  Also, Used and new books for sale covering spinning, knitting, weaving and dyeing.  Allison Judge  fiberist@sbcglobal.net or phone 544-3564

Markman Farm Dairy House Boutique, open Friday – Saturday, 12 pm – 5 pm, thru December 22.  716-325 Highway 395, Standish, Calif.  254-1011.  Tea Cozies, kitchen linens, handmade soap, bee balm, gifts, knitting patterns, handspun yarn, wool room, Jacob roving, raw fleece.  $100 gift certificate, door prize drawing August 25th. 

Loom for Sale:  I have a LeClerc Nilus 45" 4 shaft loom for sale.  I also have the warping board, lease sticks, books, etc.  Attached it the advertisement for a new loom (retail value for new is $2390).  I would like $1500 for everything.  I live in Carson City and have no way to deliver the loom, so if anyone is interested in buying it, they will have to come to pick it up.  Donna - home - 775-882-8432; cell - 775-721-4158

 

Carson Sierra Spinners & Weavers

Our guild was formed in 1976 in an effort to create a resource for practicing and aspiring fiber artists in and near Carson City, Nevada.

Our goal is to:  Promote appreciation and knowledge of the fiber arts in our community through demonstrations, fairs, and other activities; provide a support network for fiber artists and enthusiasts in our area; Keep the fiber arts alive by encouraging others to take up spinning, weaving, knitting and other related arts; Support local and global fiber-related causes.

Meetings are normally held the 2nd Saturday of the month.  Plan to arrive after 10 a.m.; meetings are called to order at 11 am, with lunch and socializing afterwards.  Bring your spinning wheel, knitting or other handwork, and items for sharing. We welcome members and their guests at all levels of expertise.

Newsletter Submissions:  must be received no later than the last Wednesday of the month for inclusion in the next newsletter.  Submissions must be made in writing and sent by e-mail or snail mail by the deadline to Sharon Campbell, institches@rtci.net

Dues: Membership dues are $15.00 (without mailed copy of newsletter) or $20.00 per year if you select to receive the monthly newsletter via U.S. mail.  Membership runs from January to December.  Please provide your current email address when paying dues.  Send dues to: Doris Woloszyn at P.O. Box 229 Chilcoot, CA  96105, and make checks payable to Carson Sierra Spinners & Weavers.

Please Send Guild Correspondence to: 

Amy Shannon
2120 Ives Ave
Reno, NV 89503
ashannon@unr.edu

 

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