Queensland Spinners, Weavers and Fibre Artists

Your newsletters from the Queensland Spinners, Weavers & Fibre Artists Ltd are received and read with great enjoyment. The Ekka and RNA Show with items made & sold to benefit the Royal Flying Doctor Service would be of interest and inspiring to other groups.

Wilfred the Wildfiber Moose

Wilfred the Wildfiber Moose was created by 20 members of the Greater Vancouver Weavers' & Spinners' Guild for their booth exhibit at the Association of Northwest Weaving Guilds conference in Alberta, Canada. Seen here eating a wild rose (the symbol of Alberta), Wilfred received an award for Best Use of the "Wild Fibers" Theme and has embarked on a victory tour to three local sites.

Photo by Janice Griffiths

Tips from newsletters

Lots of useful hints and ideas are posted in your newsletters and here are a few that may not have appeared in past columns. When working with fine fibers in the high desert, static electricity can be a problem. Randee Frommer from the Central Oregon Spinners & Weavers was having a bad “hair” day while working with kid mohair. Not wanting to add oil, she put several dryer sheets in the storage bag with the fiber and let it sit for several days to tame the tendency to fly away. Donna Jo Copeland, a member of the Bloomington Spinners and Weavers Guild (Indiana) who raises English Angora rabbits, found that drumcarding this fiber too quickly causes the same problem. She cards wool or other fibers first, then the angora. A 50/50 blend is her favorite combination, but even a small amount of angora (5 %) to a balance of wool can produce softness and bloom. Langley Weavers & Spinners Guild (Canada) member Diana Twiss shared how jurors assess the quality of items submitted for their annual sale. If the item is a pair of mittens, are they the same size? If it’s a hat, will it fit on a head? If a sweater, do the buttons line up with the holes and are the sleeves the same length? Will a head fit through a pullover? Are there noticeable errors in the design or patterning? The goal is to ensure that items have a finished, high-quality look to them, not perfection.

Acadian Weavers and Spinners

The Acadian Weavers and Spinners (Louisiana) took part in the Ville Platte Cotton Festival in October. The community of Ville Platte has one of the oldest festivals in Louisiana, and the 2007 King Cotton was Jimmy C. Newman, a Nashville country singer originally from Big Mamou, Louisiana. Members demonstrated and interpreted weaving and spinning wool, silk, and brown and white cotton on wheels and CD drop spindles during the King’s Reception.

Tucson Handweavers and Spinners

The Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild (Arizona) has been involved in a year-long project at Ochoa Elementary School since September. Twice a month children from grades two through five participate in an after-school program to explore playing with fibers. Children are learning to card, dye, spin, weave, knit, crochet, and felt as well as make a basket. In addition to a trip to a ranch, the year will end with a hands-on “Fiber Fiesta.”

Peachtree Spinners

The Peachtree Spinners (Georgia) take an active part in their state fair held at the end of September. Entries in the Fine Arts Division 2007 had more than sixty-five skeins and seventy-five finished pieces, taking three judges all day to evaluate them. At the First Annual Fair Spin-In Day in 2007, twenty-five people brought their wheels from Macon, north Florida, south Georgia, metro Atlanta, and Brunswick to create a spinning circle and kick off national Spinning and Weaving Week. This large, versatile group issues multiple challenges year-round to encourage members to explore, create, and learn new techniques. Their latest group project was “Fiber Poker.” Playing cards were made up into five suits listing a variety of colors, fibers, plying techniques, textures, and items to make. Participants had to use a minimum of four suits. Hands were drawn at their spring retreat and finished goods were due at the fall retreat. Wild cards featured their mascot pig named Scrappy, who has a long history with the guild and gives fascinating reports about her travels to fiber events in the newsletter.

Butler Spinners & Weavers

This summer, the Butler Spinners & Weavers Guild (Ohio) has planned a meeting in the park as a Round Robin Spin-in. Each member will rotate around a circle spinning on all the different wheels. At the next meeting participants will bring the yarn knitted or woven into a swatch.