scswg newsletter march2017yarns march&2017& &...
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Yarns March 2017
Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild
www.scswg.org
Yarns March 2017
Next Guild Meeting
First Monday of the month: March 6, 2017 St. Johns United Church, Davis Bay Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Meeting starts at 12:30 p.m.
Southern Spin-in
Third Tuesday of the month: March 21, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Bring your own lunch. Location TBA. Please note: Spin-‐ins aren't just for spinning – knit, crochet or stitch, if you prefer. Northern Spin-in
Last Thursday of the month: March 30, 2017 Held at Yvonne Stowell's yurts, 12887-‐12889 Sunshine Coast Highway (2 km north of Madeira Park). Starts at 10:00 a.m. Potluck lunch; Yvonne provides tea and coffee. (Suggested donation: $3) Weavers' Circle with Mary Bentley
Every Wednesday from February 1. Held at Yvonne's yurts. Drop-‐in after 9am, fee is $10. Beginners thru experienced welcome.
Library
Come to the Guild meeting early to peruse the Library. Remember to set your books/mags/DVDs out for return.
Yarns March 2017
Rovings I've been spending quite a bit of time at my loom lately, trying to finish up a baby blanky for a little one – expected any day now. There have been more hours than necessary reaching and twisting, and when I just can’t throw the shuttle one more time, it's jump up from that project to get dinner going. Then it's back to the loom while food is cooking. We eat, clean up, and before I know it I'm at the spinning wheel for the rest of the evening, madly trying to get a spinning project completed. Sound familiar? I'm sure most of you have experienced the aches and pains of maybe a few too many hours at the loom or wheel or both! How do we ever survive?? Well, all this has got me thinking again about how important it is to pace, balance, and nurture ourselves while doing what we love to do most: play with fibre! (That 35 day cough was not something I want to repeat any time soon!) Lately I have been regrouping and working hard to get back to do all that I love and what makes me feel good! Fibre guildies seem to have a wonderful array of complementary activities to keep healthy and vibrant! I am constantly becoming aware of these, from remembering to stretch and walk around to enjoying each others' work at spins-‐ins and weaving circles, to hiking, skiing, gardening, walking the dog, swimming, yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, volunteering, spending time with family and friends and sharing wonderful food at potlucks. Guildies seem to know how to keep healthy in mind, body and spirit! That is how we survive! On that note, I would like to share Marie Claire’s exquisite Sweet Potato Soup recipe, which I experienced at the last potluck. Thank you Marie Claire! My weekend guests loved it!
Merrily
Marie-Claire's Sweet Potato Soup
You need 1-‐2 onions, depending on size. A large chunk of fresh ginger, a couple of garlic cloves, and a small chili pepper (bird tongue) or ½ -‐ 1 tsp cayenne, salt to taste, heavy coconut milk (1 can at least), 3-‐4 sweet potatoes (yams), 1 -‐ 1½ limes, and water or broth (or a mix of both). Sauté sliced onions and chopped up ginger until the onions are soft, add garlic and cayenne pepper, add cut-‐up sweet potatoes and water/broth to cover. Boil until potatoes are soft. Process in blender or with hand held blender 'til nicely pureed. Add salt, coconut milk, and
Yarns March 2017
finally pressed lime juice. Check flavour and adjust if needed. If you have cilantro, add before serving. Enjoy! (Sorry, no precise instructions re amounts of ingredients. I am an intuitive cook.) Off the Shelf A Dyer’s Garden: From Plant to Pot, Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers, by Rita Buchanan, 1995 An increasing number of people are experiencing the joys and the unending journey of discovery that comes with dyeing with natural materials. And many are also starting to experiment with growing their own dye plants. When we participate in the entire process from growing, caring for and harvesting the plants, dyeing with them – especially using fibre produced in our own communities – and then using our spinning, knitting, weaving or felting skills to create a garment or household item, we can feel not only a heartfelt satisfaction but also know that we are contributing to a healthier, more responsible way of living on the Earth. Rita Buchanan’s A Dyer’s Garden provides good information to help you get started with growing your own dye plants. After answering a few basic questions about dyeing with plants, the author gives suggestions on how to decide which plants to grow. She also gives advice on which not to grow, which can avoid that “Why did I ever plant that!?!” There’s basic information on growing dye plants from seed, saving seed, dividing perennials, and planning and planting a dye garden. Next comes a section on the dyeing process. While good basic information is presented, I feel there are two shortcomings. One is that the author doesn’t emphasize the importance of scouring the fibre first or go into the proper methods for doing this. The other is that she gives information about mordanting with stannous chloride (tin) and potassium dichromate (chrome) – two extremely poisonous substances that should never be used. Buchanan also talks about using copper sulfate (blue vitriol) for copper mordanting and ferrous sulfate for iron mordanting, without emphasizing that these are toxic chemicals that should be used with great care (and there’s debate about whether or not they should be used at all). The main section of the book consists of good information on growing, harvesting, and dyeing with 30 herbaceous dye plants, including Japanese indigo and woad. There are
Yarns March 2017
photos of dyed samples for each plant, which let you see at a glance what colours to expect with different fibres, mordants, and sometimes pH. Growing your own dye plants gives added depth and satisfaction to the process of natural dyeing and is a journey of discovery in itself. A Dyer’s Garden is a valuable resource to help you with this adventure.
Heather Apple
Exhibitions/Happenings
Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild
FIBRESHED presents
“from Shepherdess to Knitted Dress” at
Fibreworks Studio and Gallery 12887 Sunshine Coast Hwy. Madeira Park
!11:00 - 4:00
Sunday, April 9, 2017 !
*follow the process from farm to finished product *meet Sunshine Coast Shepherds and Shepherdesses
*Sheep Shearing *Weaving, Spinning, Carding, Felting, Natural Dying
*mini-workshops *demos
*wool sales *local organic refreshments
!for more information please visit the Fibreshed website at:
sunshinecoastfibreshed.ca !!
Yarns March 2017
ANWG GUILD/FIBRESHED DISPLAY: The Blanket Project is coming along, thanks to the weavers who are now hard at work. We have less than 30" left to weave, so be sure to contact Penny if you want a chance to take part. We will likely re-‐distribute the leftover handspun yarns soon for other projects people have in mind. All items welcome for the guild/fibreshed booth, these must be finished for the June meeting. The focus is fibre from Langdale to Lund, but you may include any BC fibre. We need items for our Teddy Bears' Picnic: theme-‐bears (and other animals?), plus how about needle felted food items? Garments, accessories, wall hangings, baskets, wreaths, felted items, skeins, pillows, mats, and any other wild ideas. Bring your proposals and questions to the March meeting. Our thanks to all who are participating in any way! 7th ANNUAL 100 MILE FLEECE AND FIBRE FAIR, COOMBS, BC: Bringing together local fibre producers and fibre products with spinners, weavers, and the fibre crafting community, the 100 Mile Fair will feature more than 30 vendors, spinning demos and display, door prizes, and a 4-‐H fibre group. A great opportunity to stock up on local fleece and fibre, buy hand crafted and/or dyed yarns and related fibre tools and accessories. Sponsored by the Bradley Centre Thursday Spinners, the Fair will take place Sunday, May 28, 2017 from 9:30am – 3:30pm at the Bradley Centre, 975 Shearme Road, Coombs, BC. Free Admission. Food service onsite. For further info, please contact Linda Rehlinger: [email protected] or check out http://www.bradleyfibrefair.alwyz.com.
FIBRE CAMP SEPT 8-10/17: Mark your calendars; planning is well underway for Fibre Camp 2017 at Camp Sunrise, next to the Langdale ferry terminal. Lots of fibre fun for weekenders or day campers, in a beautiful setting. Comfortable accommodation and great
QUILT SHOW: The Sunshine Coast Quilters Guild is very pleased to announce our Quilt Show, June 17 to June 18, 2017 at the Sechelt Band Hall, 5532 Sunshine Coast Hwy (behind McDonalds). The show will be open from 10am – 4pm each day. Admission is $8.00, free for children 12 and under.
For further information or details, please contact Karen Biddlecombe at: [email protected] or 604-‐313-‐1820.
Yarns March 2017
food, too. We will offer workshops with Ann Harmer (dyeing with mushrooms), Anna Marie Vallee (tapestry weaving) and Roz Winters (free-‐form knitting). Watch this space and our guild website for more info. FASHION SHOW/ART CRAWL (submitted by Verna Chan): I just wanted to clarify that the fashion show we are planning, at the Robert's Creek Golf Course in October to coincide with this year's Art Crawl, is open to anyone who makes clothing/wearable accessories (shawls, scarves, etc.) on the Coast. Everyone is also welcome to submit items for the fashion show –we're hoping that there can be some Guild-‐approved items, as well as Fibreshed! The fashion show and Art Crawl display are entirely separate – you do not need to be an Art Crawl participant to be involved in the fashion show. We do, however, have a beautiful, large, well-‐lit space for the Art Crawl that is in close proximity to the RC Hall (where there will be another grouping of artists from Powell River this year), so it's a great opportunity to share space with other textile artists. We can accommodate a couple more, and it is a very minimal cost for a weekend where hundreds of people are expected to come through! Please feel free to call me at 604-‐886-‐3114 or email [email protected] for more information or with any questions you may have. We are looking forward to hearing from you and will pass on details as we work them out.
Findings For Fibreshed enthusiasts and others, I'd like to recommend an inspiring article found in the December 2016 issue of Vogue Knitting magazine. Leslie Petrovski's "The Accidental Yarn Seller" tells the story of English entrepreneur Rachel Atkinson, founder of Daughter of a Shepherd. The company produces limited edition yarns from Hebridean sheep.
Nancy