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In August, the Guild held a dyeing and spinning workshop for newer spinners to experience dyeing with different plying techniques. There were 6 participants, along with leaders Jody Atkinson and Lyndsay Topham. Day 1 – at Jody's menagerie, we admired the lambs (now sheep), alpaca's, dogs and chickens! It was a lovely warm day, ideal for dyeing outside. We used 3 methods – stovetop in a pot, slow oven in a roaster, and steaming. Falkland (merino blend) was the wool used. Day 2 – In the RCA. We divided the wool sliver into 7 portions. 6 x 15gms for samples, balance for a project of choice. We started spinning following the guide in 'Unbraided' - a new book in our Guild Library. The samples were: 2 ply traditional, 3 ply traditional, 2 ply fractional, 3 ply fractional, centre pull ball, and chain ply. Fractional is splitting the sliver into 2, then spinning 1 portion in one length, the 2nd bobbin fleece is split into 4, then spun one length after the other so the colour is distributed in a different way to traditional, then plied. With 3 ply fractional, it's a 3 way split – 1 trad. Bobbin , 2nd bobbin fleece is split into 4, 3rd bobbin fleece is split into 6 -8., then plied. Centre pull is split into 2 pieces, spun 1 piece after the other on one bobbin, wound on a ballwinder, then plied using the centre end plus the outside end together. Day 3 – Was at the regular spinning Thursday so we could all admire the knitted samples and the different in the colour applications. Lyndsay
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Three verbs a felter uses when describing the mechanics of hand stitching. With the pandemic still in effect, I had been following a friend in Vernon who was taking an online workshop and posting some wonderful images on Facebook of some hand stitching she was learning. I quickly realized this was something I had to do too. Artist and Instructor Julie Booth, based in Vienna, VA, USA was my ticket. Julie is a very organized and efficient teacher who had her step by step introduction to her workshops well setup. I registered for two 3 hour Zoom lessons, the first one was titled: "Intro to Boro-Style Stitching: Running Stitch/Sashiko Style Patterns" and the second was "Hand Stitching Primer." While the first one started in the afternoon in Virginia, I sat myself down at 10am here on the West Coast to learn from her. The second class started at 10am on the East Coast so I needed to be well-fortified with coffee at the 7am start, yikes! Both classes proved to be a wonderful creative distraction from the daily pandemic routine of juggling two adults working from home plus the daughter who can't go see her friends like most summers. Learning these new techniques is quite inspiring and I look forward to applying my new skills in my current artistic endeavours. With gratitude and respect for our growing fiber community here in Kelowna I want to thank the Ponderosa Spinners, Weavers, and Fibre Arts Guild for offering the scholarship and accepting my submission. -- Amy Bradshaw Deb and Jody were inspired by an article that was in Spin Off years and years ago. The lady had made 2 sheep tea cozies. Great inspiration to have a play date! So Deb and Jody went on an adventure... They started by creating an ‘envelope’ with wet felting and then they made the head and attached the ‘fleece’ one lock at a time….all with needle felting. Great fun was had!!!  In the depths of social isolation and daily bad news, a bright spot for me was participating in a Stash Busting Weave Along led by Tien Chiu and Janet Dawson Over 4 weeks of guidance, more than 3000 participants across North America and beyond experimented with our stash threads. My personal goal was to use colours out of my usual range, including different thread sizes and fibres. And of course, to free some stash that has been languishing in my bins waiting to be woven into something beautiful. Tien, a specialist in colour in hand weaving, provided a fun digital tool to determine how stash colours worked together in the draft chosen for the weave along. Colour is an endless learning experience and there were lots of tips and information. Janet, an experienced weaving instructor, had much to offer to improve how I do things. You are never too old to learn new tricks. After testing strength, stretch, washability & abrasion resistance, doing calculations for required amounts then checking colour groups and values of the colours, I chose a warp of cotton, cottolin and silk in sizes from 2/20 silk to 3/2 cotton. Colours were neutrals, gold and orange. Sampling for sett and colour was critical for this project as was washing the sample. My final choice was bright red cotton weft, which gave the lustrous gold cotton and orange silk a chance to shine. For a little continuity in the fringe, I added a red thread to each twisted group. This was woven on our guild Jane loom in an 8 harness rosepath structure. This was a fun project and I’m very happy with the resulting scarf. Val warpandweave.com - Tien Chiu weavingwithjanetdawson.com - Janet Dawson    How wonderful to have our first in person Guild meeting since February! With our “annual” June pot-luck tradition upon us, the loosening of the COVID-19 restrictions, and a backyard big enough to accommodate physical distancing, our Ponderosa Guild decided to meet in person at the end of June. Over the several months of the “stay home, stay safe” mandate, our members were very busy - the “show and tell” can only be described as awesome. Many members were working through their considerable stash. Others used the time to learn new skills. Some supported local businesses by purchasing “mystery project bags”. One member connected the past and present by incorporating the somewhat lost art of darning into a picture which included a photo of her mom with her SIX sisters! Each of our fibre arts were represented – spinning with wheels and drop spindles, knitting, crocheting, weaving, dying of yarn and painted scarves, wet felting, and needle felted animals.
While it is has been a trying time, there has also been a peacefulness in some ways. Being able to sink into our fibre art gave solace and shape to our time. It reminded us of the importance of art and culture to sustain and feed us. We know many of our members weren’t able to join us so we know that our planned “in person” September meeting will also be awesome as we get together again! Diane Goossens After watching some YouTube videos, I was finally ready to dye yarn with a longer colour way, than you can get by dyeing it in one skein. I first split it into about a dozen connected mini-skeins, then soaked my 100% fingering wool overnight in water, with a splash of vinegar. In the morning, I selected several colours and mixed acid dye powders into hot water with a dropper of vinegar. The colours ranged from a grey blue to red with yellow, green and brown in the middle. I generously applied the concentrated dye liquid to the yarn, that I had laid on plastic wrap on my table. I carefully wrapped the skeins, avoiding contact, laid them on my glass dish and microwaved them for several minutes, a minute at a time. The resulting yarn was bright! After crocheting a one-skein shawlette with my bright rainbow yarn, I over-dyed it in a blue dye bath. Now it is a little dull for my taste, but dyeing the yarn in small skeins was a fun experience. Alice Pallett    What does a knitter do in summer? Of course, get ready for winter...especially for those of us here who have cold winter months. Deb, our amazing treasurer, knitted herself this hat from a commercial ‘small batch dyeing’ yarn of 85% Polwarth wool and 15% silk. The pattern was ‘top down’ using the cast on technique created for ‘toes up’ socks...then completed with tubular bind-off. The pattern is called Hellebore and you can find it on Ravelry , to be published August 7th. For this project it was exclusive to the Over The Moon Knitters Collection through our local yarn store, Kelowna Yarn and Needlcraft.  Now that the warm weather has finally arrived in the Okanagan, its time to get to those projects that we put off, with the excuse, its too cold to work in the garage I, finally, set up my silk dyeing frame and was able to start painting the silk yardage I had bought ...well ...way back when... Each time I paint silk, I learn something new, try new colours and techniques and remember the absolute joy of playing with colour. Once the dye dries, the silk begins to sparkle and reveal all its beauty. These scarves, are destined for our Artisan Sale on November 21st, 2020, so stay tuned... Judith  As many things on earth, shawls come in numerous shapes and sizes. The shape variations are a result of strategically placed increases and/or decreases in a mathematical pattern. The five most common shawl shapes are triangular, crescent, semi circular, side-to-side and asymmetrical. |
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September 2020
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