Volume 36/2 June 2013

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Buckinghamshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers

3 TECHNIQUES AND COLOUR IN SPINNING

4 SCULPTURAL BASKETS

5 UNRAVEL

6 SKYE

7 FELTING EXPERIMENTS (1)

8 BIRDS, BUGS AND BUTTERFLIES

9 WOOL HOUSE AND NEEDLE FELTING

10 WONDERWOOL WALES

12 TAPESTRY WEAVING

14 KNIT AND CROCHET SHARE

15 RETIREMENT? WHAT RETIREMENT??????

16 FELTING EXPERIMENTS (2)

17 DYEING WITH RUST

18 MEMBER PROFILE

19 FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Dear Members

These past three months have seen a lot of activity in the Guild, almost as though the new year has re-kindled everybody’s enthusiasm and we have also attracted some new members which is really good.

We had some lovely workshops and we all enjoyed our impromptu get together for an afternoon’s felting with Alison.

A venue for the Diamond Jubilee Exhibition next year has been found. We have now booked 19 to 21 September 2014 and it will be held in Great Missenden. Please put these dates in your diary and keep them free as we will need all the help we can get. This now means that it is time to start making, both for the exhibition and the sales table!

Martina2

TECHNIQUES AND COLOUR IN SPINNING by Susan Mousley

Workshop held Sunday 3 February 2013 by Gilly Pusey and Alison Jolley

Our first task was to produce 2 spun singles of different colours. Some had brought their own supplies but there was also a good variety of fleece and colour provided by our tutors with which we could experiment. Everyone was soon whirring away apart from yours truly whose spinning wheel had chosen

that inopportune moment to turn recalcitrant. Gilly and Alison tried their best to encourage it into action but it continued to sulk, so in the end Alison generously lent me her wheel.

Once we had two singles we could then ply them but with the juncture to slightly overply. Having produced a bobbin of two-ply the task was then repeated with

third and fourth single yarns of different colours into two-ply on a second bobbin. Both these skeins were plied in the opposite direction to the initial single spin. The slight overplying of these two sets of yarns assists in the ultimate production of the cable yarn.

Having obtained two bobbins of two-ply the final task was to ply these two together. Placing the two bobbins on a kate the skeins were plied in the original direction of the single spin. The resulting yarn was a cable which has the appearance of a braid rather than the barber-pole look of two-ply. All agreed that when properly achieved the cable yarn has a very interesting appearance.

For a worsted type spin a long staple fleece is needed, eg Wensleydale. In preparing the fibre the tip or butt end must be chosen and adhered to throughout the carding and spinning process. Tangles must be stroked out and no lumps are allowed! Worsted is a fairly thin, high twist yarn; even, fairly flat and shiny. The lustre is the aim in its production.

Finally Gilly demonstrated Navajo plying. A single yarn is looped, rather like the chain stitch in crochet, hence its other name of chain plying. With an initial loop tied from the orifice one hand passes through the loop and brings

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the yarn through so that three threads are being twisted together in the spinning which must again be in the opposite direction to the original spin. The other hand controls the twist. Those adventurous enough had a try at this useful technique of producing three-ply using a single yarn.

A thoroughly enjoyable and educative day. Thank you Gilly and Alison.

SCULPTURAL BASKETS by Margaret Baker

Firstly, wow, what a wonderful array of samples of Shuna Rendel’s lovely sculptural basket work for us all to handle, stretch and scrutinise. She has a collection of over 700 baskets and enjoys analysing their structures, studying the different materials and techniques used to construct them.

Trained in the 60’s, studying sculpture, Shuna spent t ime w e l d i n g s t e e l a n d c a s t i n g fibreglass, being taught welding by sculptor Anthony Caro. Her interest in natural fibres started wh i ls t on fami ly ho l idays - collecting scraps of sheep’s fleece off the fences and later dyeing and weaving them.

We were treated to a slide show entitled “netting, knotting, lashing and looping”, during which Shuna explained that her main goal in the work she is producing is “to create form”. Moving from something that is by nature just floppy into creating something sculptural which is self supporting.

She showed us lovely views of fishermen in Vietnam, seeing the difference between nets which change shape as they are thrown up into the air and fall into the water yet can just be bundled into a heap on the ground, contrasting with some more permanent, elaborate structures, supported by a frame.

We saw netting used in a more decorative way by women from Papua New Guinea and talked about a complex linking, normally found in Mexico, which gives a rhythmic link.

Shuna decided that she likes netting that expands to its needs and the the structure is dependant on the material used. In her exploration of different materials, Shuna found that she particularly enjoys working with fine chair

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cane. This is very springy, takes the dye in an interesting manner, (walnut a particular favourite) with the shiny and matt surfaces taking the dye differently and is good for weaving and tensioning.

Having used a frame for much of her work, Shuna wanted to get away from this to a more free form. Using a n netting needle she forms a net without a knot, based on a loop, hence the term “looping”. This is worked over a spacer, or series of spacers, which are removed at the last moment.

Shuna sees her pieces as 3D drawings with different thicknesses of line. I loved the way the shadows cast when taking a photo of her work.

The structures require a continuous thread, some joins being made with the aid of very fine copper wire. The piece de resistance was a frame that she had made to create an amazing “giant Japanese braid” made round a drain pipe. This ended up like a giant slinky!!!

Thank you, Shuna, for sharing your enthusiasm for your craft with us all.

UNRAVEL 23/24 February 2013 by Dani Harvey

The weekend of 23 February brought with it an event I had been looking forward to, I think since the same weekend last year! Unravel at Farnham Maltings is a fabulous fibre-y festival positively bursting at the seams with excited people and everything their crafty hearts could desire.

The marketplace was full of independent yarn dyers, knitwear designers, yarn shops, British spinning mills and artists, including our own Wendy Fowler who was there with an impressive array of beautiful yarn bowls, fibre batts and hand spun skeins.

The venue was also home to var ious kni t ted and crochet artworks and installations including a wonderful life size knitted sheep and an incredible ‘crochet-dermy’ Coyote made by Shauna Rendell,

the artist who made the three giant lions as part of the 2012 Cultural

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Olympiad. There was also yarnbombing all over Farnham town and in the Maltings too, an ‘under the sea’ theme in the cafe and support posts throughout the building had been clothed in stripy jumpers or transformed into woolly trees complete with little knitted leaves.

There were workshops on offer and various places to sit and make and local Guilds to connect with.

Around 3,000 people attended the event this year (500 more than last year). How wonderful that an event which champions small fibre related businesses is not only getting so much support, but is also growing!

If you couldn’t make it this year I would highly recommend a visit to Unravel 2014, I can’t wait!

SKYE by Wendy Fowler

Chris and I had a lovely one week break to celebrate his 60th birthday on the Isle of Skye on Scotland’s West coast. It’s an easy island to get to as there is a bridge to Skye from the mainland, but we probably went a little too early as most places don’t open till Easter. We did still manage a few craft places though!

Here are a couple of web sites of the lovely people that we met w w w. s k y e w e a v e r s . c o . u k . Handwoven clothing, scarves, blankets, shawls, cushions and bags. The weaving is done on a pedal powered loom, the weaver has to pedal for half a mile to produce one scarf! I bought a lovely plain tweed bag, the sort to put your knitting in! It is beautifully made.

Next look up www.skyeshilasdairshop.co.uk which is a knitting shop specialising in naturally dyed wool. They buy in hanks of yarn from various places (sheep are only kept for meat on Skye) and dye them using natural dyes from either locally sourced plants or bought in material. They are dyed in their own dye workshop. Although they weren’t due to be open, when I emailed them, they said they would open for me. So I went along for a private view! Naturally (well you have to!) I bought 4 hanks of beautiful soft

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yarn. The labels tell me what plant they are dyed with. I also bought 3 metres of offcuts of Harris tweed which I have made cushions with. Well worth a visit!

We also visited a potter www.baypottery.co.uk to see Japanese inspired pots which were gorgeous!

I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Skye.

FELTING EXPERIMENTS (1) by A Linnette Bell

For me, the recent long drawn out winter has provided an excellent opportunity to test the heat insulating quality of felt.

Sue Pearl’s inspiring presentation and workshop provided the impetus to experiment with more projects. First off, my husband also needed a pair of slippers. I did not use the pre-felt for them and didn’t think he would be into flowers or hearts. It may have been a mistake though, because, the pre-felt seems to stop a lot of the pilling effect. My slippers still look great after daily use of four months. The new slippers were cut in man style, a straight cut across the front in a T shape. Lapels were left on either side, which I sewed flat. He does wear them!

Careful cutting has turned out to be rather important, if you want a useable item that stays on when walking around the house. Using chalk to make a guide for cutting could help.

Laminate flooring was a problem. I very nearly did the splits, and was warned not to wear the slippers. After some hours of thinking, and internet research, I found liquid latex. Three coats painted in a sole shape, with drying time in between each coat. The latex dries to a clear, waterproof finish. Coloured latex could be made by adding some powdered pigment, bought from an art & craft shop.

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BIRDS, BUGS AND BUTTERFLIES by Margaret Baker

Thank you, Alison, for a really good afternoon out - the best £10 I’ve spent in a long while.

A lovely family atmosphere (husband, granddaughter, friends brought along too) with some exquisite new skills thrown in for good measure.

We were shown a variety of methods, such as making little felt balls, shaping bits of covered wire and wrapping round cut out sponge, then, as is always the case, individual imagination took over! I never cease to be amazed by the diversity of ideas that come out of the same starting point.

Inspired to carry on, I can feel a trip to Hobbycraft, P&M, Handweavers or Rainbow Silks coming on, to stock up with lots of different colours, bits and pieces.

MORE OF THE SAME PLEASE!!!

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WOOL HOUSE by Wendy Fowler

I recently went to an exhibition at Somerset House called Wool House and the exhibition celebrated wool in all its forms, run by The Campaign for Wool. Various designers were asked to design a room in a house and make everything from wool. So there was an entrance hall with wool carpets, a brown life size crocheted bear, and a chair upholstered in Mongolian

longhaired sheep wool. The pieces I liked the most were in a room with felt covered chairs and were huge fabulous felted wall hangings. There was a natural room that was all neutral colours with rugs, wall hangings and knitted teapots, vases, huge cones of yarn, wool coats hanging on pegs and a knitted lamb on a shelf above the f i r ep lace ! The nu rse ry was

fascinating with felted clouds and rain drops hanging from the ceiling, fab idea!

Jason Collingwood was demonstrating his woven rugs and The London Guild of weavers, spinners and dyers were demonstrating spinning. Wendy Morris from Handweavers studio and gallery was weaving on a small table top loom.

It was a most enjoyable exhibition to visit on a very cold and snowy day!

NEEDLE FELTING

Sheila spent a couple of days at Rainbow Silks attending a workshop for needle felting and this landscape was one of the things she made there. It won’t be her last!

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WONDERWOOL WALES by Alison Jolley

Having been to Wonderwool Wales twice in the past three years I had decided to give it a miss this year – after all, I had already stocked up on fibre from Wingham WoolWorks when they came to East Hendred, visited P&M at Pindon End and come back with more fibre, and not exactly held back at the National exhibition and Fibre East last year, (Oh, and it’s the British Alpaca Society’s National Exhibition near Leighton Buzzard next week – Oh dear!). I know that there is much more to these exhibitions and shows than just buying fibre, but why put temptation in my way?

Then my sister-in-law phoned. She lives in Wales, in Powys, not too far from the Welsh Showground at Builth Wells. Would I like to go to Wonderwool Wales this year? She was just about to have a joint replaced in her hand and so wouldn’t be able to drive, and my brother didn’t want to go (he doesn’t do fibre). So would I drive her? Well, I’d have to think about that; it would be unkind to refuse as basically I am a very kind person; so I said ’Yes’.

So, to plan this: First I made a list of stalls I wanted to see and where to find them – all the information was on the Wonderwool Wales website – ostensibly so I could see what I wanted to first of all in case it proved too much for Margo, who was just out of hospital, but really in an attempt to keep some control over myself. It sort of worked. I recommend this as it saved a lot of time at the event pouring over the catalogue trying to track people down.

I drove to Wales on Friday – a lovely sunny day – only to be told when I arrived that my brother had decided to go after all and spend the time looking round Builth Wells and its castle, so my only reason/excuse for being there had vanished overnight. What to do? Go anyway, of course!

I could now tell you of the wonderful mixture of stalls and exhibitors: suppliers of yarns and fibres, dyes and dyed yarns, felt and textiles, spinning wheels and equipment, historical re-enactors, specialist sheep breeds complete with their animals, makers and demonstrators of all fibre related crafts, workshops and displays by local Guilds including a whole knitted garden complete with deckchair, and, just as importantly, locally made food and lots of tea and coffee. I could also try to describe the atmosphere: the pleasure of being surrounded by fellow enthusiasts, some of whom had travelled for many hours to be there, friendly and happy to chat and share experiences, and the colours and noise and exuberance of the whole occasion; but all the information, complete with photos, is on line.

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So here is what I did:

After a two hour drive through pretty border villages along twisty country lanes to get there our first objective was something to drink. I thought a glass of the local cider would be refreshing, which it was, but probably a bad idea as it went straight to my head in spite of the coffee and walnut tart I ate with it. I then set off with Margo in pursuit of my list. First stop Wingham Wool Work for a set of mini wool combs. I had seen Ruth Gough demonstrating them at East Hendred, and after some thought decided to buy them. Then off to P&M to get a knitting magazine for my friend Margaret who was cat-sitting for me, and just a little blended tops in lovely shades of blue for me. Then we started to ramble, and my brother left us to it! Margo found the antique button people and I stopped at IST from the Isle of Wight who make beautiful hand turned perfectly balanced spindles in different woods, and I fell for a little Turkish spindle to add to my collection, and Margo bought a hair pin made from bog oak which she wore for the rest of the day. We then split up with instructions to meet at the coffee stall at 3.00. I found some more fibre, a super-soft blend of fawn alpaca and silk, and bought enough to make a cardigan, and then got some antique buttons to go with it. We met up briefly by the Shetland Sheep Society, cooing over two cute sheep calmly sitting and chewing in their pen, and then we were off again. The stalls were grouped together so that, for example, the sheep societies were all in one area so you could get your sheep fix in one go before moving on to the yarns or equipment. There was also a Sheep Walk – like a cat-walk only sheep – morning and afternoon, and lots of different workshops which could be booked in advance. As we were only there for one day we had to miss these, but one year I would like to go for two days and take part.

By 3.00 my bag was full (wool combs, lots of fibre, magazines, spindle, buttons, stitchmarkers, and a lazy kate which I had been going to make but found at the Woodland Turnery instead), and I was hungry, so back to the coffee stall to refuel and a chance to talk to other enthusiasts . Then a quick gallop back to one or two stalls I had dithered at and a purchase of a length of hand woven braid from Slow Loris, who deal in ethnic Chinese textiles, and it was time to go home.

I recommend Wonderwool Wales. If possible do go for two days; there is so much to see and do. It is in a beautiful part of the country, and you will be in the company of friendly people who are all as enthusiastic as we are about our craft.

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TAPESTRY WEAVING by Martina Müller

Jane Freear-Wyld was introduced to fibre at a young age and had knitted her first jumper by the age of 10. During her teacher training time in the early 70‘s she fell in love with weaving and although she was teaching full time until quite recently she managed to produce the most amazing tapestries which have been exhibited worldwide.

Once Jane had discovered digital photography and Photoshop, with its myriad of weird and wonderful effects, she had found her means of designing tapestries. A number of them were woven in colour blocks after having pixelated digital images.

After that she explored reflections, buildings and water until she became obsessed by plants.

Mr Leaf has been on the loom for about 2 years - 1600 hours. The effect of the water drops however is worth every minute!

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This project explored using another artist’s work by re-interpreting it. It is a section of a vase in browns! This collaboration led to ‘Surface Slice’ her largest piece of over 2m high.

In stark contrast to these lengthy methods of weaving stand her quick and easy print weaves. They are quite literally images printed on paper, black and white and colour, and woven together.

Thank you, Jane for a truly memorable talk which was followed by a workshop on textured weaving which was equally enthralling.

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KNIT AND CROCHET SHARE by Dani Harvey

Our March meeting turned out to be my favourite meeting, possibly ever!

One of the things I love about crafts is the community spirit which it encourages and our knit and crochet share was the perfect example of that. The room was full of enthusiastic chatter and lots of people passing on their skills to others! How exciting!

People were picking up their knitting again after several years hiatus, trying new crochet techniques and some were experimenting with braiding. There were tables full of interesting things to look at like members favourite books, finished and in progress projects and interesting crafty paraphernalia.

Thank you so much to everyone who came and made the meeting such a success.

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RETIREMENT? WHAT RETIREMENT??????? by Marjorie Waye

It has been part of my long-term retirement plans to have a small Weaving Studio in the garden. This Studio would contain different types of looms and some accessory equipment, to be made available to both novice weavers and to more experienced craftspersons.

The brick garage suddenly became too tempting for our builder and electrician, who had watched the weaving idea develop over several years. Almost three years ago, the first classes began as I gingerly set up a teaching programme. Visitors to my Bucks Open Studios and fellow Guild members encouraged me to continue the project as my chosen full retirement date approached.

Then our builder decided that the eighty-year old apple tree was DEAD and had to go. Voila! A lovely extension with garden views and wheelchair ramp appeared two years ago. This enabled us to incorporate a tapestry area, a small amount of supplies and a larger tea table.

We have had exciting times. There were 123 visitors to my 2012 Open Studios, including most of the Chesham Weavers. We were able to direct visitors between our sites with the aid of an Amersham Art Trail leaflet. Guild and non-Guild members came to work on their projects or to spin during this time - a wonderful social occasion.

We also completed several Olympic cushions on these looms - with well earned rests over home-made cakes and ice cream.

The next event to coalesce from the Studio was Old Amersham Heritage Day in September. We had our own green and white marquee, 10’ x 10’, in a prime location. As long as the wind doesn’t blow, it’s a lovely day!

The Studio now offers facilities for weavers (mostly Guild members) to borrow looms and equipment on site . As some weavers have considerable expertise in other areas of textiles, I am learning new skills too.

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FELTING EXPERIMENTS (2) by A Linnette Bell

As the cold weather was also in Canada, I thought my sister would appreciate a scarf. A YouTube demonstrator showed how to create a scarf by spreading a length of merino tops sideways. I took a length of the multi coloured merino bought from Sue Pearl and spread it out on some bubble wrap, big enough to allow for shrinkage. Then placed a beautiful solid blue merino on top. The scarf is double sided and I picked up another tip from

YouTube for creating a rolled fringe.

This scarf was so much fun to make, so much like painting a picture.

The next project needed to be more uniform in thickness. It’s also been cold in U.S.A. so another scarf for a friend. This scarf was laid out end to end on the living room floor and it was quite tiring leaning over to work the project. Well worth the effort, as it was so graciously received.

The need for uniformity in this project got me thinking about other methods of making felt such as felted knitting or crochet. I thought they might produce an all over even effect and make it possible to felt a garment. The only sacrifice is

the instant fun. Does anyone have experience in felting knitting or crochet? I would be very interested.

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FABRIC DYEING WITH RUST

Here is what you can do with all those rusty things you have saved in your garage or shed in case they come in handy one day!

You need:

• Metal tray

• Spray bottle

• Vinegar

• Water

• Salt

• Solid, light-coloured fabric pre-washed and untreated

• Steel wool

• Pieces of old metal such as washers, springs and nails

• Large plastic bag

Combine 1 part water with 1 part vinegar in the spray bottle. Put the fabric on a metal (baking) tray and spray the fabric thoroughly with the mixture.

Tear pieces of steel wool and scatter them on the fabric. Arrange the other metal objects leaving enough negative space to develop or embellish with other materials. Spray again and put the tray into a plastic bag and tie it.

Weight the tray to ensure the metal objects have contact with the cloth and leave in a warm place overnight. The longer it is left the more intense the colour will be.

Once you have unwrapped the fabric neutralise it in 8 litres of water mixed with 2 tablespoons of salt. The fabric can then be washed in soap and water and is ready to use.

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MEMBER PROFILE: Gilly Pusey

I was living on a farm with lots of sheep and wanted to learn how to use the wool. A friend and I saw adult education classes in spinning and natural dyeing at Great Missenden taught by Maggie Payne, a past member of the guild and went to the classes for 4 or 5 years. It became a bit of a club and we all got on so well.

I have been spinning and dyeing for about 30 years. No favourite, I love it all. I have three spinning wheels, an Ashford Traveler, Louet Julia and a Haldane Double Drive.

I like the fact that you can create lovely things from start to finish, raw material to finished

item. I know what my Angora scarves had for breakfast!

My ideas come from everywhere and all the people around me. I have no conscience about copying a good idea and hope other people take anything from me they think they can use.

I make anything I can knit and have had a go at lots of things and have just started dyeing silk scarves and love doing it. I sell my work on Etsy and at local craft fairs.

I would like to expand on the talks I give to WI's and other guilds because I really enjoy doing that as well as work shops. I should upgrade my web site but find it difficult because I am not very good at IT.

KNITTING AND SPINNING GROUPS

The Guild has a knitting and a spinning group. Spinning is on Mondays and knitting on Thursdays in alternate weeks at 7.30pm in the Pottery Room. Crocheters can come to the knitting group of course and we have also just started to invite tapestry weavers as well. This does seem to work really well. If you would like to come along please contact Wendy or Martina for the dates.

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GUILD LOGO

Some time ago we discussed the question as to whether we need a new logo for the guild. Here is an example of a new logo which has been designed to give us a more modern and descriptive image.

Time for a change?

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Just a little reminder of some of the events coming up soon where you will find plenty of tempting things to add to your stash:

Woolfest in Cumbria 28/29 June 2013

woolfest.co.uk

Fibre East in Bedford 27/28 July 2013

fibre-east.co.uk

Glastonbury Wool Fair 24/25 August 2013

glastonburywoolfestival.co.uk

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2013 Guild Programme

1 June Batik - Talk by Rosi Roberts

2 June Batik - Workshop with Rosi Roberts

6 July Show and Tell - bring some work and share the story

3 August Garden Meeting

7 September Inspired by Nature - Talk by Barbara Walters

5 October Bringing Spinning Up to Date - Talk by Alison Daykin

6 October Fancy Yarn - Workshop with Alison Daykin

2 November Have a Go

3 November Natural Dyeing - Workshop with Alison Jolley

7 December Guild Project

Meetings are held in Barn Hall at the Amersham Community Centre at 2 for 2.30pm. We always have a sale table where you can bring and buy and serve tea and biscuits after the talk.

Committee

Chairwoman Dani Harvey daniharvey@hotmail.co.uk

Vice Chairwoman Alison Jolley amjolley@btinternet.com

Secretary Kay Waite kaywaiteceramics@hotmail.co.uk

Treasurer Penny Hughes pennyhughes116@gmail.com

Programme Organiser Mary Newland noteweft2006@yahoo.co.uk

Programme Coordinator Margaret Baker basilbaker@btinternet.com

Website Wendy Fowler wendpot@hotmail.co.uk

WEB/Publicity Martina Müller martina@bimbipea.eu

Adelheid Jenkins capricorn_adelheid@hotmail.com

Helen Munday helen.munday@btinternet.com

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