March 22, 2020

NEXT MEETING: ???

UPCOMING 2020 MEETING DATES

March 26 (Thursday) - Hemp Mini-Workshop (basket, bag, bracelet?) - cancelled due to Contra Costa County COVID-19 Shelter In Place and library closures.

April 30 (Thursday) - ???

May 23 (Saturday) - Spinning at the Winery

MEETING MINUTES (Linda B.)

TREADLES TO THREADS GUILD
Walnut Creek, CA 
Thurman Casey Library
7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 27, 2020

President Wendy L. called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. We had 21 members and two guests present.

Lisa W. edited minutes to add:  CNCH 2020 conference was cancelled since these minutes were published.

CNCH liason, Joan A., said that the Guild will pay the entry fee for members submitting Return
to Sender and/or the Guild Colors of the World challenge submission. The catch is the member
must fill out the submission forms tonight so she can turn them in together. She will be available
to pick up these items at the end of the conference. Each fee is $5. The items are due to Joan at
the March meeting. Joan is collecting the items for our Guild’s raffle basket. She mentioned the
CNCH administration is rethinking the single $20 raffle ticket price.


Will Taylor passed out the book mark publicity flyers for Spinning at the Winery. The official date is May 23, Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Joan will keep the list of sign ups for volunteers. Please review the list and sign up for lots of jobs. Please remember that the raffle is our major fund raiser for all Guild functions. Please consider quality donations.

Wendy introduced the listing of T2T policies the Board has been working on. The document lines out the uses of the guild’s equipment and the parameters of attendance for members going to guild sponsored workshops, especially workshops requiring long lead times for planning/set up and additional charges to attend. Discussion followed about needing to follow the CNCH requirements for a 501(c)3 organization. Reba will keep us informed about CNCH needs in her capacity on their Board.

Wendy passed along the request from Lisa W. who asked for people to submit items to her for the monthly blog/newsletter. This can include sale items, fiber event notifications, any pertinent item.

Our next guild meeting dates remain Thursdays, March 26, and April 30. May will be the Spinning at the Winery. In June or July, our dye day will feature Carolyn Greenwood.

Wendy said there are two mistakes on the lichen spreadsheet that need corrected. Email her for the corrections.

Pam said she can email the current form of the Guild policies to interested members.

Roxayn showed her slim design shadow box with the lichen dye samples wrapped on the sheep. The box came from Amazon and she covered the back with linen.

Wendy handed out the hemp fiber samples from The Woolery. There were three types to try and wheels started whirring. As we worked, she ran the UDSA video of the newsreel style film , “Hemp for Victory” from 1940. Another video giving more modern information on hemp growing and usage was shown. If we have fiber ready to use by the next guild meeting, please bring it to show.




We had cookies to munch and a member brought her fiber stash to de-stash onto us. We were heading home by 8:45 p.m.

Linda B.


UPDATE FROM VILIJA IN INDIANA



After some sunny, “warmish” days with absolutely no snow, this photo was the view from our kitchen window on the morning of March 12! Just a bit different from what we had in Clayton. Supposed to go back up to the 50’s soon though.

Movers came on March 9th and we’ve been unpacking boxes ever since. Which is keeping us from leaving the house too much - a good thing considering all that is going on. There are a few cases of Covid-19 in central Indiana and the state has followed what most are doing everywhere: closing schools, only small group activities are allowed, people are hoarding toilet paper, etc. All spinning/weaving meetings are cancelled, so hope to begin participating at a later date.

I did attend one spinner/weaver gathering right after I arrived on March 3, at the living history museum I used to work at many years ago. It's a once-a-year event and it was fun to participate. One of the gals who works there was and still is a friend I’ve kept in contact with occasionally. A strictly volunteer job, in addition to her regular work there, is heading up a youth spinning/weaving program.

Kids can join as young as 10 or 11 and continue till they turn 18. It's been an amazingly successful project, going into their 12th year now. This year they will have four youth groups in the State Fair Sheep to Shawl competition! There were several of the participants at the gathering and I spoke to some of them. I was so impressed with how much enthusiasm they had and how much they love learning about the creation of yarns and cloth. My friend, Sue, kept introducing me as “one of the members of the FIRST Sheep to Shawl contest” held here at the State Fair. Sue was on that team also. The kids reaction was always, “Wow, really!” I felt like a celebrity. An old celebrity.

There were even two boys there, ages 16 and 17 who have been spinning for several years. I was quite impressed by all of them. I kept thinking of Will and how happy he and Kate would be with getting our craft introduced to so many young people.

Each team decides on their own pattern for the scarves [the kids teams don’t do a full shawl] to be woven. They do all the spinning for the warp and choosing and dyeing the colors they want. Weft is of undyed wool. Right now they are weaving up some of their practice wool to have a “waulking” in a couple months.

The museum supplies them with studio space, but the entire program is run by volunteers and donations. No money is allocated from the museum even though everything the kids do is under the name of Conner Prairie, the museum. Spinning wheels, looms and fleeces are all donations from the public. The kids do fund raisers occasionally, but you can bet the parents are “heavily” involved and are happy to do so.

It would be so great to have more programs like this around the country, but it takes a LOT of volunteer time and effort. And, a dedicated commitment. Luckily, they have that here in Sue and her crew.

Vilija

GUILD MEMBER NEWS

From Doris:

My grandmother went back to school in her fifties or older (that was worth an article in The Sacramento Bee at the time) and eventually taught upholstery and sewing in Stocktons adult school or community college ( that part is fuzzy). I wasn’t even in school before she passed away but I have memory of her sewing room and the big silver grey metal Singer sewing machines under the windows that looked over the garden and orchard of their 5 acres in Pine Grove. One of her talents my sister shared was that grandma did re-weaving repairs. Most of you know what re-weaving is, but for those who don’t, it’s using a sewing needle and original threads (or close matching) from the fabric to reconstruct the weave, one thread at a time. I bought this ikat fabric washed and cut the dress pattern with barley an inch to spare and discovered a flaw in the weave right on the fold. If it was off to a seam I could live with it, but it’s front and center. I’m going to say a little prayer and hope she can guide my hands as I make an attempt to re weave it. I’ll alternate pulling threads from one end and other, filling in with threads from a scrap if need be. Making ridiculous use of too much time on my hands? Perhaps, but I will give it a try and update you if I succeed or not....

Stay healthy my friends!



From Katherine S.

While in semi isolation I am working the 'Full of Minis' hat using the yarn from lichen dyeing day. And, there is a set of tea towels on the loom; my first real weaving on my own.

I am looking forward to Roy and Henry's Drum carding class this May in Richmond.

There are some interesting classes at Black Sheep Gathering too.

I have started checking out other guild's workshops if they are listed on the CNCH website.

I would love to know what everyone else is up to.

From Pam M. (synopsis from the e-mail to Monday Spinners)

I'm hoping everyone is well. We're all fine at my house. 

What has everyone been doing? I've been working on some small sewing projects, and I'm tossing the stash bins for suitable fabric. Yesterday, Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns posted a video on Facebook with directions for masks. I made several, then ran out of 1/4" elastic. Joan Anderson was gathering supplies if anyone has any to donate. There are several patterns floating around the web, and it seems there is a need for these right now and the need will probably continue.

Today I'm baking bread - there is leftover meatloaf for sandwiches. But no bread. Some American Sandwich Bread from America 's Test Kitchen is rising right now, and also some French Bread from Julia Child's recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Haven't made it in probably 25 years, so we'll see how that goes. I'm hoping there will be more yeast on the shelves next time we go to the market.

Does anyone need anything? Let us know if we can help - we can drop off at our doorsteps. The one thing I'm pretty sure of is that none of us are low on fiber to spin. So let's gather up our wheels and make beautiful yarn.

NEWS FROM CLEMES & CLEMES

Portions of the Clemes & Clemes newsletter, emailed to subscribers on Sunday 3/22/2020:

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While our state remains under a Shelter in Place order, we are still working as the Department of Homeland Security has identified the wood products industry as an essential critical infrastructure workforce. Most importantly, we can continue to do so without risking our health or the lives of others. We have 10,000 square feet of shop and office space all to ourselves. We keep the doors locked, are not taking any appointments, and socially distance ourselves from our pickup drivers. Other than that last part, quarantine looks an awful lot like our average day at the shop!

So… now that we have at least a month or two on our hands with no shows, what to do? We've spent the last week brainstorming ideas and monitoring (since that seems to be the current buzzword) what others are doing in the face of this challenge.

Our best ideas for how to proceed - the C&C Stimulus Plan, if you will - all centered around the theme of instilling confidence in this time of unprecedented uncertainty. After all, when we teach, we feel like half of our job is sending our students home with enough confidence that they can replicate the results without us hovering over them. In no particular order, here's what we've already rolled out in the last week to help create confidence in your purchasing decision and the fibers you're working with:

•    Free shipping on all orders over $50, and a flat $5 shipping charge for orders under $50. The price you see is the price you'll pay, even on big items like a drum carder or a blending board.
•    A 90 day money back guarantee on all drum carder and spinning wheel sales. No questions asked, simply pay for return shipping and we'll refund the purchase price.
•    Good Clean Fiber is now available for purchase without a subscription.
•    We have added a Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Subscription for Good Clean Fiber.

In addition, we'll be working on some demonstration videos and online workshops over the next several months. 

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There's a lot more information  about their initiatives (and some super cute baby pictures!) in the newsletter, so subscribe if you're interested and want to support one of our favorite local businesses.

To sign up for the Clemes & Clemes newsletter, go to their web site home page, scroll to the bottom, and fill in the 'Join Our Newsletter' field.  In the meantime, if you want me to forward the full current email newsletter to you, let me know.

Lisa W.

INTERESTING ARTICLES & VIDEOS

A fun St. Patrick's Day video from Rosemary B.

Spin Together Bingo

SOME UPCOMING FIBER EVENTS

Fiber and Dye at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, Berkeley, March 14 - 31, 2020. Details of workshops etc. - scroll down to March information. Judi Pettite, who spoke to the guild a couple of months ago, is teaching one of the workshops.  Cancelled - UC Berkeley Botanical Garden temporarily closed due to COVID-19 as of 3/17/2020.

CNCH 2020 "Finding The Artist Within", Burlingame. April 3-5, 2020. - Cancelled

Sheep Shearing Day at Forest Home Farms, San Ramon, April 25, 2020 - Cancelled

Introduction to Flax Processing, May 9, 2020

Spinning At The Winery, Retzlaff Winery, Livermore, May 23, 2020

Black Sheep Gathering, Albany, OR, June 26-28, 2020.  BSG COVID-19 update from their Facebook page:

The BSG board has considered our plans for 2020, and has made the following decisions:

- We will continue to monitor the information from public health officials through mid-April and decide whether we are able to hold the event.

- We will postpone the workshop and tent camping registration two weeks to give attendees time to assess their ability to attend and allow us to assess feasibility of convening in 2020.

Our primary concern is the health and safety of our Black Sheep Gathering community. We want us all to stay well so we can enjoy our love of animal fibers together! For now, we hope you are enjoying your family, animals, fiber, and handmade comforts while at home.

HGA Convergence 2020, Knoxville, TN, July 23 - 30, 2020.

FiberEvents - a calendar of wool festivals, fiber festivals, knitting, crocheting & craft gatherings/events in the U.S. and the world

Clara Parkes' Knitter's Review - knitting and fiber events

FIBER-RELATED ITEMS FOR SALE

Contact the seller directly.  No exchange of $$ at the library is allowed.

Nothing for sale at this time.

ONGOING FIBER-RELATED CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Black Rock Ranch (Stinson Beach)

Crockett Fiber Arts Studio (Crockett)

Fibershed (various locations)

Fiber Circle Studio (Cotati)

Meridian Jacobs (Vacaville)

West County Fiber Arts (Sebastopol)

Windrush Farm (Petaluma)