UPCOMING 2020 MEETING DATES
NEWSLETTER
Lisa W.
GUILD MEMBER NEWS
From Carol C.:
My grandmother Claire needlepointed this bench top and I have had it for years; the bench itself existed but is broken. The dog Weasel gnawed the corner some years ago and I have often wondered how it could be fixed. You can learn anything on YouTube...almost. Could not find actual directions but enough info that I think I can do it with the right size of needlepoint canvas and matching yarn. I have a bag of random needlepoint yarn...some I bought, some I have no idea of its history, .... and a card of leftover yarn from this project....probably 100 years later. Still in the same household as the bench. Not used for something random or tossed. I didn’t even know it existed, but that’s what it is!
Never throw anything out!
From Doris B., writing about the fleeces she bought at Meridian Jacobs shearing day in February:
I finished washing up my fleece from shearing day. Half of Peyton‘s and Ears' (did her fleece in March).
I especially love the BFL and 3/4. They are bigger and eat more, but they do make beautiful fiber ... just sayin’ I’m so glad I bought Peyton's fleece, I’ll be fighting for it next year! I was out of Power Scour so I used Mane and Tail shampoo I use on Mia and it worked well. Very soft and bright.
I hope everyone stays well. See you in cyber space for now.
Doris
From Sheila P.:
I was inspired to do something with the yarn we dyed at our most recent lichen dye day. Here is a knitted zippered bag, the pattern inspired by Paint Pan Socks on Ravelry. I used 14 of the colors, with a black background.
Sheila P.
Mary B’s Sewing Slog
I do NOT like to sew!
Not sure exactly why and I used to sew quite a bit but nothing seemed to turn out the way my limited ability to visualize said it would. So, I quit sewing on a regular basis quite a few years ago. One reason is that I pretty much lose the use of my office/yarn/fiber room when I set up the machine on its table and get the ironing board in place.
As a result, anything that needed sewing but wasn’t urgent landed in a pile on the counter in my office/yarn/fiber room.
In March I finally acknowledged that I needed to make masks. Pam was great in helping me find patterns she liked and hints and sites that would help me get through. I knew I had some fabric I had purchased three or four years ago to make a summer robe and pulled it out to see if I had anything else to use for masks. I did and had everything I needed to make nine masks (three of which didn’t work).
I had made rice bags to use as ice packs before my surgery last winter and they needed to be made smaller. Done.
My at home preference for summer clothing is light weight cotton pajama bottoms and a tee shirt. Pajama bottoms don’t have pockets and I finally found “lounge pants” on Amazon. Evidently the difference between pajama bottoms and lounge pants is the pockets. I bought several pairs but they needed hemming. Done.
Then came the tee shirts. This was the big project that had been languishing for years and the pile kept getting bigger. It all started with a tee shirt that my sister bought for me at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool. She had called to ask what size and I told her extra-large thinking I would remake it with Pamela’s Pattern. As you can see, this is a wonderful tee shirt and I didn’t want to mess it up.
I wasn’t about to follow Nike’s advice in this case as I wanted to practice on something but, at the time I received it, I didn’t have a shirt to practice with. Fast forward to a couple of years ago when we did ice dying for Dye Day. I dyed three extra-large shirts. They joined the pile for when I got around to sewing. Joining them were the shirt from Ann, a shirt for the Timber Rattlers baseball team and my A’s shirt.
Ice dye shirt number one was too big in the shoulders but ok in the body but maybe a bit large.
I decided to try small shoulders and body for shirt number two but messed up the sleeve size so it came out too small overall.
Now I was heading into the Three Bears scenario. Shirt number three was good in the shoulders and ok in the body so that was what I was going with. Didn’t really reach the “just right” stage but close enough. May retry effort number two again if the opportunity presents itself.
Did the two baseball related shirts.
And then went for the shirt from Ann. Now, the first thing you do is cut of the sleeves. Scissors in hand I stopped. Maybe I should lay the pattern on the shirt to be sure it’s going to work. Just because it did with the others that doesn’t mean it will again. Glad I did. The sleeves on the shirt are too short to give me what I need to fit into the armhole (yes, I know there’s a real word for armhole. Something like armseye but I didn’t want to broadcast my spelling ignorance.)
If one of you has a fix for the problem, I’d love to hear it! Set it aside to start a new sewing pile.
Okay, it’s time to tackle the bathrobe. I had everything I needed.
But wait, there’s more. I remembered that I had bought a package of large size men’s’ cotton tee shirts last year to wear around the house (see lounge pants above) and to the gym. Various colors. I was pretty sure the fit was ok considering their purpose but tried one on. Too long. I then put the knits’ needle back in the machine and hemmed them.
Now, here’s another reason sewing isn’t my favorite activity. To cut anything out that is more than relatively small I have to pull the dining room table out and extend both leaves. The bird has no idea what it going on but that doesn’t stop him from chewing his food while flying around. Clean the food off the fabric.
Fortunately, the robe went together well. I had wanted to longer than the pattern and actually managed to add the same amount to the front, back, and piece. And, wonder of wonders, I actually matched the pockets to the fronts!
The only thing left is a piece of 40x60 cotton that would make a nice simple blouse. It’s an odd size and I have no idea where I got it. Since I haven’t found an easy pattern for it, I put it on the new pile started by the tee shirt.
When all was done the machine had a spa visit at the Sewing Machine Shop and is, once again, safely on the floor of a closet.
I sincerely hope that’s the last of the sewing for months because this lasted month. If I mention to anyone that I’m thinking about sewing something (other than rice bags or hemming) please roll your eyes and say, “Really?”
Mary B.
INTERESTING ARTICLES & VIDEOS
In Search of Forgotten Colors - shared by Rosemary B.
FIBER-RELATED ITEMS FOR SALE
Contact the seller directly. No exchange of $$ at the library is allowed.
Nothing for sale at this time
SOME UPCOMING FIBER EVENTS
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
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)