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Friday, April 29, 2016

Paint Chip Needle Cases

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Need a quick gift for a friend who enjoys sewing or favors for a sewing or quilting retreat? Sew Many Ways shares a photo tutorial on how to make needle cases out of discarded paint chip cards and a bit of flannel.

The tutorial can be found here.


Thursday, April 28, 2016

Repairing a Hand-knit Sock

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Anyone who knits socks knows that the inevitable will happen: a hole will most likely appear on two common areas - the heel and the toe.

Taking Time to Smell the Roses posted a picture tutorial on repairing those holes in place by knitting a patch. Sound intriguing? The tutorial can be found here.

If you try it, bring the repaired sock to a Guild meeting for Show and Tell.


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Tunisian Crochet Shaker Dishcloths

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Very Pink has a pattern and video tutorial available for making these delightful dishcloths.

The link to the free pattern (on Ravelry) and the video can be found here


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Personalized Fabric

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During Show and Tell on Saturday, Mary H. displayed fabric she purchased online. Mary had a stack of fabric, shown in the following photo, that she had personalized with family names.
Mary H.
The fabric panels were ordered from a business in Layton, UT, called Personalizedfabric2.com

The site also offers free patterns as well as ideas for using the personalized fabric.


Monday, April 25, 2016

Natural Dyes and Weaving

Interested in learning more about Natural Dyes and Weaving? Sara Morgan Ward prepared a book on the topic in 2001.

The book is available free online and covers the following topics:

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The book can be read online or downloaded in a variety of methods - (see image below)


Friday, April 22, 2016

In Memory

Lucy O.
1928 - 2015
 Lucy Osborne was a member of the Fremont Fiber Arts Guild for many years and participated in numerous Guild activities and projects.  Lucy served as the Guild president and helped to promote the fiber arts in Fremont County. The knit items she and brought or wore to the meetings for Show and Tell were exceptional. Note that in each photo she is wearing a sweater or vest that she knit. She was an accomplished knitter, an artist with needles and fiber.

Lucy O., and Alice B. peruse the items in the Guild library
Dubois meeting 2012
Lucy's smile was contagious
Lucille (Lucy) Baldwin Osborne, 87, of Lander died Thursday, September 17, 2015 at the Westward Heights Care Center in Lander. A memorial mass was held 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with inurnment following at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Lucille (Lucy) Baldwin was born in Portland, Oregon, to Florence Rees and Decatur Baldwin. The family moved to Hood River, Oregon, where her parents operated an insurance business. After graduating from high school, Lucy attended Oregon State University where she studied home economics and was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

She and James G. Osborne married in 1948. They lived in California, Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma before settling in Lander in 1978. Lucy was employed by Lander Medical Clinic until retirement in 1996.

Over the years she was an active member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Fremont Fiber Arts Guild, Lander Urban Forest Council, Fremont County Master Gardeners, and PEO.

Lucy was an avid gardener, an accomplished knitter, and enthusiastic cook who enjoyed entertaining and sharing items she made and grew with friends.

Lucy is survived by two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne.

The family would like to thank Justin Hopkin, MD, for his compassionate care and the staff at Mountain View Retirement Residence, Westward Heights Care Center, and Frontier Hospice for their compassionate and professional care. Heartfelt thanks is also extended to all of Lucy’s wonderful friends for delicious meals, rides to appointments, caring visits and most of all, friendship over the years.


Thursday, April 21, 2016

April Show and Tell

Brianna F. shows members the yarn
 that she recently spun
Linda W. knit and felted a purse
Nancy S. knit a Gallatin Scarf after
seeing Jeni V.'s at the March meeting
Nancy S. has also been knitting
baby cuddle sacks for Abba's House
Alice B. knit a lamb as
well as a pair of short summer socks
Alice B. proudly displays the cashmere and silk
shawl that Lucy O.'s daughter Liz made
 to shower appreciation for Alice's friendship with Lucy
Vicky B.'s son is learning to knit, so Vicky shared
the book with wonderful projects for kids to knit.
Vicky B. took a Faroese Shawl class at the Interweave
gathering in Loveland, CO. She shows members the
sample shawl they knit to learn the technique.
Mary H. had fun experimenting with Angelina fibers
Mary H. ordered some custom print knit fabric with the
names of her family members printed on the fabric.
The information will be given in a future post.
Jeni V. created two project bags. She sells them in
the Alchemy shop in Lander. 
Jeni V. shows the Turkish spindle she ordered
(Turtle Made) that was created on a 3D printer. 
Brianna F. had two small Turtle Made spindles
Jeni V. and Brianna F.'s Turkish spindles
Colleen J. is knitting a poncho with her sheep's wool-
all natural colors
Cheryl O. explains that she is knitting socks for her
dining room chairs to protect the floor. 



Wednesday, April 20, 2016

U Design It Yarn

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At the Guild meeting on Saturday, Vicky showed the members the yarn she designed on the U Design It Yarns website. She explained that she selected the fiber content of the yarn, the weight/twist of the yarn, and the color; thus, creating a unique yarn. Orders can be for multiple skeins, and price depends on the content and yardage of the yarn.

More information on the process can be found on the U Design It Yarns website. Note the tabs on the top of the page with helpful information.


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Sheep Day 2016

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The Pioneer Museum in Lander will host its annual, McDonald’s Children’s Exploration Series program, “Sheep Shearing Day” on April 23, 2016 from 1:00-3:00 pm.

This is a free day to explore the history of the sheep industry in Wind River Country. The event is open to the public and children of all ages are encouraged to attend. 

Kids can enjoy crafts, sheep wagon tours and sheep shearing. 

Laura B. demonstrates weaving at the 2015 Sheep Day
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Guild members will be inside the museum with displays and demonstrations on cleaning wool, spinning wool, and using wool to knit, weave, and crochet. 


Monday, April 18, 2016

In Memory

The soundtrack of Nancy Jones  
Nancy Kay Jones

Apr 3, 2016 - By Randy Tucker
taken from the Riverton Ranger

It was one of a kind, and it is gone too soon.

Win or lose, there was always a good soundtrack when we took the Shoshoni Wranglers to Leroy Sinner Field in Pavillion.

Playing your alma mater while leading a rival team is one of the joys of coaching.

The games against Wind River were special for me, but sadness will descend each time the whistle sounds and the ball is kicked at Pavillion from now on.

The wonderful woman who provided that musical backdrop has passed away far too soon.

Nancy Jones was the older sister of my high school friend Dennis. She did her student teaching during my senior year at Wind River.

In small communities, kids leave and often never return, but sometimes the best come back and give much more to the community than they ever received. That's the way it was with Nancy.

Whether it was English class, a speech meet, dinner theater or accompanying endless musical groups on the keyboard, Nancy Jones was there.

As a student teacher she didn't look any older than the students she had in class. She sponsored us on a speech meet to Powell in the spring of 1975 and had trouble getting motel managers and restaurant owners to believe she was the teacher.

It took a lot of talking and her driver's license to prove she was really a 22-year old student-teacher and not just one of the girls trying to pull a fast one with a school voucher.

Nancy gave her heart to the kids of Morton, Pavillion, Crowheart and Midvale. Her friendly, personal touch eroded the tough exteriors of many hard-to-reach children, and the entire community was better for it.

We crossed paths many times in my teaching and coaching career and again as a sports reporter covering the Wind River Cougars.

I always made it a point to climb up into the Cougar crow's nest to thank Nancy for playing Bob Seeger, Creedence Clearwater and especially Motown during football games and track meets.

Her distinctive voice extended beyond the Pavillion area. I can still hear it ringing across the infield of regional track meets in Thermopolis and Lander.

She was one of a kind.

Occasionally she would call down from the announcer's booth with, "Mr. Tucker, this one is for you," always followed by the Temptations, the Four Tops or a Beach Boys tune.

"The kids don't always appreciate my taste in music but you sure do," she often said to me.

The dinner theater programs at Pavillion were Nancy's creation, and she extended her love of music to Central Wyoming College as well where she would accompany musical productions or play in the pit orchestra.

I turned pages for my wife Sue as she accompanied a college production a couple of times, and Nancy was always there. She often filled in on an electric keyboard for missing instruments in the orchestra and was always fun to banter with during practice sessions and intermissions.

While my dexterity didn't extend to thread, yarn, knitting and needlework, Nancy's did. She was renowned in the fabric community in Fremont County, and she will be sadly missed in that venue as well.

Nancy often commented on my columns and even used them a few times in her English classes. I always kidded her, falsely complaining that it wasn't fair for her to pick my writing apart in her grammar classes.

She took it in stride, as she did everything in life, and she chided me before getting serious and telling me that she often used my writing as an example to the kids in her class of a student from long ago who actually used what she was teaching them in real life.

As with most of long-term teachers she was worried about the state of education in America, in Wyoming, and especially in her own classroom.

We often shared those concerns with laments over the latest, greatest fad that we knew would never help a single student but would bring millions to the corporation that came up with the idea.

After a long discussion she would always smile and say (paraphrasing) "If it helps the students I'm all for it, but I think I'll stick to the basics and use what I know will work."

Nancy always put the kids first.

She was a bit eccentric, as her unique home just a mile or so southwest of Midvale indicated with its turret, windmill and distinct architecture, but that just added to her charm.

She left of us too soon.

The sound of Fremont County will be duller, a little less enthusiastic, and a bit more somber without her musical backdrop.

Nancy, thanks for taking the time all these years and bringing the written word, speech and music to hundreds of children who would never have found it without you.

Editor's note: Staff writer Randy Tucker is a retired public school educator.
Courtesy of the Riverton Ranger
* * * * *

Nancy works on a needle-felted project at Tuesday night knitting
in November 2014.  She taught many knitting, needle-felting,
and wet-felting classes in Riverton, Lander, and Casper. 
Nancy served as the Guild president for two terms and often 
volunteered to lead educational programs after the meetings and
at the Guild Fiber Fest.
Nancy Kay Jones
Feb 1952 -- Mar 2016

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 2:00 pm at the REACH Foundation Clubhouse in Riverton, WY

Friday, April 15, 2016

Tatting Patterns

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Tatting is a craft of tying knots to create decorative and useful items. A PDF of  butterfly bookmark, shown above, can be found here.

Other free tatting patterns can be found on Martha's Tatting Blog.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Size Charts for Hats

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Petals to Picots provides handy printables(free) that take the guess work out of making hats. The graphic printable pages offer sizing information for Preemies through Adults.

The page also provides a link to a free pattern for a basic crochet striped hat.


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Schacht Ladybug Review

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If you are interested in spinning, you may want to check out the reviews online of various wheels before you purchase. Knitty (Fall 2008) shared a review of the Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel. The review can be found here.

Before purchasing a wheel, contact the Fremont Fiber Guild (email address in the righthand column) and talk to guild members who are spinners. Our members use a variety of spinning wheels and can offer advice.




Monday, April 11, 2016

Calculating Warp

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WEBS Yarn Store offers some advice to weavers on how to calculate warp yardage for multiple projects on this post on their blog.

A weaving calculator can also be found on Weavolution.


Friday, April 8, 2016

Quilting Desktop Wallpaper

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Want to add a bit of fabric goodness and color to your computer desktop screen or to the home screen on your tablet?

A wide variety of free "wallpapers" can be found on the Connecting Threads site.




Thursday, April 7, 2016

Cast On with Two Colors

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A good video tutorial on how to do a two-color cast on can be found on the Roving Crafters' site. This cast on can be used for stranded knitting, brioche, two-color ribbing, and reversible knitting.

The video can be seen here.


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Fabric Flower Pins

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Bits of small fabric scraps can be turned into a colorful pin to accessorize bags, headbands, lapels, etc.

A complete pictorial tutorial can be found on Sadie Seasongoods.



Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Hand Wind Yarn into a Cake

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It's easy to create center-pull yarn cakes without a ball winder: all that's needed is a dowel, a broom stick or even a large needle or hook.

Roving Crafters created a video with easy to follow instructions. The video can be seen on this page.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Fiber Fest 2016 - Save the Date

Vendors provide a variety of yarn and fiber selections
Fiber Fest - October 2014

Fiber Fest 
sponsored by Fremont County Fiber Arts Guild

Saturday, September 10, 2016
9 AM – 4 PM

Heritage Hall @ Fremont Co. Fairgrounds
Riverton, WY

                                           • Vendors (yarn, wool, fabric & others)
                                           • Demonstrations – ALL day
                                           • Morning and Afternoon Classes
                                           • Fun Activities for ALL ages
The "Doctor" will be IN to help with Fiber Crafts and to answer questions


Guild members provide demonstrations for a variety of fiber crafts
Laura B. demonstrates Drop Spindles at the Fiber Fest 2014
Tentatively, the demonstrations for the 2016 Fiber Fest will be:
    •  Weaving
    •  Color selection
    •  Using a blending board
    •  Spinning
    •  Steeking
    •  Reading Knitting Charts
    •  Dyeing wool

Guild members will offer assistance and answer questions at the "Doctor" is IN area. Bring your problem projects to see if they can help.

Guild members Sheri H. & Bea R. offer
assistance in knitting at the 2014 Fiber Fest
All day, Guild members will be working on their fiber crafts in the main display area - watch them work and ask questions. Some members may let you try the techniques of. . .

Knitting
Jamie D. knit a rug with yarn made from old T-shirts.
She showed Fiber Fest attendees that knitting needles
 can be any size - even HUGE
2012
Spinning
Colleen J. drew a large crowd while spinning on display area
during Fiber Fest 2012
Rug Twining
Nancy S. coached an attendee of Fiber Fest 2014 as he worked on twining.
Needle-Felting
Nancy J. assisted a woman as she tried needle-felting at the 2012 Fiber Fest 
Crochet and Knitting
Mary H. and Jeni V. worked on projects at the 2012 Fiber Fest
Fiber Fest 2016 will have
 even more vendors, 
 demonstrations, 
displays,
and activities.

Mark this event on your calendar!

Friday, April 1, 2016

Freezing Yarn

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Noble Knits recommends giving yarn the the Cold Shoulder in the refrigerator's freezer.

Freezing Yarn Overnight has benefits:

    •  Dispel most unwanted odors. Works on cigarette smoke, cooking odors and other assorted smells.

    •  Freeze yarn purchased in a thrift or secondhand shop to kill any critters that may be hitchhiking.

    •   Before ripping out mohair and other fuzzy yarns, freeze them overnight. The cold will help the fuzzy fingers untangle and make it much easier to frog and rip.

No fancy tools needed either. Just pop your fiber in a plastic bag to protect it and pop in the freezer!