Silk Scarf Dyeing

Brenda H. and Jeni V. were in the first class,
 and both created a confetti-like scarf 

Originally, the Silk Scarf Dyeing class was scheduled for the Spring Retreat, but when the retreat was cancelled, those that signed up expressed an interest in having the class later. To accommodate the schedules of the participants, the class was offered on two separate dates.

Two guild members attended the first session, and during the two-hour class, they each dyed two silk scarves with bleeding art tissue.

Jeni V. displays her second scarf with blocks of color

Brenda H. used more color in her second scarf. 

Seven individuals came to the second session - five guild members and two guests. Designs became more detailed as the night progressed.

Rachel B. (shown on the right) brought her sister Sarah B. to the class.
Both created scarves with a floral theme.

Sandy W. created a gift for a friend who raises pigs

Sandy W. brought her youngest son, Jordan to the class. He created gifts for
his grandmother. Mary H. cuts and places paper sticks on her scarf. 

Jane W. prepares orange blocks for her design.

Rachel creates "flames" for her second scarf and Vicky
decided to add a flock of sheep to hers.

Jane W. adds black and brown while Sarah B. decides on
the placement of tissue for her second scarf. 

Vicky B. prepares the multiple pieces to create
a flock of sheep grazing on a grassy field.

After placing all the pieces on tissue on the scarf, Mary H.
carefully sprays them with vinegar water.

For her second scarf, Sandy W. creates large flowers.  

Adding the final spritz of vinegar water before sealing
the scarf in plastic wrap. 

Hopefully, these ladies will bring the finished scarves to the June meeting for Show and Tell.

Show and Tell - May

Brenda H. and Jeni V. show the silk scarves they dyed
in the class originally scheduled for the Spring Retreat

Jeni V. displays the second scarf that she dyed.

Brenda H. also dyed a second scarf in the silk scarf dyeing class.  

Brenda H. brought a cowl that she knit with
Peruvian wool

Alice B. shows the beginning of a knit pig. She
knits the animals for babies. 

Colleen J. is knitting a variation of the Wing Span
shawl with three colors of wool 

Sandy W. shows a Wurm Hat that she knit with two
different yarns.  

Sandy W. brought two sizes of Turtle spindles to the meeting. 

Sandy uses a small tin to store and transport the spindle and roving

Sandy showed how the spindle creates a small
center-pull cake of single-ply yarn. Her spinning
is as fine as crochet thread. 

Patterns for Hand-spun Yarn

Brianna F. shows her hand spun yarn

Spinners if you've been searching for patterns for using your hand-spun yarn, Knitty has a nice variety, designed specifically for handspun, The patterns are sorted from easiest (mellow) to the most complex (extra spicy), and the patterns also have a commercial yarn equivalent so they can be knit whether you are a spinner or not. The gallery of Hand-spun Patterns can be found here.

Non-slip Hangers

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In My Own Style shares a tip on how to prevent narrow-strap tops or dresses from sliding off the ends of hangers.  She used colorful pipe cleaners to create non-slip hangers. Directions on how she wrapped the hangers can be found here.

Happy Cutting Table

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Fabric Mutt shares nine steps to create a "Happy Cutting Table" in this post. You may already be using some of these ideas, but others may help you create a more useable cutting space for your fabric and a less cluttered work space.

Knitting or Crochet Journals

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Kathryn Ivy's free printables will help you organize your knitting and crochet projects. All the pages can be accessed on this link. Scroll down and discover all the additional pages for the journals.

Organizing the Stash

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Spring is a good time to clean, to organize, and to put away winter projects.

Lion Brand shares tips in the following posts:
Four steps in organizing yarn stash
Twelve tips to organize yarn stash

Note: the Fiber Guild will gladly accept any fiber-related items that you wish to donate for the Silent Auction at the Fiber Fest. Proceeds from the sale will help the Guild fund future professional development, events, and classes.  Contact one of the officers or use the Guild email, provided in the top righthand column for more information.

Re-sole Felted Clogs

felted clogs badly in need of repair
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When you go to the trouble of knitting a pair of felted clogs it is so sad when they wear out. Kriskrafter shares a tutorial on how she turned the well-worn clogs, shown above, into clogs with an extended life. 

felted clogs after being re-soled
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Her complete tutorial with step by step photos can be found here. 

Meeting Reminder

I apologize for the error of meeting date that was posted 
last week. The following information is correct. 
I'm sorry if my error inconvenienced anyone. 

Fremont Fiber Arts Guild meeting

Saturday, May 21, 2016 

10 AM 

REACH Foundation

622 N. 8th W.
Riverton, WY 82501

Please bring a dollar for the use of the building

Twining

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Twining is similar yet very different from weaving. The rugs are made on a frame and typically use scraps and recycled materials. The weft is twisted or "twined" around each warp strand.

Two Fiber Guild members (Nancy S. and Laura B.) are twiners. If you are interested in learning more about twining, feel free to contact them - use the Guild email, provided in the top right column.

Nancy has taught several community education classes and shares the directions and tips on her blog Wyoming Breezes - use the "posted topics" list in the right column of her blog to search for "rugs or twining"

Links to some specific twining posts on Wyoming Breezes

Frame construction

Warp preparation

Weft preparation

Sheri H. (guild member) and Clarinda T. work on
their twining at the Frank B. Wise building.
Fort Washakie, WY
October 2015

Other twining sources can be found here:

FibreArtsBootcamp - wonderful videos - also on YouTube and Facebook 

Fibre Arts Bootcamp in British Columbia

 and is the fundraising arm of 

The Llama Sanctuary, 

a humanitarian organization 

dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation 

and re-homing of camelids in need.

Simply Resourceful - written information and videos

DIY Niddy Noddy

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Spinners are familiar with a Niddy Noddy, but other fiber artists may find them helpful, too.  It assists them in winding up yarn into a hank that can be twisted into a skein – the best way to store yarn to preserve its elasticity. 

Simply Notable shares a pictorial tutorial with written directions for making a Niddy Noddy out of items that can be purchased at a hardware store. 

Llamas and Alpacas

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Llamas and Alpacas look similar because they are both camelids, but there are a six major differences between these two South American animals. Modern Farmer explains the differences in this brief post.  Look for more links at the bottom of that post to learn more.

How Batik Fabric is Dyed

Nearly everyone who sews loves batik fabric because of its rich and vibrant colors and designs, but few people know that the dyeing process to achieve the unique look of batik fabric is extremely labor intensive and that each bolt (15 yards of fabric) is handled multiple times during dyeing. The video, linked above, shows the entire process. 

Source: Batik Documentary h264 - YouTube

Meeting Reminder

Fremont Fiber Arts Guild meeting

Saturday, May 21, 2016 

10 AM 

REACH Foundation

622 N. 8th W.
Riverton, WY 82501

Please bring a dollar for the use of the building

Hinged Design Wall

Quilters don't often have enough room in their sewing rooms for a design wall, so they resort to using an empty bed or even the floor to help them find the perfect arrangement for the quilt blocks.

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Grammy Quilts found a solution for her sewing room that may work for you as well. Her husband designed and built a hinged design wall for her sewing room.  This blog post explains how the hinged walls were constructed and hung.

Which Goes Where?

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Several years ago, all sewing machines had only one or two thread spindles - both vertical. Today, thread comes on cones as well as spools, and machines have horizontal and vertical spindles. Which thread goes where?

So Sew Easy takes the guess work out of the placement of the thread.

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More information and a video can be found on the So Sew Easy website.

Juggling Balls

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Use your odd bits of colorful yarn scraps to crochet some juggling balls. A free pattern can be found on Simply Notable.

Larger balls would make great Hacky Sacks, too. Free pattern for Hacky Sacks can be found on Crochet Spot or Crochet-A-Day.

Fabric Embellished Tags or Cards

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Use odd bits of fabric and some card stock to create greeting cards or gift tags. A photo tutorial can be found on Campbell Soup Diary and Make: We're All Makers, and U Create.

Be aware that adding buttons and bulky ribbons may increase the cost of postage needed for mailing.

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Some unique and pretty fabric can simply be glued or attached to a card as well. Dena Designs explains the process here.

Using Ravelry

Guild members Cheryl O., Colleen J., Rachel B., Jane W., Linda W., Jeni V.,
Maia R., and Vicky B. learn how to get more out of the Ravelry website
 from Brianna F. following the April meeting in Lander
April 2016

While most of the Guild members are registered users of Ravelry, everyone learned more of what the website has to offer. Brianna F. explained how to search for patterns and yarn, how to add tags to project pages, how to add photos to project and forum pages, how to organize their projects, libraries, and favorites and much more.

Thank you, Brianna for an informative program.

Fabric Bead Jewelry

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Tired of your jewelry and want some fresh colors to accessorize your wardrobe? Look no further than your fabric scrap bin or perhaps the second hand shop for some colorful clothes.

Therm O Web provides a photo tutorial on how to create beads out of fabric on this web page.

Sheep Day 2016

Brenda H. shows a young man the technique of spinning with a Drop Spindle
Sheep Day
Lander Pioneer Museum
Lander, WY
2016

Guild members, Mary H. and Vicky B. visit with individuals interested
in learning more about crochet and spinning

Guild members (Linda W., Dana H., Brenda H. and Sandy W.)
worked on their fiber crafts in the lobby of the museum.

wool in various forms on display in the museum lobby

A young man learns to spin on a Drop Spindle with a little help from Sandy W.