Craft Fair Vendor Tips

source

The season of holiday Craft Fairs is quickly approaching.

Christin Sander offers tips to vendors on how to set up booths and to sell their items at the Craft Fairs. She includes a handy checklist of items necessary for a day of vending.
Her tips can be found here.

More tips can be found on the website The Craft Booth

Therapy Mitts

source

Crafters' hands often suffer from repeated movements. Therapy Hand Mitts might be helpful in easing the pain.

We All Sew presents a photo and step by step tutorial for making Therapy Hand Mitts.

Making a Lark's Head Knot

source

The lark’s head is an enormously useful knot and quick to make once you’ve mastered the thumb and finger pinch action. It’s great to use when you have an intact circle with no ends available, such as a rubber band, or when you have a loop. It also can be made with a length of string folded in half (with two tails). It’s used to attach things—what is to be attached is encircled and held secure in the knot’s loop, which draws up and holds the object tightly. It is extremely secure and can’t come undone.

Peggy Osterkamp shares two methods for making a Lark's Head Knot on Peggy's Weaving Tips' post.

Spindle Storage

source

Need something to store drop spindles to keep them contained and safe from breakage when traveling or simply for easier portability?

Simply Notable shares a tutorial on making a travel case to contain a drop spindle and roving.

Bobbin Storage Tip

source

Anyone who sews knows that storing bobbins without loose threads is a challenge. Some people use small hair ties to secure the thread, but then it is nearly impossible to see at a glance what color the thread it.

We All Sew offers a clear solution in a Thread Storage post.

October Show and Tell - Fabric

Mary H. displays an English Paper-Piecing project in progress.

Mary encouraged the members to look at the back of the
hexagons to see the process involved in English Paper-Piecing.

Nancy S. made an English Paper-Piecing table mat

Nancy S. shared two examples of InkTense she completed
at the Lander Art Center with the Lander Sewing Group.

New member, Deidre F. proudly shows her quilting project,
the first one she's done on her own.

Sandy W. dyed a silk scarf with bleeding art tissue. 

Patrick and Briana are officially engaged.
Best Wishes from the Guild.

October Show and Tell - Knit and Crochet

Dana H. knit a pair of moccasins that will be felted (technically,
fulled). 

Dana told members that Plastic-Dip, a rubberized substance used to make tool handles easier to grip and to water-proof is wonderful to use on the bottom of slippers - just add some dots of the substance to the slipper soles. It is also washable.

New member, Sam G. brought an adorable
giraffe that she crocheted. 

Sandy W. is knitting mittens for an Advent calendar.
She said, "I only have 20 more to knit!"

Sandy's mittens were knit with the Smitten (a Holiday Garland) pattern, available free on Knit Picks.

Laura B. shows a Fan Mitten she knit. The technique
is very similar with enterlac knitting. 

October Show and Tell - Spinning

Sandy W. spun the yarn and then dyed the four hanks
 into a teal gradient. 

Sandy W. spun a luscious yarn with a bit of sparkle added

Sandy W. displays a hank yarn that she spun and plied.

Sali A. showed the members some yarn she had
prepared for the Fiber Fest. The yarn was the result
of combining fibers on a blending board, spinning
the fibers and dyeing them.

Sandy W. used her supported spindle to spin during the meeting

October Show and Tell - Hats

Vicky B. knit "Top This" hats for her three boys. 

Vicky B. has become a "test knitter" for other designers

Another hat pattern that Vicky B. test knit.

Vicky B. hosts Knitting Socials at the Lander Art Center on most Friday evenings (6-8 PM). Schedule for the Knitting Socials is posted on the Lander Art Center Calendar. 

Vicky B. also published her first free pattern on Ravelry, called Basic Felted Bubble Bag.

Colleen J. shares her Tunisian crochet hat.

October Show and Tell - Shawls

Briana F. displays the shawl she knit using her own homespun

Sali A. purchased roving at the Fiber Fest, spun the yarn,
dyed the yarn, and crocheted the poncho-like shawl

Vicky B. knit her shawl in a Knit Along
(note the boxes of yarn on the back tables - Christy P.
brought multiple boxes of yarn and pattern books for a
free-will donation as a Guild fund-raiser)

Julie W. went on a Craft Cruise in June and toured many European
yarn shops. She enjoyed visiting Martina Behm's studio where she
found some new shawl patterns. This one is called 'Thousand Tulips"

Julie W. shows another Martina Behm pattern she knit: Baltic Storm

Julie W. displays yet another shawl she knit

Julie W. answers questions about another knit shawl

Julie W. is probably the most prolific shawl
knitter in the guild.  

Julie W. shows a shawl in progress.

October Meeting Fund-Raiser

Christy P. provided the Guild with a clever fund-raiser.

Those who attended the October meeting had an opportunity to enhance their yarn and pattern stash and help the Guild, too. Christy P. brought multiple boxes and bins of single skein yarns and hundreds of pattern books. After the meeting, members could "shop" and provide the Guild with a free-will donation for the items that they took.

Piles of yarn and books quickly appeared at each member's chair as they selected the yarn to take home.

A preliminary tally of the free-will donations was well over $250.

Christy P. was over-joyed that she was going home with only ONE box of yarn

Christy, the Guild is appreciative of your generosity and a creative fund-raiser. Thank you!

Sewing Room Clean-up

source

Tired of dealing with threads or roving fluff on the floor?

Seasoned Homemaker has a solution that doesn't require hauling the vacuum into the room.

This tip could also be used by those who spin for picking up the fluff that drifts away.

Check out her clever idea on this post.

Meeting Reminder

Fiber Guild Meeting

Saturday, October 15, 2016

10AM

Lander Public Library

* * * * * * * 

• Bring $20 for annual Membership dues

• Consider serving on one of the Guild committees:
      Workshop – plan the annual May Spring Retreat 

              and the 2017 Professional Development
      Networking – make connections with other guilds

              in the state and create a database
      Field Trip - plan an outing for the Guild to an 

               interesting location(s) related to fiber
      Fiber Fest - plan the 2018 Fiber Fest

•  Consider signing up to present a program at a future meeting.
   

Special Event at the end of the meeting:

Christy Pyles, a member of our Guild as well as a 

sale representative for several yarn companies, 

is bringing BINS of new, single skein yarns 

as well as books and patterns 

(12 years of Rowan books and magazines, as well as other publications) 

Guild members may “shop” for items 

and make a donation to the Guild for the items selected. 

 (If you think to select some items, please bring 

some cash and a bag to take your selections home)

Wet-Felting Technique

source

Stumbles and Stitches shares photos and some explanation of a wet-felting technique, using sealable plastic bags.  The felting process looks mess-free and a good one for little hands.

(The instructor did prepare the base for these "landscapes" for the students before the class.)

Crochet an I-Cord

source

Knitters are lucky; they have a great way to make a very fine tube – it’s called an i-cord and it’s really easy to knit up on dpns (if you knit). But Jill Gilbank has great news for you: you can also make i-cord using your crochet hook.

She shares her technique complete with videos on this web page.

Bring a Friend

Bring a friend or two to the Guild meeting on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at the Lander Library.  The meeting will start at 10 PM.

Anyone interested in working with natural fibers and any of the Fiber Arts (sewing, spinning, dyeing fiber, knitting, crocheting, braiding, quilting, needle-felting, wet-felting, weaving, locker-hooking, etc.) is always welcome.

Guild Service

Posts for the last three and a half weeks have featured the Fiber Fest, one of the Guild's largest events, an event that came together through TEAM effort. In order for such a large project to come together without burdening a few with the work, the entire membership is needed.

The Guild meeting next weekend (Oct 15, 2016 in Lander) is the first in the Guild's 2016-2017 year; thus, Committee and Meeting program sign-up sheets will be available. This will be your opportunity to serve the Guild and to make it even better.

Committees:
    •  Workshop - plan the annual Spring Retreats in May as well as the Professional Development classes - the next Professional Development will be held in 2017

    •  Networking - making connections with other guilds in the state and creating a database.

    •  Field Trip - plan an outing for the Guild to interesting locations related to fiber

    •  Fiber Fest - plan the 2018 Fiber Fest

Meeting Programs:
    Select a month for you and/or a friend (even a local fiber artist) to present a program

The Guild needs ALL of its members to take an active role. Please consider how you can serve.

Mission Accomplished - Fiber Fest

All ages enjoyed themselves the Fiber Fest

The mission of the Fremont Fiber Arts Guild is is to give fiber artists of all skill levels the opportunity to get to know other artists, learn new techniques, and to share ideas, resources, and talents with each other and the community.

As the photo above and the posts from the last two weeks illustrate, the Guild clearly met its mission at the 2016 Fiber Fest. Over 140 individuals walked through the doors, and each was touched by the events and displays surrounding them.

Thank you to all the Guild members who planned and organized the event, who worked behind the scenes, who presented demonstrations, who taught classes, and who donated items for the silent auction, and who donated food for the lunch. Well done, ladies!

Productive Hands - Fiber Fest

Fiber Guild members have productive hands, hands for helping, and hands that show compassion. Their hands are skilled at their craft, and their hands are rarely idle.

Cheryl O. crochets

Jeni V. trying Tunisian crochet

Maia R. assists a woman with Tunisian crochet

Rachel B. knitting cables

Laura B. preps a pin loom

Brenda H. shows the steek section she added to a sweater

Jeni V. does some hand-stitching