President’s Column
Hello Fiber Friends!
I
hope everyone is enjoying our spring! I am in the midst of my usual
spring cleaning...which is not household but usually
possession-oriented! I really am trying to lead a simpler life! Isn't
that what spinning, knitting and weaving mean? Then why do I have
baskets upon baskets of yarn? And tubs of fleece, washed and unwashed?
Boxes and ziplock bags of dyed roving?
I think I have solved the problem.....I'll just have fewer baskets,
tubs, boxes and ziplock bags. Did you know they make REALLY big zip lock
bags that actually zip? What's a fiber girl to do?
This Spring, rediscover your stash and make plans to use it! I'm really
trying....then I have to deal with all my projects that need
finishing...oh wait that's what Fall cleaning is for!!
Bring your current stash busting project to Pia's and enjoy a fun day with good food and friends! See you there!
Karen Ford
May Meeting - Annual Fiber Guild Picnic at Pia's Farm
Saturday, May 10th, 10:00 am
Pia Cusick's Farm
436 Foster Road
Birmingham, AL 35094
Saturday,
May 10, at 11:00 a.m., we will gather again to celebrate at Pia
Cusick’s beautiful farm near Leeds. Barabara Tucker will provide
grilled bratwurst as our main course. Please bring a salad, vegetable
dish, or dessert to share and a chair or blanket to sit on. Soft drinks
will be provided by the guild.
The annual guild picnic is a great place to make new friends and catch
up with old ones. We are always grateful recipients of Pia’s
hospitality, and her farm is always delightful. The only item on the
program will be fun!
Pia’s home and farm are located at 436 Foster Road, Birmingham, AL 35094, just off Highway 119 near Leeds.
Thanks, Mary Kaiser
Out of Whole Cloth - The Life of Bettye Kimbrell
by Joyce Cauthen
From Amazon..."This
splendid book displays the fabric of a wonderful creative
collaboration. Bettye Kimbrell told Joyce Cauthen her life story, and
Joyce shaped it for us in book form – but still told in Bettye’s own
voice. Bettye’s story provides a broad portrait of life in rural West
Alabama. The characters flashing by make for a variegated kaleidoscope:
self-destructive and damaging folly and irresponsibility mix unpredictably
with creative resourcefulness in making do and generosity toward kin
and neighbors. The net result is often painful, often inspiring, but
always true to life as Bettye Kimbrell sees it.
In
the second half of the book a new story line gradually emerges. Bettye
had learned quilting from her stern grandmother, who raised her when her
parents could not or would not. That skill was set aside for many years
while she struggled to survive and raise a family in the midst of every
imaginable adversity. Then quilting sprang up again in the later
decades of Bettye’s life, providing the creative lodestar by which she
reinvented her life. If quiet suffering while managing life’s
vicissitudes dominates her early decades, quiet achievement, growing
self-confidence, and public acclaim come to dominate the later decades.
As her life shaped her art, simultaneously her art reshaped her life."
—Alan Jabbour, Former Director (Retired), American Folklife Center,
Library of Congress, Washington DC; author (with Karen Singer Jabbour)
of Decoration Day in the Mountains: Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians
Interesting Fiber Items to Check Out...
Marathon Scarf Project - Thanks
to Jennifer Justiss who shared with us the information about this
worthwhile project for the 2014 Boston Marathon runners. Read about and
view the success story here - http://running.competitor.com/2014/04/news/video-marathon-scarf-project_100436
We
in the SE are very fortunate to have several arts and crafts schools
within driving distance that offer many interesting and informative
fiber classes. Here are some - check them out!
Andean Textile Arts announces its Fall 2014 Andean Textile Arts Discovery Tour
Cusco and the Sacred Valley of Peru - November 5 – 17, 2014. For more information check out ATA's website - http://andeantextilearts.org/
Weave a Real Peace (WARP) : http://www.weavearealpeace.org/
WARP
serves as a catalyst for improving the quality of life of weavers and
textile artisans in communities-in-need. We provide information and
networking opportunities to individuals and organizations who value the
social, cultural, historic, and artistic importance of textiles around
the world.
Weave a Real Peace (WARP)
is a networking organization of weavers, academics, and interested
supporters who value the importance of textiles to communities around
the world.
Founded in 1992, WARP has members from across the United States, Canada, Central and South American, Europe, Africa, and Asia. A newsletter
is published quarterly telling of weaving, spinning, and dye
cooperatives and other member projects from around the world. Once a
year we come together for an annual meeting somewhere in the United States in a place rich in regional textile resources or history.
And Check THIS out ...
In Between Meetings and Newsletters, Keep up with the Guild on the Web:
Visit the Guild Blog at -
www.greaterbirminghamfiberguild.blogspot.com
When
things happen during the month--in between meetings and in between
newsletters--we post them on the guild blog. We also post the newsletter
there, so if you are away from your email inbox or want to look back at
old issues, you will find the guild newsletter there.
We want to support our members and would love to show your work on the
blog. Send photos of your work and a description to Mary Spanos, the
blog support person, at mary@maryspanos.com. You can provide a link to
your own web site, your Ravelry page, your blog, or any fiber-related
site.
We also want to share information about upcoming fiber events on the
blog. If you know of fiber-related activities or events, please send
that information to Mary and we'll post it on the blog.
If you want to make sure you don't miss any new blog posts, you can sign
up to receive an email when the blog is updated. Click on the "Follow
by email" link in the sidebar on the right of the blog page. Also, if
you ever need to get in touch with anyone on the guild board, you can
find links to their email addresses at the bottom of the sidebar on the
right of the blog page.
Study Groups Meet Monthly
- Spinning Study Group: 4th
Wednesday of the month from 10 a.m to 2 pm at St. Peter’s Church in
Hoover. Please check out the GBFG Blog for cancellations or schedule
changes.
- Nancy
Clemmons is interested in sharing her love of tatting with others by
teaching one or more in her home. Please contact her if you are
interested.
- More
groups may meet in the future. Watch the newsletter for more
information and let a board member know if you are interested in a study
group.
Where are these Photos from???
(Michell's Alpaca yarn shop in Cusco, Peru)
(Visby, Sweden)
START THINKING...
The
Fiber Guild will be displaying items once again at the Homewood Library
during the month of September. Our theme this year is Natural Fibers.
So the handmade items can be knitted, crochetting, sewn, woven, quilted,
whatever AS LONG as they are made from Natural Fibers. Items will be
collected at the September meeting and returned at the November meeting.
Please have your items labeled with your name and fiber content.
Display labels will be prepared for each item. If you are interested in helping with the setting up and breaking down of the display, please tell Deb Kattus.
Newsletter News...
Each
month, I am planning to have items coming from YOU, our Guild members.
These will include short book reviews related to any fiber art; a tip
you have discovered and used that make your fiber art a little bit
easier to execute; any fiber related articles; and a fiber question you
would love answers or suggestions from other guild members. Please send
your ideas, suggestions, book recommendations, questions to me (Susie
Strauss) by the 20th of the month to go into the following month's
newsletter. Email me at sushicoach@yahoo.com and put GBFG Newsletter in the subject line.
Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild
The Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild
is comprised of individuals dedicated to the dissemination and
preservation of fiber arts. Meetings are the second Saturday of the
month, 10:00-12:00 (no meeting in July and August). Visitors are
welcome. The Guild offers programs almost monthly, focused workshops
several times a year, and equipment rental (see below). Southern Strands, the Guild newsletter, is published monthly (no issue in August); deadline for submission of material is the 20th of each month). Send items to Susie Strauss at sushicoach@yahoo.com.
2014 Officers and Board
Karen Ford – President
Mary Kaiser – Program
Debbie Scott – Workshops
Emily Levitan - Membership
Nancy Lavender – Treasurer
Janice Weinstein - Secretary
Mary Spanos – Website
Susie Strauss - Newsletter
Janelle Zorko Schultz - Past President
Rental of Guild Equipment & Materials
The Guild has available, for rental to members, the following:
- Looms
of various types (floor, table, rigid heddle, tapestry), spinning
wheels, drum carder, and more. Rental fee is $10 dollars per month with a
deposit of $100 per item. Deposits will be returned when equipment is
returned in good condition.
- Lucy Neatby's DVD knitting collection. Deposit of $30 per DVD. This is the current replacement cost. One-month checkout. See http://www.lucyneatby.com/dvd_contents.html for description of DVD contents.
-
See
inventory list and photos of Guild equipment in the Yahoo group folders
section (you must be a paid member to access the Yahoo Group files and
photos)
Copyright © 2014 Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild, All rights reserved.
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