Monday, January 5, 2015

Guild Newsletter, Janary 2015

  President’s Column                           

Hello Fiber Friends!

As I sit here in the morning quiet drinking my tea, I am thinking back over our Guild's year. We have had a very busy, productive year! We have almost doubled our membership, helped a Professor at UAB with teaching his students about the physics of drop spindling and weaving, learned about dimity weaving, frenzied over fiber, picnicked,  exchanged gadgets, made beautiful fiber cards, learned about Batik, manned a booth at Pepper Place, Spun in Public, showed our articles at Homewood Library, learned secrets about Ravelry, Bib and Tucker, Peru, publishing and socks! Whew! I commend our Board Members on doing an  outstanding job! 
Mary Kaiser has another great program up her sleeve to start our year off right! Personally the month of January for me is devoted to identifying and trying to complete (either by ripping or knitting) those dreaded UFO's!
Hope to see you all at the meeting in January! Let's start our New Year off right, with fiber and friends who understand our obsession!
Keep those needles, hooks, and shuttles clacking!

Karen Ford


January Meeting  

Saturday, January 10
10:00am - noon
  St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
2061 Patton Chapel Rd
Birmingham, AL  (205) 822-4480


                  


 

  Fiber Guild Christmas Party


 

Everyone had a marvelous time at the home of Mary Kaiser for our Holiday Party! The  food was tasty, the setting lovely and the company outstanding. Our gift exchange was "Gadgets" and we had a wide variety...sock needle holders, WPI sheep, books, tool for bead knitting, bags, niddy noddy, to name a few! Big thanks to Mary Kaiser for hosting and her husband for supervising us on that driveway!!!
 


January Program

Lace-a-palooza
 
Following up on the success of last year’s Sock-a-palooza, we are going to do a similar round-table program this January featuring a number of our members and inviting everyone to share their tips, questions, curiosity, and inspiration in a specific fiber craft.  This time it’s lace, whether knitted, made with bobbins or a tatting shuttle, crocheted, or collected and admired. 
 
To begin our program, we’re asking everyone to contribute one trick or tip you have found for lace-making, and then after sharing tips, we’ll have stations set up around our meeting room in the classroom annex of St. Peter’s Church in Hoover, each one representing one inlet in the vast island of lace.  You can pull into a station, visit, ask questions, give suggestions, and then move to another station when you’re ready.  Those who are assigned to stations are also free to roam or take a break, and roamers are welcome to take a station and share their expertise.  We will all come away with new techniques, with answers to our questions, and with lots of inspiration for exploring this ancient and rich fiber craft.
 
 
Interesting Fiber Items to Read and Check Out...


Susie Strauss has sent an article on making plastic mats for the homeless which is quite interesting:
http://www.finecraftguild.com/craft-for-humanity-crochet-a-plastic-sleeping-mat-for-the-homeless/

Karen Ford has discovered one way of aging gracefully which involves knitting:
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/2686302-151/centenarian-improves-world-one-stitch-at-a-time#

Several of us were admiring the poncho that Elaine Robinowich was wearing at the Christmas party.   It is “High Plains” by Melissa Schaschwary and takes 700-1000 yrds worsted yarn. I’ve asked Elaine to take a selfie wearing it if she’s like to add that also.
 
                
 
The Happy Weaver Workshop -
taught by Terry Martin

Get ready to enjoy your loom. ..
  • This workshop is for you if you are a new weaver - it will help you develop good habits from the beginning. 
  • This workshop is for you - if you have put the loom aside and keep planning to get back to it but just can’t seem to make yourself. 
  • We will be weaving a project with the focus on having a well-prepared loom and to cultivate the ergonomics of weaving.  This results in few broken threads and fewer frustrations. 
  • Plan to get organized, learn good habits, refresh your skills, enhance your understanding of the process from the beginning to the finished project and be a Happy Weaver. 
 
Date:  FRIDAY, February 27 and SATURDAY, February 28, 2015
Location:  St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Hoover, Alabama
            The downstairs room located underneath the sanctuary. 
Time:  8:30 a.m. with your loom.  Please try to arrive by 8:30 a.m.
 
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION:  January 27, 2015

Guild members will be offered first choice to sign-up for the workshop,  non-guild members will be put on a waiting list and notified if there are openings.
 
Maximum number of participants:  12.

Participants will need to have a 4 or 8 harness table loom or portable floor loom in good working order.

Registration to Debbie Scott (GBFG workshop chairperson)  - workshops@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com
 
Registration Cost:   $125.00 for 2 days(NON-REFUNDABLE) made to the Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild –
       MAIL TO:
       GBFG, P.O. Box 660723, Birmingham, AL  35266-0723
OR You may also give your check to Debbie Scott no later than JANUARY 27, 2015.

Guild will be providing lunch both days. 
MATERIALS FEE: Yet to be determined by Terry Martin.
 
                               


         Study Groups Meet Monthly

  • Spinning Study Group:  4th Wednesday of the month from 10 am 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.
 

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 (Deb Kattus) by the 20th of the month to go into the following month's newsletter.
Email me at newsletter@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.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). Visitors are welcome.  The Guild offers programs almost monthly, focused workshops several times a year, and equipment rental (see below). 
 
 2015 Officers and Board 
 
Karen Ford – President
Mary Kaiser – Program
Debbie Scott – Workshops
Emily Levitan - Membership
Nancy Lavender – Treasurer
Janice Weinstein - Secretary
Mary Spanos – Website
Deb Kattus - Newsletter

 
 
Rental of Guild Equipment & Materials
 
The Guild has available, for rental to members, the following:
There will be a $30 deposit per DVD (Lucy Neatby) and $100 deposit for the drum carder. Deposit for Laura Fry's materials still to be determined.
The rental fee for all items is $5 per month rented.
Equipment can only be checked out at Fiber Guild monthly meetings and a check-out list will be posted inside the door of the cabinet. Deposit checks will be held by Nancy Lavender, treasurer, until returned in original condition.
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