March Guild Meeting, Saturday, March 8

Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location:  Hoover Church of Christ, 3248 Lorna Road, Hoover

Our program this month is:  Panel Discussion: Spinning

This month’s gathering will be all about spinning! Join us as some of our talented members share their knowledge, experiences and antidotes about spinning fiber in to yarn. The panel consists of:

Yvonne Gauntt will be speaking about Turkish Spindles. Yvonne has been spinning since 2005, when she re-spun the yarn in a chunky, lightly spun tourist shawl, full of vegetable matter and lanolin to knit a prayer shawl for her mother. She used a cheap, heavy drop spindle to do it, and was pleased with her accomplishment, but liked the idea of spinning more than the actual practice. In September of 2016, she went to Homewood Library to see a movie with her husband for their anniversary. She never made it to the movie. It was Spin in Public day, and she spent her time spinning with one of Kathryn Pitt’s Jenkins spindles. The rest is history. Yvonne now has a whole herd of Jenkins spindles, and although she uses other spindles sometimes, Jenkins Turkish spindles continue to be her favorites.

Mary Spanos will be speaking about Supported Spindles and Small Distaffs. Mary learned to spin 40 years ago and a few years later she left a normal career to live full time down the handspinning rabbit hole. She loves single treadle spinning wheels and low whorl spindles.

Clare Emily Clifford will be speaking about how to prepare a Braid for Spinning. Clare first learned to spin 25 years ago and has since fallen deep into the fiber rabbit hole. She appreciates how spinning thread & yarn connects us to people of all cultures on every continent throughout human history through the techniques, tools, and fibers we work with. Sometimes you’ll find Clare working with the technical aspects of spinning, but she always loves the meditative simplicity of adding twist to fiber, whether she’s doing so on a spindle or spinning wheel.

Karen Ford will be speaking about Drop Spindles. Karen has been spinning since the early nineties after a sheep to shawl Mary Spanos did at a local yarn shop. She loves her Ashford traditional, any and all well balanced high whorl spindles and spinning with supported spindles. Her favorite fiber is colorful and her current favorite combination is Polworth and Silk. She spins for pleasure and usually has no end project in mind. She loves it because it connects her to past generations….and it’s fun!!

Also, if you felted a bowl last month, please bring it in for show-and-tell!

February Guild Meeting, 2-8-2025, Wet Felting

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025

Time: 10:00 am

Location:  Hoover Church of Christ, 3248 Lorna Road, Hoover

Our program this month is:  Hands On Wet Felting

Ever felt like you needed some good clean fun? 

Join us Saturday for hands-on introduction to wet felting. The guild will provide 1 oz of raw fiber that we will mold and sculpt into a beautiful vessel.

Please bring: 2 towels, extra fiber bits for embellishments and creativity! Feel free to BYOFF (bring your own feltable fiber) such as locks, angelina, 100% merino yarn to use as said embellishments.

RSVP needed-email gbfiberguild@gmail.com 

Guild members can participate via Zoom. So,, if you would like to participate from afar, please RSVP to above email and let us know you are interested. You will be sent a supply list which will allow you to wet felt from home via Zoom. 

Also, don’t forget to bring in your New Year’s Resolutions since last month was virtual. If you have program or workshop ideas now is the time to shine! Please share your ideas as we begin preparations for our 2025 Programs. There will be a raffle for submissions so all ideas are welcome.

Membership Dues and Renewal

The Guild’s membership year runs January through December. Annual dues are $25 per individual, and $30 per family. Dues are due by February 28th.  If you want to keep getting meeting announcements and Zoom room information, don’t forget to renew on-time. Use the Membership tab above for info on renewing your membership. 

The January meeting will be only on Zoom!

Due to the crazy weather, the January guild meeting will be on Zoom only.

There will not be a meeting at the Hoover Church of Christ. Stay home!

Due to the questionable weather conditions we are not going to have an in-person meeting tomorrow. We will instead meet by Zoom from 10am to 12 noon. Get yourself a hot beverage and a cookie and meet us to share your Fiber Resolutions for 2025.

Zoom information was included in the meeting notice you received earlier. We are sorry that we can't post Zoom connection information online as nefarious people like to interrupt Zoom meetings with their opportunities to buy time shares.

Winter Weather and the Meeting

Saturday's meeting may be converted to Zoom due to inclement weather. If that happens members will receive an email notice with Zoom instructions. If you aren't a member of the guild and would like to join, check the Membership tab on this site.

January Guild Meeting, Saturday, January 11

Percy wants to see what you've been working on!

Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025

Time: 10:00 to Noon-ish

Location:  Hoover Church of Christ, 3248 Lorna Road, Hoover

 

Our program this month is:  New Year’s Resolutions

Join us this Saturday for our annual New Year’s Resolutions! We will discuss what we accomplished in the past 12 months as well as focus on goals for the upcoming year. Please bring your work to show off for Show and Tell. Also, if you have program or workshop ideas now is the time to shine! Please share your ideas as we begin preparations for our 2025 Programs.

 

Membership Dues and Renewal

The Guild’s membership year runs January through December. Annual dues are $25 per individual, and $30 per family. Dues are due by February 28th.  If you want to keep getting meeting announcements and Zoom room information, don’t forget to renew on-time. See the Membership page on the guild blog for more information. 

 

Name-tags: If you don’t have a name-tag or would like to replace your current one, look for the bucket of name-tag supplies at each meeting. If you would like to add something special of your own to the tag, don’t forget to bring it to the meeting.

Knitting Study Group

The knitting study group meets this Wednesday, January 8, at 10:00 in the library at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Paton Chapel in Hoover. Everyone is welcome!

Park in the front of St. Peter’s and come in either entrance, the main door on the right or the door to the left. From the main entrance, walk down the hall on the left, that same hall is to your right if you come in the left entrance. The library is in the middle of that hallway and it's labeled.

Keep an eye on this blog in case the weather is bad enough that the church closes on Wednesday.

The Yarn Ball! Saturday, December 11, 11:30

 

Saturday, December 11, 2024, from 11:30am  to 2pm

Hoover Church of Christ, 3248 Lorna Road, Hoover, in the Fellowship Hall

Our program this month is:   Our annual Yarn Ball

We will be meeting in our usual location, but note the time change. We will meet from 11:30am - 2pm to avoid conflicting with the church’s Santa’s breakfast. Please wear your Festive Fiber-related Frocks. For the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped “favorite item” of fiber tools or accessories, with a goal value of around $15. 

The board will provide finger-sandwiches, beverages, and paper products, but please bring a favorite finger food to share. 

Board Elections:  Right before the festivities begin we will elect our new Board for next year.

Name-tags: If you don’t have a name-tag or would like to replace your current one, look for the bucket of name-tag supplies at each meeting. If you would like to add something special of your own to the tag, don’t forget to bring it to the meeting.

Coming in January: Fiber Resolutions and Show and Tell