GBFG Sock Blank Dyeing Workshop August 8!

from Debbie Scott, workshop chairperson

Always wanted to dye?  The guild is offering all fiber guild members an opportunity to dye and paint sock blanks with acid dyes on Saturday, August 8 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m., in an adjacent room to where the regular guild meeting is held.   A sock blank is an already machine knitted wool sock in a blank form ready for dyeing. You will be able to take home 2 painted sock blanks, which is enough yarn to make that perfect pair of socks or to knit, crochet, or weave a really great scarf.   

You must sign up and pay the registration fee before the day of the workshop. The guild will purchase 2 sock blanks per person for those who sign up for the dye workshop.  The guild will also be buying the acid dyes, miscellaneous supplies, and offering you an catered (and paid for!) lunch.

If you are interested, there will be a sign-up sheet for registration at the June guild meeting.  You can also send a check for $40.00 to our post office box:

Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild

P.O. Box  660723

Birmingham, AL  35266

If you are mailing, please make checks out to The Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild.  Include your name, phone number and email.  Our treasurer, Nancy Lavender, will handle all checks. 

Registration fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.  DEADLINE FOR SIGNING UP is JUNE 30, 2015.  If you are mailing a check, please mail it so that it arrives at the the guild post office box by June 30. There is no limit to the number of members who can participate in this workshop, but you do have to register and pay your registration fee before June 30.

Thank you.  We look forward to having a fun-filled fiber-dyeing day!

What a great picnic!

We had a great day for the guild picnic last weekend at Jennifer Justiss' home. It was so nice to spend such a lovely day with fiber friends, good food, a beautiful view, and the sounds of happy kids playing in the lake. There were newly hatched chicks in an incubator in Jennifer's dining room, too!

Thanks, Jennifer and family, for letting us share your home, yard, and lake.

Everyone, please put the second Saturday in May on your calenders for next year's picnic. It is always a special day and one you won't want to miss.

WWKIP at the Hoover Public Library

Shira Robinowich-Miller just received information from Shannon Haddock at the Hoover Public Library that the library will be hosting their annual WWKIP (World Wide Knit In Public) event again this year. This year WWKIP day is Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Shannon would like to have one or more handspinners demonstrating spinning at this event. If you are interested, please contact Shannon at the library, 205 444-7820.

For more information on WWKIP day, check out http://www.wwkipday.com.

Guild Newsletter, May 2015

Newsletter of the Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild

President’s Column                                                     Hello Fiber Friends! As some of you know from Facebook, I have dusted off my sewing machine and have embarked on making some very simple bags. I have made 3 so far and am having a great time with it! It feels so good to be sewing again....something I used to do daily! I actually think I am loving combining the different fabrics as much as the sewing!! Color just gets me excited and energized. I  love those little "fat quarters" that quilters use! They provide so much variety and little guilt over the leftovers!!! I credit Mary Kaiser and Barbara Mitchell for my new found enthusiasm! Guilds provide such great exposure to all things you want to do or used to do but have neglected!!!  I hope to see you all at Jennifer's for the picnic! It's always so much fun and I usually come away  with at least one new recipe!!   Karen Ford                                                                                                                                                                            May Meeting --Guild Picnic Saturday, May 9 11 a. m.    Our annual guild picnic will be hosted this year by Jennifer Justiss.  Her family’s beautiful farm near Chelsea is an idyllic setting for one of our favorite traditions.  Jennifer suggests bringing swimsuits and towels if you want to swim in the pond, and folding chairs or picnic blankets will also be handy as we spread out on the lawn to eat, chat, knit, spin, or crochet.  Families are welcome at the picnic.  The guild will provide soft drinks and water, paper goods, and grilled brats.  Please bring a salad or dessert to share.  DIRECTIONS TO JENNIFER’S HOUSE: Jennifer says, “Travel east on Hwy 280 over Double Oak Mountain. Turn right on County Road 43.  Turn left at the STOP sign, County Road 280. Take the 2nd right on Lewis Road. This will turn into a dirt road after about 100  yards.  Keep going about 2 miles.  You will come to a gate where there are 2 rows of trash cans and a row of mailboxes.  You are almost there. Go through the gate.  After another 1/2 mile or so, you will see a red fence and a small barn.  Our house is just past the barn. Continue past the house, turn into the driveway and park along the drive or in the grass.”   Bring Us Your Best for the Homewood Show It’s not too early to begin thinking about our annual guild exhibit at the Homewood Public Library, during the month of September, 2015.  Our theme this year is “Bring Us Your Best.”  Please consider displaying your best work from the past year, or any work you’re proud of that hasn’t been seen in public.  For the past ten years or more, the library has welcomed us to use the two large glass cases in the entrance foyer, as well as three table-top cases in the central hallway.  The exhibit will run through the month of September, and we will collect your work at the August guild meeting, returning your work at the October meeting.  This is a great opportunity for guild members who do not sell their work to shine in a museum-quality setting, and it’s also a way for professional fiber artists in the guild to reach a wide audience.   Interesting Fiber Items to Read and Check Out...   Interesting way to use knitting.  These women knit parts for hearts:  http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32076070   Following up on our April program on crocheting, this article might be of interest: http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-geometry-and-crocheting-20150130-story.html               The Guild on the Web Between newsletters and meetings, keep up with the guild on the web at:   the guild blog at www.greaterbirminghamfiberguild.blogspot.com, maintained by Mary Spanos, blog@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com, the guild Facebook page at www.facebook.com/greaterbirminghamfiberguild, maintained by Emily Levitan, fb@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com, the guild group on Ravelry at www.ravelry.com/groups/greater-birmingham-fiber-guild, maintained by Kathryn Pitt, rav@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com.     If you don't want to miss new posts to the guild blog, you can choose to receive new posts by email. Go to the blog and look for "Follow by Email" on the right hand side of the page. Type your email address in the window and click "Submit." If you want to have something posted on the blog, send it to blog@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com.    You can post to the guild's Facebook page yourself! Emily shares information and posts that she receives on the guild's Facebook group page and keep Facebook users up to date on what is going on in the guild.    Ravelry isn't just for knitters anymore. Crocheters, weavers, and spinners all upload photos, project information, and patterns. Kathryn is managing the GBFG group and has posted helpful information on participating in the Ravelry guild group on the blog, find it at http://greaterbirminghamfiberguild.blogspot.com/2015/04/gbfg-on-ravelry.html   Next in our series of craft mysteries   Seaside Knitters Series by Sally Goldenbaum Protagonist: Isabel “Izzy” Chambers, owner of Seaside Knitting Studio Setting: Sea Harbor, Massachusetts Number of books: 8, with two new books, A Finely Knit Murder, and Trimmed with Murder, coming out this year First in the series: Death by Cashmere Not long after Isabel “Izzy” Chambers opens up a knitting shop in the sleepy fishing town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, a diverse group of women begins congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters. Izzy raises some eyebrows when she rents the apartment above her shop to Angie Archer, whose reputation for loose behavior and a quick temper has made her unpopular with many locals. But could any of them have wanted her dead? Angie’s body is discovered drowned in the harbor, her long red hair tangled like seaweed in a lobster trap. An official investigation rules the death an accident. There are speculations of too many whiskey sours, a slippery wharf, a dark night… But Izzy and the Seaside Knitters smell something fishy. When several strange incidents occur above the shop, the women decide to take matters into their own hands. But before long, their small-town sense of security is frayed, and the threat of more violence hangs over this tightly knit community… Why we love it: Goldenbaum does an excellent job of inserting New England flavor into her books, making Sea Harbor and its characters practically leap off the page.                                             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 (Deborah Kattus ) by the 20th of the month to go into the following month's newsletter. Email me at dkattus@charter.net 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 Deborah Kattus - Newsletter Janelle Zorko Schultz - Past President     Rental of Guild Equipment & Materials   The Guild has available, for rental to members, the following: Lucy Neatby's DVD knitting collection.  See  http://www.lucyneatby.com/dvd_contents.html for description of DVD contents. Drum Carder Laura Fry's Magic in the Water  book and DVD. 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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Guild Picnic next Saturday!

Our annual guild picnic will be hosted this year by Jennifer Justiss. We'll meet this coming Saturday, May 9, at 11:00 Jennifer's family’s beautiful farm near Chelsea is an idyllic setting for one of our favorite traditions.  

Jennifer suggests bringing swimsuits and towels if you want to swim in the pond. Bring folding chairs or picnic blankets to spread out on the lawn to eat, chat, knit, spin, or crochet. We'll have "Show and Tell," so bring your latest masterpiece or current project (or latest treasure found at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, if you are there this weekend).

 

Families are welcome at the picnic.  The guild will provide soft drinks and water, paper goods, and grilled brats (Barbara Tucker is heading to the German butcher in Atlanta for this picnic treat!).  Please bring a salad or dessert to share.  

DIRECTIONS TO JENNIFER’S HOUSE:

Jennifer says, “Travel east on Hwy 280 over Double Oak Mountain. Turn right on County Road 43.  Turn left at the STOP sign, County Road 280. Take the 2nd right on Lewis Road. This will turn into a dirt road after about 100 yards.  Keep going about 2 miles.  You will come to a gate where there are 2 rows of trash cans and a row of mailboxes. You are almost there. Go through the gate. After another 1/2 mile or so, you will see a red fence and a small barn. Our house is just past the barn. Continue past the house, turn into the driveway and park along the drive or in the grass.”