The Yarn Ball!!

Saturday, December 14, is the GBFG Yarn Ball!! Come celebrate with us at 10:00 at Hoover Church of Christ, in our usual place. Bring a gift, a $10 to $15 fiber-related container, if you would like to participate in the gift exchange. We'll have a Yarn Ball brunch, so bring a dish to share (we'll have coffee and water to drink). If the holidays are overwhelming you, bring your knitting or whatever you are working on, and come hide from your to-do list for a little while!! Hope to see you there! (Dress up for the Yarn Ball or don't, it is entirely up to you!)

November Guild Meeting

Crewel Embroidery
Saturday, November 9, 2019

Location Change for This Meeting!

Homewood Public Library at 10:00 a.m.
1721 Oxmoor Road, Birmingham, AL 35209

Crewel embroidery, or crewelwork, is a centuries-old technique that uses wool and a wide variety of different embroidery stitches to create fabric masterpieces. Erica Hlebowitsh, a member of Birmingham Needlearts, will join us this month to discuss crewel embroidery and to demonstrate some of these stitches. Supplies will be provided so attendees can follow along, practice, and get a feel for crewel embroidery.

Please note that this month’s program will be held at the Homewood Public Library in their large auditorium The library is located at 1721 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209. The large auditorium is on the main level near the Book Drop entrance. Our appreciation to board member Heather Cover for arranging our meeting place this time in the unavailability of our usual space.

Another change just for this meeting, the Guild will not be providing coffee or snacks for this meeting. You are welcome to bring your own. We will break for lunch on your own and return for Show and Tell, as usual.

October Guild Meeting

Needle Felting

10:00am, Saturday, October 12, 2019

Hoover Church of Christ
3248 Lorna Road, Hoover

We’ve all had days where stabbing something 10,000 times sounds like a great idea, but that’s rarely a legal option. Until now!

Mollie McFarland will demonstrate the art of needle felting (a.k.a. stabbing wool over and over again to make something adorable). She will help us make our own small felted owls. Whooo’s in?

All supplies will be provided. Please join us for this great program on our regular meeting day, October 12th at 10:00 a.m.!

September Guild Meeting - Fiber Frenzy!

Please join us for the annual Fiber Frenzy on our regular meeting day and time, September 14th at 10:00 a.m. From 10:00 to 11:30 we will have demonstrations, refreshments and time for members to put their raffle tickets into the proper bags. Drawing for the raffle will take place at 11:30!! So, if the door prizes are a fun part for you, please be there in time to enter the raffle (which is free).

There will be snacks, lunch and drinks available during the Frenzy. If you have special food or drink requirements, feel free to bring whatever you need.

We will once again have a “Market” with for sell and swap items. The market will open at 12:30. The Market and Fiber Frenzy end at approximately 2pm. Items can be placed in the free or for sale market areas throughout the morning. Separate sides of the Hall will be used for free and for sale; please follow the signs. For early birds bringing items for sale/swap, please give us until 9:30 before bringing your items for the market just to make sure we are all set up and ready for you.

A few things to remember for the market:
1. Items for the market should be given to those setting up the areas when you arrive…the earlier, the better for organization purposes. The areas will be clearly marked.
2. Items should be in good condition.
3. All items to be sold must have your name and the price clearly marked.
4. You are responsible for collecting your money.
5. At the end of the market, you are to take home any of your remaining items.

VENDORS: If you have a business selling fiber or fiber related items and would like a table in our market area, please see the following. (this does not include members who just have a few items they have made and want to sell).

We’re limiting vendors to what will fit on one of the round, 8-foot tables which will be set up in the side room for the sale. We will have chairs available for you and ask that vendors man their own tables during the sell. Please have everything on the table clearly marked. Vendors will only be selling during the 12:30-2:00 p.m. market hours to keep guests from wandering into the sell room before the market opens, but you are welcome to set up your table anytime during the morning. We are also asking vendors to donate a door prize to our raffle drawing ($20 or up). Please contact treasurer@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com) to reserve a table.

Fiber Frenzy is open to all, including non-members. So, find a friend and bring them along!! If they would like to join the Guild, there is a special pro-rated price of $12.50.

Tour de Fleece, 2019

The photo of the skeins in this blogs banner shows the yarns that were spun by Team Vulcan Spinners during the Tour de Fleece Ravelry event this year! Yay team!

Photo credit and copyright: Victoria Moore

August Guild Meeting

Monetizing Your Craft 

Saturday, August 10, 10:00am
Hoover Church of Christ
3248 Lorna Road, Hoover


Have you ever thought about selling your hand spun yarn, patterns, or finished work but don’t know where to start?

Join Janice Weinstein, Jennifer Lackey, Debbie Scott, Barbara Mitchell, and Janna Ford and hear their advice on how to sell online or at shows, what it takes to market yourself, how to price your work, setting up an online shop or show booth, and more.

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Bring your items for the September gallery show at the Homewood Library! See the newsletter for more information!

No guild meeting in July!

There will be no guild meeting in July and no newsletter! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and finding time for some creative relaxation with the fibers and tools that you love.

The study groups are continuing to meet and many of us will be at the Purl on the Plaza at the Hoover Library from 1:00 to 5:00 this Saturday.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the August meeting and at our annual Fiber Frenzy in September.

Drink lots of water!

Mary S.

No guild meeting in June, but we'll be at WWKIP day!

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

Saturday, June 8, 2019
1:00-5:00PM
Hoover Public Library, on the Plaza

We invite you to participate in Worldwide Knit in Public Day again this year with Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild, and the Hoover Library’s Purl on the Plaza! There will be no Guild business meeting beforehand, so you may eat lunch before you come, bring it with you to eat on the Plaza, or plan on ordering something from East 59 Vintage & Cafe right by the Plaza (in the same room). Guild members will be given a special sticker or name tag that we are having made for the event, so please find the Guild person with the stickers when you arrive.

Free basic knitting and crochet classes will be offered by the library from 11:00 to 1:00, so please reserve your spot at one of the following links if that is something that interests you:
Knitting: http://bit.ly/hpl_knit
Crochet: http://bit.ly/hpl_crochet

There will be many door prizes including one free Guild membership through the end of 2020, and few of our guild members will be demonstrating spinning, tatting, and other fiber crafts. We have a few people bringing different spinning wheels, but are still looking for someone who is willing to demo on a weaving loom (small harness floor or table loom with stand, and/or small rigid heddle such as a Cricket loom) so please contact Janna Ford at fb@greaterbirminghamfiberguild.com if that is something that interests you, or if there is something else that you would like to demo.

If you are currently working on a WIP that is a specialty outside of basic knit and crochet stitches, (beaded lace, brioche, amigurumi, tatting, backstrap weaving, embroidery, rug hooking, etc) please feel free to bring it to work on and show off how diverse our Guild members’ fiber art can be! It would also be great if you could bring a couple of your best/favorite FO’s to show and tell from the stage, and maybe even wear something you have made.

No matter what you are able to bring with you, even if it is only yourself, we look forward to seeing you there!

Lambs in a sandbox

The banner photo is an old snapshot of Pia's lambs playing in the kid's (human kid's) sandbox under the tree house.

May Guild Meeting

Annual Picnic!

Saturday, May 11, 2019 11:00 to 3:00

Pia Cusick’s family farm (see the newsletter for the address)

This month, our program will be the annual guild picnic hosted by Pia Cusik's family at the family farm (see the newsletter in your inbox for the address) from 11:00 to 3:00 (drive around behind the house to park). The guild's annual spring picnic was held here for many years and it will be so nice to enjoy one last day on Pia's beautiful farm. 

Please bring a side, a salad, or a dessert to share. Barbara Tucker made the trip to the German butcher near Atlanta to get those special bratwursts, and the guild will provide water and some soft drinks. If you want something special to drink, please bring it!

Make sure to bring a chair as seating is limited. As always, spouses and children are welcome!

The current forecast (or one of them) predicts that the rain will not hit our picnic, but keep an eye on the online guild sources (your email, Ravelry, and Facebook).

April Guild Meeting

Plarn with a Purpose: Crochet a Sleep Mat 

Saturday, April 13, 2019 at Hoover Church of Christ 

3248 Lorna Road, Hoover, AL 35216 

Erin Williams presented a terrific program about crocheting, or knitting, with plarn (plastic yarn, made from used grocery bags).

As we’ve seen in a previous program based on charity work, Erin Williams uses those bags to crochet mats for the homeless that provide insulation from cold, hard ground. In our April program, Erin taught us about where to find this type of fiber, how to harvest and process it, and how to spin it and use it. The guild provided a crochet hook for anyone who wanted to make a mat—all we needed to add was a stash of plastic grocery sacks.

Find out more, at:
http://www.finecraftguild.com/ craft-for-humanity-crochet-aplastic-sleeping-mat-for-thehomeless

March Guild Meeting

Bib & Tucker plus Art Quilting hands-on demo

 Saturday, March 9, 2019 10:00 am

Hoover Church of Christ 3248 Lorna Road, Hoover, AL 35216   

Viola Radcliffe from Bib & Tucker will be kicking off our March program with a short presentation on their March Quilts Project. This is an annual project where Bib & Tucker members choose a civil or human rights theme and facilitate open sewing sessions and discussion. During these sessions, community members create quilt blocks that express personal feelings about the theme. Since the beginning, Bib & Tucker members have sewn seven quilts from over 850 submitted blocks.

See the Bib & Tucker website for more information! 

To go along with this presentation, we felt it only fitting to champion one of our very own Guild members, Barbara Mitchell. As an art quilter, Barbara uses hand stitching to lay down layers of appliqué, as well as embellishments like yarn, wool roving, cheesecloth, gauzes, beads, and Angelina fibers. Barbara’s works range in size from under 12 inches per side up to 7 feet by 4 feet.

Barbara will be teaching a short class in art quilting for us on Saturday, in which members will learn a few embroidery stitches while sewing and embellishing their very own Happy House quilt block to take home with them.

If you plan to participate, you need only bring a good pair of sewing scissors, any pins and embellishment supplies you’d like to use, and your imagination!

Visit Barbara's gallery online to see her beautiful work!

February Guild Meeting

Spinning Wheels 101

Saturday, February 9, 2019

10am at Hoover Church of Christ

3248 Lorna Road, Hoover, AL 35216

Are you a spinner, needing an introduction to caring for your brand new spinning wheel? Were you gifted with your great-grandmother's wheel and haven't the first clue how to spin on it? Have you had a busy moment in life and discovered that your wheel has been sitting for months, untouched and gathering dust, and you need tips on how to get her ready to spin again? Have you come across a wheel at a yard sale and don't know what to look for in determining whether it's worth the asking price? Have you always wondered what it would be like to spin on a particular wheel, but never have been able to try it?

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes," then our February program is for you! Board members Mary Spanos and Jennifer Lackey are here to teach us the Spinning Wheels 101 class! We will cover:

• New wheels
• Old wheels
• Wheels of different types
• How to care for your wheel
• What to look for when buying a wheel
• And more!

We'll have many different types of wheels at the meeting, giving members the chance to try wheels on before buying. Members need only bring their imagination and their interest in spinning wheels to participate!

Pia Cusick's Color Study

The cloth shown above, and in the header of this blog, was handspun and handwoven by Pia Cusick as part of a group project of the guild's Spinning Study Group many years ago. Everyone was given a set of dyed Merino tops to use in any way. Pia spun her colored top along with some gray roving from her own sheep and wove the cloth above. Pia passed away earlier this year. She was a generous teacher and wonderful friend. She will be missed, but will continue to have an affect on the spinners and weavers who were lucky to know her.

Pia, along with the study group, wrote about this project in Spin-Off magazine, Vol. 24, No. 4, 2000.

January Guild Meeting

January Guild Meeting

Tips & Tricks

Saturday, January 12, 2019
10:00 a.m.
Hoover Church of Christ
3248 Lorna Road, Hoover, AL 35216

We’ve all picked up tips and tricks in our years of knitting, crocheting, sewing, rug hooking, tatting, weaving, spinning, etc.

You’ve probably never given them a second thought, but we’d love to hear about them. Do you have a foolproof way of tying a knot in thread for hand sewing? How about the best way to figure out how much yarn you need to cast on hundreds of stitches? How do you make warping go faster? Or keep your working yarn/thread untangled?

Some of what’s shared may be old hat for you, but hopefully we’ll all pick up a few ideas that make the difficult parts of fiber crafting a little easier.

We will also have your 2018 Resolutions available and 2019 cards to fill out if you’re interested.