July 2015 - Queensland Spinners, Weavers and Fibre Artists

Clippings
July 2015 Vol. LI, No 06
Queensland Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists Ltd
Meetings: Fibrecraft House, 12 Payne Street, Auchenflower QLD
Mail: PO Box 924, Paddington, QLD 4064
Phone (answering machine): (07)3371 0009 Email: office@qldspinners.org.au
General Meeting
10.00 am
10.30 am
11.30am to 1.00pm
1.00pm to 3.30pm
General Meeting
10.00 am
10.30 am
11.30 am to 1.00 pm
1.00 pm to 3.30 pm
Tuesday Midweek Spinners
10.00 am to 1.00 pm
Noon to 12.30 pm
Wednesday Midweek Spinners
10.00 am to 1.00 pm
Noon to 12.30 pm
Night Owls (General Craft)
6.30 pm to 9.00 pm
Kid Friendly Crafters (KFC)
10.00 am to 1.00 pm
Weavers Group
9.30 am to 1.00 pm
Hand Knitters
10.00 am to 1.00 pm
Felters Group
9.30 am to 2.00 pm
Basket Cases
9.30 am to 4.00 pm
Experimental Dyers
9.30 am to 1.30 pm
Book & Paper Group
9.30 am to mid-afternoon
Rolling Possums (Felting)
6pm to 9.30pm
Saturday 4 July
Morning tea and social time
Announcements and Showcase
Shop and Library are open
Craft time
Saturday 18 July
Morning tea and social time
Announcements and Showcase
Shop and Library are open
Craft time
Tuesday 14 & 28 July
Craft and Discussion
Emporium open on request
Wednesday 8 & 22 July
Craft and Discussion
Emporium open on request
Wednesday 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 July
Craft and Discussion
Tuesday 7 & 21 July
Craft and Discussion
Wednesday 1 July
Discussion
Wednesday 15 July
Craft and Discussion
Thursday 9 July
Craft and Discussion
Sunday 5 July
Craft and Discussion
Friday 10 July
Craft and Discussion
Monday 13 July
Craft and Discussion
Tuesday 28 July
Craft and Discussion
Office Hours
Welcome to all new members who
have joined us in the past month
Thursdays only: 10.00 am to 3.00 pm
Phone/answering machine:
(07) 3371 0009
Email: office@qldspinners.org.au
Board Meeting: Tuesday 14 July 2015.
Clippings
Contributions for Clippings
If you would like to submit an item to
Clippings, please direct these to the Editor
by phone or email. You may also drop off
your submission in the Clippings tray in the
office at Fibrecraft House or contact the Editor directly on the below email address.
Please be very cognizant of the timeframes
for submission, as we have deadlines for
proof reading and printing.
Folding
Thank you to the wonderful folding team
who have come to the folding days.
Please come along and help - many hands
make light work. There is no meeting fee
and we supply the morning tea!
Next date:
Friday 24th July 2015
Email: clippings@qldspinners.org.au
Approximately 9.30am to 10.30am
Clippings Dates and Deadlines
If you would like to be sent a link to a
digital copy of “Clippings”, rather than a
print - please email so I can put you on the
mailing list.
August copy due: 16 July 2015
QSWFA Membership Fees
Joining Fees
$10
Ordinary Membership
$60
Country Membership *
$45
Group Membership
$70
Family Membership
$65
Student Membership
$45
Pensioner Membership
$45
Pensioner Family Membership
Kitchen Roster
The July kitchen roster will rely on everyone to wash & dry their own cups and
spoons and put them away.
If you are a city member and your surname
falls between K and O please help with the
set up and clean up of the kitchen. This
includes emptying coffee grounds, put the
rubbish in the outside bin and replace bin
bag. If you notice that supplies of any item
in the kitchen are running low, please leave
a message for our office administrator.
$55
Late Renewal Fee (after Aug 31) $5
*Conditions Apply
When paying membership by Direct Debit, could
members please put paper receipt with membership form so it is known how much is paid. It
makes it easier to process your membership.
Members please leave the hall clean & tidy
after your meetings. All food scraps are to
be placed in the bins; please put the kitchen
rubbish in the outside bin at the end of the
meeting. Rubbish bins go out on bin day as
marked in the calendar
Thank you.
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From the President’s Residence
Another lovely winter’s day in June and we are rapidly approaching
our busiest time of year. The first event is over, Open Day was
held on a glorious sunny Sunday. Many thanks to Jonna
MacFadyen for organising a successful day. We had a competition which matched the skills of spindle spinning against a spinning
wheel and after 10 minutes it’s surprising that there was so little
difference in the length of the two single threads. The wheel spun
thread was a little bit longer and declared the winner, with Joan
Apthorp providing commentary during the competition to the
crowd. The workshops have become a drawcard for visitors to watch, participate and learn
new crafts and techniques.
There’s a real sense of satisfaction in walking away with something handmade and to all our
tutors, thanks so much for donating your time and forgoing your tutor’s fees, we appreciate
your generosity. For the second year in a row our patron, Jenny Woodward, officially
opened the event and compered the fashion parade. Jenny graciously accepted the invitation to spend over an hour with us, we are so fortunate to have her support. To all our related groups that came to visit with us, we trust you enjoyed Open Day and caught up with
friends.
Many of our members have challenges in their lives. I grew up with a saying, “a problem
shared is a problem halved” and have found support and comfort from the members in this
group when needed. July is Fragile X awareness month and one of our members has 2 children that were born with this syndrome. One of her children has always had problems putting on weight and they have finally found a formula that is helping him grow and thrive. It’s
expensive and the family makes sacrifices to buy this formula. To help support feeding Bryn,
we are running a raffle that will be drawn at Mapleton Camp. Tickets will go on sale soon,
keep an eye out for them.
Would you like to go to camp, or volunteer to demonstrate or man the stand at the Ekka?
Time to put your forms in for camp, it’s promising to be filled with fun and special workshops. Jen and Chantelle have put together a great program of guests for our return to
the Sunshine Coast hinterland retreat at Mapleton. The sign up sheets for the Ekka are up in
the hall. I always find that after my roster is done, exploring the exhibits and seeing the
craft on display is a special treat. Many of you submit work and it always amazes me to see
the creativity on display.
Looking forward to seeing you at some point and until we catch up again, happy crafting.
Happy Crafting.
Allison
Editor’s note: I’ve placed the camp form in the centerfold of this month’s Clippings for those
still seeking one.
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Library Report
The magazine subscriptions have been renewed and back issues ordered.
Thank you to Jen Homewood for donating a selection of knitting and crochet books, including
"Attractive Hand Knits" and "Charmed Knits: Projects for fans of Harry Potter".
The knitting and crochet section has had a freshen up. Thank you to Annette and Joan for going
through the pattern boxes. Amongst the boxes of patterns we have a box for Toy Clothes Patterns
and another for Tatting and Lace. Due to the current interest in Lace Making we also have a Tatting
and Lace Making Section. All types of Lace Making, including Knitting and Crochet will be found
here.
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
Knitting
Crochet
Machine Knitting
Tatting and Lace Making
Happy Browsing!
Nat
library@qldspinners.org.au
Emporium Report
Emporium Mail Orders
Dear country members, there is a mail order service available for the purchase of goods from our
Emporium at Queensland Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists. A general list of the items available
will be posted on our website in coming months or you can request a list to be either posted or
emailed to you. Orders can be made via email, post or phone. An invoice will be sent, with the postage included, by either post or email and payment may be made by EFTPOS, direct deposit or
cheque prior to the order being filled and sent.
To email an order please send to emporium@qldspinners.org.au
To post an order:
Emporium, Queensland Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists
PO Box 924
Paddington
QLD 4064
Phone orders in on: (07) 3371 0009
Emporium Shop at Camps
Hi campers,
Starting with Toowoomba Camp, this year QSWFA will have a shop at as many camps as I can manage. If you have any suggestions regarding what goods you would like to have available or goods
you think other campers may be interested in please write or email me.
Email or post to Emporium QSWFA, PO Box 924, Paddington, QLD 4064.
Alleyne
emporium@qldspinners.org.au
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Events
Saturday Meeting PhD Supervision
Do you want to finally finish your PhD?
The QSWFA system will not incur any HECS fees!!!
If you have a Project Half Done (PhD) and need just a little bit (or a lot) of help with inspiration or technical advice, Karlene Lewis and her team of experts are ready to assist you on
any textile craft project.
At each Saturday meeting, join them after lunch in the Hall with all of your questions and
“bits” (fibre, yarns, patterns, equipment etc.), and let's get those PhD's finished so that like
all good crafters and graduates – we can start another one!
Janet Milne Fund
In 1989 Mr Milne gave $1000 to Queensland Spinners Weavers and Dyers in memory of his
wife Janet. This amount was added to at the time by various members of our Board and
with these additions the total amount became $2000. This was invested with the plan that
the interest be used to provide grants to defray expenses for a tutor to go to a country
group or a member of a country group to attend a workshop and return to share knowledge
with the group. Country members can also apply if they are members in their own right.
This fund has been overlooked for a time but it is available. Queensland Spinners, Weavers
and Fibre Artist members or groups located outside a radius of 100 km of the centre of Brisbane are eligible to apply for this assistance. Assistance can only be given to the same
member or group once every two years.
In the past, the amount available for distribution in that year was announced in “Clippings”
early in the year with a deadline of 31 st May for written applications from interested members or groups. The amount available varied each year due to fluctuations in interest rates.
A date for recommencement and further information will be published in “Clippings” in the
coming months.
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Basket Cases
Basket Cases meeting Sunday June 7
Our meeting was on the Sunday of the long weekend in June so I was surprised when nine
enthusiastic basket weavers arrived.
Mary experimented with small sculptural forms using green grass she had collected that
morning.
Angela continued twining a basket with a handle using a variety of fibres.
Jenni used a large wire fruit bowl as a framework to weave with banana fibre. She worked
at both ends and now plans to weave the centre section with molineria.
Pauline, a basket weaver from Cooroy, visited us for the day. She was building a small melon basket from a flexible tree branch, which she wove with banana trash. Taking a break
from the melon basket, she worked on a small garlic basket weaving the body with various
flexible fibres such raffia and inflorescence sheath. The spokes
were Poinciana leaf sticks.
Suellen, also a visitor for the day, finished a small melon basket
(right) using palm inflorescence sheath over a lovely twisted vine.
The God’s eye was woven in dyed commercial cane. She went on
to weave a small garlic basket using lomandra and palm inflorescence sheath.
George, once again diverting from her usual obsession with melon baskets, worked on a 4
over 4 basket using a bucket as a support. The spokes were palm inflorescence strands and
she twined with iris leaves
Nat actually turned up, but she sewed some of her eco dyeing ….well it still involves plants.
Jill was still weaving her experimental basket, using the outer fibre from the banana strips,
which she usually throws away, as it is too hard and inflexible to use.
Floss made a small 4 over 4 basket using Alexandra palm inflorescence spokes and banana
trunk strips.
Jill
Below: Basket Cases at Open Day
Above: Pauline and melon basket
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Book & Paper Group
OUR JUNE MEETING
Because it was the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, we didn’t have a planned activity.
Everyone brought their own projects to work on, and several people used the time to decorate pages for the collage swap.
We enjoyed the informality of the day which gave us time to catch up with other members
for a relaxed chat.
JUNE SHOW AND TELL
Joan showed two books she has made. “A man for his time” is about a herbalist in the Ancient Order of Foresters who supported families who lost their menfolk in the First World
War. “Memories of Malta” features flora, fauna and produce of the island, and is a gift for
her Maltese friend.
Lena showed “Who gives a Crap” toilet paper. Purchasing this paper supports a worthy
cause – the company supplies water and toilets to needy communities.
Visit http://au.whogivesacrap.org.
Renate displayed the stab-bound book she made following Lena’s demonstration at our
May meeting.
Tricia showed “Seasons”, a fabric book embroidered with words and trees. It will be on display in an exhibition at Richard Randall Studio on 22 & 23 August. Lyn B and Sue from our
group are also exhibiting.
Joanna showed the recycled coloured pulp papers she has made for the collage swap. She
offered to run this activity at the 2016 January Cookup. So start collecting manilla folders
and other coloured offcuts now!
Nat showed the half-finished Conan calendar she is making into an artist book. She wanted
to pass it on to someone else to finish, but we hope she’ll finish it herself!
OUR NEXT MEETING on 13 JULY
There’s quite a lot happening at this meeting.
1. Shared lunch. At this meeting we will have a “Christmas in July” lunch, so bring a plate
of food (and/or liquid refreshment) to share.
2. Monthly activity. Wendy McHugh will show us how to make stamps. There will be a
small charge for those participating.
Things to bring: Scissors, hole punch, decal edge scissors, ruler, pencil, eraser, ink
stamp pads in a variety of colours, papers to print (i.e. plain colours, tissue paper, Refidex/UBD, or map pages, telephone book pages, etc)
Wendy will bring Foam core pieces, foam sheet pieces, Jac paper, design ideas, hole
punch, decal scissors, scissors, ink stamp pads, A3 Cartridge paper, wide masking tape
etc.
3. Display of books. This is the first month of our special “Inspiration” displays. In July we
will look at examples brought in by some (or all) of the following people: Annette, Bronwyn, Carmel, Carolyn, Catherine, Claire, Di and Elaine.
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Book & Paper Group cont.
4. Distribution of Collage pages. Participants will exchange their pages between noon and
12.30.
5. After the shared lunch we will have Show and Tell and then you’ll have a chance to continue making more stamps.
OUR MEETING on 10 AUGUST
We are exploring double concertina books. Please bring examples (or instructions) if you
have any.
5 Postcards in the “BLUE” swap are due.
The people bringing books for our “Inspiration” display are Elizabeth, Heather, Jan, Jill,
Joan, Joanna, Judy and Karin.
AN INVITATION FOR ALL MEMBERS OF QSWFA
On 27 July we are viewing artist books at the State Library. There are still some vacancies in
both sessions (either 10-11.30am or noon-1.30pm). You must let Tricia know if you want to
come. Phone 3379 1406 or email smout@uqconnect.net
Tricia Smout
The QSWFA ‘Butterfly Net’
There are no members in the butterfly net this month. However feel free to contact us, to let a
crafting friend know you care and we’ll do the rest.
Yvonne Ritson and the Butterfly Team
butterflynet@qldspinners.org.au
Sending positive healing thoughts to those in our community who are unwell in any
way.
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Experimental Dyers
It was an unexpected, delightful and certainly advantageous moment when three of Dyeanna's Aunts (Rose,
Marigold and Violet) from the Eucalyptus Leaf Variety
Experts Society ('ELVES') arrived early to Fibrecraft House.
Their monthly meeting at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
had been cancelled, but all was not lost as the Experimental Dyers made the Elves and their stash of leaves very
welcome.
In a moment of inspired genius Lili, with the assistance of
Vicki and Myrna started 3 significantly large brews of water; each with a splash of either vinegar, iron sulphate or
copper sulphate while Dyeanna and Helen settled the Elves at a table and prepared 3 hearty cups
of English Breakfast tea.
After the Elves gave an informal presentation to the Dyers about their leaf collection, the leaves
were 're-purposed' by the Dyers - laid out on silk and wool, “quarantined” with cling wrap, rolled up,
firmly bound, then immersed into the different boiling brews for an hour and a half to give us an
“Eco printed” image. Nat Billing popped in and shared her eco dyeing experience that included
(amongst other things) a robust discussion of cling wrap brands focussing on width and performance expectations during extensive boiling periods.
Robin, Lynne and Jan followed the design principles of “size and shape” for leaf distribution, Kym
was with Lili on the Armani principle “Less is more” and Yvonne followed the Versace concept
“More is never enough” inviting all present to contribute to her last project piece.
While waiting for our fabric bundles to cook, scandalous rumours about lavender sachets in lingerie
drawers were dismissed and Sheila suggested that we 'Experimental Dyers' do a bit of showing off
to the Elves with our successful indigo dyed pieces from last month. Enthralled, the Elves promised
to sell plenty of tickets when the quilt is ready for the 2016 Open Day raffle.
Lili (whose busy schedule of exhibitions these days rivals Dyeanna's ) nominated to lead our July
activity “Eco Dyeing” featuring Log wood - which uses the Ph level of the dye bath to produce either
red/purple or blue/purple tones. Cotton, silk and wool will all work successfully with log wood.
To prepare, please have your fabric pieces bound, stitched or wrapped using your preferred
“Shibori” techniques as the pieces will have to soak in alum before we dye. More details will be in
an email soon; please bring in the results of the June “Eco Prints” for us to enjoy.
Rose, Marigold and Violet did the 'airport run' with Felicity going to Ireland for an art installation
and Dyeanna to Munich for a Forestry Conference. Heather and Marijke were kind enough to
mulch the unused leaves and placed them around the trees on site.
Yvonne Ritson
Top: Jan and Lili laying out
leave onto a sillk scarf.
Left: Lynne and Robin quarantining the leaves with cling
wrap.
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Camp Mapleto
10
on 2.0 Form here
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Felters Interest Group
11 June 2015
Rosa had made a large cape with bands of fabric from different
scarves onto a teal felt base (right). It was laid out as a square, but because the layout was only in one direction the shrinkage was preferential and the final piece was rectangular. Rosa had sewn up one side
and folded some of the inside layer out to form a collar. Meanwhile,
Rosa continued stitching on her felt monster.
Visnja made a white conical shaped hat with red, blue and yellow ribbons of fabric and wool on it.
Geraldine was making a white sample using very fine (13.5 micron)
Mongolian cashmere which was like gossamer – so light, soft and fluffy. It was overlain with various bridal fabrics and degummed silk cocoons. She still had time to help our newest member
Joanne.
Robin had made 3 cute little hand-warmers (like little phone pouches) with gel inserts in
them. On the day, Robin put the finishing touches to a purple hat by stitching a pink flower on
it. She also showed us some of the weaving that she has been seduced by. Some of the smaller
pieces were stiffened and will probably be made into earrings - all very colourful work which is
transportable to camps.
Lili laid out a small dilly bag using indigo coloured wool on the outside with turquoise flyfel circle
features (surprise surprise) and paler green wool on the inside.
Robert came in for a chat and checked out the library. He brought in an array of silk flowers
and moulds that he was working on . One of his latest creations was a purple hat with bunny fur
on the crown. Fascinating.
Sandy arrived later and showed us the purple silk nuno wrap with the cut out prefelt cat shapes
on it from last month. Very distinctive.
Joanne joined QSWFA on the day and was given a tour of the Emporium which immediately
burnt a hole in her wallet (thank-you Jen). She was interested in felting and Geraldine immediately took her under her wing and had her laying out wool and embellishing it and in no time she
had her first sample of felt. The private tuition was a complete surprise to her and we will welcome her back next time. Kudos to Geraldine for always helping and encouraging newcomers – it
is members like her that make a difference to the group and QSWFA.
The red felt patchwork rug which the group had worked on looked fabulous on Open Day and
was won by someone from the Tweed Heads area. We are sure it has gone to an appreciative
home. A big thank-you must go to Jonna for stitching all
the squares together.
Lili
Right: Robin’s purple hat and handwarmers
Right: Robert’s
silk flowers and
purple hats
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Hand Knitters
At our May meeting, the group members were kind enough to try out the knitted lace edging
that I was about to hold a mini-workshop on during Open Day. This was a very useful exercise for me; I'd made up my simple garter-stitch-based edging as I knitted it, and I then
charted it (see below), after which I wrote out line-by-line instructions from the chart. Working on it with the group ironed out any bugs; I'd omitted a crucial k2tog from the written instructions, so I could fix that before I presented it to the Open Day students, and also I saw
how the knitting would be tackled by English-style knitters. I knit "Continental" style, which
means a slightly different way of tackling the making of the stitches. Thanks, ladies!
Our July meeting (Wed. 15th) will be our customary "Christmas in July"; we will not have a
study topic, though I hope we'll have a well-stocked "Show and Tell". This will be a good opportunity to show what we've been making, and to solicit or offer any advice or ideas (we
sometimes don't have much time for "Show and Tell" because we're so busy concentrating
on the lesson of the day).
We warmly invite those members who haven't been able to attend knitting meetings regularly to join us for this event. Please bring a plate of festive food to share. I'll be making a gluten-free vegetarian soup; I'm sure there'll be lots of goodies of all sorts to enjoy.
Happy knitting!
Joan Apthorp.
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Weavers’ Interest Group
June 3rd 2015 Present 11 Members and 3 apologies, Kay, Jill, and Heather.
Myrna reminded us that the Christmas in July Meeting would be held at Kay Faulkner’s home
at 30 Barron Rd BIRKDALE (3207 1481). Each of us is expected to bring a plate of food to share
and a $5 donation towards a book for the QSW&FA Library. We will also be able to view Kay’s
studio where she plans to conduct Weaving classes announced in May’s edition of Clippings.
With reference to selvedges, Maxine showed us a piece of weaving she had purchased at Loot
which had firm selvedges. Myrna said that she doubles the outside threads and always doubles
a floating selvedge if weaving a twill. Myrna and Alleyne have found weaving computer programs helpful for determining the need for a floater – Fibre Works and Weave Design. Clare
suggested a project which it was agreed would be a suitable replacement for the October Project.
Threads and certain techniques have an inbuilt tension which cause a fabric to roll, twist, concertina, shrink unevenly, produce holes, or a three dimensional appearance. Such effects can be
viewed as a problem eg knitting in a singles yarn can slew to one side; stocking stitch will roll
up without a basque. There is a picture of a restaurant wall decoration by Swiss weaver Marlise
Staehelin, in that fabulous 1970’s book - beyond craft: the art fabric by Constantine and Lenor
Larsen. Marlise used a soumak technique with bundles of plastic film to make standing columns.
She remarked when she was Artist in Residence in Brisbane, that the technique chosen automatically created the rounded columns. We thought it appropriate to call the Project:- ‘Oops,
I’m glad that happened’.
Book Reviews
Karlene chose 2 books to review – Weave Classic Crackle and More by Susan Wilson, a Schiffer
Publication and a self published book Weaving With Echo and Iris by Marian Stubenitsky which
examines iridescence in weaving.
Marijke chose to recommend a Peter Collingwood book which dealt with a variety of historic
Textile and Weaving Structures. The book was published by Batsford.
Myrna recommended a book by Penelope Brooker and published by Van Nostrand Reinhold –
Pile Weave Embroidery With the Loom and Double Weave.
Future Meeting Plans
As already mentioned, the Christmas in July Meeting will be held at Birkdale and not at Fibrecraft house. August meeting will discuss the rug weaving technique Kruckbrag; September will
be a practical exercise, making decorations on an inkle loom; the October will include a demonstration of joining weft threads on the loom, followed by viewing products of our ingenuity in
using threads and techniques for our Oops Project. For the November meeting bring examples
of small gift ideas.
Open Day was also discussed. Parking is a perennial problem. Clare felt that music could attract
customers to our widely dispersed stalls. Caroline, a new member enjoyed her first experience
of Open Day. Congratulations all round.
Clare Shaw
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Showcase
16th May Meeting
Judith Weller had two offerings. The first was a beret, mug warmer and
coaster, made from hand spun wool (right); which started off as a sliver
dyed with green food colouring. The beret, called “Anzac” was trimmed
with a red knitted poppy. I immediately claimed it for the Beanie Festival,
but the proceeds will go to the Flying Doctor. The mug warmer was also
trimmed with a poppy. Judith’s other offering was a white knitted scarf in
superfine merino. She used a combination of two stitches: “Gull’s Wing”
and “Holland Stitch”. The problem, after cleaning the wool, was to get the patterns ending on
the same row – a lovely scarf, about 180cm long.
Paula Cockle showed a “Horseshoe Cap” in white hand spun wool, from the Spinoff magazine.
Paula modified it by adding a pattern repeat, using 3.75 and 4.5 mm needles. It is also going
to the Beanie Festival.
I also had a beanie to show, which was an order for my grandson’s girlfriend. I used my hand
spun alpaca yarn, natural grey and a range of pinks, mauves and blues from my stash. It was in
garter stitch, starting with 84 stitches on 4.5 mm circular needle, changing colour every two
rows, finished with a pom-pom trim, and beads tied on to finish off the loose ends. I hope she
likes it. My other offering was a hank of hand spun fawn alpaca, plied with a gold lurex thread.
It weighed 100gm, was 400 metres in length, and will make somebody a lovely shawl.
Thank-you to Allison Hayes for her photography for some of Showcase this month.
Helen Walters
Above: Paula’s hand
spun horseshoe cap
Above left: Helen’s handspun
alpaca
Above right: Helen’s beanie
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Above: Judith’s hand
spun scarf
Showcase cont.
6th June Meeting
I think the story of the day belongs to Marilyn Jensen - she displayed a shawl she knitted on 4.5mm needles from wool she spun
from some of the wool of the famous New Zealand wandering sheep,
Shrek (right). Shrek had gone several years without shearing, so his
fleece weighed something like 30kg, and was extraordinarily long.
This lovely shawl will go to our fund-raising effort for the Royal Flying
Doctor Service; we hope that its internationally renowned pedigree
will bring a premium price. Marilyn used the same leaf-stitch pattern,
and the same needle size, to knit a lilac-coloured 5-ply crêpe shawl,
with which she won a First Prize at the Lowood Show. Congratulations, Marilyn!
Marilyn also displayed a felted wrap she didn't make herself - this was made from fibres she entered in a Scarf Exchange. This piece won the People's Choice award in the scarf competition out of around 200 entries. It was made by South Australian felter Dina van der Gogg (hope I've
got the spelling right) from wool and silk supplied by Marilyn. It fastens with a shawl-pin decorated with needle-felted garlic bulbs!
Bonnie Pappin (whom you'll remember as Bonnie Anderson) had two
cardigans for herself to share and a skein of handspun Wensleydale wool.
The wool came in roving form from Ixchelbunny; it was a sheep breed
with which Bonnie wasn't familiar. She split the dyed roving down the
middle to get her plied yarn more or less matching; her spinning-wheel
bobbins were giving trouble, but nothing deters a determined spinner not even Wensleydale, which is definitely not a next-to-the-skin fibre.
Bonnie's garments will be very useful now that winter is upon us. One is a
snug vest, the Endless Circle Vest (pattern by Red Hart; above right), a
cunning pattern starting with a stocking-stitch square for the back and
then add a ribbed border all round, leaving space for armholes. There are an enormous number
of stitches in the ribbed border, but the space-dyed wool used (Cleckheaton Vintage Hues)
would have been enough fun to prevent total boredom. This was done on 6mm needles. Bonnie's blue cardigan/jacket was knitted on 5mm needles from Bendigo Woollen Mills's "Stellar" yarn,
a 50/50 wool/bamboo blend, using the pattern "Sophia" by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. It has an
interesting shawl collar with garter-stitch and cables, picked up from the edge of the jacket and
knitted outwards.
Anita Osborne is a new weaver who is showing great proficiency at
getting neat edges on a rigid-heddle loom. Her blue woven shawl/wrap
(right) had a warp of plain turquoise acrylic yarn, while the weft was in
a 50/50 wool/acrylic blend, a singles yarn of uneven thickness. She has
been giving shawls like this as gifts, needless to say much appreciated!
A very effective lacy "slouch" hat was displayed by Kylie Astley, spun
and knitted using Merino wool donated to the Group by organisers at
the RNA. Kylie used 3mm needles and 120 sts with the very simple lace
stitch popularised amongst QSWFA members by the late Doreen Murray. The hat started with 1x1 ribbing, then moved to the lace, broken
every 5-6cm by a few rows of stocking-stitch.
16
Showcase cont.
Judith Weller had spun some of the "Flying Doctor"
fleece using the "woollen" style of spinning, which creates a soft, airy single; she plied her wool with a strand
of fine worsted-spun yarn, which gave it a spiral effect.
I'm sure this will knit up into a delightful warm hat or
scarf.
And I'd been busy (very busy!) with "eco-printing", carrying on from Nat's inspiring workshop back in March. At
this meeting I displayed a silk scarf and some cards (above right), done in a eucalypt dyebath.
I'm not very enthusiastic about fine silk for this style of dyeing, as the leaf prints don't show up
very well, but I do love the effect on the cards. I also love how it works on fine wool jersey, but
that's a story for another day. If you'd like to try it yourself, Nat will be giving another workshop
in July - highly recommended!
Please keep bringing your work in for Showcase at Saturday meetings; it is always inspiring to
see what is done by members in groups we as individuals may not participate in.
Joan Apthorp
Above: Bonnie’s skein of Wensleydale
Above centre: Bonnie’s jacket
Above: Marilyn’s felted Exchange
scarf
Below: Marilyn’s lilac shawl
Below: Kylie’s slouchy lace hat
17
CLASSIFIEDS
Windwheel Tasmanian Huon pine used and
loved. Bought from the Bendigo Ettrick
Spinning Wheel shop
Come and weave with Kay Faulkner
Where: In her studio school at 30 Barron
Rd, Birkdale.
6th - 10th July: “Special” workshop to launch
the school
18th July: Fiberworks ©PCW Tutorial
Tuesday* 21st July: Weekly classes (5 week
block)
Accessories are:
Storage bag (one
side zip broken),
six bobbins, Lazy
Kate, various
carders, fleece
comb, Niddy noddy, “Beginning
Spinning" by Truda Cox, a spare
belt AND some
raw fleece to start
with.
* Alternate days may be offered. (Thursday
or Saturday) according to demand.
All looms and equipment provided.
Visitors welcomed by prior arrangement.
Individual study possible.
For full details go
to www.kayfaulkner.com.au or
www.kayfaulkner.wordpress.com
$650 negotiable
Contact Susan Tebbutt
mobile 0466 096 752
Ph 0732071481.
Schedule details can be mailed.
Sue’s ad (sue@woolandcotton)
18
Dates To Remember 2015
16th -26th July 2015
Jumpers and Jazz in July Festival, 9 - 4pm
Warwick Spinners and Weavers Shop, 41 King St, Warwick
17-19 July 2015
Toowoomba Spinners, Weavers, Dyers Group camp
James Byrne Centre, Highfields
31st July-2nd Aug 2015
QSWFA Mapleton Craft Retreat 2.0
21st August 2015
Twilight Market, Fibrecraft House, 6pm-9pm
18-20 September 2015
Valley Spinners & Crafts Inc. Jamboree, Seaforth.
23—25 October 2015
Highfields Spinners camp.
4th December 2015
Twilight Market, Fibrecraft House, 6pm-9pm
Twilight Markets
Bookings are open for each market 3 weeks prior. Confirmation of your place will be 1 week
prior. Pre-payment is essential and non-refundable. Bookings open 3 weeks before the market date. Confirmation 1 week before market date. Bookings via office@qldspinners.org.au
Clippings advertising rates
Full page $75
Half page $40
Quarter page $25
Small display ad $3 per column cm
Small non-display ad $0.25 per word
Whole year ad 11 ads for the price of 10
19
REMINDER
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS ARE DUE NOW
16th -26th July 2015
Jumpers and Jazz in July Festival, 9 - 4pm
Warwick Spinners & Weavers, 41 King St, Warwick
17-19 July 2015
Toowoomba Spinners, Weavers, Dyers Group camp
James Byrne Centre, Highfields
31st July-2nd Aug 2015
QSWFA Mapleton Craft Retreat 2.0
If undelivered return to QSWFA Ltd
PO Box 924
PADDINGTON QLD 4064
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