Saturday is our annual general meeting and an opportunity for all our members to have a say in the future of our guild. Once the formal part of the meeting is completed Jane Stockley has kindly offered to give us a talk on Peruvian Textiles following her recent trips – it should be very interesting.

This month is a DIY day, bring along your current projects and spend some time with like-minded people enjoying your craft. Although we will have an impromptu look at how different spinners prepare their fleece.

Dyeing your own sock yarn

Rose will be helping us to dye some yarn that can be used for knitting socks. The yarn and dyes will all be provided.

But don’t worry if you don’t want to participate in the workshop, you can still come along and bring your current fibre projects.

DIY Day

This month is a DIY day, bring along your current projects and spend some time with like-minded people enjoying your craft.

Scottish Textiles – Rosemary Threadgold

This month Rosemary is going to tell us about Scottish Textiles. Scotland has a long history of textiles, originating from necessity in the crofts through to large scale manufacturing, from the tartan kilts to Harris tweed. It is sure to be an interesting session.

There will also be plenty of time to work on your own fibre crafts.

Stick Weaving

This month we will be investigating ‘Stick Weaving’. We have the sticks, you just need to bring some oddments of yarn and a bodkin needle. It is a very simple and useful technique to use up oddments of yarn and create a useful item.

If you don’t want to take part, don’t worry, just bring along your current fibre project and enjoy a day of crafting among like minded members.

As you all know we are not able to meet at Lower Broadheath Village Hall at the moment but many of us feel the need to meet and talk fibre!

So we are going to try something new – a virtual meeting.  This month we will try using Skype, you will receive all the details in an email.  So get your coffee/tea and biscuits, join the meeting and come and have a chat about what you have been up to.  It will be great to see/hear you all and see what you have been doing while at home.

It is with great regret that in these uncertain times we are unable to meet as a guild.  Our programme of events has now been suspended until further notice.  Any members that want to keep in contact with other members can use the guild Facebook page by searching for WGWSD and clicking ‘Join Group’.

The online guild has also offered free membership for the duration of the emergency.  The online guild run a programme of workshops and events.  The details of the workshop are posted online and members have the opportunity to discuss and ask questions of both the workshop leader and other members via their communication platform.  There is also access to a library of previous talks, workshops etc along with an album of photographs.  Details can be found on http://www.onlineguildwsd.org.uk/.

The fibre festivals and shows where we would normally demonstrate have also been cancelled or postponed for the next few months.

Our Guild is also due to put on a small exhibition of members’ work in The Hive, to coincide with the conference in June.  The exhibition will run from 15th-22nd June and will be housed in three display cases in the Atrium of The Hive, in Worcester. We will be showcasing our weaving, spinning and dyeing so will need examples of small pieces of weaving, handspun items/yarns and dyed items/yarns. The cases are not huge and have shelves, so we can’t display large items. Please could everyone think about what they might like to display – either a favourite past project, or it’s a great opportunity to get weaving/spinning/dyeing!

We hope you all keep well and safe!

Warping a Shaft Loom – Jane Stockley

Jane says:

Everybody will be most welcome at my ‘How to warp up a shaft loom’ workshop on the 14th March. Although it will be primarily focussed on shaft table looms, I will also try and make it applicable to rigid heddle loom, as far as possible. I will demonstrate how to plan and prepare a warp on a warping frame, and how to transfer it onto a loom. The purpose of the workshop is to show how easy the process is, and to give you the confidence to tackle any warp you want to use. Please feel free to bring any warping equipment you have, and come prepared with all the questions you have always wanted to ask. We will try to troubleshoot any problems you have, and we can all learn from each others experience. I look forward to seeing you all!

For those not involved in the weaving workshop you can of course bring any fibery project and enjoy a day with like minded people.

AGM

This months meeting will include our AGM.  Please come along and have a say in how you think the guild is working and how you would like to see it progress over the next year.

Two  members are due to leave the committee and if any members feel that they would like to give a little more time to the Guild by joining the committee please email:  worcsweavers@gmail.com or let a member of the committee know that you are interested.

Serving on the committee is a very good way to get to know other members of the Guild and to feel more involved in our activities.   We meet for an hour or so at DIY days and all help in any activities we decide to pursue.

TALK – All About Alpacas

After lunch we have a talk ‘All About Alpacas’.  Julia will give us some history and background about alpacas, talk about fleece qualities and how to find the right fleece for your purpose and also the various ways you can use alpaca fibre.

Happy New Year

Our first meeting this year is a DIY day.  So bring along whatever fibre project you have on the go and spend an enjoyable few hours with like minded people.

‘Christmas Party’

Don’t forget it is our Christmas get together on Saturday.  Bring along a plate of food that we can share and your latest fibery project and we can share a festive fibery few hours together.

Knitting and Crochet Clinic

Need some help with your knitting or crochet projects or want to learn something new?  There will be plenty of help on hand.  If you want to try some upcycled knitting then bring along some old tee-shirts, a pair of scissors and a pair of knitting needles (10mm or larger).  For those that want to try their hand at crochet then bring along some yarn and hooks and we can set you on your way, or you could join in with a ‘poppy yarn bomb’ with some red and black yarn.

As always there will be plenty of room for you to partake in any of your fibery projects along with plenty of tea, biscuits and like minded company.

Acid Dyeing on Mass!

Ever wanted to have a go at dyeing?  Want to introduce some colour into your yarns?  Bring along some yarn or carded fibre and come and have a go.  There will be dyes, aprons and gloves available to use.  If you have any old yoghurt pots for mixing dye in or an electric food steamer that you don’t mind using, bring them along as well.  To cover costs of supplies this session will be £5.

If you don’t want to dye then please do come along with any of your fibre projects to enjoy a day with other fibreholics, there’s plenty of room for all!

This months meeting is a DIY day.

Bring along your latest fibery project and enjoy the day with like minded friends, whether it be spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, crocheting or anything else you want to do.

If you want some help there is bound to be someone that can give you a few pointers so don’t be shy, come along and join in.

Our guild day out this year was a very pleasant day learning about dyeing with plants hosted and led by Jane Meredith at The Forge, Byford.  We were greeted with flapjacks and coffee on the banks of the River Wye and an introduction to the various methods of mordanting fibres ready for dyeing.  We were then divided up into teams to go and forage for the various dye plants we were to use.  Next was preparing the dye baths and adding the samples of wool prepared with different mordants.  Then the cooking process, watching the colours develop.  Once ‘cooked’ the samples were layed out in the sun to dry.  We all then created our own dye cards for reference.  Such an array of fantastic colours all from plants found in the garden!!

It was a bit of a damp weekend but a number of ladies came along to support the alpaca show for which the West Shires Alpaca Group were very grateful.  We hope you enjoyed your days in the alpaca tent with us.  The ladies spinning and weaving attracted a great deal of interest from the public along with the craft show display and I believe we may have picked up some more new members.  Congratulations also go to our members who were successful in the craft show – hope you are all busy working on something for next years show.

Who would have thought we would produce such a wonderful array of lampshades during one workshop!  And when the light shines through it highlights the beauty of the weaving….

Woven Fabric Lightshades

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This month Jane Stockley will be guiding us through the process of making lampshades using your beautiful woven fabric.  Bring along a piece of woven fabric:

20cm lampshade – 64.5 x 22cm (it needs to be larger than this to allow for shrinkage)

30cm lampshade – 97 x 26cm (it needs to be larger than this to allow for shrinkage)

Jane will supply the rest of the kit, lampshades will be £4 for the small and £6 for the large size.

Members and visitors who are not making lampshades are welcome to come along and participate in any other fibre art they wish.

Several of our members spent a very enjoyable day at the Tiddesley Wood Spring Show demonstrating their skills to the public.  They made such an impression that we have gained several new members to the guild – well done ladies.

This months meeting is a DIY day.

Come along and practice your blending from last month or prepare a piece of weaving for the lampshade workshop next month or just come along and spin, or do any other fibery craft in the company of like minded people.

As always there is bound to be someone who can help you on your journey with your craft or help with a problem if you have one.

Blending with colour by hand or machine

This month we will be having a go at blending using drum or hand carders.  The session will be lead by Debbie Robertson.  We will have a look at:

• Heathering
• Taking rolags off your drum carder
• Blending gradients
• Using a diz
• Matching to pre-made blended material
• Silk painting techniques

Please bring along your drum carder or any hand carders that you have (or blending boards) and any fibre you wish to use.  Additional fibre will be available to purchase.

Members who prefer to spin or weave are of course welcome to come along, there is plenty of room in the hall.

This months meeting is a DIY day.

Come along for a social crafting session with anything ‘fibery’.  If you want help with any projects ongoing or new there is bound to be someone who can help.  Or if you want to have a go at spinning or weaving there are plenty of us willing to start you on your journey.

AGM

Our Annual General Meeting will take place in the morning. We anticipate that it should take less than an hour so do bring along some DIY project to keep you busy for the remaining time.

Two  members are due to leave the committee as they have served for over three years. If any members feel that they would like  to give a little more time to  the Guild by joining the committee please

email: worcsweavers@gmail.com with a message for the Chairman and/or Secretary.

Serving on the committee is a very good way to get to know other members of the Guild and to feel more involved in our activities.We are particularly in need of  someone to take on the role of treasurer.

TALK

Angora Goats and Yarn – Kay  Dalloway of Cookley Yarns

‘I own a small herd of beautiful angora goats, all Wethers (boys) who live out their lives naturally with their vegetarian owner. The ‘Boys’ produce stunning fibre for spinning, weaving, dyeing, needlefelting, doll hair, knitting, art yarns, chunky and bulky and textile abstract art. I am an indie dyer and textile artist. I adore mohair! It glistens and gleams like jewels, soaking up dye with vibrant intensity! It produces unique fibres with delightful texture! Fantastic in four ply for warm and toasty rustic socks!  I hand shear and process the boys mohair to hand dye and hand spin my art yarns! Not a day goes by without processing mohair in some way and I love it! ‘ – Kay
Come along and enjoy the mohair colours and textiles that Kay has created.

This month we are holding a DIY day with the emphasis on

SPINNING

If you would like to learn to spin or improve your technique then this is the ideal opportunity for you!

We will be sharing skills and adding to our knowledge of fibres and spinning to ensure that we achieve the yarn required.

Understanding how our spinning wheel works is fascinating. Spinning should be relaxed and controlled, however, problems can arise. If you are finding it stressful your wheel may need some adjustment. Ian Buckley is happy to come along to check wheels and make sure they are working smoothly.

It would be interesting for newer members to see different types of wheel and various fibres. Perhaps you have a piece of equipment that you find particularly useful, bring them all along for our ‘spinning experience’.

Of course non spinners and visitors are also welcome, there will be an area to set up looms etc.