Shepherd's Wool Market

Auction!!

Don't forget! Bring what you can, and bring some money, too! Non-spinning/non-fiber items are ok too. Let's raise some money for our guild!

Long Meadow Farm Open House Reminder

Click for larger image:

Friday March 8 and Saturday March 9, 10-5.

Sunday Feb. 10

Using Hand Cards:

Well this month went fast!

For February's meeting, we will be working with hand cards. This will be an informal presentation.

Hand carding can be tricky until you get the feel for it. And although some will swear by their method, if it doesn't feel right to you, it can be a frustrating experience.  We would like everyone to bring in their hand cards and demonstrate the method they prefer to use, and hopefully, tell us when and what they use them for.

Where using a drum carder may seem a way more efficient way to blend colors or fibers, hand cards can work better in some situations, for instance if you want a specific shift or gradation in color. (See Margaret's Citron Shawl in the October blog post). They are also great for small amounts of fiber and for experimenting. And of course, they are more affordable. 

So, please bring your hand cards and some fiber (Roc Day fiber would work.) For those of you that don't have cards, I think some people offered to bring extras, and there should be plenty around for you to try it.

Don't forget March 10 is our second auction, please start thinking about things to donate! Hopefully, it will be as successful as our last one.

If anyone has photo's of Patsy's workshop, you can send them to one of the moderators for posting.

Remember, the spinning challenge is to make something with your Roc Day fiber, You can do anything you want, any pattern, add fiber, etc.

Roc Day: Roc Soup–making of a super batt

Round and round and round we go…

Lots and lots and lots of fiber

Jelly roll

Ready to "slice" and divide up!
Thanks to everyone for making this a big success!

Sunday January 13, 2013

Roc Day! 

Happy New Year all! 

We will be making (hopefully a giant) Roc Soup Batt for Roc Day this year.

Anyone wishing to participate needs to bring in at least 4 oz. of decent, spinnable fiber, any color. In theory, once the giant batt is made in horizontal layers, we divide it vertically through the layers. The fiber going in should be well enough prepared that you can spin from it coming out (although you ultimately decide final prep.)

The way it works is you put 4 oz. in, you get 4 out. If you would like more, please add in 4 oz. increments. We will not weigh incoming fiber unless you want us to, or someone donates extra and we can take more home than we brought.

NO alpaca, mohair or angora!!!

Some of our members have serious allergies to these fibers. If you are unsure of your fiber content, please bring in something else!!! If someone has a problem with any other fiber, please let us know.

Acceptable fibers include wools, llama, silk, tencel, bamboo, firestar, angelina, locks (not mohair), noils.

We will need some scales to weigh the smaller batts once the soup is made. I'm bringing a small electronic kitchen scale that weighs in ounces and grams, it is more than adequate for our purposes. If 3-4 people could bring one in things should go quickly. Put your name down in the Ravelry group if you are bringing one, once we have 4 people, we should be set.

The resulting fiber will be the new spinners' challenge. You can do any project you like using any technique you like: knit, crochet, felt, weave, etc. The February meeting will be working with hand cards as a follow-up for a prepping technique you can use for this. 

If any of you have completed the last spinning challenge, please bring it in to show us.

Hope to see you all there!

Don’t forget, all guild members are invited to Patsy’s lecture on Thursday Jan. 24th!

“Using your Yarns: A Look at the Creative Process”

Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village (former Amherst Museum) 
Thursday Jan. 24th 6:30 pm Free!

3755 Tonawanda Creek Road 
Amherst, NY 14228 Phone: 716-689-1440