Pembrokeshire Guild

NPSW COME HAND TO HAND WITH THE PEMBROKESHIRE GUILD OF SPINNERS, WEAVERS AND DYERS

It’s been a few years since the NPSW contacted the Pembrokeshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers, and Dyers via Rosaleen Ward in an effort to become familiar with a guild other than our own. Arrangements were made to exchange gifts for Christmas alternating every year. There have been many happy occasions when our secretary has collected the mail in late November or early December and found a package full of exciting gifts which our guild giggles gleefully over. While we have always received our gifts with pleasure and joy, I have to admit that I, for one, have born a great curiousity for the members of their guild that create such wonderful and interesting surprises. Many gifts have gone back and forth. One year we created felted balls and decorated them for hanging on their Christmas trees, we have created pins and ????. In return we have received Chinese dumplings, felted pincushions in, believe me, all shapes and sizes. This Christmas we received our package in perfect timing for our annual Cristmas luncheon, and as usual, there was great anticipation as we all chose our packages. Inside were lovely wrist warmers with the common thread (no pun intended) being cashmere. They were lovely and we all appreciated how wonderful they are. I left the party once again wondering who had spent so much time creating the wristlets that I received. Mine were pink with aa loop that fitted precisely over the middle finger. So it was very exciting when our secretary made contact with the guild and actually asked about the wristlets. I am so glad to be the editor of this blog because when I asked our secretary if she could forward a picture of our group with the wristlets on at the 2007 Christmas luncheon, which is the only picture with most of our group in it, I was tickled pink to get the pictures that their guild had forwarded to Sharonin addition to the picture I was seeking. So here it is folkes, have a good look, because these ladies are the ones that have been creating for us just as we have been creating for them. They look like they could fit right in with us don’t they....

If you want the names of those in the picture you can contact me privately and I will be able to tell you their names perhaps we should pass pictures back and forth to them too.....

I will be away!

I'm sorry to say that I will be away for the next week and will not be able to post any new articles until I return Check back again any time after the 9th of March. I will be posting article about the Pembrokshireguild of Spinners and Weavers and hopefully by then I can finish my article on my odyssey through the Master's spinner's program..... if you need to contact me I can be reached via our email wooliest1@hotmail.com. Over and out.

Mercerization

Mercerization by Renate Giesbrecht
MERCERIZATION Mercerization is a finish applied to cotton yarn or fabric that was discovered by John Mercer in 1851. He found that by immersing fibers like cotton and linen in a caustic soda bath, usually sodium hydroxide or lye, their strength was increased and they were able to take dyes more easily. Because his discovery caused a 20-25% shrinkage loss in cotton cloth and increased the durability of the cloth, the mill men feared that less fabric would be used. In spite of the fact that the industry was not very interested at that time, Mercer did patent his work. The process became popular in the late 1800’s when Horace Lowe discovered that if the fibers were kept under tension while they soaked they did not shrink as much and they became very lustrous and “silk-like”. He found that after sitting in this highly alkaline bath the fibers could be neutralized in an acidic bath. So Mercer discovered the process, Lowe refined and popularized it. Mercerization is used on fibers for many different reasons. It makes threads stronger, smoother, more absorbent, gives luster and increases the ability to take dyes. The process shrinks the fibers and smooths the grain of the thread. Because of this preshrinking, mercerized cotton tends to shrink far less than regular cotton. Greater absorbency results from mercerization because the caustic soda causes the molecular structure to open up so that more water can be absorbed. The moisture regain is about 11 %. This also means that dyes can enter the fiber more readily and when they can be fixed inside the fiber they are more colourfast. Another important gain is increased strength. Mercerization causes a permanent swelling of the fiber which increases strength but also lustre. For this reason these threads are often sought after by weavers to be used for warp. Pearl cotton refers to mercerized cotton and comes in 3/2, 5/2, and 10/2 sizes rather than the 4/8, 2/8 and 2/16 sizes of unmercerized cotton used by the weaving community. by Renate Giesbrecht Source: Textiles by Hollen.Saddler, Langford, Kadolph

Needle Felting

Needle Felting
NEEDLE FELTING There are some really terrific new books out there about the Art of Felting. The books that I find most intriguing are the ones that give me ideas for needle felting. I had always hated felting since I don’t have the strongest hands and felting tends to require strong hands, patience and diligence, (which I also lack) in addition to soap, water, good felting fibre and a rough surface, or a method of agitating. I would cringe each time my guild would set up a workshop for felting. But then I discovered needle felting and now I love to felt. My first foray into needle felting was a small workshop that my guild set up to felt balls and decorate them for Christmas ornaments. I very quickly decided that this “new” method of felting was fun. Soon I was felting ornaments for all my friends to attach to the outside of their gifts at Christmas time. Then one day when I had to provide a gift for a gift exchange I decided to felt a soap on the rope and make a hand towel to go with it. I was charmed with the soap on the rope as was the recipient of my little gift. Next came a pair of slippers for which I felted the fabric. First I felted several layers of wool on a foam cushion to get a fairly thick felted fabric and cut out a moccasin style slipper which I sewed together and decorated with felted embellishments. My next project was more difficult as it was a shaped sculpture of a small squirrel with an acorn in its mouth. I had a lot more difficulty with it as a 3-d felted object as apposed to a flat surface felted project. It turned out ok but I will definitely need more practice at this type of felting. The more I needle felted the more my imagination became charged with new ideas. Straight felting has its limitations but also has it uses but I find that felting with needles has no limits except for your imagination. I bought my first set of felting needles from my guild for our workshop. But since then I have discovered that there are different gauges for different projects and your project will dictate which gauge you use. I also discovered that there are felting tools that will hold a number of needles at a time making felting a quicker prospect since more needles will cover more of the surface you are trying to felt. There is even a felting machine that works similar to a sewing machine which felts very fast. Since my first project, I have invested in a felting tool that holds five needles at a time. The needles retract each time you stab the wool. However a single needle is what I like to use when I get to the point that a piece requires more detail and definition. A single needle can be controlled better and therefore when small adjustments need to be made to a piece it is easier to do this with just one needle. My felting interests have been piqued by this wonderful tool and method. It enables my creativity another outlet. How great is that....

Anita's Electric Spinner

Anita's Electric Spinner
Pros and Cons of an Electric Spinner by Anita McWilliams I bought my electric spinner in 2002 when it became apparent that treadling was causing a “misery” in my right hip. I ordered an Ashford from Treenway Silks on Saltspring Island. It wasn’t cheap but it has proved to be a good investment, and thoroughly dependable. The electric spinner does not resemble a conventional wheel, except in one crucial way, the Mother of All (flyer and spools) is identical. Otherwise, it is a compact unit, approximately 11’ x 15” x 12” high. The front or business end has an unobtrusive panel with an on/off switch, a forward/reverse switch, and a knob to control speed of spin. At the back end, a fuse receptacle and an extension cord furnish the necessary power. Two discreet knobs provide for tension control and a hook for draw-through. Tension is controled by single nylon filament which passes under a hook over the spool and back to the hook. Very simple. The unit is sold with a Lazy Kate and three spools. Since one’s feet have no part in the operation of an electric spinner, there is some loss of the satisfaction that is derived from co-ordination of eye, hand, and foot, but this is soon adjusted to. My Ashford sits on a small cupboard with casters, so it can be moved around somewhat. The cupboard measures 18” x 22 1/2” x 19” high. This is a convenient height for me to sit on a kitchen chair, and provides enough space on top for spools, carder, comb, etc... The cupboard could be used for storage of wool, etc., if it were not already filled with leftovers from earlier hobbies! There are other electric spinners on the market. The following are pics of other examples of Electric Spinners. (1)Babe’s Electric Spinner, (2)The Butterfly Electric Spinner, (3) The Fricke Electric Spinner, (4) The Rio Grande Electric Spinner, (5) The Roberta Electric Spinner.

Electric Spinners

Editor's Yarn

Friday's Spin In and Other Stuff
Editors Yarn: OK so by now everyone in the NPSW knows that they should be thinking about the Spin In in the lobby of the North Peace Cultural Centre on Friday the 15th. Hope to see you all there. Who knows maybe I'll actually make it this time! Master Spinner's Homework: I am just spinning the most delectible fleece today. It is a Rideau Arcott fleece that I bought from Jody McLean. She keeps the cleanest fleeces. I decided to spin it in the grease. This fleece is for the last assignment that I need to do to complete my level 1 of my Master Spinner certificate. I have spent a great deal of time this year completing a book of breeds where I take ten different breeds of sheep research them and spin the fibre from them and give my observations as I process the wool. I have also completed an assignment where I took ten different natural dyes and dyed homespun yarn with several mordants. I have finally completed my book on all the research in taking a fleece from the sheeps back to a final product which includes the characteristics of wool, through to the shearing process, the washing process, the spinning process, the equipment used, and blending wool with silk. It has been a joy to work over the year (since last July) and see the process coming to completion. I will try to include some pictures but as of now I'm trying to figure out why this blog will accept some of my pictures and not others. Keep checking back to have a look at what I've been up to. Previous Post: I hope you all had an opportunity to check out the picture of the drop spindle. I bought this great little item from Ray Thompson in Keremeos, B.C. He has excellent workmanship and I recommend him highly if you are in the market for a drop spindle or a Turkish spindle or mini combs. He does have a website which I will include in the links.

Turkish Spindles (How to Wind On)

Turkish Spindles (How To Wind On) Spindling is a real treat and with a Turkish spindle spindling becomes even more so. The treat lies in the fact that when finished you have a center-pull ball from your singles ready to ply as soon as you are done filling your spindle, making plying and ball windng a much simpler task. The whorl is a cross made of two curved pieces rather than a solid disk. One whorl piece is inserted into the slot in the other, then the shaft goes through the circular hole in each. On mine, which I bought from Ray Thompson, rather than a hook there is a slot and groove, through which I thread my leader, making this a great airport-safe spindle. I usually wind on in an X that goes between the bars -- holding the spindleup side down and with the whorl legs at the compass points North, South, East, West. (I have even marked my tips with the letters for each point of the compass.) I first wind on Southwest to Northeast, then Northwest to Southeast, then Northeast to Southwest, then Southeast to Northwest, repeating this each time I wind on. There will be a four pointed star made by your yarn once you have made a complete revolution. By always staying on the right side of the shaft on top and the left side of the shaft on the bottom for each winding, I get a balanced ball. I use a bright coloured leader yarn, tied to the whorl, so that when I pull the whorl arms out, the leader comes out with them. I am left with a perfectly useful ball of singles that will not easily tangle when it is time to ply. Recently I have made a Lizzy Kate (same as Lazy Kate only for spindles rather than spools) that has three upright dowels of the same diameter as the shaft of my turkish spindle. When I take the centre pull ball off my Turkish spindle I just drop it right down over the shaft of one of the dowels and presto... the ball is ready to use when I am ready to ply and won’t collapse or tangle while I continue to work on other balls. I can store up to three balls on each dowel thus allowing me to ply up to nine plys if I want. I have to be honest though, I have only plied four ply as my highest ply but who knows what the future has in store....

Turkish Spindles

I'm new to this but here's info. on Turkish Spindles
Editor's Yarn:
Hi there folks. I have to apologize because I am so new at this that I keep forgetting things that need to be included on this blog. I thought I would give you all an idea of what this is all about since yesterday I wasn't very clear. SABLE (Stash Aquired Beyond Life Expectancy) is a magazine that I conceptualized over a year ago. I wanted to edit a magazine with articles and information on the fibre arts, particularly spinning and weaving. When the logistics of actually publishing a paper version of that became impossible due to expense I started to rethink SABLE. One day I was telling my husband about my idea and my frustration with expenses and he said why not publish it as a blog or website. So my brain kicked into high gear and a year later here I am. What I want SABLE to be is a bulletin board for the North Peace Spinners and Weavers..... a place where we can check out what is going on in our guild and also a place where we, as individuals, can post what we are doing personnally.... I also want to put informative articles here that are fun and interesting to read. Kind of like a magazine but online, (the new format) as apposed to paper coming in the mail. So sumissions are welcome.... email them to wooliest1@hotmail.com or you can email them to me personnally, you all know my family email address. In the meantime if there are no submissions I will do my best to keep you informed and write a few articles myself. Thanks for all your support.

Transferral of all Articles

SABLE Editorial
Editor's Yarn Percolating in the back of my head for quite some time, was the idea that I could start a magazine for the fibre arts. I am a collector of all kinds of things. I have a drawer full of beads. I have fabric stashed in every corner of my house, and while I am a novice at weaving, I have started collecting spools of fibre that appeal to me, for future weaving projects. Then there is my all time favorite... fleece, fleece and more fleece. I have bags of it everywhere. My husband endulges my whims for fleece and my two daughters have grown up with it everywhere so I think they would feel odd if the stuff were not all over the place. Even my dye pot sits ready to use in my bathroom on top of the cabinet that holds everything from bandaids, to alum for my natural dye escapades. This blog is an opportunity for me to initiate communication with a community of people just like me, and to give us an outlet for sharing ideas and inspirations. Every few days there will be a new article and a new picture to feast your eyes upon. So, go ahead and brouse, and see what you can use to fire your imagination. Try using something precious from your stash. That way, you can keep purchasing the things that give you pleasure and have no fear of your house bursting at the seams.
Today's picture is a beautiful picture that I downloaded some time ago just because I liked it. I wish I knew who took this beautiful photo. They certainly have an eye for a spinner's dream. Who could pass up the opportunity to sit at this lovely wheel and relax with a fine slip of fibre twisting through your fingers.

NPSW Who we are!

Ok folks, so we are trying out Google's blogspot to see if it posts better than the space at Hotmail. So far this is more difficult but nicer looking. I guess I will get used to the format in a few days.....
This will be our new blog space to post happenings in the NPSW guild. I will continue to add articles. Bare with me since I am trying to get this right. I have managed to figure out the picture thing much easier and they let you post pictures here with a larger file size. I am sure that is double dutch to some but what it means is that we will have a better and easier blog to view. Over the next few days I will transfer the articles and posts from our other blog here since there are so few then from there I will continue on with our blog. You can still send articles of your own in to me with pictures via our email at wooliest1@hotmail.com. So don't forget to have a look daily to see what is happening.