February Video Meeting 2021

We had a big turnout for February's video meeting and guild members and guests have been busy making this winter!  

Dawn has been retrofitting a Singer sewing machine that she ordered online to make it into a hand crank. She offered to share what she learned with guild members who might be interested in doing the same thing. 

Karen T. showed her recently stitched grand-dog ornament as well as her woven birch hearts with skeleton keys. Thanks to some hand exercises a friend gave her, Karen's hand is feeling better and she's been able to get back to more basket work. She's been working on a large cylindrical basket to trade with an artist friend in Duluth. It is around 8"x12", has a wooden base, spruce root rims, and torn bark. 

Mary has continued to knit, completing another of Katie's Keps and mitts, a doll sweater to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and more Arne & Carlos ornaments from their birds book. 

Phyllis has been busy this winter! She needle and wet felted 19 pieces exploring color relationship in preparation for the faculty show at Finlandia.  Also part of the show are marled cotton circles that she crocheted. She's been spinning some fiber (and trying to get the smell of mothballs out of it) and finally finishing up with the ends of the rug project that has given her some challenges this winter. As you can see below, the solution involved a complex set up of card weaving and clamps. 

Melissa was able to get physical therapy for her shoulder and has been able to comfortably weave again. She finished weaving her experimental rug and is working on preparations for her Buellwood's Best submission in May. 

We were joined this week by Mary's friend Grace. She's a piano teacher who has kept sheep and spun wool in the past. Recently she knit a sweater using yarn she purchased in Germany 30 years ago. Her daughter modeled it for us. Thanks for joining us Grace! 

We were also joined by John's friend Linnea who has been a rug weaver and basket maker. She's interested in learning tapestry weaving and asked for some help finding learning resources. 

Karen L. showed a Buffalo plaid shawl that she recently wove on her rigid heddle loom. 

Jimalee recently finished knitting an elaborate baby blanket, but has already gifted it so was unable to show it to us. She's also been working on hats for her husband - a seaman's hat from an 1898 patter with double garter ear flaps and a Tunisian market hat felted on a form from corrugated cardboard. She also recommends the Modern Daily Knitting field guide on intarsia featuring designs from Kaffe Fassett. 

Denise finished up her day of the week embroideries and has started a crazy quilt. She gave up on a knitting project that was frustrating her, which led Phyllis to remind us all that it is important the our processes satisfy us. This inspired Clare to rip out a cabled baby blanket that's been languishing on her needles for 6+ years! 

Clare finally finished knitting her Fogline Pullover using yarns dyed in Dawn's 2017 natural dye workshop at the guild retreat. She also shared info about pieces in the Kalevala show at the Copper Country Community Arts Center (which because she is so late writing this blog post is no longer up). 

John asked for advice on shrinking a wool hat he has without over-shrinking it. Our felters offered advice. 

David wasn't able to join us live because of work, but he sent along some images of the yarn he's been spinning on his Schacht Matchless recently. 

Poppy also had to miss out on the meeting because of work, but shared some images of projects she recently finished. She started the needlepoint around 1976 and decided about a month ago that at 45 years old it was ready to be finished. She also made a hat and two willow projects. 

Our next meeting will be Monday, March 15th at 11am. Check your emails soon for the Zoom link.