May 2021 Meeting

Last month we had the joy of seeing each other again smiling under sunny skies at the pavilion at Boston Pond in Hancock. 

With a great turnout, most of us brought new and old objects to show off in-person, like this small vessel by Karen T. Not everything shown is pictured or explained in this post, so if we forgot something important please let us know. 

Dawn showed this shawl she made and brought many woolen goodies to share with the rest of us. In fact, this meeting was full of sharing, from plant starts, to felted sweater material, to homemade niddy-noddys!

Phyllis showed us the carpets that tormented her this winter as well as many of her crochet color studies that she continues to work on. 

Laura showed us books and a needle case that she completed. 

Though she hasn't been knitting or weaving much, Clare recently finished sewing this Woolfork dress for herself. The pattern is from the book Embody by Jacqueline Cieslak. 

Karen L. has been working in different media this winter, painting mandala-style rocks and weaving a deliciously soft and happy blanket. 

Karen M., a new guild member, joined us in-person for the first time. She is a new weaver already completing exquisite pieces like these mug rugs and placemats, her first and second projects ever! She also showed us an example of the Norwegian art of skinfeller. 

Denise showed us the handtowels that she has woven with lovely variations in the pattern. 

Melissa has been busy this winter! Here she is modeling the jacket she completed as part of Mary Sue Fenner's class last year. In addition to handwoven yardage, she made custom piping. She also competed a sweater, two vests (one of which was from a Mary Sue class ~29 years ago), more yardage, and a rug. 

BUELLWOOD'S BEST 2021

Each spring for the last few years we have been holding the Buellwood's Best show at the May meeting. In the winter we agree on a theme and guild members create an object based on that theme. This year the theme was 12 x 12. 

Vessel by John, wool and wire

Mug rug by Karen M.

Handwoven bag by Melissa

Vessel by Phyllis, crochet

Owl by Laura

Eco-printed book by Dawn

Vessel by Karen T.

April Video Meeting 2021

This month we enjoyed sharing projects on Zoom amidst an April snowstorm. 

Kathie shared some of her latest handwovens that she has deemed "good enough to give away" including a bread basket cloth and 2 dish cloths that she'll be giving to her daughter. She's also busy setting up warps, though she expects gardening season to take her away from weaving soon. She offered an intriguing tip for wearing angora that is prone to shedding- the night before you plan to wear it, put it in your fridge and the next day you won't have to worry about fluff all over your black pencil skirt! (suggested soundtrack)

Phyllis worked on knitting a chunky mohair scarf for skiing while bidding farewell to ski season until next year. She has also been busy finishing rugs, including one using striped denim coveralls along with colorful jersey. She finds that she still can't stop crocheting circles and has been enjoying the color study using cotton and linen yarns. A friend of hers from graduate school commissioned a crochet piece that has now found its home in Harlem. 

Mary knit the Trimont Snood using Blue Sky Fibers yarn that she got at Nanette's Knits and Gifts in Wakefield. She also finished weaving her paper towels, a tabby weave with white cotton 8/2 warp and wefts with Habu Shifu linen paper yarn and a raffia yarn. The raffia is a bit heavier than the linen and all are very soft after machine washing and machine drying. See Handwoven M/A 2021 p. 18 for a nice article about weaving with paper yarn. She's warped two looms and is preparing to work on North Light Meets Southwest towels from Handwoven M/J 2020 and the Field of Pansy vest from the book Weave Knit Wear by Judith Shangold. Like other patterns in the book, the vest will require only minimum sewing when finished. 

Dawn showed off a gorgeous backpack basket that she received as a gift from basketmaker Emily Derke. She also shared some dye experiments she's been working with using alder catkins, some mordanted with iron sulfate making a green grey color and some with alum, making a yellowy-er green. 

Melissa has been loving lockdown and all the chances she's had to work on fiber arts. She finished her jacket from Mary Sue Fenner's class! Using fabric from a plaid skirt from Scotland, she added handmade piping stuffed with lightly spun roving. She also completed a felted vest and included needle felting around the neckline and felted thrums covering the buttons. She even sewed a bag for a friend in his favorite shade of green and finished a knit sweater. 

Poppy shared photos of the absolutely stunning cradle she woven for her grandbaby due to arrive in June. 

We're going to keep an eye on the weather next month in the hopes that we'll be able to meet in-person outside again. Stay tuned to your email for details on that and location. 

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.