June 2021 Meeting

We had our second in-person meeting at the Keweenaw Land Trust's Boston Pond pavilion. Although the sun was out it was a very brisk day, but we all put on our woolens and other layers and enjoyed each other's company. 

Dawn knit a triangle shawl with wool yarn that she modelled and showed us how to tie or tuck around the back. She also had a basket of Karen Mallum’s wool from her own sheep at Round Barn Fibers. It is a mixture or Bluefaced Leicester and Clun mule Sheep

Phyllis is still crocheting, continuing on the single crochet discs using marled and other leftover yarns that she plans to assemble. 

We haven't seen Melissa since last year and she has been busy! She brought a collection of the weaving and other crafts she's been working on during the pandemic winter in California. Her birch bark towels were in the March/April 2020 issue of Handwoven Magazine. It is a 4 shaft tabby pattern using 8/2 cotton and cotton boucle. She also shared Hoosier Huck towels from the May/June 2020 issue using overshot and huck on an 8 shaft loom, July picnic towels from May/June 2021, pink and orange color study scarves, and a brown tencel scarf from the January/February issue of Handwoven "Floral for All" warp using Monk's Belt structure. 

Melissa has also been working on some delightful holiday-themed punch rug ornaments and mini-pillows that she showed everyone and we discussed the possibility of including this as a class at a future guild retreat. 

Clare has been experimenting with bias on a scarf using a yarn gradient from Wonderland Yarns that has been in her stash forever. It remains to be seen if the curl will block out of the finished object or not (probably not!). 

Karen M. showed  her book of felted wool samples from a class she took at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. 

Susan B showed her drift wood wall mobile, rocks and birch bark mobiles, woven mug rugs, hot pads woven with t-shirts, table runner, and woven bags that she sells at ‘Open Wings’ Gallery in Munising MI.

Denise brought a beautiful embellished Crazy Quilt that she made including beads and embroidery in the 4 squares.

Mary show us her adorable knit and felted Magnus mouse pattern from Arne and Carlos with sweater and pants knit with size 11 needles and 2 strands of Galway wool then filled with poly and felted in the washing machine. She also modeled her latest Shetland wool week 2021 Kep called the ‘Da Crofter’. The pattern is free online at Shetland Wool Week 2021. Her woven dish towel was made of Habu linen paper yarn and 10/2 cotton yarn (Tabby weave Handwoven M/A 2021 pg18 article by Tom Knisley.)

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. 

March Video Meeting 2021

We all gathered again online for our monthly show and tell in March. 

Phyllis showed off nature in her backyard (Lake Superior) as well as some of her recent projects. She knit up some slippers intending to felt them, but the yarns didn't all felt up well. Group members recommended Brown Sheep yarn for felting. She showed off some rainbow dyed handspun and her nalbinding spiral. 

Dawn completed a "funny little hat" and discovered that cattails in the dye pot result in a lovely pink color. 

Denise has been card weaving inspired by a project in Spin Off magazine.

Mary started work on woven paper towels from Handwoven magazine. She's using linen paper yarn and warped with 8/2 cotton 20 epi. All is going well so far at 45 inches despite forgetting to put lease sticks in when dressing the loom. She also completed more adorable knitting projects! 

Melissa completed 4 yards of wool for a jacket almost exactly one year after Mary Sue Fenner's guild workshop. She also carded and spun the loom waste to make some matching yarn. She also finished 4 feet of linen in a Huck-a-back pattern for a bag and spun and dyed some fleece using blue carrots, elderberry, autumn olive berries, and onion skin. 

Karen T. felted an adorable set of planets with her grandson for his school project. She also completed a basket commissioned by someone in Eagle Harbor. 

Although Poppy couldn't make the meeting, she shared photos of her current willow projects, saying she's been playing around with some new ideas. 

Kathie took some black and white checkered towels off her loom recently.