TWISTED THREADS FIBER ARTS GUILD

presents two workshops and a free lecture with Joan Ruane

First a professional teacher and then a spinner, Joan Ruane has taught spinning throughout the
United States, New Zealand and Canada. She is active in her local regional guilds and has owned
and operated fiber shops in Florida and Arizona. The author of cotton-related newsletters and
two DVDs, Cotton Spinning Made Easy and Cotton Spinning with a Takli, Joan has also been
published in fiber magazines. Her updated edition of Hand Spinning Cotton by Olive and Harry
Linder will be available soon for purchase.

Joan lives near Bisbee, Arizona, where she grows a small crop of colored and white cotton
for use in her own projects. Her website—CottonSpinning.com—offers tips on spinning and
working with cotton.

SPINNING COTTON OFF THE POINT
Saturday, September 14, 9 am to 4 pm
$75 Twisted Threads members
$90 Non-members
Materials fee paid to instructor, not to exceed $25

For beginners and advanced spinners

Spinning off the point allows more control over the yarn you are spinning as there is no “drawin” pull on the fiber like you have using a spinning wheel. Thus it makes it easier to spin cotton
off the point than on the spinning wheel.

The class will be learning to spin off the point of a takli support spindle. This will give them the
long draw technique of spinning. Learning to control the thickness and strength is important in
getting the yarn you want to have for a project. With the takli under their belt we will move to
a variety of charkha wheels, learning the differences and their limitations. Students will have a
chance to open and close an Indian book charkha. Several stand-alone charkhas and quill heads
will be available to work on and hopefully a great wheel if one is available in the area. Students
are encouraged to bring in their charkhas and quills to class. A short lesson in carding cotton and
making punis for spinning will be given.

Students should bring:
notebook and pencil
tags and a small niddy noddy
a couple toilet rolls
ball winder if they own one (these can be shared)
a set of carders if you have one
optional: bring any spinning device that requires you to spin off the point

Instructor will provide:
handouts
2 Indian charkhas for use in class
quill head for Lendrum and the Majacraft wheels
Babe Liten Spindel
cotton fiber for use in class
takli spindles and bowls to use in class
couple cotton carders to be used in class
puni sticks

SPINNING BAST FIBERS
Saturday, September 15, 9 am to 4 pm

$75 Twisted Threads members
$90 Non-members
Materials fee paid to instructor, not to exceed $15

For beginners and advanced spinners
Spinners must be comfortable with their wheels
Flax, ramie and hemp, plus some surprises, will be taught with an introduction of history and
then the technique of spinning each fiber. Students will experience dressing a distaff with flax as
well as spinning the fiber in several different ways. Ramie and hemp will be provided in sliver
form. Spinning from the fold, off your forefinger, will be taught as one method of spinning the
long staple fibers. Yarn finishing will be discussed.

Student should bring:
spinning wheel (no bulk spinners) and maintenance supplies
lazy kate and 4 bobbins
small niddy noddy
labels (tags or other means of labeling fiber and yarns)
distaff if you have one
dark apron or lap cloth
bath towel
small cup for water
* recommend you bring your own spinning chair or a cushion

Instructor will provide:
handouts
fiber for use in class
samples and educational materials


COTTON IS KING
Saturday, September 14, 7 pm
free and open to the public

Joan will present a 45-minute lecture on cotton’s history, its influence in the world and the role it
plays today in United States’ agriculture.

Workshops and lecture location—

North Carolina State University Crafts Center
210 Jensen Drive
Raleigh, NC 27606

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION
Mail a check with a completed registration form (indicating which workshop(s) you wish to
attend) to—

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild
Lynn Michael
4208 New Hill-Holleman Rd
New Hill, NC 27562

For additional information, contact Jane Bynum, janebynumatatt.net

The Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild is pleased to announce:

HOW TO MAKE THE YARN YOU WANT TO MAKE: AN ADVANCED SPINNING CLASS

Continuing spinners, gain inspiration and skill at making the yarn you have in mind.   What gives your yarn personality? How can you consistently make LOTS of it? Examine fiber prep, spinning methods,twist and plying options and then play,play, play with color and fiber combinations.

Martha began her adventure in spinning at the John C. Campbell Folk School, (founded in 1925), in Brasstown, North Carolina in 1978.  Since 1980 her extended family has included sheep and angora rabbits, currently Corriedale/Merino, Romney, Shetland with a little Blue faced Leicester for fun.  Also a banjo player and known to tell a story or two, Martha’s interest in sheep and wool, music and dance, have carried her quite literally and joyfully around the world.  Her children say she is a wool nerd but her sheep say she is outstanding in her field!

Martha became a member of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild in 1988, is  Resident Artist at the  John C. Campbell Folk School in spinning, knitting, felt making, and dyeing, and is a co-owner of Yarn Circle in Murphy, NC, a store catering to fiber enthusiasts.  She has been teaching spinning, natural dyeing and knitting design since 1984. (She taught her first class of thirteen students how to card and spin with a one month old nursling in a wind up swing as her assistant.)

The class will be held August 18 – 19, 2012 from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm each day (1 hour lunch) at the NC State University Crafts Center (2241 East Dunn Ave., Raleigh NC 27607).  Class fees are $120 for Twisted Threads Guild members and $150 Non members.  A materials fee is to be paid directly to the instructor, not to exceed $25.  A spinning wheel is  required.

The registration form is available here.  Dues paying Guild members can register immediately; non-members can register after June 21, 2012.

Fiber of the Month: Silk

Silk is a protein fiber produced by the larvae of various moth species; it is also produced by spiders. It is a smooth, lustrous and strong fiber much desired for its light weight; 1 ounce of silk can produce a small shawl.


The information below is a summary of the presentation made by Jane and Jame at the March 15, 2012 Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild meeting.
References
wormspit.com
Interweave Spin-Off articles

Summer 1994.  Has many articles on silk including one on the history of sericulture in the U.S.

Spring 1997. Silk, a Spinner’s Survey.  Several articles cover spinning silk bricks to silk noil.

Winter 1999. Wild Silk, part 1.

Spring 2000. Wild Silk, part 2.

Fall 2000. Spin silk for Braiding.

Spring 2003. Silk Road to Mexico. Silk Scarves.

Spring 2004. Silk Embroidery Threads. Wool and Silk Plied.

Fall 2004. Duet for Silk Brick.

Spring 2005. Spinning a Navajo 3-ply to make crochet bead ropes using hand-painted silk.

Winter 2006. Working with silk hankies.

Fall 2007. Dyeing with hankies.

Winter 2007. Back-page essay on raising silk worms.

Summer 2009. Handspun silk ribbons.

Fall 2009. Raise your own silkworms.

Fall 2011. Spinning silk carrier rods.

Knitty articles

Dyeing silk http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/KSFEATdyeanotherday.php

Spinning a hankie http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/FEATsilkhankies.html

Intro to silk by Michael Cook http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATbombyx.html

Brief summary of types of silk preparations available to handspinners (see also wormspit.com)
cocoons - rawest form, may or may not have the larvae removed
hankies & bells - a minimally processed cocoon that has been de-gummed and stretched over a frame
noil - silk waste leftover after combing or carding; produces a yarn with lots of texture and can be added to other fibers to add color and texture.
rods - silk that gathers on rollers during the reeling process
top - silk strands that are combed
reeled silk - premium silk reeled in a continuous strand from stifled cocoons.

Sources 

Handpainted silk top (and wool or wool/silk blends):
Dyepot.com
Miss Babs
Chasing Rainbows

Other silk:
Carolina Homespun - usually has the Louet top, along with some Eri and Muga
Little Barn - has the lowest prices for Tussah top - quality varies
Northeast Fiber Arts - noil, rods, and most species as top
Treenway Silks - lots of yarn, usually a variety of top
Webs - has the Louet top, some handpainted top
Detta's Spindle - has noil, other preparations

January Third Thursday Guild Meeting 2011

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 20 January 2011 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 13 in attendance.

Business Meeting

Treasurers Report by Lynn:

• December's swap dues have been deposited.
• 2011 dues are currently being accepted.

Fiber Fest

This year will feature a skein an garment competition.  Ol'North State Knitting Guild is developing the rules for entry and judging.

Program

Judy and Elaina led a lively session on "making it do", re-purposing items for fiber arts use.

Punky suggested to use of a placemat on which to rest a project and be able to easily turn it on lap or table.  Also she suggested using a lifeline, a length of thread or yarn threaded through the stitchesof a lace project to mark the extent of error free progress.  Should an error occur that requires ripping back, the lifeline facilitates picking up stitches with greater ease.

Jane uses cardboard weaving bobbins for storing spindle or wheel spun singles prior to plying.

Carole uses jump rings as stitch markers and stores them in empty medicine bottles.

Please leave a comment if you have other suggestions, would like to make a correction, or if I have inadvertently left out your suggestion!

December 2010

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 10 December 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 21 in attendance

Elections by unanimous vote:

President - Jane
Vice President - Judy
Recording Secretary - Jame
Treasurer - Lynn

Appointed positions:
Librarian - Amy
Outreach - Elaina

By-laws were approved unanimously.

SWAP!

November 2010 Guild Meeting

November Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 18 November 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 11 in attendance.

Presentation

Show and tell for members who entered State Fair contests. Wow! Thank you to Lynn, Shawn and Jane for bringing in your skeins, shawls and rugs! It's great inspiration to start planning for 2011.

Business

Lynn gave the Treasurer's report.

• The treasury has a positive balance.
• A search for another bank is underway since SunTrust is instituting a service charge on checking.
• The Guild received a thank you from the Craft Center for our donation.
• New books and movies were purchased for the library.

Amy reported on the library:

• New items in the library include How I Spin, The Gently Art of Plying, Drafting:The Long and Short of it, and Spin Control.
• Please contact Amy if you want to check out a book but will not be able to attend a meeting at the Craft Center. E-mail sent to the yahoo group will reach Amy, or you can send her a private message through the yahoo group website.

Jane reported on
Old business:

• By-laws are currently being written and revised and will be ready for the December meeting elections.

New business:

• Frith and Kathryn have resigned from the SAFF skein and garment competition committee.
• Nominations for 2011 officers: President - Jane, Vice President - Judy, Treasurer - Lynn, Recording Secretary - Jame

Other business:

• Carolyn would like to attend a winter fiber retreat, perhaps at a beach house.  Would anyone like to plan one?

October Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 21 October 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 9 in attendance.

Wheel Round Robin

Wheels present at the meeting were Stacey's Ashford Traditional, Amy's Majacraft Rose, and Jame's Spinolution Hopper. 





Business

The NCSU Crafts Center has provided the TTFAG with a locked cupboard in which to keep the Guild Library.  Amy, Guild Librarian, shelved the books after the meeting and plans to organize the books at the November 18th meeting.  This will allow the library to be available when Amy's schedule doesn't permit her to attend meetings.

Respectfully submitted,
Jame
TTFAG Recording Secretary

September Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 16 September 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 13 in attendance.

Fiber of the Month

Elaina Kenyon brought samples and provided information on angora rabbits.

Presentation

Members and guests in attendance shared recent favorite fiber-related books.

Books passed around included:

Thinking Outside the Sox: Winning Designs from Knitter's Magazine
Lucet Braiding: Variations on a Renaissance Cord by E. Fuller
Hand-dyeing Yarn and Fleece : Custom-Color Your Favorite Fibers with Dip-Dyeing, Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative Techniques by Gail Callahan
 Teach Yourself VISUALLY Hand-Dyeing (Teach Yourself VISUALLY Consumer) by Barbara Parry
Sock Club: Join the Knitting Adventure by C. Schurch & B. Parrott
Magnificent Mittens and Socks by A. Zilborg
Respect the Spindle by A. Franquemont
Sock Innovation by Cookie A.
The Best-Dressed Knitted Bear by E. King


Business

A response from the NCSU Craft Center regarding use of their space for December's Swap meeting is pending.

Sunday 18 September is Spin-in-public day. All members are exhorted to go forth and spin!

Carolyn announced the latest news regarding planning for the 2011 Carolina Fiber Festival which will be held May 20-11. Next year the Ag-Fest portion will be scaled back, but a third of the Jim Graham Building will be available for the Carolina Fiber Fest , more space = bigger festival. Planning is underway to organize contests such as skein and garment, fleece and sheep to shawl. More volunteers are needed, please contact Carolyn if you can help.

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild Book Club

Schedule for the remainder of 2010

October 30 - Come join fellow knitting enthusiasts at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on Saturday morning, October 30 to hear author Katie Boyette speak about her new book, KnitWit: 20 Fun Projects for Beginners and Seasoned Knitters. Following Katies's talk, she will be available to sign
books. Event will begin at 9:30am.

November - conflicts with Thanksgiving, so will have a combined Nov-Dec meeting in early December

December 4- "Fibery Gifts", book TBD

August Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 19 August 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 13 in attendance.

Fiber of the Month

Carolyn Beasley brought samples and discussed the merits of Icelandic sheep and their fleece.

Presentation

Jane handed out sheets with rules for entering the NC State Fair and Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) [http://www.saffsite.org/index.cfm/do/contests.main] and discussed entry requirements.

Business

The Guild will donate $100 to the NCSU Crafts Center for the use of the facilities for meetings. Jane will check on the availablity of a room for December's swap meeting.

July Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 15 July 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 15 or so in attendance.

Fiber of the Month

Jane provided information on Teeswater sheep.

The American Teeswater Sheep Association allows colored and spotted sheep, but the Teeswater Sheep Breeders Association Limited stresses that the sheep have black legs and feet and black markings on their faces, but uniformly white fleece.

Fineness information:

UK
Bradford Count 50s-44s
Micron Count 30-36
Staple Length 6-12 inches

US
Micron count - 33 -35
Staple length - 8 -12 inches.
Yearling Fleece Weight - 13 - 20 pounds

Presentation

There were 4 very different drum carders to try out. James and Carolyn brought the giant motorized Strauch, Punky brought her Clemes and Clemes, Lynn brought her English one, and Jane brought her Louet Jr.

Many thanks to Jane for compiling the minutes!

June Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 17 June 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 16 in attendance.

Fiber of the Month

Elaina brought samples of mohair from her herd of angora goats.

From June 2010 Meeting

Presentations

Spinning for a purpose. Members brought projects and discussed why and how the spinning was done.

Business

Per discussion at the last meeting, the business meeting was held after the Fiber of the Month and special topic presentations.

The shawl made at the Sheep-to-shawl demonstration at the 2010 North Carolina Fiber Festival was on display.

From June 2010 Meeting

May Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 20 May 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 10 in attendance.

Jane led the business meeting and proposed moving the business section of the meeting to after the presentations. It is also time to start thinking about a location for December's swamp meeting. Anyone with ideas should contact Jane.

Presentation

Jessica presented a travelogue of textile adventures to Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Egypt, Jordan, Scotland, Norway and Sweden. She displayed part of her collection of unique textiles and related books. Thank you, Jessica!

From May 2010 Meeting

April Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on 15 April 2010 at the NCSU Crafts Center with 19 in attendance.

Jane asked for announcements. Elaina announced the CFSA farm tour to take place April 24 & 25. Carolyn had the t-shirts for the Carolina Fiber Festival.

Presentations

The fiber of the month was Blue-faced leicester (BFL) Samples of fiber, yarn and finished items were presented by Kim G. and Elaina K. BFL are large, dual-purpose sheep that produce about 3 to 5 lbs of soft, lustrous wool. Wool locks in the grease were provided by Elaina from her ram, Lord Nelson.

Color Blending on Combs

Judy Tysmans presented information on color-blending with hand combs. She recommended weighing out the fiber to be sampled before blending large amounts. She demonstrated use of combs and brought samples of yarn spun with different proportions of dyed mohair and naturally colored wool.

From april meetings

From april meetings

From april meetings

Color Blending with a Drum Carder

Carolyn Beasley brought her power carder and demonstrated making a three-layered batt of blue wool. She emphasized that it was best to start with well-picked locks because a well-prepared fleece will blend more quickly than a less prepared one. Also, take notes if you want to reproduce what you create!

From april meetings

From april meetings

From april meetings

March Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on March 18 at NCSU Crafts Center with 18 attending. 

Jane started the business meeting at 7:15.  Jame reviewed the minutes from the February 18 meeting. Lynn gave the treasurer's report; as of March there are 39 paid members for 2010  and the guild account has a positive balance.  She will purchase self adhesive name tags for use at meetings.

Old business: Jane asked for assistance with writing by-laws for TTFAG and Nancy S. volunteered.

Library: Amy is taking suggestions for DVDs to add to the guild library.  She can be contacted on the yahoo groups list.


Presentations

Fiber of the Month

Nancy Shroyer demonstrated spinning line flax into linen and passed out fact sheets on flax and processing.

From March meeting

Swedish Rep Weaving

Jessica demonstrated Swedish rep weaving, a warp-faced technique for which she recently attended a Triangle Weavers Guild workshop by Rosalie Neilson.

Sheep to shawl

Lynn summarized her progress so far in organizing a sheep to shawl demonstration at the Carolina Fiber Festival in May. The demonstration will run on Saturday, May 22 for 4 hours, time TBA.  Volunteers to card the washed fleece and to spin are needed.  A member of the weaving guild has volunteered to do the weaving, but would like the TTFAG to provide a warped loom.  The details of providing a loom and warping it are pending.  Lynn asked for volunteers at the meeting and signed several carders and spinners up.  Thank you for helping out!

March First Saturday Book Club Meeting

Here is the Recap from our March 6 book club-- Scarves, Shawls, Stoles- Any Technique

Thanks to all 25 of you who came to the meeting! We enjoyed seeing your work and hearing your tips and resource recommendations. Here's what I wrote down. As always, please feel free to fill in the gaps. I know there are many this time, as we had a large crowd, and we went around the circle fairly quickly. If I have missed yours (resources, tips, fiber suggestions, etc..), please add it.

Resources-
Knit one Below (scarf)
Folk Shawls (book)
Unique Sheep website
Tasha Tudor Shawl
Great American Aran Afghan (book)
Design Sourcebook of Home Decor
"Critter Kits" --Morehouse Farm website. (love to see some of them critters!)
Prayer Shawls of various kinds
Knit Picks website
Doris Chan Crockett pattern
A Gathering of Lace (book)
Harmony Guide-- Lace and Eyelets (book)
Norah Gaughn shrug pattern
Cat Bordhi moebius patterns
Icelandic 3-cornered shawl pattern (Help-- I did not note anything more than this!)
Faroese shawl books (in Faroese language, also in English)
Lucy Neatby shawl
Schoolhouse Press books-- some translations of traditional ethnic patterns, like Faroe.

Tips--

• Bamboo fiber has good draping and wicking qualities, is also shiny, and is a good choice for a shawl. 
• Faroese shawls have good shoulder shaping. 
• For lace weight yarns, look for yarn on cones. Good choices, and value. 
• Stitch dictionaries, like the Harmony Guides, are good starting points for designing your own.

Next meeting is Saturday, April 10. Topic is author/designer Anna Zilboorg. We'll discuss her work and what inspires her. Please bring her books, patterns and any work you've done or are planning from her patterns, or work you've done that was inspired by her in some way. If any of you have met Anna personally, or taken a class taught by her, please share your experience.

We will offer her newly re-published Magnificient Mittens and Socks as our featured book. Total cost is $21.24. (retail is $24.95.) Please e-mail me by April 1, so I can place an order and have the book at bookclub for you.

(Buying the book is not required for you to participate in bookclub.)

Location is Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, 3522 Wade Ave, 27607. Time is
9:30 to 11:00am.

Looking forward to seeing you then!

Jackie

March First Wednesday Knit Night

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Knitting Focus Group for March was postponed 1 week to March 10. Because of the date change there were only 7 present. The topic of discussion was supposed to be yarn, but due to the small group, we decided to delay that discussion until the April meeting.

Michele Riggs, who is going to be opening a yarn shop on Salem St in Apex told us all about the process of opening a shop. The name of the shop will be Downtown Knits, and will be on the 2nd floor. She told us of her adventures visiting shops all around New England to get ideas. We had a long discussion about knitting needles and what people wanted to see available in the shop. The shop has a 5/1 planned opening date.



Nancy Shroyer

February First Wednesday Knit Night

On Feb 3 the Knitting Focus Group met. There were 13 in attendance. The purpose of the group is to discuss knitting topics, have show and tell, knit and snack. The top of discussion for the February meeting was knitting needles and crochet hooks. What did people like and why. It seemed the majority preferred circular needles in general, though for sock knitting about ½ liked to use double pointed needles. Most liked the Knit Picks, either Harmony wood or nickel interchangables, with the one complaint being the Harmony ones often pull apart from their joins. Knit Picks will replace, or you can use some super glue to fix. Neither of which helps when the tip goes in the middle of a lace shawl, which just happened to me this morning! Addi Turbo needles were mentioned by quite a few, as well as Inox and Susan Bates. Punky brought her full sets of Signature Needle Arts needles. They were certainly works of art!

Nancy Shroyer

February Third Thursday Guild Meeting

Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild met on February 18 at NCSU Crafts Center with 22 attending. 

Jane led the business meeting and discussed start time for the meetings.  With several members needing to regularly leave early, Jane proposed that the business meeting start at 7 or 7:15, followed by the presentations.  In the discussion that followed, members preferred a 7:15 start time.

Jane also brought up the subject of creating by-laws for the Twisted Threads Fiber Arts Guild in order to present and document the Guild's mission and processes.  Existing by-laws for other, similar groups can be used as a template.


Presentations

Fiber of the Month: Border Leicester

Carolyn presented information about Border Leicester Sheep.  She and her family's Heel Side Farm started with 6 sheep and now have over 40.   She brought examples of products from raw fleece to yarn.

Turkish Spindles

Jame and Frith demonstrated using Turkish spindles which are low whorl spindles with removable cross arms. Singles or plied yarns are wrapped around the arms in a pattern, once finished the cross arms and shaft are removed leaving a ball of yarn ready to use for knitting or crochet. Several spindle makers have versions of Turkish spindles: Ashford, Jenkins, Viking Santa, etc.

Respectfully submitted,
Jame
Recording Secretary

February Second Saturday All Fiber Arts Meeting

13 February


Judy was a willing hostess, but the snow kept everybody away!

Many thanks also to Mary K. who planned to host, but had to bow out in order to go to a funeral.  Our deepest sympathy to you, Mary.