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