Mid-winter wool-gathering!
It’s been a cold and wet few months, punctuated with holidays, squally weather and cold winds that rip straight through to the bone. Of course it was “Spendigo” time (Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show), so it had to be cold and miserable! It’s tradition! Great weather to work on those woolly, fleecy projects if you can keep your fingers warm enough.
One of the highlights of the last two months’ Show & Tell and WIPs at Guild days has been the amazing array of textures and colours in spinning, knitting, crochet and weaving projects undertaken by Guild members. Inspiration for the banner for this Newsletter.
Our fibre sorting workshop saw a lot of fibre and equipment organised and made available for members to purchase. All proceeds going to the Guild. Some lovely pieces of equipment have been specifically donated for Guild use, and Julie has kindly supplied engraved plates to attach to them identifying them as property of the Guild.
The Christmas in July Needle-felting Workshop had numerous Christmas decorations in production with a number of woolly Christmas trees, stars, Christmas fairies, boots etc taking shape.
Also a reminder that our next meeting on August 14th is our AGM. Among the things to discuss are our membership fees, also due at the AGM. If you want to have a say, be sure to come!
I was stuck for a title for this Newsletter, and was going to write Mid-winter Musings, but it didn’t feel quite right so I did a search for similar words, and found “wool-gathering”. Curiously appropriate, with an amusing backstory:
noun: wool-gathering; noun: woolgathering
indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining; absent-mindedness.
– “a vacant daze that leads to formless wool-gathering”
So there you go, learnt something new again. Well, enough of the woolgathering, let’s get on with Show & Tell …
Cheers all,
KathyW, Editor.
Current & upcoming events
| August 14th | AGM, Business Meeting & Guild’s Birthday | |
| August 21st | Casual Workday | |
| August 28th | Workshop T.B.A. | |
| September 4th | Casual Workday | |
| September 11th | Business Meeting | |
| September 18th | Casual Workday | |
| September 25th | Workshop T.B.A. | |
| October 2nd | Casual Workday |
Committee 2023 – 2024
President:
Deb Carpenter
Vice President:
Jane Manning
Minute Officer:
Ella Teuben
Secretary (communications/events):
Amanda Eaton
Assistant Secretary:
Julie Hofer
Treasurer:
Rhonda Delahoy
Assistant Treasurer:
Julie Hofer
Newsletter Editor:
Kathy Wheeler
Library Equipment Officer:
Rhonda Delahoy/Heather Mulqueeney
Social Media Officer:
Kathy Wheeler
Public Officer:
Julie Hofer
KeyHolders Roster
Wednesday Work Days and Meetings
1st Wed of month – Amanda
2nd Wed of month – Deb Carpenter
3rd Wed of month – Rhonda
4th Wed of month – Louise Quirk
5th Wed of month *IF* there is one – tba
The Showground Trust also has keys.
| Morning Tea Roster 2024 – Business Meetings | |
|---|---|
| 14th February | Judith/ |
| 13th March | |
| 10th April | Rhonda/ |
| 8th May | Heather M / (Deb) |
| 12th June | Julie/Jane |
| 10th July | Heather A / |
| 14th August | Louise/Kathy |
| 11th September | Ella/Jill |
| 9th October | Judith Jones |
| 13th November | Amanda |
| 11th December | Everyone bring a plate!!! |
Show & Tell - 12th June 2024
Alison D.
Jane
KathyW.
Rhonda B.
Julie
Deb
Show & Tell - 10th July 2024
Jane
Darlene
Deb.
Pam
Julie
KathyW
Robyn W.
Heather A.
June - July - Workshops
Equipment & fibre sorting
June 26th 2024
Sorting of donated wool, yarn and equipment, swift (sold), niddy noddies, shuttles etc. Drum carder received in donation from the family of Beth Allen. Excellent condition. Not ever to be sold! Never to leave the rooms. Plaque organized by Julie.
• Fleeces skirted and priced for sale to members of AWHWS. Some is still available.
• Old drum carder we already have in the store will be offered for sale in the future.
Christmas in July
July 24th 2024
We were joined by Catherine and Margaret from Holbrook in creating an array of needle felted Christmas decorations.
Attendees had a choice of needle felted Christmas decorations, or a hand made Christmas star. Some did both! Others gathered at the back of the room and spun …
Fleecy, Furry & Feathered Follies
Keeping warm when the weather is cold …
Taking advantage of the sunshine on fine days, the barn car basks in sunny spots, rolling on warm patches of ground and making herself little “nests” in the hay bales. On wet days she rarely leaves the shed, sitting on her window sill by the open cat flap and glaring at the rain.
Her presence and hunting instincts are certainly keeping the rats out of the feed shed, and seem to be helping keep rat numbers way down in the alpaca shelters. Rabbit numbers also seem to be on the decline although some appear virus ridden (calici or mixo?) so she cannot take all the credit.
Bird numbers however are on the increase – dozens of blue wrens flit about the poop piles hunting bugs while crested pigeon numbers are booming as the little thieves hang around to eat any pellets or grain the sheep leave! The resident magpies also like to take advantage of anything they can con, steal or scavenge. We also have a kookaburra that periodically swoops down and sits on the gates or fence posts beside us and just watches.
The morning sun warms the rain water tank and the small trough. And cats love warm sun! In the video (left) a family of magpies that lay claim to the eastern side of the house help themselves to some soft food intended for the chook run and aviaries, while our fearless barn cat rolls around on the gravel in the sun!
As well as dozens if not hundreds of Superb Blue Wrens, numerous magpie clans, chuff families, pardalotes, robins, fantails, yellow rumped spine bills, bee eaters, sacred kingfishers, king parrots, rosellas etc, we also have a number of curious kookaburras.
When the weather is cold and windy, or rain is expected, the alpacas are fed their morning hay ration in their sheds. The sheep are fed under sheltering trees or in their shelters if the rain won’t give us a break. But the bale below was not supposed to be eaten!
Self-levelling hay bale …
With the approach of yet another cold snap, I took a small bale of bedding straw down for the lambs’ shelter. By the time I’d dropped the bale in the shelter and taken off the baling twine I had all 12 lambs in “helping”. They all decided for bedding straw it tasted quite good, or at least everyone had to have a nibble.
Deciding there was no way I was going to be able to spread the straw with so many lambs in the way, I left them to it. By evening feed time they had totally flattened and spread the hay, and done a great job, better than I usually can! They did such a good job I’ll let them self spread next time their bedding straw needs topping up.
So thank you to Flopsie, Bill & Ben, Boris, Dolly, Elsa, Tess & Tony, Missy & Misty, Al & Capone. Good job kids! And just in the nick of time. The following weeks have seen early morning temperatures drop below 0°C and the shelter has been well patronised overnight.
2024 Program
| January 10th | Casual Workday starting with a clean up to remove residue from the insect “bombs”. | |
| January 17th | Casual Workday - Come and spin and hear what we need to do in preparation for Dyeing at the end of the month. | |
| January 24th | Casual Workday - Come and do your own thing! | |
| January 31st | Workshop - Dyeing Day!!! "Dye or Be Alive 😉 " |   |
| February 7th | Casual Workday | |
| February 14th | Business Meeting | |
| February 21st | Casual Workday | |
| February 28th | Casual Workday | |
| March 6th | Casual Workday | |
| March 13th | Business meeting | |
| March 20th | Casual Workday | |
| March 27th | Workshop - Trauma Teddies, Charity Animals. With Deb. | |
| April 3rd | Casual Workday | |
| April 10th | Business Meeting | |
| April 17th | Casual Workday | |
| April 24th | Entralac Workshop. Crochet with Julie, knitting with T.B.A. | |
| May 1st | Casual Workday | |
| May 8th | Business Meeting | |
| May 15th | Casual Workday | |
| May 18th & 19th | Canberra Wool Expo, old Bus depot Markets | |
| May 22nd | Workshop - Rigid Heddle - colour & weave. With Heather. | |
| May 29th | Casual Workday | |
| June 5th | Casual Workday | |
| June 12th | Business Meeting | |
| June 19th | Casual Workday | |
| June 26th | Workshop - equipment & fiber sorting | |
| July 3rd | Casual Workday | |
| July 10th | Business Meeting followed by annual clean-up | |
| July 19th – 21st | Australian Sheep & Wool Show (Bendigo) | |
| July 17th | Casual Workday | |
| July 24th | Workshop - Christmas in July Decorations - Needle felted decorations with Kathy - Paper Star with Julie. |   |
| July 31st | Casual Workday | |
| August 7th | Casual Workday | |
| August 14th | AGM, Business Meeting & Guild’s Birthday | |
| August 21st | Casual Workday | |
| August 28th | Workshop T.B.A. | |
| September 4th | Casual Workday | |
| September 11th | Business Meeting | |
| September 18th | Casual Workday | |
| September 25th | Workshop T.B.A. | |
| October 2nd | Casual Workday | |
| October 9th | Business Meeting | |
| October 16th | Casual Workday | |
| October 23th | Casual Workday | |
| October 30th | Possible closure for Albury Show? | |
| November 7th | Possible closure for Albury Show? | |
| November 13th | Business Meeting | |
| November 20th | Casual Workday | |
| November 27th | Lavender Wands with Kathy |   |
| December 4th | Casual Workday | |
| December 11th | Business Meeting, Christmas Lunch | |
| December 18th | Clean up workday? | |
| More Workshop Ideas | Tatting with Heather M's sister? Inkle Loom Weaving? Online weaving workshop with Elizabeth Calnan? |
Last words ...
A few housekeeping items:
1 – Some members have been getting spam type emails saying they are coming from Guild members. If anyone gets a suspicious looking message, do not open it or any links within it.
2 – Please do not park in front of the Guild’s side double doors. This could cause a problem in the case of an emergency. Please park in the undercover area well clear of the doors and grandstand stairs, or on the grass area.
3 – The drain area outside the Guild door that fills up with water when it rains is becoming DANGEROUS with one of our members slipping in the mud and algae growing there. PLEASE KEEP WELL CLEAR OF THE DRAIN AND MUD even when it appears dry!
Newsletter contributions are always welcome. So, if anyone has anything they want to contribute, or requests for articles, email me!
Cheers for now,
KathyW, Ed.
