Winter approaches …
A great time to bunker down inside, dry and warm, and spin, weave, knit, crochet, needle-felt etc! Some members may be feeling the cold especially in their hands and fingers. There are many new types of light finger-less gloves that can offer some relief, and are worth looking into. And if you want something more substantial, there are heaps of patterns – knitted and crochet – to make your own. Even tricky ones like our Jane made recently.
In this issue we’re covering our May workshop with Heather. We’d also like to let everyone know that despite the lousy weather we still get together every Wednesday to share our stories and experiences, fiber related and otherwise, have a hot cuppa and pursue our craft.
We have a number of events coming up in the next few months, especially the Bendigo Australian Sheep and Wool Show in July, AKA “Spendigo”. The Black and Coloured Sheep Association Wool day is being held on Sunday 18th June. Cobram and District Spinners and Weavers are celebrating their 45th Anniversary on 25th July. Our own AGM is coming up in August and we’d like to see as many members as possible attend and love to hear any ideas or requests for workshops, events or projects. So put your thinking caps on – August is not that far away now!
There have been a few changes and additions in our Workshop Schedule so that’s worth checking out too. If there are any specific requirements for any of our Workshops, Members will be emailed the details beforehand.
This months Fleecy Follies relates a current chapter in the story of an alpaca called Reaver, and how bullying happens all too often in the animal world too (it does have a happy conclusion).
You might think the colder weather and longer evenings would mean more yummy things to be made and shown at our monthly meetings. It seems however that the cooler months slow some things down and send others fleeing to warmer climates. But back here the Show & Tell goes on …
Cheers all,
KathyW, Editor.
| Current and Upcoming Events | ||
|---|---|---|
| June 21st | Casual Workday | |
| June 28th | Spinning Wheel Maintenance Day. Could any members who are borrowing any of the Guild's spinning wheels have them back to the guild rooms on or before this date. | |
| July 5th | Casual Workday – Annual Cleanup | |
| July 12th | Business Meeting | |
| July 14th – 16th | Australian Sheep & Wool Show (Bendigo) | |
| July 19th | Casual Workday | |
| July 26th | Christmas in July needle felted decorations with Kathy |   |
| August 2nd | Casual Workday | |
| August 9th | AGM, Business Meeting & Guild’s Birthday | |
| August 16th | Casual Workday | |
Committee 2022 – 2023
President:
Jane Manning
Vice President:
Debbie Carpenter
Minute Officer:
Rhonda Delahoy
Secretary(communications/events):
Julie Hofer
Assistant Secretary:
Amanda Eaton
Treasurer:
Loraine Parker
Assistant Treasurer:
Rhonda Delahoy
Newsletter Editor:
Kathy Wheeler
Library Equipment Officer:
Rhonda Delahoy
Social Media Officer:
Kathy Wheeler
Public Officer:
Julie Hofer
KeyHolders Roster
Wednesday Work Days and Meetings
1st Wed of month – Pam J
2nd Wed of month – Jane or Julie
3rd Wed of month – Heather or Rhonda
4th Wed of month – Loraine
5th Wed of month *IF* there is one – tba
| Morning Tea Roster 2023 – Business Meetings | |
|---|---|
| 8th February | Amanda/ |
| 8th March | Heather/Rhonda |
| 12th April | Sabine/ |
| 10th May | Loraine/ |
| 14th June | Julie/Jane |
| 12th July | |
| 9th August | Louise/Kathy |
| 13th September | Ella/Jill |
| 11th October | Judith Jones |
| 8th November | Amanda |
| 13th December | Everyone bring a plate!!! |
Show & Tell - 10th May 2023
Deb
Kathy
Heather
Jane
Pam
Lenore
Julie
- Workshop -
Cloth Name Tag Workshop
with Heather.
If you were to accidentally leave your precious handiwork behind on the train or on a park bench, could it be easily returned to you?
Heather’s Name Tag workshop had some very easy, basic requirements:
- 2x4inch squares of cotton fabric ( absolute minimum size), one piece needs to be light coloured and fairly plain.
- 15inch ribbon, 1/4-1/2 inch width ( approximately) to match or contrast with your fabric.
- Sewing thread to match your fabric.
- Basic sewing kit, pins, needles, scissors,thimble, etc
- Permanent laundry marker if you have one.
Heather supplied any extra items needed including a sheet of clear stiff plastic film which can be cut to a hexagon shape required. This makes the completed Name Tag both rigid and washable!
When you want to knit/crochet/weave/spin but ...
Hands too cold?
You know that feeling – everything you touch seems to suck the heat out of your hands. Your wrists, thumbs or fingers ache. Those woolen gloves and mittens while warm just don’t allow you the dexterity to do much with your hands. Even the fingerless type are too bulky and as crafters we use our hands a lot! Well, there are a number of options available now.
I’ve been using fingerless gloves, marketed as “arthritis gloves”, for a number of years during the winter months. They provide protection and warmth while leaving the fingertips free to type, text etc. They come with or without a grippy palm and the type with grip is great for driving in. These support gloves are readily available on-line, and from many chemists. Just look in the bandage/wraps section. They can be a bit awkward for craft work, and being grippy you do not want to use them when handling fine fleece! I speak from experience …
Then there are the wonderful bamboo support fingerless gloves from OneCompress – the only people I’ve found so far offering good quality bamboo gloves. They are so soft, comfortable and warm they can be worn all day and night if need be. Being softer they are ok to use during many craft activities. They still pick up fine alpaca and silk thou, so better used when knitting,crocheting, weaving, sewing etc. but not when handling un-spun fleece or fibres.
This winter I’ve also discovered a new style that is particularly good for thumb support, having a built in gel pad, lovely and firm around the wrist and leaves the rest of the palm and fingers completely free. These are my new favorites if I’m working on or with clean fleece or fibers. They are marketed as “Wrist Thumb Compression Arthritis Gloves” and are available on Amazon.
So if the cold weather is getting you down, or you’re running your heating a few degrees cooler to save on energy costs, shout yourself a pair of these and feel the difference. You’ll be glad you did.
Fleecy Follies
When an alpaca gets bullied it can lead to physiological and psychological injuries.
Yes, Reaver has a split ear. That’s the ear his identifying brass ear tag was in. Whether he got the tag caught in a fence or ripped out in a previous tussle we don’t know and he’s not saying.
Reaver is a 7 year old male suri alpaca. More intelligent than most but quiet and a bit flighty. In the boys herd with ages ranging from 5 to 13 years he’s about in the middle with a group of similar aged boys. But for some reason in the pecking order he’s at the very bottom. It probably doesn’t help that he occasionally instigated the rough and tumble himself. Alpaca boys can be silly like that.
A few months ago at evening check/feed he wasn’t out in the paddock with the rest of the boys, and we found him cushed in the back of the shelter shed. He seemed ok if a little hesitant on his feet when he stood.
I entered the feed store to get their supper sorted and Reaver followed me in which for him was VERY unusual. He proceeded to move as far into the back of the feed shed as he could and cushed. He almost seemed to be trying to get under the cupboards.
After getting the feed sorted and fed out we tried to get him out of the feed shed so we could close it up. He refused to stand. Eventually we slid him across the concrete floor and lifted him out the door.
Then the reasons for his odd behaviour suddenly became clear as one of the other older males headed straight for him oggling and screaming. Reaver sprung to his feet and tried to escape his pursuer. A couple of times around the shed and at the first opportunity he bolted into the feed shed again. Obviously this poor boy was being bullied. This was more than just a casual tiff and the older boy meant business.
So the decision was made to separate Reaver from the herd for his own safety.
For the next few days he had a paddock adjacent to the other boys and half the shelter shed. His antagonist would still carry on over the fence line which Reaver largely ignored, and that seemed to make the older boy even more persistent. On the next available weekend we re-arranged some fence panels and moved Reaver to a paddock well away from the main boys herd, next to our retired stud male and his goofy companion.
While Reaver seems to be settling in to his new digs well, his adversary continued to look for him for some time and his intentions were not kind. Sometimes the best path for all concerned is to separate antagonists.
Do you have a funny or amazing fiber animal story? If you’d like to share it in a future Newsletter contact the Editor.
2023 Full Program
| January 4th | Casual Workday | |
| January 11th | Casual Workday | |
| January 18th | Casual Workday | |
| January 25th | Casual Workday | |
| February 1st | Casual Workday | |
| February 8th | Business Meeting | |
| February 15th | Casual Workday | |
| February 22nd | Free-form Dyeing Day |   |
| March 1st | Casual Workday | |
| March 8th | Business meeting | |
| March 15th | Casual Workday | |
| March 22nd | Spinning Linen with Heather |   |
| March 29th | Casual Workday | |
| April 5th | Casual Workday | |
| April 13th | Business Meeting | |
| April 19th | Casual Workday | |
| April 26th | ||
| May 3rd | Casual Workday | |
| May 10th | Business Meeting | |
| May 17th | Casual Workday | |
| May 20th & 21st | Canberra Wool Expo, old Bus depot Markets | |
| May 24th | Hexagon Name tag with Heather. | |
| May 31th | Casual Workday | |
| June 7th | Casual Workday | |
| June 14th | Business Meeting | |
| June 21st | Casual Workday | |
| June 28th | Spinning Wheel Maintenance Day. Could any members who are borrowing any of the Guild's spinning wheels have them back to the guild rooms on or before this date. | |
| July 5th | Casual Workday – Annual Cleanup | |
| July 12th | Business Meeting | |
| July 14th – 16th | Australian Sheep & Wool Show (Bendigo) | |
| July 19th | Casual Workday | |
| July 26th | Christmas in July needle felted decorations with Kathy | |
| August 2nd | Casual Workday | |
| August 9th | AGM, Business Meeting & Guild’s Birthday | |
| August 16th | Casual Workday | |
| August 23rd | Navajo & Andean plying with Jane & Julie | |
| August 30th | Casual Workday | |
| September 6th | Casual Workday | |
| September 13th | Business Meeting | |
| September 20th | Casual Workday | |
| September 27th | ||
| October 4th | Casual Workday | |
| October 11th | Business Meeting | |
| October 18th | ||
| October 25th | Casual Workday | |
| November 1st | Rooms closed (Albury Show) | So we're meeting at the Lincoln Hotel on the Causeway Wodonga! |
| November 9th | Business Meeting | |
| November 15th | Casual Workday | |
| November 22nd | Lavender Wands with Kathy |   |
| November 29th | Casual Workday | |
| December 6th | Casual Workday | |
| December 13th | Business Meeting, Christmas Lunch | |
| December 20th | ||
| More Workshop Ideas | 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 them or any links within them.
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.
