Meeting Reminders And Unravelings:

January 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Upcoming Meetings:

JANUARY 16: Bring a favorite pattern to share. These can be for any type of fiber art. In fact, bring lots of patterns, books, etc., to share. This is a good time to get ideas for things to make for next November’s show. There will be the ability to make copies of patterns for anyone interested!

JANUARY 21: At our October meeting, we saw the first part of Fiber Artist’s Guide to Color with Laura Bryant. As we were getting to the section on weaving, it was time for the meeting to end. We will meet at the church from 9-Noon on Saturday, January 21, to view the entire video, have hands-activities, several hand-outs, and snacks.

Please email me if you plan on attending or let me know at the January 16 meeting.

. FEBRUARY 20: We’ll talk about “Shortcuts & Tricks of the Trade.” Let’s talk about time- saving and handy tricks and ideas you use to make your weaving and spinning easier—either you’ve made up yourself or stolen from someone else! Bring pictures if you can’t bring the real thing.

(Several things are in the works for our March 20 meeting.)

APRIL 17: Our Stash Auction—the best of times!

From The Unraveling Skein:

Views of the show:

DATES TO SAVE: The Fiber Event at Greencastle April 14 & 15, 2017

Midwest Weavers Conference at Butler University June 12-17, 2017 **Registration opens January 8.

DID YOU KNOW…… The first spinning mills and loth factories were set up in the colonies before the American Revolution, but the spinning of thread and weaving of cloth were still common among country people for a long time afterwards. When George Washington took the oath as first president he wore a suit of American-made cloth, instead of his best imported clothes. During the Revolution it had been considered unpatriotic to wear English cloth, but when the war was over, cheap English cloth appeared in American cities and sold better than cloth made in American factories. American manufacturers, realizing that the new spinning machines and looms made this cheap cloth possible, tried to have some of these machines or models of them smuggled out of England. Bribes were offered to English mechanics; however, the English authorities were careful not to let such valuable secrets leave England and searched every ship bound to the Americas to make sure that none of the textile machines were being carried away. In 1789 an English weaver named Samuel Slater slipped away from England and made his fortune in America because he successfully carried the plans of the machines in his mind! (Excerpts from Man is a Weaver by Elizabeth Baity)