Guild’s future Call for volunteers GUILD NEWS Weavers’ Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW Inc. challenge March 2020 Treasurer’s report Our next general meeting will be at 1pm on Saturday 28 March in the hall behind St Paul’s Anglican Church, 205 Burwood Rd, Burwood. March meeting: the future of our Guild From the Vice-President Our March meeting will commence at 1pm and be Saturday 29 February dawned bright and clear; with no devoted to discussion on our Guild’s future. Bring your bush fire smoke and no drenching or flooding rain. ideas on how you think the Guild can become more Our Guild meeting moved from our normal venue to the relevant to our existing and future members. We nearby Fitzroy Hall. Karen Severn had directed the particularly encourage members who wish to be more committee towards having a hands-on spinning and active within our community to attend. weaving day. Margie Statheos had done all the organising, The Guild functions through the generosity of our and despite being ill in the days leading up to the meeting volunteers. We are deeply grateful for the skilled and she had ticked all the boxes. Susie John had arranged to talented people who work in these roles. The April AGM, collect the key from Burwood Council. All our Vice our Constitution’s maximum term rules, and some recent President had to do was get there early and enjoy the day retirements have created many volunteer opportunities. … oh and run the official bits of the meeting. Consider nominating as an Office Bearer or as a General We had planned a guest speaker for the day – Kate Committee member*: Richardson, a textile designer. Kate phoned me at 10am to President say she was ill (very ill) with a migraine. None of us can Treasurer help being ill. We hope Kate might be able to join us in the Vice-President coming months. General Committee member. The Fitzroy Hall is a very light and bright space. There Or you might like to volunteer as a Guild Officer: are no steps to negotiate, there is on-site parking, and it is Workshop convenor/s air-conditioned. What is not to like about all that? About 50 Librarian people came – and most stayed for the whole time. We Guild shop assistant started about 10am and finished about 3pm. There were Speakers and/or mini workshops organiser four or five looms, a myriad of wheels and spindles, one hardy fringe-twister and chatter. New members were being Raffle organiser assisted by more experienced members, but most of the Publicity officer. chatter was friendship, friendship and more friendship. A *Without a President and Treasurer the Guild cannot lovely day out with friends and at the same time the ability function within our rules. You can nominate for the to get on with spinning and weaving. It was a great Committee using the form on the back page of the opportunity to achieve something. February Guild News, or contact the Guild. I am sure we will plan to use this venue again – but not Market Day next month. We can’t yet have this venue regularly on a Saturday it has other pre-bookings. We are looking at Buy or sell items at our Market Day. Trading will start after – alternatives. the March meeting, around 3.15pm, and continue to 4pm. Contact the Guild to organise a table. The March meeting is our “Future of the Guild” brainstorming session. You all have been invited – as members directly, and through our Network Groups. This meeting will be back in the Church Hall. I know at least one network group has a representative coming from down the far South Coast of NSW. Come, bring your ideas, your enthusiasm for the crafts, and tell us how the Guild can best serve you in the coming years. Cheers, Andrew Opinions expressed in correspondence in this newsletter are not those of the Editor or Management Committee. Contact the Guild on 02 9745 1603 P0 Box 578 Burwood NSW 1805 [email protected] www.nsweave.org.au Guild News No 649 Print Post Approved PP297537/00022 ISSN 2207-4767 2 Minutes of the General Meeting, 29 February 2020 Andrew McCracken, Vice President chaired the meeting as • Burrendong Spinning Camp – 12-15 June. Info and President Margie Statheos is chained to her bed by a invitations due late April. fierce cold. And our speaker was also too unwell to come today. Both apologised profusely. • Majacraft Camp is planned for 26-28 June on the outskirts of Sydney. Lynda Jennings moved that the minutes of the January meeting be passed as printed in the February Guild News. • Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show – 17-19 July. Start Denise Warren seconded the motion. Passed. planning and saving now! It was wonderful to see so many members chatting, • Lake Keepit Crafty Camp – will be held near Tamworth weaving, spinning, braiding and thoroughly enjoying in September hosted by the Tamworth Handspinners and themselves in the cool of Fitzroy Hall. Weavers Guild. Arrive Friday afternoon and leave Joy Dodd needs at least two more folk to help her Sunday after lunch. Lots of traders, demonstrations, a demonstrate at the RAS on Friday April 4. If she does not dedicated dyeing space, show and tell, the biggest raffle hear from anybody by Monday (2 March) she will call it off. table and ‘happy hour’ anytime! Contact Wendy The Guild Store received yet another donation from Campbell for more info. Diana MacAuliffe. This will be the last one. It includes a lot • Fibrefest 2020 at Singleton hosted by the Knitters Guild of small bags of rather hairy cashmere. NSW is growing every year. Workshops on Saturday. Dates for your diary Trading on Sunday. It is very popular: busloads go! Grab a friend or three and car-pool if you’re not a bus person. • Castle Hill Youth in Agriculture Show will be an Starts promptly at 10am, 24-25 October. entertaining event where young, aspiring farmers will judge sheep and fleeces in various categories, in the Workshops hope of qualifying for the Royal Easter Show. Castle Hill The Guild will offer a Spinning Beyond The Basics Showgrounds, March 21 and 22. Contact Wendy course over two Saturdays, on 14 March and 4 April from Campbell for more info: 0448 866 789 or 9am to 3.30pm in the Guild rooms. The tutor, Wendy [email protected] Campbell, will give three weeks worth of homework th between classes to practice plying techniques, blending, • Robertson 40 Annual Wool Festival will be held at longdraw, thick singles and spinning slippery alpaca. the Robertson School of Arts Hall on 18 April from 10am. All the farmer members of the Black and Coloured Sheep Liz Calnan workshops Association bring their fleece. It is a great place to buy M’s and O’s, 4 shafts 13 March coloured fleeces. There will be traders of combs, feltable Twill weaves, 4 shafts 14-15 March fibre, fibre, spindles, etc. Jean Piddington used to win Double weave as overshot in traditional and not-so- their longest thread competition and even got her photo traditional form 27 March in the local paper! On a straight 8 4-5 April Cost is $110 per day. • Canberra Wool Expo A Celebration of Wool, 16-17 May at the Old Bus Depot Markets. Workshops are held at 28C Chester St, Epping. Hours are 9:15am for 9:30 start to 4 or 4:30pm. • Winter Wool Fair, Sutherland Shire Spinners and Bring your lunch. Tea and coffee provided. Weavers annual sale and exhibition to rise to the President’s challenge, 29-30 May. If you go on Saturday For the list of requirements email [email protected]. there is a very good farmers market just next door to the Show & Tell Uniting Church hall. Photos courtesy Prue Hill and Wendy Cartwright. • ATASDA will hold a weekend workshop Textures and Marilyn Peters has been churning out blankets on her Pattern in Nature at Dence Park, Epping with renowned restored Hattersley loom. Karen Severn displays one of Qld felt artist Wendy Bailye on 23-24 May. Marilyn’s blankets. • Annual Exhibition and sale of the Epping Judy Gwilliam dyed a hank of handspun and was Embroiderers, spinners and weavers at Dence Park, surprised how much the colour varied. Judy knitted a 29-31 May. The exhibition’s theme is Out of this World. cushion that takes advantage of the variation besides There will be miscellaneous items and stash for sale being a massage marvel. She modeled a knitted top made including equipment, yarns and manchester. of hand spun, linen and ramie: perfect for a summer day. Alyson Keeys plied solar dyed Corriedale with Ashford • Bathurst Fibre Muster 2020 – 6-7 June is on the long weekend, so book accommodation early! To be held at merino silk blended top. Alyson doesn’t know what she will the Bathurst Panthers. make with the yarn but it has given her joy already. Guild News #649 March 2020 3 Also pictured, Alyson’s sheep socks on the treadle of her spinning wheel. Lauren Fiedler loves to spin on support spindles and uses a stick for a distaff with a lock of fleece attached with elastic ties. Lauren used her Russian spindle to make a very fine Corriedale yarn and also spun a skein using a Tibetan spindle. Denise Warren made a jacket from her double weave cloth, which will be perfect mid winter. The fabric has good body so didn’t need interfacing or lining. Very Easy Vogue pattern V8090 was a perfect match for her handwoven.