York & District Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (Reg. Charity No. 519097) November Newsletter 2011
	Please note that the "@" symbol has been replaced by " at " in email links. Programme of meetings December 3 DYOT and Faith Lunch. At Dunnington Reading Rooms 2012   January 21 Chinese textiles, Prue Wells February 18 Skill share March 17 AGM For Sale (Please contact the webmaster for further information) Harris 24" table loom, with instructions and all tools. Kirstie Garside Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel 3 Bobbins and Lazy Kate: £180.00. Leeds. Ref T.BED Inkle loom £35. Ref MEP Dryad floor loom Ref MEP Shetland fleeces - natural colours. Ref R.KIT Shetland sheep - 8 ewes, 2 wethers, all colours, registered and prize winners. R.KIT White wensleydale shearling fleeces (2) £3.80 per kilo. Debbie Wardell 32" 4 shaft table loom with heddles, sticks, etc. £150 ono. Whitby. Ref B.THO Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel with reel holder, polished dark brown: £150.00. Leeds. Ref MEP Speaker report Douglas McMurtrie - Talk on Woven Tartan - 17th September Mr Douglas McMurtrie from Durham Guild presented us with a very interesting lecture with slides, called "Bring Forth the Tartan". He said he was "Not an expert, more a forager of interesting features". Tartan designs have been found dating up to 3,000 years ago from Europe and China. Tartan has been the dress of rebellious people in the past and the present (Punks), and the dress of the aristocracy. During the Crimea War the Black Watch wore it. The motto of the Scottish Tartan Society is "Bring Forth the Tartan!" The oldest Tartan material so far, has been found in the Tarim Basin area of south western China, where the climate is very dry, skulls and bones interlaced with Tartan has been preserved. This was a twill weave, in a natural series of shades, Douglas showed us a replica he had made. It is thought that people from Mesopotamia used the Tartan pattern and that it originated in the Middle East and moved also to China. What is Tartan? Well, it's a pattern in the warp repeated in the weft, simple mathematically and pleasing to the eye. There is a formula to this. The twill gives a swing to the fabric, making it good for walking. A more rigid type is needed for ties. Ancient people were very clever - it is suggested there was a memory stick. The Priest wore a plaid, incorporating eight colours - whereas the King's only had six - indicating the former's superiority. Peasant peoples' plaid had few colours in them. The dress of the Highlanders has been noted as being similar to that of Scottish soldiers - a square-type pattern. The earliest portrait of a figure wearing Tartan dates to 1560 and the earliest written reference is in a tradesman's account of 1538. A portrait of 1715, shows a Piper's kilt with great regularity between warp and weft. From 1746 to 1782, Tartan was banned - it was worn by Catholics and Bonnie Prince Charlie supporters - this was ethnic cleansing. The Hanovarian soldiers had won and they brought down a group of Highlanders to London to be inspected . A large portrait recorded 42 different patterns - after which they were transported to the colonies. Excavations at Culloden have found several pieces with different colours and shades, many greens and yellows. The "Black Watch" Tartan is one of the oldest and we owe much to the military for the preservation of Tartan - all are variations of the Black Watch except for the Cameron. Revival! - Sir Walter Scott persuaded George IV to visit Edinburgh after which Tartans became theatre; The Highland Society, Wilsons of Bannockburn and Queen Victoria were all promoters. In 1819 Wilsons of Bannockburn used authentic patterns and began to invent modern ones. Recent developments - originally the district was more important than the clan. Nowadays there are many recently invented Canadian Tartans. We were shown examples of Durham, Galloway, Buchanan Tartans and asymmetrical designs. Much information can be found in "Tartan" by Jonathan Faiers - found in V and A Museum. isbn9788x5283771. Douglas can be contacted by email: douglas.mcmurtrie@btinternet.com Maggie C Maggie Lightfoot - Needle Felting Workshop - 19th November 2011 The drive to Murton last Saturday through the early morning misty sun was spectacular and I had been looking forward to this workshop for months. Needle-sculpted felt is intriguing, being a total felting newbie, I had absolutely no clue as to how 3D figures are achieved. Beginning with an informal chat, Maggie told us about her background in felting and described how, on the recommendation of a friend, she discovered Norwegian wools and their eminent qualities and suitability for felting. So enthusiastic was she about this product, that together with her husband, she set up an internet business to import Norwegian wool. This comes from a small family firm, working with the Norwegian Marketing Board, processing wools from local farms. Their C1 is the Norwegian best-quality classification for white wool, being a mixture obtained from 4 different breeds. The sheep are reared in a very clean environment and the wool is very white. It is excellent for dyeing, spinning, wet felting and dry needling. The C1 and other wool are available in natural or dyed colours and are sold in batts. Maggie brought along a wide range of colour samples of the products available from their website:- www.norwegianwool.co.uk. The Lightfoots have diversified and now also offer NORTH WEST WOOL; British Wool obtained from sheep owners within a 25 mile radius of their own home. They process the wool and again sell it in batts. Maggie brought felted and spun samples of Hebridean, Jacob, Shetland, Zwartble and many others. The humbug Jacob batt was beautifully soft and very versatile, being easy to spin directly, or split into very fine layers for picture felting. Maggie then showed us some samples of her needle felted and sculpted work. These ranged from soft, flat shapes such as a gingerbread man and stars made using cookie cutters; to smaller items of fruit, bumble bees, butterflies, to more complex pieces such a the Tina Turner doll made over a wire frame to allow her to pose, and a cheery green Frog Prince. Her final piece, a work in progress, was a winter tree covered with lichen and fungi, made of Jacob fibre, placed on a felted carpet of autumnal leaves. She then introduced three Snowmen samples, a very seasonal project which she had planned for the workshop. Knowing nothing about felting, I imagined that such complicated pieces would take hours and was surprised to learn that a snowman with all his buttons, carrot nose and floppy hat could be achieved in a couple of hours. Everyone was very eager to start and you could feel the creative buzz in the room. A pack was provided to everybody which included 5 different coloured wools, a small piece of pre-felted fabric, a piece of drawer liner (the rubbery non-slip fabric you could also put under a sewing machine, or rug, which Maggie uses instead of more commonly used bubble-wrap for both wet and dry felting), a pack of 4 colour-coded felting needles and a cocktail stick! She also showed a Clover Felting tool which has five needles and a Perspex guard, and a tightly packed brush to use as a base instead of the traditional foam or polystyrene. Starting us off with a simple felted piece using a cookie cutter star and a piece of pre-felted fabric, she demonstrated the basics of needle-felting; beginning with the larger needle, taking care to “fix” the edges and points, before working into the centre of the star, using smaller needles as the work became more dense. The needles are very sharp and Maggie stressed the need for careful use, working at a 90 degree angle to the piece, over foam, to minimise the risk of injury. Everyone was delighted at how easy and quick it was to produce a clearly defined felted shape in this way. Maggie then took us step by step through the process of building our snowmen, demonstrating each stage, explaining how to create and attach heads, sculpt arms and add hats, scarves, buttons and create carrot noses and broomsticks by rolling tiny amounts of fibre around the cocktail stick, moving us all steadily on through the workshop until, by 3.30, most of us had a finished, dressed Snowman! The workshop was totally absorbing and thoroughly enjoyable. I know everyone on my table was inspired by the possibilities; a felted crib scene was mentioned complete with donkeys and sheep. Then, as a finale we collected all the Snowmen together for a photo shoot - and every one was different! - from black hats to purple handbags! Great fun! Christine S Members work Rosemary K showed us a gift that she has received, as a thank you for lending a friend a set of 4 knitting needles. They were returned complete with little knitted hats covering the points with a cord linking the hats together. Cath S had a work in progress to show us, of hand spun wool, knitted in an Aran pattern from the top, with the sleeves knitted in and no sewing required. I would like to see this when it is finished. Alison M had completed her weaving over a box using rug wool. The box was removed and a handle was crocheted, in hand spun yarn to make a small basket - useful for carrying a couple of bottles of wine. Joy M has woven a strip in British wool on a Rigid Heddle loom - colour and weave log cabin pattern. The cloth is to be finished and made up into a cushion cover for the British Wool Sack Project. Nick B brought Merino tops that he and his daughter had dyed, with Ashford acid dyes obtained through Freecycle and another smaller batch using Easter Egg dyes from P&M Woolcraft. The latter are in small tablet form of 4 colours and need vinegar and steaming to set them. Barbara P prefers to make bags rather than cushion covers and has made 2 fabric bags, each with a woven panel on the front, using strips of fabric. The warp and weft are strips of the fabric with the edges turned under (ribbon could be used instead). Different patterns were woven e.g. plain weave, twill and reverse twill. The result was very effective and attractive. Anne B showed a brooch made in the shape of a flower, in felt using and embellisher to felt the wool. A tip was given to use a needle felting tool to repair holes in woollen knitted garments. Enid p Committee As it states in the Minutes, several of our members are coming to the end of there terms in office on the Guild committee, they are: Beryl T - Chairman Nick B - Vice-Chairman and Membership Secretary Enid P - Equipment Loans and Minutes Secretary Liz S - Promotions Secretary Therefore, these positions will be vacant at the AGM in March 2012. Please note; Vice-Chairman and Membership Secretary are 2 separate positions. Guild Secretary, Rosemary K also took on the Programme Secretary, which was previously advertised in the Newsletter, I’m sure she would be delighted if a volunteer came forward to take in off her hands. The programme for 2012 has been finalised. Please consider offering to join the committee, don’t forget, without the Committee the Guild can’t function and it is there for you and your enjoyment of your crafts. We have, in the past, had newer members say that they haven’t been a member long enough to join the Committee; it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been with us, if you feel that you have the time and would like to help run the Guild you will be more than welcome, and if you have a relevant skill to bring even better! New and longer term members welcome. Tthe Committee consists of not just the official posts, there are also 6 general committee posts, which are equally important. Finally, a vote of thanks to all the retiring Committee members for all their tireless work whilst in their particular posts.