York & District Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (Reg. Charity No. 519097) May` Newsletter 2008
	Guild News/Events June 21st – Skill Share: Drum and Hand Carding and Fleece Preparation. We hope to prepare enough fleece for The Story of Wool day on Sunday July 6th. July 6th – Open Day in conjunction with Farming Museum, “The Story of Wool”. Spinners and Knitters wanted. This is an additional event and we also have the pleasure of The Threshing Barn bringing a stall. July 19th – Speaker: Fiona Hirst, ‘Integration’ a contemporary view of the relationship between Weaving, Spinning, Dyeing and Felt Making. August 1st-9th – York Guild Exhibition. July 25th-August 22nd – ‘Fabric Creations’, WSD National Exhibition. NB1: As we have the York Guild Exhibition in August we have not booked a date for our August meeting. However, we will be having an extra Skill Share/’Spin-In’ with faith lunch at a later date. NB 2: 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month The Tuesday Group meets in The Weaver’s Cottage, at Murton. NB3: York Guild Exhibition items to June or July meeting. Volunteers needed. Special Notice re. York Guild Exhibition. The Committee has received written acceptance from the Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress, Sheriff and Sheriff’s Lady, of our invitation to attend the York Guild ‘Bags of Ideas’ Exhibition. Any Member attending the Exhibition on Tuesday 5th August, please be aware that the Civic Party will be there at 11:00am on this day. Shows this year 16th July. Driffield Show, Driffield Showground 2nd August.  Tockwith Show at Tockwith 19th to 26th  October.  Autumn Glory, crafts,  Harewood House 20th to 23rd  November.  Knit & Stitch Exhibition, Harrogate Reminders will be given and sign up sheets available in due course. Announcements Tapestry 2008 Exhibition This exhibition is starting on June 7 in Halifax. I wonder if anyone would like to do a review of it for the Journal? We like about 400 words give or take a bit. The deadline for the December issue is 15 August. Please reply to diary member of the Journal Editorial Committee Guild Office Holder Badges. If you are an ex. Committee Member, please could you have a look to see if you still have your Committee Badge?  Some just say Committee, but some have the Office Title. There are still some Badges at large and it would be appreciated if they could be returned. With the impending visit of the Lord Mayor and Civic Party, the wearing of appropriate badges would look more professional. Thank you. 2008 Guild Exhibition at the Farming Museum Thursday 31st July 2008 – setting up day – Committee. Saturday 9th August 2008 – taking down day – Committee. Please bring items for exhibition to either the June or July meeting (depends on your holidays).  Collection of items not prior to noon on Saturday 9th.  If you cannot collect them, arrange for someone else to do so, after this time they will be stored in the Weavers Cottage until you are able to do collect them.  Rota:  please put your names down on the rota to help at the Exhibition. Although there are three places printed, do not despair!  Others can come along on that day too.  We have put three spaces as really the minimum we need on the various mornings and afternoons. Would you also put down whether you are going to spin, weave, dye, felt, braid, etc in the demonstration column so we can have a vast selection of our crafts for people to see. Workshops:  currently we are organising this but have to liaise with the Museum.  No doubt Pam will be dyeing and we hope that Beryl will be allowed to demonstrate how to sort fleece.  We hope to have a notice up daily at Reception to show what we are doing. The Sales Table is to be manned – you can work nearby.  It is important visitors are given a warm welcome and, who knows, we might get more members! There will be three notebooks on the Reception/Sales table:-  one for the 10 per cent Sales (i.e. members work for sale with 10 per cent commission to the Guild, the second to record sales of exhibits – again with 10 per cent commission to the Guild and finally the third book is for recording messages to the next “shift” i.e. people coming to collect items, or happenings which might be relevant to the people manning the tables. Because of the cost of postage, etc it has been decided to allow exhibit items which are sold to be taken down and the purchaser can take them at the time. We hope to invite neighbouring guilds to visit on Saturday 2nd August. Pam has designed a fantastic poster, both A5 and A4 size, incorporating one of her handbags – well done, Pam – and we must advertise the exhibition as widely as possible. Barbara (Joint co-ordinator) For Sale (Please contact the webmaster for further information) For Sale – Hand Loom, 36" weaving width. Handmade, had it 30 years. For Sale – Hand Loom, 4 shafts, 23” x 25” x 18” high. 2 Shuttles. Handmade, had it 15 years. £45.00 ono. For Sale – Crowdy’s Wood Wheel, £250. Sloping bed, double drive. Excellent working order. 24” diameter wheel, orifice height 26”, orifice diameter 3/8”, 38” long, 16” wide, 4 bobbins and lazy kate holds 2 bobbins. For Sale – Shetland Spinning Wheel £150 ono, Weavemaster 2 shaft loom, £60. For Sale - Scottish Floor loom 36" weaving width, 4 treadles, possibility of 4/6 shafts. Free to good home. For Sale – Organic fleeces from pedigree Lleyn ewes, hogs and tups. No dips, sprays, fertilisers have been used and sheep have eaten nothing but organic grass. £5 per fleece. Provisional Programme of Speaker Meetings. All meetings are held from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Guest Speakers start at 1:30pm unless otherwise stated. Skill Sharing Days are held in the Library and General Meetings in the Hall. July 19th – Speaker: Fiona Hirst, ‘Integration’ a contemporary view of the relationship between Weaving, Spinning, Dyeing and Felt Making. July 25th-August 22nd – ‘Fabric Creations’, WSD National Exhibition. August 1st-9th – York Guild Exhibition ‘Bags of Ideas’ at Murton Park. (volunteers needed). September 20th – Speaker: Polly Putnam, Talk on Damask. October 18th – Skill Share. November 16th – Speaker: Carol Leonard. Business Meeting 10:00am, Talk 11:00am, Whistle Stop Tour of Spindles. Lunch 12:00pm. Mini Workshop 1:00pm-3:30pm. January 18th 2009 – Speaker: Helen Neale, Dyeing. January 19th 2009 – Workshop, Dyeing Fibres. For further information please email Pam Spooner. (Please replace " at " with "@") Speaker Report Handspinning and dyeing for the handknitter, Freyalyn Close-Hainsworth Freyalyn arrived by train from Baildon near Bradford with humongous bags of fine wares. At this point in her life Freyalyn is PA to a Bishop and also a past Chairman of Bradford Guild. Freyalyn completed a degree in Archaeology before discovering her love of textiles and beads. At the very beginning of her talk she emphasised that workshops were her domain not talks. The tree coat that she wore to introduce the talk spoke for itself, hand spun, dyed, designed and knitted. A multitude of shawls and self designed jumpers, jackets and hats appeared for the next hour with information on dyes and techniques, optional blending and modular knitting being the main staple of the work. Angela, Beverley and Eileen were happy to model some of the garments and we all appreciated the generosity of Freyalyn as she handed the garments round for us to examine closely her beadwork incorporated in some of the work. The demonstration of i-cording led to talks of workshops in the future, perhaps Barmoor or Cober Hill. Freyalyn uses Lanaset American dyes that she sells. A website is available for dyes and tops. Margaret W.