Peachtree Handspinners Guild

The Peachtree Handspinners Guild will meet   Saturday, February 23, 2019, 1:00 to 4:30 pm in the fellowship hall of North Decatur Presbyterian Church (NDPC).  The door will be open at 12:30 with the business meeting starting at 1:00.

The program will be presented by Leslie Bronson and Carol Hassell. Box and paper maker Claudia Lee, https://www.claudialeepaper.com/  taught an amazing Stitched Boxes workshop at SEFAA.  Several folks from PHG took her workshop. We learned new ways to use some old fibers we already know and love. We created whimsical boxes made with gorgeous handmade cotton and hemp papers and stitched them with waxed linen and in some cases, handspun yarns.

Carol and Leslie were at the workshop and will give a presentation to the guild at our February meeting. We’ll discuss the class, Claudia’s amazing work and the basics of making a stitched paper box. We’ll have a PowerPoint presentation (thank you, Carol!) and show and tell. If you attended Claudia’s workshop, please bring your boxes for show and tell!

By Paula Vester

The guild received its copy of Piecework and I picked it up from the mailbox the other day. It appears to be an issue filled with socks – history is interesting, but I will never knit a pair of historic socks like those amazing examples in that issue. But tucked in the back of the magazine was a wonderful article about a sweater. An amazing sweater that survived 75 years and now resides in the

Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. The pattern taken from that sweater is available on Ravelry, or you can buy it from the museum bookshop (the Ravelry income for the sweater sales also goes to the museum). The modern designer is Lea Stern (you can search “The Green Sweater by Lea Stern” in Ravelry), and the story is wonderful.

I will soon be in search of a nice fingering weight yarn to try and make this sweater. It seems to be sized for about a 7 yr old, and I may just knit it in that size and see if any on my great nieces can eventually fit it. I just want to see if I can follow a pattern of this kind…….my question: who might want to join me this coming year and choose a project to be knitted, crocheted, embroidered, or quilted from some historical story?

Maybe this could be our Library Exhibit Challenge for the 2018 year — history in fiber…….Find some historical – or maybe a family related – story/project and work on it for the exhibit at the DeKalb Library in June. I like some of the stories I hear you guys talk about pieces in your family collections, so those would certainly be perfect. I am sure some of us have some of the old books from grandmothers, aunts, etc. of patterns or books of the things people were doing in textiles throughout several generations. Let us make this year’s exhibit a fabulous one of history, fiber, family and friends.

The Peachtree Handspinners Guild will meet Saturday, February 24, 2018, 1:00 to 4:30 pm in the fellowship hall of North Decatur Presbyterian Church (NDPC). The door will be open at 12:30 with the business meeting starting at 1:00. February’s Program/Meeting is a social spin with a (weaving) twist. This day will be mostly social spin except for those of us who are starting or working on a small weaving project. There are a couple of requests.

First, if you have a smallish woven item that you treasure, please bring it to show off, especially if it is from somewhere other than the USA. I have a cute handwoven South American sash covered in little bulls that I adore. Your “bring” can be made by anyone but it would be nice if you could attach a note to show origin, maker if known, where you found it or who gave it to you and why you love it.

Second, this meeting is also intended to be a mini-social for those of us who recently acquired a small loom (continuous yarn, rigid heddle, tapestry, Navajo, etc.). You don’t have to be a newbie to participate; we’d love some experienced weavers to pop over and give advice/help or just weave for a bit so we can watch and learn. I expect we will move off into a corner so come prepared to weave for an hour or so. No pressure, come and go as you like. After all, this IS a social spin day!

The Peachtree Handspinners Guild will meet Saturday, January 20, 2018, 1:00 to 4:30 pm in the fellowship hall of North Decatur Presbyterian Church (NDPC) (see map at right). The door will be open at 12:30 with the business meeting starting at 1:00. The program this month will be Dream Wheel-Go-Round.
In 2011 there was a Dream Wheel Weekend at the Spinning Loft in Michigan. It featured special spinning wheels loaned for the occasion. Spinners got to try out some wonderful wheels!
Miranda Hapgood has our own Dream Wheel-Go- Round planned for this month. Do you have a special wheel tucked away at home? Please bring it along so others can enjoy spinning on it.
The available wheels so far include:

• Upright and Saxony-style wheels
  An early Alden Amos wheel
  A Shaker wheel made between 1793-1807
  A half-spoke wheel from Norway, made around 1870
  Napoleonic-era (1799-1815) wheel from Holland
  A Tiny gypsy wheel from Hungary
  A Carson Cooper Sabrina, inspired by a French travel wheel
• Spindle Wheels
  Rio Grande—a treadled spindle wheel
  Walking Wheel made by Norm Hall
  Walking Wheel made by Lyle Wheeler
  Antique “scoop” walking wheel
  1790’s Virginia walking wheel
  Alden Amos Bull Pup charkha
  Bosworth Attache Charkha
  Please plan to come and join the fun!