As we know many Australian women are affected by breast cancer. So raising funds for research to find a cure for this disease is very important. A group has decided to have an exhibition and sale for scarves, wraps and contemporary neck pieces to raise funds. The exhibition with be held at Craft ACT in Canberra in August 2008.

They ask that you make and donate a piece of work for this exhibition and sale. Your work can be in any medium but remember the work is to sell not just look at. And you can donate more than one item!

They have set up a blog, to go with the exhibition and sale and will place as many images of work to be in the exhibition as possible. This project has the support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Here's what they want you to do.

1. say yes to a donation
2. donate a piece of work
3. if possible forward an image and details for the blog
4. when mailing your work please tell them the retail price, any special instructions and what material the item is made of
5. pass this request on to anyone you think will make some work for sale

Posted by Prue Hill at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gay Hendriksen is the curator of the Women Transported exhibition that will open in August at the Cultural Heritage Centre in Parramatta. She spoke at the May Guild meeting.

The women transported to Australia between 1804 and 1850 brought with them over 200 trades. Sometimes we are taken on journeys we don't plan. One in five Australians are related to these women who supported each other. They came through difficult times.

There were 12 female factories which housed female convicts in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Very little is known about the women or the female factories. The women were put to work (to keep their hands from being idle) picking tar off ropes, breaking rocks, doing laundry, embroidering, spinning and weaving.
The first factory was established in Parramatta in 1804 and the last closed in Tasmania in 1850.

The story told in the exhibition begins in England where miscreants were sent from Newgate prison to the hulks and then transported. Turner painted his outrage when 150 women on one ship were left to drown. The few drawings that remain show that the women were from the country and the city. Over 50% of them were probably illiterate. Elizabeth Fry was involved in improving conditions for women both in England and Australia.

The first female factory was established on the banks of the river at Parramatta where the Riverside Theatre now stands. It only provided accommodation for some of the 200 female convicts who arrived. Soon other ships arrived with more residents and a second factory, designed by Greenway was constructed to replace the first one which was burnt down. The factory had multiple roles: childbirth, mental health, illness, laundry, spinning and weaving as well as being shelter. It may be that our first export goods were the fabrics made there.

Gay has only been able to find three images of women convicts. The Cultural Heritage Centre at Parramatta is organising a get together of descendants of the women convicts in the hopes of getting more material and information about them.

The Women Transported exhibition got a grant of $49,100 most of which will be spent on transporting the exhibition to regional centers in four states. The exhibition in Parramatta opens on August 2 and runs there until November 9. Details of the program will soon be sent to the Guild.

Posted by Prue Hill at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After carefully knitting pattern sections it is difficult to sew cast off edges together and get a smooth seam. It is much easier to graft them together before they are cast off. This also eliminates the problem of sometimes pulling the cast off too tight and distorting the edge.

This method is known as grafting or Kitchener stitch.

Keep the knitted pieces on the last needles. Make sure there are the same number of stitches on each needle.

Leave one tail of yarn twice as long as the seam to be sewn.

Place the two pieces wrong sides together with tail end at back right.

Thread the tail on to a tapestry needle.

First you have to set up for grafting:

1. insert the needle purl-wise into the first stitch on the front needle. Pull through but don't pull the stitch off the needle
2. insert the needle knit-wise into the first stitch on the back needle. Pull through but don't pull the stitch off the needle

You only have to do this at the beginning of the grafting.

Repeat the following along the needles:

1. insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the front needle knit-wise and slip the stitch off the needle
2. insert the tapestry needle into the second stitch on the front needle purl-wise and leave it on the needle
3. insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch on the back needle purl-wise and slip the stitch off the needle
4. insert the tapestry needle into the second stitch on the front needle knit-wise and leave it on the needle

Continue until the last two stitches and do steps 1 and 3.

This is for stocking stitch.

For garter stitch:

1. purl
2. purl

1. knit
2. purl
3. knit
4. purl

Posted by Prue Hill at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fleece
When spinning for exhibition and shows be sure to choose fleece wisely. Choose one that is:

1. clean, to minimise preparation, leaving more time for the spinning
2. open, to permit easy drafting
3. the correct length for the type of yarn, eg short for woollen, longer for worsted
4. the correct type for the project, eg Lincoln for rugs, merino for fine work

Spinning and Plying
It is important to select a spin that is appropriate. If the yarn is for a floor rug, then a strong, plied, worsted would be made. If it is for knitting into a jumper, then a soft, plied woollen yarn would be chosen. For an Aran-style jumper, a cabled yarn would be ideal. For an open, lacey stole or granny shawl, a singles woollen yarn would be fine.

There is a place for all types of spinning - a slub yarn such as is produced by beginners (and sometimes called "creative') and readily spun from unprepared fleece is perfectly viable if a rough-spun look is called for, but for baby clothes, for example, it would decidedly be unsuitable. Likewise, a singles woollen yarn looks great in a granny shawl but would not give service if used for a floor rug (unless used for the knotted pile).

If spinning a woollen yarn, then do not spoil it with excessive plying. If spinning worsted, do not under ply it.

When fancy plies are called for, submit a selection of diverse plies. Remember a grandrelle is made when two different component yarns are plied, so that if one submits a hand spun plied with Lurex, a hand spun plied with any other type of commercial yarn and two or more different coloured hand spun yarns plied together, then one has simply submitted variations of a grandelle, and not different effect yarns.

Skeins
It is important to submit skeins rather than balls of yarn. After washing or scouring all skeins should be re-wound and fresh skein ties applied. All skeins should be:

1. of uniform length
2. tied securely with a reef knot joining the beginning to the end
3. tied in four places with skein ties of the same colour as the yarn

Washing or Scouring
If yarn for ski-wear is called for then only a woollen spin should be used - a thick, worsted yarn is too heavy - and the grease content should be preserved by washing the hanks in cold water. For all other yarns, the grease content should be completely removed. No yarn should ever be submitted without at least the suint content and dirt having been removed.

Submissions
Rules should be very carefully read and complied with, and entries submitted in their correct Class or Section. Concise instructions should be given in writing as to the means by which goods are to be returned. No name and/or address should be visibly attached to the articles.

Posted by Prue Hill at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)