Articles

Feltfine: April Guest speaker

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:25 +1000

Gary Sheen is a retired engineer who worked in three dimensional design and construction. He developed a fibre business with his partner, Kristen Ashley, a high school art teacher, as a result of falling in love with felting.
Although his mother was a crafter, he grew up a city boy in Newcastle and had no experience of fibre animals until he went to a Tocal Field Day 10 years ago. After walking the Inca trail in Peru the following year, he bought a pair of alpacas. Within two years the flock had increased to 65 suri alpaca. If he had realised that Huacaya fleece is easier to process . . . . Now he has reduced his flock to 25 with one Huacaya male.
He had a stockpile of 200Kg of fibre when the alpaca industry collapsed. Then Kristen gave him a felting workshop for a birthday present and he fell in love with felt. And he had the fibre to make lots and lots of hats. He has made and sold at least 350 cloche hats in the last three years but still has a stockpile of fibre. Plus he has added other fibres and yarns to his stash. Adding merino to alpaca makes it easier to felt. Mohair yarns make lovely accents. And when you are making articles to sell, it makes sense to buy wholesale, in bulk. This leads to a serious stash. The obvious solution is to share it with other fibre devotees. Hence, his business, FelfFine has developed.

Freda Neale Grant 2013

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:49:36 +1000

Aim: To give the joy of weaving particularly to the disadvantaged or handicapped
The deadline for the Freda Neale grant for 2013 has been extended until the end of June.
Applicants must be financial members of the Guild but the grant need not be distributed to that member/s: it may be applied to another person/group.
The applicant must submit a written proposal for a specific project. Any topic in the fibre field may be proposed but weaving will be favoured. Applications must be received by June 30. The recipient/s will be selected by a reviewer who is not a member of the Guild. Proposals not accepted may be resubmitted in following years.
By the end 2014, the recipient/s is required to arrange to share the results of receiving the grant with the Guild.
For more information and Grant Application Guidelines:
Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW Inc, PO Box 578, Burwood, NSW 1805, 9745 1603, nsweave@spin.net.au

19th International Back to Back Challenge and Apple Pie Bake-Off

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:21:53 +1000

After eight very happy, successful years at the Turpentine Tree, Kurrajong Handspun Crafts Inc will host the Back to Back at a new venue:

Farm Panaroma
2570 Bells Line of Road, Bilpin (next to Bilpin Hall)

Parking will be in the grounds of Bilpin hall with a walkway to all the action. This 50 acre farm, owned by Sean and Manoo, provides organic produce for their restaurant, Sean's Panaroma in Bondi.

Canberra Centenary Tapestry

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:19:57 +1000

As part of the celebrations of Canberra's centenary, the Textiles Workshop at the ANU School of Art is working with members of the Canberra community and tapestry artists from all over the world, to weave a large scale tapestry designed by ACT textile artist Annie Trevillian. 

As well as the main community tapestry which is being woven in Canberra, there is an opportunity for individuals or groups to weave tapestries and send to then Canberra to be exhibited with the Centenary Tapestry in the Legislative Assembly for the ACT Gallery. These tapestries will be returned to their makers and will commemorate the Centenary in personal collections across the country/world.

Weaving a scarf with Lego

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:29:29 +1000

Guerilla knitters take over the world

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:25:37 +1000

Yarn-bombing is a global craze which is much like graffiti for people who would not ordinarily break the rules.
It has reached Adelaide and popped up most recently in the hills town of Stirling.

Hundreds of school children, scouts, craft club members and individuals spent hours creating knitted and crocheted works to display outside the Coventry Library.

"I knew it would really spark the imagination of the community up here. I just knew it's the sort of thing our community would really enjoy," said children's librarian Jo Kaeding.

She helped organise the yarn-bombing display as part of the Adelaide Fringe festival.

Guerilla knitters take over the world — ABC News

Beulah Ogle: 1933

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:11:02 +1000

November 1933. Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Beulah Ogle preparing warp for weaving at the Pi Beta Phi School. She is a new weaver at the school and lives on a mountain farm. Another example of Lewis Hine's post-newsie oeuvre. Large format nitrate negative, National Archives.

Beulah Ogle: 1933 — SHORPY

Lego Loom Machine

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:26:26 +1000

Jacquard Loom: Early Computer Programing

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:37:22 +1000

Developed in 1801 by Joseph Jacquard -- this loom used punch cards to structure a series of operations. This loom is considered to be an important to the development toward computer programming.

Lia Cook's Jacquard Loom

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:34:32 +1000

Fibre artist Lia Cook talks about her jacquard loom. Lia is a featured artist in the Crossroads episode, premiering on PBS starting 16 November 2012.

Lia Cook has been at the forefront of the intersection of craft and art, where she has recently melded techniques of 18th c. Jacquard weaving with an inquiry into brain functioning, thus combining the most basic manual technology with contemporary technology and scientific practice. Her unusual mix of old and new has garnered her international recognition.

For more information, see Craft in America.

Sue Byatt, January's guest speaker

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:47:10 +1000

Sue applied for the grant on behalf of Carmel Buggy who is a weaver without sight, speech or hearing. Sue runs a Studio Artes, an organisation which helps adults with disabilities explore their talents in various branches of the arts including painting, dance, sculpture and textiles. After working as an occupational therapist, Sue decided she wanted to do something which celebrates peoples abilities rather than tries to compensate for their disabilities. She uses her training and experience to find ways for people who may otherwise have no creative outlet to express themselves.

Twilight Textiles

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:46:18 +1000

Every month there is an exhibition in the Embroiderer Guild's rooms. On the first Tuesday of each month from 6-8pm and repeated on the first Saturday of the month 4-6pm, the Embroiderers Guild will conduct a guided tour of their current exhibition and a private viewing of significant pieces from their collection and from private collections related to the theme of the exhibition. A guest speaker will share their passion for embroidery and design.

Cost: 20 places at $20 per person. Booking essential.

All proceeds to the Building Fund.

South Australian Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild 50th anniversary

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:44:53 +1000

For their 50th birthday celebrations in May 2013, the South Australian Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild wants to decorate their guild hall with bunting. Not just the usual bunting made with triangular flags, but bunting made from hand shapes cut from fabric. Therefore the more hands the better the bunting.

Report on the Kiama Show 2013

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:43:58 +1000

The 165th Kiama Show was held recently and the spinning, weaving and felting classes were very successful again with more than135 entries!

Our judge, Linda Coffill, did an excellent job judging such a large number of entries. She commented that the work exhibited was very diverse and of a high standard. Our lovely display attracted many favourable comments and the area was abuzz with visitors who enjoyed the demonstrations of spinning, weaving, bobbin lace and felting.

How basketry preserved a people

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:43:05 +1000

The story of Zulu basketry is one of revival. The craft was dying because of the introduction of tin and plastic containers. A Swedish minister, Kjell Lofroth, and his wife, Bertha, witnessed the decline in local crafts. When drought struck in the late 1960s and people in the rural KwaZulu-Natal Province faced starvation, Mr. Lofroth began the Vukani ("Wake up and get going") Arts Association to help single women support their families. Only three elderly women knew how to make baskets, but they taught others. A market, and the craft, flourished.

How basketry preserved a people — The Christian Science Monitor