Collingswood Fiber Arts Guild

2008-03-12T22:13:00.001-07:00

I just didn't have a chance to take pictures of all the projects. Bernadette had knitted the cutest little lamb which had then been felted. Katherine was working on a scarf made out of ribbon yarn in a beautiful blue.

I really enjoyed spending time with everyone. I hope you did as well. The night passed all too quickly. Hope to see everyone next month. Thank you all for a successful first year.

I'll be sending out an e-mail shortly about the trip to the yarn mill. It looks like we may have a weekday trip and a weekend trip.

2008-03-12T22:08:00.001-07:00

Lena, Christina, making a ball from some of her hand-spun wool, and Donna, who is starting an entrelac scarf.

2008-03-12T22:05:00.001-07:00

Barbara, another new member, working on knitting a square, Denise, working on her quilt top, Janis, also working on a square and Marie also working on a knitting project.

2008-03-12T22:03:00.001-07:00

Denise is working on her quilting.

2008-03-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

Lena, who joined us last month, shows off a vest she has knitted for her son.

2008-03-12T22:00:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the squares that have been knitted so far to be used for blankets for the Linus project.

2008-03-12T21:57:00.001-07:00

Donna, another new member (and also a Groovy Knitter) has completed this entrelac knitted bag. The colors are beautiful.

2008-03-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

Tammy, another new member, shows off her almost completed bedspread. She hopes to finish it before the weather warms up. It's keeping her plenty warm as she works on it.

2008-03-12T21:50:00.001-07:00

Connie modeled her newest scarf for us. She always adds a special unique touch to her work. On this scarf she added a band to tuck the other half of the scarf through to hold it in place.

2008-03-12T21:43:00.001-07:00

Carole, one of our new members, introduced us to this lovely little project. Using a 3" styrofoam ball, fabric and straight pins, she is making a quilted ball. These are beautiful! They only take about an hour and a half to make.

2008-03-12T21:38:00.001-07:00

Our March meeting marked our one year anniversary for the guild. We had a great meeting. Lots of new projects started!!

2008-03-10T18:21:00.001-07:00

Lois finished a baby's sweater.

2008-03-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

Bernadette finished a baby's sweater and hat.

2008-03-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

Lena, a fellow knitter from the Sunday night group, the Groovy Knitters, joined us for the first time.

2008-03-10T18:14:00.001-07:00

Despite icy weather, a few hardy souls made it out to our January meeting. Christina is working on carding raw wool that she had purchased.

2008-01-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

After our last meeting in January, I went in search of winter since there has been such a lack of it here in NJ. I found it in the form of -30 below. I also found a great yarn store and a great web site for an on line class for needle felting. I hope to see you all on February 12th.

2007-12-16T14:35:00.001-08:00

We had lots of fun with needle felting. We look forward to seeing you in the new year.

2007-12-16T14:34:00.001-08:00

Janice working on the card weaving loom.

2007-12-16T14:31:00.001-08:00

In addition to the other fun things Janice likes to do, she has started a project on a card weaving loom. We look forward to seeing the finished product.

2007-12-16T14:28:00.001-08:00

Here is our choir of snowmen ornaments.

2007-12-16T14:27:00.001-08:00

Bernadette created a swirl of Christmas colors on her ornament.

2007-12-16T14:25:00.001-08:00

Anna embellished her ornament with a holly leaf and berries.

2007-12-16T14:23:00.001-08:00

Anna and Bernadette work on making needle felted Christmas ornaments.

2007-12-16T14:20:00.001-08:00

Here are the needle felted items Anne shared with us. The cat face is an exact copy of her cat's face. The cat and witch were made by an acquaintance of Anne's. Anne mad the Santa and the snowmen.

2007-12-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Anne brought in several of her needle felted items. Many of us gave this creative art a try. We had a lot of fun with this project.

2007-12-16T14:16:00.001-08:00

Janice and her amazing fleece.

2007-12-16T12:33:00.001-08:00

Janice wowed us all in this amazing fleece jacket that she designed and made.

2007-12-16T12:32:00.001-08:00

Our dry rug makes an appearance at the guild meeting. Plans are being made for finishing the rug when the warmer weather gets here.

2007-12-16T12:30:00.001-08:00

Ruth Ann takes a break from her spinning lesson and tries her hand at a little needle felting.

2007-12-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

At our November meeting, Marie works on the beginning of a weaving project. The loom was rented from Woolbearer's in Mt. Holly.

2007-11-12T22:17:00.001-08:00

Our finished rug! There is still some hand felting that needs to be done as well as some finishing touches ( a border perhaps).

2007-11-12T22:14:00.001-08:00

2007-11-12T22:12:00.001-08:00

The boro kindly lent us the use of their little water truck and their employee to help rinse the completed rug free of the soap.

2007-11-12T22:09:00.001-08:00

Then the rug was rolled up around the netting and rolled back and forth to harden up the felt.

2007-11-12T21:58:00.001-08:00

Bare feet, feet with boots, feet with flip-flops, feet with shoes! All were needed to turn this pile of fluff into a respectable felted rug. Everyone helped. Some stomped, some planned out the pattern, others helped to keep the water held in by holding the edge of the tarp up. It took about 40 minutes of stomping until we were finally able to say we had pretty much fleted a rug. What a blast!!

2007-11-12T21:55:00.001-08:00

Next, Margo, who was there to oversee the whole rug making, added goat's milk soap which she makes. The three elements needed to felt wool are hot water, soap and agitation. So far we have the first two elements. Next, it is time to add the third one.

2007-11-12T21:53:00.001-08:00

Next we poured on hot water to soak the wool completely.

2007-11-12T21:49:00.001-08:00

Then it was time to start the rug stomp we had planned. The part that we missed getting a picture of was the pattern which will be the top when it is finished. Once the pattern was down, we spread out the layers of carded raw wool in a criss cross pattern. Then a fine mesh screen was placed on the top of all the layers.

2007-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Bernadette was even able to do some spinning before the wind started picking up.

2007-11-12T21:44:00.001-08:00

Alice proves that you can knit in any weather. All it takes is a great pair of knitted gloves. Anyone can do it!

2007-11-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

Isabel and her mom, Barbara braved very chapped hands and helped people make felted soaps. A $1.00 donation for each soap was accepted which was donated to the American Cancer Society. We were able to send $23.00 to them to help with the fight against cancer.

2007-11-12T21:28:00.001-08:00

November 3rd might have been just another Saturday to some people but, to the Collingswood Fiber Arts Guild it was our premier appearance at the Collingswood Farmers' Market. The weather was cold, damp and at times rainy but, our spirits were not. Jody brought her loom. Sandy brought her lap weaving. Bernadette's dolls made an appearance as well (and they brought donuts, imagine that). Alice, from the Groovy Knitters (also a Collingswood group) came to help us out as well.

2007-11-12T21:26:00.001-08:00

Here is one of Sandy's finished mats done with the lap weaving loom.

2007-11-12T21:25:00.001-08:00

Sandy's uncle got her started on lap weaving.

2007-11-12T21:23:00.001-08:00

Here are some of our group members working on various projects at our October meeting.
Publish Post

2007-11-12T21:20:00.001-08:00

A final glimpse of the "girls". Thank you so much, Bernadette, for sharing your fascinating hobby.

2007-11-12T21:17:00.001-08:00

My favorite, by far, is this little doll that she created to look like her niece, Lynn. Again the details are remarkable.

2007-11-12T21:15:00.001-08:00

Bernadette has been interested and making dolls for quite some time. These little cuties were created for her daughter who is now in her 20's.

2007-11-12T21:02:00.001-08:00

As Bernadette explored doll making more she created this lovely doll. Bernadette described how she made the joints, her nose and upper body. The detail was amazing.

2007-11-12T20:57:00.001-08:00

Bernadette found classes in doll making on line. Her first creations are fanciful jointed spirits that just make you smile. They have quite enchanting personalities.

2007-11-12T20:45:00.001-08:00

At our October meeting, Bernadette brought a basketful of her friends with her.

2007-10-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

At our October meeting, Bernadette shared her wonderful dolls with us. Here is the link to the web site where Bernadette found the on line classes that she took. http://dollnetmarket.com/shop/homme.php?cat=9. If you have trouble with this link try thedollnet.com.

2007-10-08T15:24:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:23:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:22:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:19:00.001-07:00

Karen Dond's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:18:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:17:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:15:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:10:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:04:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-10-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Karen Donde's weaving.

2007-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have a correction to make to the name of the guild to which Karen belongs. The correct name is South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers.
Their contact information is:
Website: www.sjgsh.org
e-mail: mail@sjgsh.org
Mail: PO Box 746 Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone: 856-429-8604.
Meetings are held at Medford Leas, Medford, NJ and Woolbearers, Mount Holly, NJ.

They will have a booth at the Kirby's Mill Apple Festival in Medford, NJ on Saturday, October 13th for their annual show and sale. They will have handwoven, handspun, hand-dyed, knitted and crocheted items for sale.

2007-08-22T19:16:00.001-07:00

A sample of lace weaving.

2007-08-22T19:14:00.001-07:00

This loom was brought in by Jody. Karen told us that this is a two shaft loom. She was able to give Jody some tips on using this loom.

2007-08-22T19:13:00.001-07:00

A rigid heddle loom.

2007-08-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

A tapestry loom.

2007-08-22T19:11:00.001-07:00

More invisible weaving.

2007-08-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

A sample of invisible weaving.

2007-08-22T18:44:00.001-07:00

Karen Donde from South Jersey Spinners and Weavers Guild was our guest speaker at the August meeting. She brought many samples of her wonderful weaving and really enlightened us regarding the process of weaving.

2007-08-22T18:39:00.001-07:00

Our August meeting was very informative and brought us new ideas. Barbara and Isabelle brought a sample of felted soaps they had made. These were made with glycerin soap covered in unspun wool fibers and then felted. This is a fun, quick and easy project. We hope to do this at the Farmers Market along with the rug stomp. We will give this a try at one of our next meetings.

2007-08-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

P.S. The date for the next meeting is Tuesday, August 14th at 7:30 P.M.

2007-08-01T20:09:00.001-07:00

At our meeting in July, members expressed a desire to see if we could have a space at the Farmers Market held in Collingswood each Saturday to promote our guild. Arrangements have been made for us to participate in one of the Farmers Market Craft Fair Days. The tentative date is November 3rd. The hours are 8-12. Our booth will be informational and we will be offering instruction and demonstrations in the different fiber crafts in which our members are interested. We are making plans to felt a rug out of unspun wool fiber. Here is a picture of a felted rug. We will be discussing details for our booth and making some decisions about felting the rug (a rug stomp). Hope to see you there.

2007-07-19T15:47:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Carmella and Marie who were visiting us for the first time.

Many thanks to one of Lois' neighbors, Fred Korth, who donated a lot of craft books that had belonged to his wife for everyone to share.

We talked about the possibility of participating in one of the craft days at the Farmer's Market here in Collingswood to let other people know about our group. One of the possibilities would be to have on the spot instruction available by members for people interested in knitting, spinning, quilting and other fiber arts. Another activity that we might be able to do is to have a rug stomp. A rug stomp is using unspun wool fibers that have been made into batts and felted by using your feet into a rug.

We can talk more about this at the August meeting. See you then.

2007-07-19T15:45:00.001-07:00

Pam is the proud owner of a new Ashford wheel. She had filled two bobbins and was working on plying her singles.

2007-07-19T15:43:00.001-07:00

Carmella tried her hand at spinning and successfully made a skein of wool.

2007-07-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

Sandy was working on needlepoint.

2007-07-19T15:38:00.001-07:00

Bernadette and Marie work on tatting at the June meeting

2007-06-18T19:27:00.001-07:00

Denise, thank you for sharing your lovely art in the form of quilts with us.

2007-06-18T19:25:00.001-07:00

This last quilt uses the crown from the Statue of Liberty for inspiration.

2007-06-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

This quilt is a result of a challenge between some of Denise's fellow quilters to make a quilt using all recycled material. Denise has used recycled shirts from a thrift store to make this bed size quilt.

2007-06-18T19:21:00.001-07:00

Triangle beads add rays of this sun.

2007-06-18T19:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a close up of the beads used on one of the squares.

2007-06-18T19:18:00.001-07:00

She uses beads to embellish her quilts as well.

2007-06-18T19:16:00.001-07:00

The quilting along this border was very unique.

2007-06-18T19:14:00.001-07:00

This picture does not do justice to the beauty of this quilt.

2007-06-18T19:12:00.001-07:00

Denise's creativity really shines in this free form quilt.

2007-06-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

This quilt pattern was achieved by an amazing combination of colors skillfully arranged within the individual squares.

2007-06-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

a border that was hand stamped!!!

2007-06-18T18:59:00.001-07:00

This quilt is made in a traditional pattern but one of the outstanding features is...

2007-06-18T18:55:00.001-07:00

Bernadette, Joan and Ruth examine Denise's first quilt

2007-06-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our June meeting was very colorful thanks to Denise and her lovely quilts. She started quilting as a teenager then stopped until a number of years later. While recovering from surgery, she visited the library and found a book that piqued her interest in quilts again. She has been quilting ever since. Just look at what she has done!

2007-05-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to everyone that our next meeting is 7:30 p.m. on June 12th. See you there.

2007-05-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

Having finished one sweater, Pam moves right on to the next one.

2007-05-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Bernadette shares some fine points of spinning on the wheel with Pam.

2007-05-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Bob graciously sets out our refreshments and always has a great story to share.

2007-05-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Jody also brought a knitting project with her. She got this awesome yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

2007-05-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Bernadette is working on a coiled basket made with cloth strips.