Stratford-upon-Avon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers

   After a year like no other for most of us,  your Committee would like to take the opportunity  to wish you all a Merry Christmas and  good wishes for a better year for all in 2021!  

  DECEMBER CHRISTMAS 'PAAARTY' MEETING   Can you believe we are that time of year? It is our Christmas Party Meeting this Saturday and the  goody bag should be with you (or very shortly!) There is a litte preparation required so do check the good bag, newsletter  and below for instructions!!!!! The Christmas Party Zoom screen will open at 10.20 am and we hope everyone will have joined us ready to start proceedings at 10.30 am.   As usual there will be official notices and a chance to “show and tell” us what you have been making , ask advice if you have met problems, and generally share news, before we start on making our trees by 10.50 am. Preparations  1. DRINKS/FOOD - For our normal Christmas meeting we have a shared meal, when everyone brings a plate of food. When we first started we used to supply wine but as almost everyone drove to meetings and we all became more conscious of the problems of drink and drive, Ann started to make a mulled fruit cu...

Just a little reminder for tomorrow's meeting. Knitting needles at the ready and a few grams of your yarn stash is all you need. The zoom invite has already been emailed to all members but please let us know if you can't find it. To get you warmed up for the 'Show & Tell' we got some work here by our member Ros following on from last month's workshop. Ros commented, 'I thought it gave an impression of the sea so needle felted a small boat and silk waves on one side. I used a continuous length of woven braid to join the sides and make a handle. Not sure what I will use it for!'  Looking forward to seeing you all and your items then.

  NOVEMBER GUILD MEETING ALL THINGS KNITTING     Needles at the ready folks and yarn from your stash!     'Doors' open as usual now at 10.20 am on Saturday for a 10.30 am start.   After any notices there will be a Show and Tell session. Please share your results from the cardboard loom weaving, and we shall hear a little about all the 30,866 metres spun during BritSpin. Maybe you will have other work (?Christmas presents ?) to show as well.    As usual there will be a Sales Table so if you have anything to offer please send photographs and details to Sara , remembering to add 10% to the price for the guild funds. At 11.00 Sue Byrne will show us how to make a very elegant knitted necklace.    c https://olgajazzy.com/cable-braided-necklace/   This is a workshop for making a knitted, braided necklace. You will need approx. 20-30 grms. 4ply or DK yarn. Your own handspun would also be great. Linen, silk or wool will be fine but make sur...

  CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GUILD TEAM  ' O V E R T H E R A I N B O W ' FOR TAKING 2ND POSITION OVERALL IN BRITSPIN 2020    POINTS = 520 BREEDS SPUN = 67 METERAGE SPUN = 30,866 m PHOTO COMPETITION = 2ND PLACE   along with dozens of new skills learned and Bingo cards filled

  Well the Challenge is complete, our bingo submissions are all in, the sprint figures are registered, our total breeds have been counted and our Marathon length is being added up as we speak!  Final results will be out when we get them but in the meantime here are a few of our team members completed yarns. The Voting for the 'Joy of Britspin' Photo competition is still open for Ravelry members - if you've not already done so please do go in and vote - click on the LOVE button at the bottom of each entry you wish to vote for.  There are over 50 entries to look through, but our Chair is doing rather well and with a final push should definitely come in the rankings! https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/britspin/4071558/1-25 for the start of 3 pages so far.  Our Photos are  doing really well but all the support we can get will be gratefully received. Still also time to donate to the RNLI if you haven't alread and wish to.  Do note Team over the Rainbow if you do ...

Just a quick reminder for our online meeting on Saturday 17th October 2020  Screens open at 10.15 for a 10.30 start WEAVING ON SMALL CARD LOOMS see preparatory instructions on earlier blog item Don't forget the SALES TABLE - send full details of anything you wish to sell to the guild email

  TEAM OVER THE R A I N B O W BRITSPIN 2020 This year's team from the Guild are preparing to enter this competition next Wednesday at 9 pm.  The challenge is to combine spinning as great a length of fibre in the 4 days of the competition, with other challenges, such as the great number of different breed fleeces and Britspin Bingo! (more to follow next week on that one).   Generously sponsored again this year by the WOOL WAREHOUSE in leamington, the team will be spinning from 9 pm on 14th - 9 pm on 18th October, with donated fibre and all the fibre dug out from their stash!  Visit their site by clicking on the logo above. With current COVID lockdown guidelines the members will be spinning from home but one member has managed to grab a secure space at the Market Hall Museum in Warwick.  V isitors can book your FREE tickets to see our live demonstration and to visit the museum by going on  www.warwickshire.gov.uk/heritageboxoffice . You can also find booking ...

Our next Guild Meeting will again be held online and our topic for the day is   WEAVING ON  SMALL  CARD LOOMS    Doors (screens, of course) open at 10.15 Bring your own coffee    and take the opportunity to chat to each other briefly - Zoom   gives the main screen to whoever is talking at the time.     Diane will start the meeting at 10.30 and after any notices there will be a Show and Tell session. At 11.00 Ros Lobb will lead a session on weaving on small card looms.  This month, let’s all try to produce a small piece of weaving by making the simplest of looms using a piece of cardboard.   It could form a cover for a phone or by making several small squares combined to form a bag, cushion or wall hanging. In preparation for the online meeting we suggest cutting a piece of rigid card from a cardboard box (if it is corrugated make sure the corrugations are vertical). You could weave 10cm squares on a card about 14cms by 18...