Stratford-upon-Avon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers

FEBRUARY MEETING  MACHINE KNITTING  WITH  JANE HARRISSON  image: bolacooperblog Our February meeting will  be face to face in the Methodist Hall in Stratford.  Jane will be luring us all into the mysteries of machine knitting, so dust of those machines you all have in the back cupboard in readiness for all you learn on Saturday morning. Government rules have been relaxed, but you may decide to wear masks and take a home test before attending. Doors will open at 10.15 am. Please use the side door for the New Room.  Hot drinks will now be available but please bring along your mug, lunch and cutlery. We are still asking everyone to set out their own chair and table (if needed), assistance will be there for those needing it.  For those unable to attend in person or are still wary of meeting in person, we shall be looking in on Zoom, this will open at 10.20 am.    The meeting starts at 10.30 am with Notices from our Chair. Jane's talk wi...

  INSIDE THE  MEDIAEVAL  WOOLHOUSE     Our January Guild meeting on Saturday, 22nd January at 10.30 am, will be a Zoom talk by Penelope Hemmingway “Inside the Mediaeval Woolhouse, Spinning and Weaving in Mediaeval Monasteries.”   Our delayed talk from last June, so we are really pleased to have Penelope back for this meeting. Screens open at 10.20, Anna will do notices at 10.30 and will introduce Penelope to give her talk at 10.50. After the talk there will be a short break for coffee etc. and we shall then commence with our AGM. Once business is concluded we will have some time for Show and Tell, reminders of what is on the Sales Table and a general catch-up. Don't forget our plant fibre challenge ladies, we are keen to see what we have all been able to do. Invites to the meeting will be sent to members again shortly but guests are welcome at the usual meeting fee.  Contact wsdstratford@gmail.com if you would like to join us.  Looki...

We are very pleased that our Jane Lucas has been asked by Countryfile presenter Adam Henson to prepare a fleece from his flock that will be used in the competition they are running to design a bobble hat for Children In Need. Jane was seen on Countryfile on the 11th December collecting the fleece from Adam at his farm.  She will be preparing the fleece, with the support of our Guild,  by washing, dyeing, carding and spinning it, so that it can be knitted up into a few hats that will be knitted and auctioned off to raise funds.   Final entries for the design need to be in by 16th January 2022, with the winner being announced later in spring.  Details for entries can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3gwF8kgdZVWqTd7kcj4BFtN/countryfile-ramble-bobble-hat-competition   Pleased to report that washing is underway and we await what the final colours required will be and then the next stage will be the dye pots!

In pre-industrial Europe many of the agricultural and household chores that marked the turning of the seasons attached themselves to saints' days. All across Europe, for example, people slaughtered animals and celebrated the harvest on St. Martin's Day ( see Martinmas). In England folk tradition carried this tendency one step further, inventing St. Distaff's Day to mark women's return to work after the Christmas holiday. St. Distaff's Day fell on January 7, the day after Epiphany. On this day folk tradition advised women to return to the daily chores they had put aside during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Before the invention of factory-made cloth, the task of spinning constituted perhaps the most representative of all female chores. Women of all ages, ranks, and incomes spun thread. Thus, English folk tradition commemorated women's return to work ...

  'CHRISTMAS MEETING' -  this Saturday 11th December 2021 We are looking forward to seeing members and guests at our final meeting of 2021. We will be crafting along with a member led workshop on knitted necklace, bracelet or wreath.  Bring along your choice of fibres, thick, thin, glittery and your knitting needles, crochet hooks  and any other tools you fancy using. Doors will open at 10.00 am for a 10.30 pm start.  Don't forget your food, cup and cutlery and a face mask!   Please note that it is the Stratford Victorian Market this weekend so roads will be busy and some close (see below), so avoid: Waterside (to junction of Sheep Street) Bridge Street Waterside Wood Street Meer Street Henley Street Rother Street Market (paved area) High Street Union Street Rother Street will not be closed and the access from Greenhill Street and Windsor Street into Rother Street will be maintained during this period.   Look forward to seeing you there.   ...

  GILL GREANY - "TEXTILES IN THE YURT"   Our next meeting is being held on this Saturday 20th November and will again be face to face, with Zoom for those who prefer to continue to take extra precautions or are unable to attend.   ...................   https://libreshot.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/mongolian-yurts.jpg Gill will be joining us to give us a talk, “Textiles in the Yurt”, on the work she did with Tadek Beutlich, a well know tapestry weaver and will be showing samples of the work done. Doors will open at 10.15, screens for Zoom at 10.20. The meeting will then commence at 10.30 with notices, followed by our presentation commencing at 10.50 am. Gill's talk will last about an hour, plus time for questions so our break for refreshments will be about 12.15 and we shall resume usual business around 12.45 with 'Show and Tell', the Sales table and general catching up with each other until the meeting closes at 2.30. Due to COVID guidance, coffee and tea w...

 OCTOBER MEETING  - 1st FACE TO FACE !  'STRATSPIN' CHALLENGES     This is so exciting!  Our first face to face Guild meeting in 18 months. Although we have kept in touch and active with monthly meetings on Zoom it will be great to see each other in the flesh so to speak. For those unable to attend we are planning to hold it on Zoom too.   As, sadly, the nationwide challenge 'BritSpin' is not happening this year we decided to hold our own little version.  This is not a competition but an opportunity to challenge yourself with techniques, tools, fibres and skills. Basically this is a chance to spend several hours exploring new aspects of spinning (and a few other fibre-related skills)– some serious, some simply fun – testing our skills and maybe learning new ones. Of course all this will take a little longer than a four hour meeting (especially if you allow time for catching up with news of friends you haven't seen for so long ) so there will ...