Joy Hilden will give a presentation on Bedouin Spinning and Weaving
at the Spindles & Flyers meeting November 20, 11:00 AM in El Cerrito.

Her slide and lecture program will include:

• Her travels to visit nomads in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries.

• Bedouin weaving – what it is and how it is made.

• Complete information about spinning, dyeing, and weaving techniques and tools.

• Saudi Arabian Bedouin spinning demonstration.

Her book will be available for sale. For details, see
http://spindlesandflyers.org

Due to the success of the 2010 Return to Sender challenge and the beautiful batts provided this year, we have had a surge in participation.  In response people purchased their fiber early for next Mays conference and we have officially sold out of batts for Return to sender 2012!

Mary Finley and Roger Salter dyed and prepared the fiber this year.  They will have a booth at CNCH if members missed out on this year’s competition but still want to purchase naturally dyed batts in similar but not identical colors.

Let the spinning portion of Return to Sender begin……

Wendy

All these batts will become wonderful yarns on display in the Return to Sender Gallery at CNCH 2012 Oakland, May 18 – 20, 2012.

Report on Sustainable Cotton Harvest in Los Baños

Cotton Project hosted their annual tour of the Lost Baños cotton harvest last November, and Susan will report on her experience.  So many issues surround cotton as an industry and fiber that Susan has a love / hate relationship with cotton. She’ll touch on global trade, history, agriculture, biology, farmers, and how the Sustainable Cotton Project evolved in central California.

One of the Project farmers provided 20 pounds of raw, organic, naturally green colored cotton. There will be spinning tools and fiber preparations to try followed by a slide show of November’s harvest. Feel the difference in cotton varietals.

Try ginning cotton with a pasta machine; former S&F member Lynn Ruggles shows her techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DhCp0mDYe0

Try carding punis. Try your hand at spinning cotton with takli, charkha, drop spindle and support spindles.

For additional information, see the article  in the Spring 2011 edition of CNCHnet:
http://www.cnch.org/cnchnet/spring-2011/cotton-harvesting-in-los-banos/

Spindles & Flyers Guild is proud to present a class for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by junk mail.  Frank Mikulastik will teach us how to turn unwanted mail and advertising into beautiful paper.  Bring your unwanted colorful junk mail and advertising and the urge to create beauty from trash.

When:  November 20, 2010
11 AM – 4 PM
Where: SOMArts
934 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA

Guild members will have preference for signing up for the workshop; however, if space is available non-Guild members are welcome to join the workshop.

On Sunday, November 21, at our November guild meeting Frank Mikulastik will be the featured speaker.

To sign up for the workshop and more details:

Class fee:  $35 to Spindles & Flyers
Materials fee:  $30 to teacher at beginning of class.

There are still 5 places available in this class.  If interested please email Alicia Woods at alw.  Note that the full cost of the class is $65.

Carin Engin is an award-winning fiber artist and workshop instructor who has been using her experimental, playful nature to explore felting and color seriously since 1992. She maintains a studio in Garberville, California, where she produces a line of hand-dyed wool fabric and fiber as well as her felt art. She is an enthusiastic teacher who encourages innovation in her students’ work.

Weaver, spinner, dyer, knitter, author of several books and indexer of Spin Off magazine, Bobbie brings a wealth of expertise and research to teaching. Spend the day constructing a rug sample using cloth.

Time: App.6 hours, exact times to be announced
Location: Quaker Meeting House, San Francisco
Cost: $55 per person, payable to Spindles & Flyers, plus $10 materials fee to be paid to instructor on day of class.

Registration due by Jan 20th. Contact Amy: spindlesandflyers

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Felting with Carin Engen – March 27

Carin taught rug felting at CNCH Sonoma last spring and the class produced fantastic rugs. This one day workshop will focus on a smaller object, either a purse or container. As Carin will supply all materials this workshop is ideal for those how have not yet felted, as well as offering expertise for experienced felters.

Time: App. 6 hours, exact times to be announced
Location: Quaker Meeting House, San Francisco
Cost: $90 per person which includes materials, payable to Spindles & Flyers

Registration due by Feb 27th. Contact Amy: spindlesandflyers

More information on Carin’s web site:
http://www.thetinthimble.com/carinengen.html

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Spinning Alpaca with Kaye Collins – April 24

Learn to spin this luxury fiber, or perfect your technique.

Time: App. 6 hours, exact times to be announced
Location: Quaker Meeting House, San Francisco
Cost: $65 per person, payable to Spindles & Flyers, plus $15 materials fee to be paid to instructor on day of class.

Registration due by March 24th. Contact Amy: spindlesandflyers

November 22  at 11 AM
Fairmount Clubhouse
715 Lexington Ave, El Cerrito

Break away from your fine two ply to meet a spinner who thinks differently. Lexi Boeger is the author of Handspun Revolution and Intertwined. She makes unique and unusual yarns and will be giving us a trunk show with samples of her work. We are requesting a $5 guest donation for this program. See more information on our web site:
http://www.spindlesandflyers.org

A sample of boucle designer yarn from wiki commons:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MakingBoucleYarn.JPG

October 24 Meeting and Program:  
In Search of Lost Colour, A MAIWA DVD on Natural Dyes.

November 22 Program:
Lexi Boeger, Plucky Fluff, novelty yarn designer extraordinaire. She will host a slide show and truck show of her designs. We ask a $5 guest fee for non-guild members.

For additional information and directions, please see our web site at:
http://spindlesandflyers.org

Or email: spindlesandflyers AT gmail.com