New Life for Old Stash

sooo many fine threads

 There comes a time when you have to face the reality that you are just never going to use up all those ultra fine, odd coloured, thrift shop bargain or hand-spun yarns. When you run out of ideas for stash busting scarves, it is time for a cull.  Let a fresh set of eyes have a go at making something from your excess materials.  (Spinners and felters are not immune to growing an out of control fiber stash so this applies to you as well)  Consider donating your excesses to your local guild.

The Qualicum Weavers and Spinners Guild is grateful for the many donations of equipment and materials that we have received over the years.  The donations have allowed the guild to offer our members a rich variety of programs at minimal cost.  Sometimes the donations inspire joint projects, new learning experiences or just plain fun activities.

afghan from donated yarns

Take for example the stripped afghan in the photo to the right.  It is one of 3 woven on our 90 inch loom.  The afghans were a joint project created from miscellaneous wool yarns that were acquired by the guild over a period of time.  The afghan creators had fun matching colours and yarns, designing the stripped sequences and working out issues with sett.  Someone's cast offs became 3 lovely blankets.  You might call it a Stash Busting Blanket.

studio project 

Many of our studio projects start off with a warp that is created from miscellaneous donated yarns.  Check out the lovely stripes in the turned taquete piece that the bare foot weaver is working on.

 

  

nuno felting in progress

A donation can be the inspiration for a new guild workshop or activity.  Thanks to a generous donation from Janice Charkoand we recently held a workshop on nuno-felting.  Members made silk scarves embedded with wool and silk fibres.  This was a new experience for some.  Below is one of the finished products.

Jan's ruffled scarf

Sometimes the materials need a little help to shine.  Some one with a vision and ingenuity can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.  Take for example the sweater shown in the pictures. 

sweater front

 The story starts with a donation of hand spun yarn, moves onto a dyer needing something to dye and then a knitter with some imagination.  The colour patterning is unusual because the wool was dyed with natural materials in small skeins.  The knitter made good use of the small amounts and used the blue yarn to tie the whole piece together.  The bonus with this design is that it won't show stains.

                                                                                                     

sweater back

So, if you acquired materials with good intentions and now feel you need to "de-stash" don't think of it as giving them away but think of it as giving them a new life in someone elses hands.

Weaving Workshops for the Fall

 

Our workshop committee has been busy!  

If you are a weaver interested in understanding how colour interactions can change the look of your work then you will be interested in the following.  This workshop allows you to work on your own loom in your own space.

COLOUR MAGIC On-Line

This is an On-Line course in 5 sessions.  The sessions take place Wednesdays from September 29 to October 27 via Zoom (time of day to be decided). The Instructor is Linda Wilson.     

This workshop will explore how a warp in two colours can be woven in a variety of ways to produce different effects.  Participants will weave a sampler/tea towel on their own looms using 4/8 cotton yarn.  A detailed draft will be provided. This workshop is suitable for beginner weavers.

Cost:  members $40, non-members $60.

If you ever thought you would like to try your hand at weaving you will be interested in the following.  No equipment or materials are necessary just a pair of hands and a curious mind.

        BEGINNER 1 WEAVING: An Introduction to Hand Weaving

This is an in person course and will take place in the guild studio in Qualicum Beach.  The sessions are scheduled as follows

October 2, 9:30 to 12:30, October 16, 9:30 to 12:30 and Oct 17, 9:30 to 4:30   The instructor is Sandra Schulz.

Participants will learn how to weave on a 4 shaft loom.  The course will cover, the weaving vocabulary (warp/weft etc), how to select materials, design and weave a project and how to "finish" newly woven cloth.  Students will create a sampler using materials provided by the instructor then with guidance from the instructor they will design and weave their own set of mug rugs.  Looms, weaving tools and materials for the sampler will be provided.  

For safety reasons and to ensure good one on one instruction this class is limited to 5 people.  Participants will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid 19 

Cost: members $160, non-members $210

Materials fee is $15 paid to the instructor

 

 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER FOR THESE WORKSHOPS CONTACT 

GILLIAN BEST AT   gbest@shaw.ca