OPEN SHEDS September 2004
September Meeting Details
When: Sunday, September 19th 2 pm- 4 pm
Location: Madison Public Library
Activity: Fellowship and Sharing
What to Bring: An Item for Show and Tell

Meeting Details:
The tea is our annual kick off for our guild year. Come enjoy your fellow weaver’s company. Bring your latest projects to share. We will have old issues of Handwoven and Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot for sale at minimal prices. There will also be a door prize, the new book Compendium of Finishing Techniques. We hope to see you!

President's Message:
First, let me thank our past president, Alison, for a great two years. I hope I can keep the ball rolling!

This summer went by very quickly for me. I had hoped to have a good portion of my color gamp done by now, but I have yet to warp the loom. So the coming month will be filled with weaving, for me. However, I did get to try my hand at tie-dyeing (I will not call my simple approach shibori) thanks to Emily’s wonderful indigo dye day. I will bring a few pieces to the Membership Tea for show and tell.
I have also continued to improve my spinning technique: drop spindle only! As long as I don't acquire another large piece of equipment, I feel just fine about taking on yet another craft. In my search for more spinning information, I found two web sites that I've returned to multiple times. One is an on-line magazine: www.handspinners.com. Despite the name, this site has items of interest for anyone interested in the fiber arts. The other site, www.icanspin.com, has excellent videos that helped me to understand Navajo plying. Of course, in order to Navajo ply, I suspect I may need to learn to use a wheel and move beyond the drop spindle. And I said I would never really be a spinner!
I am looking forward to the coming year. We have some fun programs planned for the Guild, beginning with our Membership Tea, which has been moved to Sunday to avoid conflict with the Trail of Tears ride. Please join us at the Membership Tea (Sunday, September 19, 2-4pm at the Madison Public Library). Bring any items you've been working on this summer that you would like to share. Come and enjoy an afternoon with friends old and new!
~Beth

Projects for Travel Survey
The question was, "What fiber projects do you carry with you when you travel?" and The Survey says:
Annette: I carry my knitting bag everywhere I go. In my knitting bag I keep my drop spindle with some roving, my takli spindle( and a pottery bowl as I learned the hard way not to use the takli on my jeans or leg - OUCH -)with some cotton roving, a counted cross stitch kit, and various knitting projects - mostly small ones like socks, caps, bookmarks, etc. and a plastic drawstring bag to pop one of the little knitting projects and my cell phone into when I have to stand in line. I have taken my bag of junk, as my husband refers to it, every where I go since my husband was badly injured in a car accident several years ago and was taken to two different hospitals for emergency treatment, and there was nothing to do while I waited in the E.R. It came in handy the day my car malfunctioned in town and I had to wait several hours at the car dealership for it to be repaired.
Virginia: She carries tatting to work on while traveling. She even offered to teach tatting if anyone was interested.
Emily: I tried taking Japanese braiding using the card method on the plane. It worked well and no metal parts. I still have it tucked in my purse for the next time I have to wait.

August Fun Day
We had a wonderful time at Emily's house dyeing. There were eight of us gathered and we managed to find a window of good weather in which to dye. Emily found an amazing Shibori book from the Decataur library, which helped inspired us to experiment with different techniques. We dyed aprons, cotton fabric, and silk fabric. It was very exciting to watch the results of our experiments unfold. We made stripes, checks, dots, spirals, sunbursts, and other patterns. We also got to experiment with different methods of producing indigo dye. Emily had made a pot of indigo using dates and we made a pot of indigo using urea. Thanks for hosting us Emily!

Would you like to host our December Lunch?
We are considering a potluck lunch in December instead of going to a restaurant. Are you interested in hosting the Guild on December 18 for our holiday lunch? If so, please contact Beth or Kathleen. Thank you!

Huntsville Fiber Guild Displays
Great news! We will be celebrating Worldwide Spinning and Weaving Week (Oct. 4- 10 ,2004 ) by having not one but two exhibits.
The first exhibit will be in the Decatur Library display cases Sept. 15-30. Then we will move parts of the exhibit to the Madison library window for the entire month of October.
This is a request for items to display. We would like to feature the wonderful projects that you have made in the last two years. Also we would like to show people what the guild does, so we want items that were made in the guild programs(or at home afterwards) during the last year. (Felt, round robin workshop, braids, color gamp, handspun samples or finished items) Also, we would like any pictures of our meetings or activities.
Emily and Beth will be collecting items. Please email or call Emily or Beth with a list of items you wish to exhibit and we will work out a drop point. Please note that the display will begin before our next meeting. All items must be at Beth's or Emily's by September 14th. Additionally, items may be dropped off at the Madison County Senior Center from 9:00-11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 1 and Wednesday, September 8.
Each display item must have an attached label with your name, fiber content, and techniques used. Items will be in a locked case in both locations. Also indicate if we can use the item in one or both displays.

The Guild has formed a new Education Committee. This committee will focus on children's education, and Cyndi was named as chairperson. If you have any ideas for this committee or would like to volunteer please contact Cyndi.

The board has also taken on the task of setting up a guild website. Beth will lead this project and hopes to be able to provide us with local and national links.

Guidelines for use of HFG Equipment
As mentioned in previous newsletters, our guild is now home to equipment donated from Huntsville High School. The board has developed the following guidelines on use of this equipment. An inventory of the items will be available in the near future.
·Guild equipment is to be loaned out to members only. In the event that a non-member wishes to borrow equipment, they must join the Guild before they may borrow equipment.
·Members must leave a fully refundable deposit with the Guild when they borrow equipment. The deposit is to be ~50% of the replacement cost of the equipment. The deposit is fully refundable when the equipment is returned.
·Subject to pre-approval by the Board, a member may be reimbursed for parts necessary to repair any equipment borrowed from the Guild.