Tuesday 19 October 2010

Friends at Frodsham


Rosie, J-M. and Alison travelled to Frodsham, to the Cheshire Guild Friendship Day on Saturday, October 16th. (Thank you to Rosie for driving). We had a lovely day meeting old friends and making new ones - so thank you also to our hosts in Frodsham. We were particularly pleased to see Kath and her daughter: Kath (of Krafty Kreations) has not been able to come to our Guild meetings recently but is hoping to get back to LlanfairTH again in the near future.
The "shared meal" (everyone bringing a contribution) provided a great spread of delicious food, including pudding - or dessert, if you wish. We were tempted by P&M Woolcraft and B's crafts stalls, but managed not to spend too much money! As well as exchanging chat and information, we managed to get some spinning done; a productive day all round

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Dorset Buttons, Wednesday 13th. October




 
Thank you very much to Bryn for introducing (or re-introducing) us to Dorset Buttons this evening.  These intricate and attractive buttons are made by forming a base of blanket stitch around a ring of metal, plastic or bone, then forming "spokes" of yarn and weaving in and around to fill the centre of the ring.  This is a perfect way of making unique buttons to complement garments of handspun yarn.

For more information, see http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42688/how-to-make-dorset-buttons/page/all   and http://www.thedorsetpage.com/history/Button_Making/button_making.htm  and of course, the British Button Society .

The process proved so intriguing that we scarcely had time to do any of the freeform knitting which Rosie had promised to show us in the second half of the evening - another time, perhaps?

We were also very pleased to welcome no fewer than three new members, and hope to see them often in the future.  Thank you very much to Rosie and J-M. for the tea, and especially for the cake.

Hard at work...


A selection of suitable rings for button making



Monday 11 October 2010

Friendship Day, October 2010


Our Friendship Day drew nearly 50 people to Llanfair Talhaiarn, to spin, weave, chat and browse the stalls. Nearby Guilds, Clwyd, Lleyn, Chester, Cheshire (Frodsham), were represented. There were also 14 wheels.
Local sellers, Trefriw Woollen Mill and Fiery Felts, offered craft tools, books, hand dyed wool and dyes. Anvil pottery drew its usual adherents and more. Helen gave a demonstration of solar dyed fabric with an iron solution. So easy, apparently!
Val's bric-à-brac stall for charity did well, as did the books and craft materials table.
Thank you to all our visitors. It was pleasant to meet up with old friends and new. Thanks too to all members who took part. You worked your socks off.
posted on behalf of Bryn.