Gwrych Castle Medieval Weekend, August 18th. & 19th. 2018

Another action-packed weekend for the Guild at Gwrych Castle in Abergele.
Val, Betty and Alison entered into the spirit of the "Medieval" theme, and demonstrated low-tech. spinning for two days with scarcely a break for meals.  Our stand was in an excellent spot up on the terrace, right on the itinerary of the Castle Tour, and hundreds of people stopped to talk to us.  We lost count of the number of times we had our photographs taken, and were very grateful not to be out in the blazing sun.
We had a beautiful variety of naturally dyed fleece and dyeplants for the public to see, courtesy of Val, and we kept to our drop spindles in accordance with the period (no modern spinning wheels with carbon fibre bearings for us this weekend!).  Betty came to join us on the Sunday with the star of the show - a Great (or Walking) wheel.
There was hardly time to look round the rest of the event: re-enactment of medieval living and armed combat, plant sales in the formal garden, birds of prey, horses, traders....
Many thanks to the Gwrych Castle Trust for inviting us.  Have a look at their website and try to support their events if you can - they have just bought the castle and need all the help they can get.

Entering into the spirit of the thing.

An elegant demonstration of long draw spinning!
Perhaps we should make some medieval-style hangings to disguise our gazebo next year.

AC
2018

Gwrych Medieval Fair, August 20th. 2017

(two posts in a week.... very unusual!)

We go to some interesting places in our lives as spinners, weavers and dyers:  Gwrych Castle is one such, and it's getting more interesting all the time.  The castle was built in the early 1800s in "mediaeval" style, but later fell into disuse.  In the 20th century it became increasingly derelict but in 1997 a Trust was formed to preserve the site and as much of the castle as possible.  Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust now has a 25-year lease on 5 acres of the site, and runs several public open days a year.
Their Medieval (no "a" for some reason) Fair is becoming an annual event - we were there last year, on the terrace with Val and Alan and the trusty camper van to which we tether our stand.  Unfortunately Val and Alan were away this year, so we apologised to the Trust and said we could attend only if we had somewhere to hammer in tent pegs to secure the gazebo.  They promised us a nice spot on the main field with the re-enactors.  However, following a freak gust of wind on the Saturday, several traders were forced to leave taking their twisted and wrecked tents with them -  leaving a prime pitch for us, right in the middle of the action next to the mead seller, with the best of the sunlight all day (until it rained, but that was much later).

Jenni and the display in the gazebo.

The "authentic" side of the field, demonstrating living in the early Middle Ages,  armour and clothing from the Wars of the Roses (and knightly children's games).

The other side of the field, with lots of interesting things to buy - and the most futuristic "gazebo" ever?

After seeing some very anachronistic stuff at the recent Conwy Tournament, I suggested that we might just demonstrate things more in keeping with the mediaeval period - one thing led to another, and here are Jenni and I all dressed up:

Photograph courtesy of Noël Carter.
Jenni has her beautiful (expensive?) top-whorl spindle, and I have my handmade clay-weight-on-a-stick.

We had a lot of compliments (Making an Effort is obviously a good thing) and several of the serious re-enactors came for lessons in drop spindling and braid weaving.
As always, there was lots of interest from members of the public. There was also, as there sometimes is, a fair bit of confusion between "spinning" and "weaving", which we were able to put right.  And some folk genuinely do not know that wool comes from a sheep and cotton is from a plant, and that they are not the same thing at all.  We like to think that we were able to explain the differences and send everyone on their way fully enlightened.
Betty joined us in the afternoon, but by this time I had forgotten about my camera - so no more photographs.  Not even of the genuine Viking cat - a grey and white Norwegian Forest Cat sitting in a harness, graciously making friends with all and sundry.  I want one.  But I would need a mortgage. https://www.nfcc.co.uk
The weather was kind until the last hour, when it tipped down and everyone scurried to take down their dripping tents without shooting too much water into their luggage.  Jenni now has the job of drying our gazebo in her barn.  And I have discovered that a) it's easy to work in a long skirt if you hitch it up, and b) linen and ramie dry incredibly quickly.
Many thanks to Mark and Robin for inviting us, to our fellow participants for their interest and welcome, and of course to Jenni and Betty for their sterling work on our stand.
AC
2017

Another busy Monday meeting

The diversity of spinning and weaving was evident at our Monday evening meeting this week:  drop-spindling, spinning on wheels, spinning fancy yarn, weaving - you name it, we were doing it.

Yvonne and her drop spindle.

Val and the mini-pin loom.

Hilary and a midi pin loom.

More glorious colours from Edith.

Bryn's super-coil slub yarn.

The pièce de résistance: Edith's very first weaving.

(and the cake picture)

We were pleased to have a visit from Jules, who had spent the previous few days spinning at the Conwy Tournament, and hope she might join us again in the future.  As usual, Val had excelled herself and produced an amazing cake with fruit from her garden.
Thanks to all who attended - see you again soon.
AC

Abergele Hospital Fête

Another gig on home territory, this time at the Abergele Hospital League of Friends Summer Fête on Saturday, June 24th.  Jenni and Alison (now experts in Gazebo pitching) spent an enjoyable couple of hours entertaining and being entertained.
The weather was kind - a little breezy and overcast to start with, but turning warm and sunny as the afternoon progressed.  The visitors were plentiful, and interested to watch us turning fibre into yarn.  Lots of intelligent questions, and some possible new members; we gave out lots of business cards and flyers, so we'll see if anyone takes the step of joining us.  They will, of course be very welcome.
There was plenty of good quality musical entertainment - a brass band, a Welsh children's choir and some talented musical sixth formers from the local school.

Thanks to the organisers for inviting us - we hope to be back next year!

Just gearing up for a successful day, and trusting that the weather forecast is correct. 

The band strikes up.

A prime corner plot for the gazebo.

Gwrych Castle Open Day, Sunday June 5th.

A gloriously hot June day - possibly a bit too hot - finds Val, Alan and Alison at Gwrych Castle Open Day.
 Gwrych Castle is a slightly odd place:  a Victorian castle-residence-folly which has been semi derelict for years.  If you look it up in Wikipedia you read that it is a hotel and leisure centre.  It isn't.
I am not entirely sure who actually owns it ("EPM UK"), but the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust is doing stalwart work to maintain and restore the site http://gwrychtrust.co.uk .
They kindly invited us back after last year's successful gig, and we had a prime site on the upper terrace.  This had the benefit (as the estate agents say) of a spectacular view across Abergele to Liverpool Bay.  There was also some welcome shade as the sun swept round to its' zenith.
Val and Alan came in their camper van, which provided a windbreak and tea-making facilities in one.  Thanks are due to Jenni F. for lending her gazebo; all in all we had a very comfortable, even luxurious, pitch.
Although visitor numbers were perhaps a little lower than expected, we had lots of interest in our spinning.  People came from all over the U.K. -  most were on half term holiday, and many were staying in the campsite at the bottom of the hill.
Our friends of JuMu designs were weaving away behind us; the mediaeval knights and their retainers were battling away below us, and conjuring, fire-eating and stilt-walking were all on display.
Val brought her prized Scandinavian wheel, a present from one of her sons who carried it personally (in his rucksack?) all the way from Denmark.  It isn't in working order yet, but Alan has plans for it.  Val was spinning Jacob's fleece from the farm park at the bottom of the hill - very appropriate to the time and place - and I kept in with the mediaeval flavour by drop spindle spinning woad dyed fleece.

AC

Friendship Day 2016: hello and goodbye

Once again, we had a lovely time at our Friendship Day meeting friends old and new.  Somehow, calling it a "friendship" day seems to guarantee a good atmosphere:  everyone comes to enjoy themselves, have a good natter and possibly do a bit of spinning.

The Committee and our Catering Officer (hello, Val!) arrived bright and early to set up the tables and get the kitchen under control, followed by our stallholders and their wonderful stuff.  Thanks to "Nunoco" for their grand spread of mixed and coloured fibres, Krithia for her pots (including some very desirable spinning bowls), Pea Restall of the Peculiar Gallery for some scrumptious ceramic buttons, and Helen Melvin for her naturally dyed fleece, books and inks.

Setting up...

Nunoco - their little packets of fibre have wonderful names: batt droppings, anyone?!

... and in full swing:

 

Especial thanks to Chris Jukes for bringing some of her enormous collection of spindles for "supported" spinning, and for giving a fascinating talk and demonstration.  

Chris taught herself to use a supported spindle in ten-minute bursts while watching the Tour de France some years ago, and is now completely addicted.  Her collection of spindles and spindle bowls must be second to none: all kinds from simple whittled wooden sticks to spindles with sophisticated spun glass ends like miniature paper weights.  After keeping us all spellbound by spinning a fine and even yarn, she generously allowed us to pore over the collection and a couple of brave souls had a go.....  the trick is to use a long draw technique, and to have a nice shiny and stable bowl on your knees to keep the spindle safe.

Many, many thanks to Bryn and Jenni for their hard work in organising the stalls, the raffle and the stash table (and thanks to Jenni for "fixing" the raffle so that everyone got a prize!).  Thanks also to those who brought cake and biscuits.  We packed up a little early, tidied and swept up and were out of the hall at four o'clock on the dot.  

As you may remember if you've been following this blog, we have a new venue for our Sunday meetings from next month onwards.  Today we said "goodbye / hwyl fawr"  to the Community Centre in Llanfair T.H., set the burglar alarm and locked up for the last time.  We have had some good times in Llanfair but we are looking forward to moving into our new home in Betws y Rhos for Katie Weston's core spinning workshop on May 8th.  See you there!

AC

Spring is here -

- the clocks went forward yesterday and Storm Katie has (thank goodness) passed us by.  That isn't to say that the weather here has been completely balmy and Springlike; Easter weekend was pretty nasty, and one of our members has apparently been snowed in at home for over a week.
However,  Bank Holidays don't stop us from enjoying our spinning if we can get out, and we met as usual in Abergele tonight.
Val has made a crochet picot edging for her her pin loom poncho , and it's perfect.

Yvonne also finishes her handspun articles:

And everyone else is working up to being in a position to finish their stuff, too:

Look closely, and note the worsted combs...

Lovely even spinning from Edith.

Natural dyes on tussah silk ready for Helen's drop spindle.

Chunky "heather mixture" from Jenni.

And finally:  The Cake Picture (haven't had one of these for a while).

Our next "gig" is our Friendship Day in LlanfairTH on Sunday, April 10th.  Hope to see you there!

AC

Spinning Sunday

For once the weather has been kind:  cold certainly, but also dry and sunny.  The snowdrops are out, the daffodils are out in some places and the lambs are skipping around the fields.   So where were we?  Indoors, spinning.
Half a dozen of us met at Hilary's house and luxuriated in her large, centrally heated living room with a view across the valley through the French windows.  The birds feeding in her garden provided almost as much interest as the spinning; all the "usual" culprits (bluetits, great tits, chaffinches, robins, collared doves, a wren and a coal tit) but also a great spotted woodpecker which caused a lot of pleasure with its bright red cap.  And then, several fly-pasts by the local sparrow hawk, who didn't actually catch anything.
But back to the spinning:
Two of the earliest arrivals spent a happy morning mastering the art of using a drop spindle (and one of them had done no spinning at all previously).  Drop spindles are so portable, and of course perfect for hypnotising babies...

(note also Kate's beautiful knitted slippers).
The rest of us took advantage of a whole day to ourselves to fill bobbins for our latest projects (or just to fill bobbins with no particular project in mind).  It's amazing how much you can do when you just sit and spin. And as always, no two wheels are exactly the same.  Here's one of Hilary's:

Thanks very much to her for the hospitality and unlimited cups of tea.
AC
2016

Masterclass with Ann Campbell, Sunday Nov. 8th.

Another well chosen "workshop" on Sunday: Ann Campbell shared her extensive knowledge with us in a Masterclass. 
Ann is one of North Wales' most experienced textile artists, specialising in handspinning and dyeing.  She started our day by explaining and demonstrating the technique of long-draw spinning, which was completely new to some of us:  thanks to Ann's expert help we were all able to produce a lovely lofty yarn in double quick time. (Our newest member "got" the technique in a trice, and was whizzing away as to the manner born within minutes!)

General busy-ness.  Note the long draw spinning!

Thereafter Ann gave us all individual tuition on any topic we asked, from the preparation of wool and cotton to the plying and finishing of hanks of spun yarn.  She also showed the whole group new ways of blending fibre using blending boards - simply made by fixing a large piece of carding cloth onto a bread board.  While not suited to the preparation of large quantities of fibre, a blending board has the great advantage of taking up far less space than a drum carder, and it costs a fraction of the price.  We rummaged happily in Ann's boxes of gorgeous hand dyed fibres and were soon able to produce attractive multicoloured punis  for spinning at our leisure, using the techniques of art yarn spinning Ann demonstrated on her own wheel.  She brought some beautiful examples of her own spinning and knitting to enthuse us, and we have resolved to use up all our bits and pieces of yarn and fibre, and Make Something.

Before...

....and after the Abergele Guild had been at the boxes.

Purple tops and hand knitted foot covers (with apologies for the unflattering viewpoint).

More busy-ness.

All in all, this was a wonderful day with a warm and positive atmosphere inside the hall, contrasting with the bleak weather outside.  To crown everything, we were treated to a wonderful soup-and-bread lunch by Val, our catering suprema. Other members chipped in with some bits and pieces, including delicious cake, and the result was a real feast.
So, many thanks to Ann for her generous and expert tuition and to Bryn and Val for the organisation.

Friendship Day, 2015

Thank you very much to all who helped to make our Friendship Day such a success on Sunday, April 12th. The weather was, quite frankly, terrible:  windy, cold and wet, and we were very glad to be inside.  Despite the poor travelling conditions our visitors came from all over the area, and by lunchtime the hall was a veritable hive of activity; spinning, weaving, braiding, knitting, crocheting and more.
As usual, our "Stash table" provided a way of getting rid of unwanted stuff, before restocking with gorgeously dyed fibres from "Mam a mi.  Jenni Frost brought some prepared fleece from her flock of Shetland sheep (and didn't take much home). 
Our request to bring a plate of food" turned up trumps, and people brought a brilliant variety of goodies, from home made bread and biscuits to exotic chocolate traybake, with all sorts of savouries and sweets in between.  We had lots of unsolicited help with the washing up, too, which was greatly appreciated.

Waiting for the rush...

Mam, ( "Mam a mi") and some very tempting packets of fibre.

Jenni's Shetland stall.

Busy,

busy, busy.

So, that's over for another year, but there are lots of other opportunities for us to meet like-minded spinners and weavers over the next twelve months, starting with the Clwyd Guild Friendship Day in Llysfasi next Saturday.
A.C.

Another month almost finished..

..and another evening meeting in Abergele.  Fortunately the roadworks finished today, and access to Capel Mynydd Seion is now unimpeded.  As usual our members had brought a varied selection of fibres for spinning, and we all managed to spin a yarn (or two).
And thanks once more to Val for the cake!

Busy hands no. 1:  Helen and her own natural-dyed fine fibres.

Busy hands 2.: June knitting basket stitch.

Bryn spinning Shetland fleece for her Certificate of Achievement.  The fine, fluffy short staple is quite a challenge.

Hilary spinning a luscious green mix from Hilltop Cloud fibres.

Activity on one side of the room

and on the other side, too.

See you all at our Friendship Day next month.
AC