Notes from the Poppy factory

 This year being 100 years since the end of the First World War, Wonderwool Wales has initiated a Centenary Textiles project.  The aim "is to produce a Community Textile Installation", with members of the public making textile poppies to commemorate those who died between 1914 and 1918.  The Abergele Guild has been working away, producing not only the traditional red Remembrance poppies but White Peace Poppies as well (which remember everyone, including civilians, who die in all conflicts past and future).

Patterns are provided for knitting and crochet, and for "cutting out" fabric to make the flowers:  http://www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk/show-events/curtain-of-poppies.html  and we are being very helpful (!) and attaching our poppies to i-cords of green wool.  The resulting strings of poppies will be posted off to Abergavenny for JaneVeevers to assemble into a curtain with all the other contributions from across the country.   (If anyone is tempted to start a poppy or two after reading this, please note that Jane wants everything to reach her by the end of March, in time for Wonderwool in April.)  All details are on the Wonderwool website, as per link above.

Bryn will be happy not to be knitting any more poppies  after this....

Alison is assembling the other various offerings - a glorious mixture of textile techniques - looks a bit like a poppy tree this way up.

It's a little difficult to photograph two 2-metre-long strings of poppies, but I hope you get the idea...?
Many thanks to Bryn, Di and Margaret, and (in anticipation) to those of you who have made poppies but haven't given them to me yet!

AC
2018

Razzle dazzle weaving.

Spring is not here yet, but there was a little light left in the sky when we set out to our evening meeting on Monday.  The full moon was rising, which might have had something to do with it, but it's a cheerful thought that the days really are getting longer.
Yvonne is knitting a scarf known as a Quaker Yarn Stretcher (why?) (does anyone know?), which sounds fearfully complicated with decreases and increases at the ends of the rows.  However, she says it's very easy, and a great way to use up bits and pieces of yarn.

Val brought her husband's amazing rug to show us; made with her handspun fibre and woven by him on his giant, home-made pin loom.  It has been beautifully made, properly fulled, and is quite honestly a masterpiece.  Comfortingly heavy, jazzy to look at but soft to the touch.  We were all fearfully impressed, and possibly a bit jealous of such a result on a first attempt at weaving.

Our next meeting is part of our "winter tour", and then we're back again in Abergele on the fourth Monday in March (which is Easter Monday, and it will be Summertime!!)
AC

All Wales Meeting, Llanidloes 2015

Another minor miracle - like bring-a-platter buffets which turn out to have just the right
ingredients without there being a plan - Abergele's display had a good selection of yarns, colours
and techniques. Although I didn't, Jenni did have a plan and the flow of textiles across our space represented a mountain range. Compliments were received! So, thank you everyone who put their work in. Fewer members of the public this year but guilds were out in force. Displays included a little black dress, woven boxes, unusual fibres such as yak. Ours was the only one to go Roman and use LX for 60 years on our Challenge board.

B.T.

A nice day with books and wool.

A small group of us this Sunday, but some interesting pieces for our "show and tell":

Yvonne's Möbius loop scarf, made with yarn from Katie Weston's fibre blending session:

Jenni's peg looming - going to be a nice warm seat cover:

And Alison's locker-hooked seat covers:

Both sets of seat covers show excellent ways to use spare yarn or fabric; as peg looms produce a weft-faced yarn, they certainly get through the yarn!
Bryn was busy knitting pieces for a "free-form" jacket, but didn't take any photographs of them.
We had the usual tea, cake and chat - mostly about books, for a change.  Some of us read on-line, some prefer real books, and some read so much that we need both virtual and paper pages.

(By the way, does anyone know how to post photographs direct from Gmail or Google Drive to Blogger?  It seems illogical to have to download to a PC and then upload them again. There doesn't seem to be any way to get the various bits of Google to communicate?????)
AC

Sunday 13th. Jan: felted bowls

Our first meeting of 2013 was held in the Memorial Hall in Llanfair, as our usual venue is not open after the flooding in December.  Rosie Smith kindly came all the way from her new home in Snowdonia to show us how to make felted woollen vessels.  Using rovings, or very loosely spun yarn, and big knitting needles, Rosie knits h..u..g..e baggy bags and then felts them in the washing machine at 60 degrees (using a pair of trainers to provide friction, and not forgetting to put the knitting in a bag to avoid clogging up the washing machine with fluff).  The shrinkage is remarkable.  Rosie then stretches the felted bowl over a suitably sized pudding basin and leaves it to dry.  She also showed us how to spin a loose, "lofty" yarn using a modified long draw technique.  Some of us made a good start on a bowl, and others took the instructions away with us to try later.
We had a good opportunity to catch up on each other's news; a new home on a National Trust estate; a grandson off to study with Jamie Oliver; a daughter awaiting the publication of her new, contemporary version of the Canterbury Tales.  And of course, lots of chat about spinning and textiles generally.
Our temporary venue was very satisfactory and felt lovely and warm when we arrived.  However, as the temperature dropped and the snow fell outside we began to feel the chill and crawled away to our burrows before 3o'clock!
Bryn has kindly taken some photographs:

AC

Sunday, January 8th., 2012

Another successful Sunday meeting, with a good attendance (on a drop-in basis!).  Jenni had a successful Woolsack event, stuffing cushions for the Olympic athletes (see our Woolsack page link here)

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OPEN SUNDAY, December 11th

Another successful Sunday Spinning (and knitting, crocheting and talking).  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so no photographs, (but I was battling with imminent flooding at the back of the house, so I have an excuse).  We all got through a good deal of fibre in the course of six hours, and produced some gorgeous coloured yarn.  The shared lunch was a great success, with two kinds of delicious soup, pies, cakes, salad, chocolate, mince pies.....
The hall was nice and warm, after a period when the heaters were definitely not working properly,  the weather improved during the day and the River Elwy stayed in its' course despite some early indications to the contrary.  Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 21st., after which we are having a Christmas/New Year break from textile production.
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i bawb!
AC

New Page added

May I draw everyone's attention to our new Page, which will focus on the activities of The Woolsack - British Wool cushions for the London Olympic Games, 2012:  http://abergelewsd.blogspot.com/p/woolsack-for-london-olympic-games.html

Woodfest Wales 2011

We will be at Woodfest Wales over the next Bank Holiday weekend (May 28th, 29th and 30th.) and look forward to meeting friends and visitors. Last year we had a good time, and reasonable weather although it was a bit cold when the sun went in.  Whether we will be as lucky this year remains to be seen:  after an unseasonably hot and dry April, May has been unseasonably cold and wet.
For more details about Woodfest, click on the link above.
A.C.

Nearly there?

At our evening meeting this week, the Ty Hafan blanket was spread out on the floor - and it's almost finished.  At least, only a couple more squares are required, and quite a lot of the ones we have are sewn together.  Perhaps we will complete it before the All Wales Meeting in Llanidloes in October, two years after we started?
AC

Crafts at Trefriw Woollen Mills 2010

Hand spinning demonstations:-

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m until end September

Sunday 19th September and Saturday 25th September (http://www.helfagelf.co.uk/)

Wednesdays (Wendy Docksey) throughout October 10 a.m . 5 p.m.

Felt making demonstrations with Anne Campbell:-

Tuesdays throughout October 10 a.m .- 4.30 p.m.

Rag Rug making demonstrations with Christine Birch:-

Thursdays throughout October 10 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.

Textile Market Saturday 4th December and Sunday 5th December 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.:-

Handmade Christmas gifts plus materials and equipment for textile makers.

Demonstrations on Sunday morning:- hand spinning with hand spindle and spinning wheel, rag rug making, peg loom weaving, weaving on triangular loom, aran knitting, basket making, felt making,

Exhibitors:- Anne Campbell, Gwendolyn Docksey, Helen Melvin, Christine Birch, Mandy Coates, Maggie Oliver, Ann Hughes, Serentex, Gwen Owen, Margaret Hiorns, The Crafty Ladies