The Abergele Guild is on Facebook!

I tried to think of a snappy title for this post but failed, as you can see. 
Despite reservations (do we need a blog and a Facebook page?  do I really want to spend even more time on the Internet than I do already?)  we have decided to join Facebook.  The link to our nice new page is at the top of the Links section on the right.  You may also click here while this post is in view, although of course it will work its' way down the screen and eventually fall off at the bottom. I haven't discovered how to put one of those blue Facebook buttons on this (Google) blog, but maybe there's a way.
The page has been running for 24 hours, and has already attracted a lot of traffic.  The poor old national Association of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers had only had 15 "likes" in three and a half months when I visited their page yesterday - if we carry on at the rate we are doing we will pass that in less than a week.  However, I hope that people visiting our site will also see what the Association are up to on their page.
So we hope that our venture into the world of social networking will raise our profile and that of our craft, and may also attract some visitors - and even some new members?
AC

Friendship Day, Sunday April 14th 2013

Our Friendship Day was held in the Memorial Hall in LlanfairTH., on a day of gales and driving rain.  The weather really has been terrible this year!  Despite the storms most of our members managed to attend, and we had a number of visitors as well.  Tea and cake were available in huge quantities, so some of us saved our lunches till later.  We all managed to do a fair bit of spinning, and with a good variety of yarns on the bobbins our visitors had a good opportunity to see what we do with our time.

Fibres from "Mam a mi" (with my apologies for the glare off the polythene bags - I think the sun might have come out briefly!)

Thanks once again to Kath of "Mam a mi" for bringing her wonderfully dyed fibres for us to treat ourselves.

Fine felt scarves

Here is the first photograph in what I hope will be a fine collection of scarves made in Helen Melvin's workshop:

Sherry B.

 

and some more:

Yvonne

Betty

Krithia

A Grand Day Out.

Thank you very much to the Llŷn Guild for their hospitality in hosting a "sampling day" provided by Wingham Wools.  A little group of Abergele spinners travelled to Penygroes yesterday (thanks to Hilary for driving!) in the bitter, bitter cold, and we had a very good time.  Wingham's sampling days provide a wonderful opportunity to test-drive fibre before buying - and what an excellent selection there was:  from finest cashmere to recycled plastic bottles, via merino, silk, yak, many British sheep breeds and goat - (very hairy!).  It was lovely, too, to meet up with old friends whom we hadn't seen for years.

(photo to follow - the uploading mechanism appears to have stuck)
AC

Sunday March 10th: silk and fine felt with Helen Melvin

Another excellent workshop, this time with our very own Helen Melvin, who showed us how to use "prefelts" to make beautiful textiles.

Helen has evolved a very effective technique using a variety of silk fabrics, commercially made prefelt and other bits and pieces which she dyes with her own natural dyestuffs to produce the most beautiful range of colours:

The prefelts, which as the name suggests are pieces of partially felted merino fibre, are manipulated, cut and reassembled with layers of silk. The assemblage is then carefully hand-felted using olive oil soap solution.  Stitching and other embellishing techniques can be used to finish.  Helen is making a line of "wearable textiles" to complement her bags and landscape pictures, and her work can be seen at Fiery Felts .
We all made at least one piece of colourful fine felt - it was lovely to have the opportunity actually to finish something! And I, for one, am very pleased to have been introduced to the use of fine plastic dust sheet instead of net to hold the pieces in place while felting.

AC

Spinning Workshop with Ann Campbell, February 10th

Another excellent spinning workshop with Ann Campbell - this time in the smart new Sports Pavilion in Betws yn Rhos.  Thanks to Jenni Frost for arranging the venue.  Ann covered lots of topics on an individual basis, from basic skills to fancy yarns.
Thanks to Jenni also for the delicious cake, and for the photographs. 

AC