Spindles & Flyers Spinning Guild

Continuing with our virtual guild gatherings, this coming Sunday, May 15, 2022, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Amanda Gilvin. We will not be hosting an in-person meeting this month. Everyone who loves textiles knows about kente cloth from Ghana, but there are many other beautiful weaving styles from West Africa. Dr. Amanda Gilvin, an art historian and writer who has done research in West Africa since 1999, will give a Zoom presentation on three types of weaving done in the... West African country of Niger--the téra-tera, the sakala, and the kounta. In her talk, A Bird’s Eye View of Textiles from Niger, Dr. Gilvin will talk about the people who make the textiles and the techniques that they use. If you would like to join our guild (please check out our website at spindlesandflyers(DOT)org to find our membership application info), your name will go on the invitation list for Zoom invites to the meeting. If you would like to attend the Zoom call without becoming a member, please send an email to our guild account at spindlesandflyers(AT)gmail.com to request a Zoom invitation. We would love to meet new people from new places in our safe, online meeting space. Be well.

After a long hiatus, Spindles and Flyers will be hosting a meeting IN PERSON! Please note that either proof of vaccination or a mask is required. Kristine Vejar and Adrienne Rodriguez, co-founders of A Verb For Keeping Warm in Oakland, CA, will be discussing Growing and Dyeing with Your Homegrown Indigo this coming Sunday, March 27. Whether you are curious about the process of indigo dyeing, growing your own indigo or just love indigo-dyed textiles and want to know more abou...t how they are created, this presentation is for all of us who love the color blue. Kristine and Adrienne's journey of growing and processing indigo stretches over ten years. They also present their work in the form of essays and instruction through the pages of their newest book "Journeys in Natural Dyeing". You can find out more about them both and the shop at: https://www.averbforkeepingwarm.com/pages/about-us Kristine and Adrienne will bring goodies for sale. Things for you to bring: Your quiet handiwork Library materials to return, due and overdue Mug for coffee or tea A bite to eat during the break Fragrance Free: please remember that guild gatherings are fragrance free, so please check your soaps, laundry products and cosmetics for fragrance. Check our website, spindlesandflyers(dot)org, for times and directions. Hope to see lots of you.

Continuing with our virtual guild gatherings, this coming Sunday, October 25, we are delighted to welcome Eva Szsabo of Seismic Yarns who will be discussing Indie Dyer R&D and Dealing with Blah Colors. Eva is a Daly City dyer who offers delicious yarns. She will talk about her process and ways to think about overdyeing existing yarns. https://seismicyarn.com/ If you would like to join our guild (please check out our website at spindlesandflyersDOTorg to find our membership application info), your name will go on the invitation list for Zoom invites to the meeting. Would love to meet new people from new places in our safe, online meeting space. Be well.

Well, it’s been a year, hasn’t it? Many challenges. Some rewards. It is my fervent wish that everyone reading this is well and safe in this time of COVID. One of the perks for me, and perhaps for you, over the past few months has been a bit more time to just stop and contemplate and ideate and create. And I am so glad that our spinning guild has found a way to continue its existence in a virtual form until we can all meet face-to-face once again. We now meet on Zoom for... our meetings! Our program chair has lined up a FABULOUS bunch of speakers and instructors who I am sure will spark our imaginations and creative juices so we can continue doing that which gives us joy in our own safe spaces. After much cogitating over the summer, the guild realized that there was absolutely no reason any longer that potential members had to be located within driving range of our meeting space in Berkeley, CA. That being said, we would very much like to encourage people from all over the world to join our guild and meet with us on the fourth Sunday of every month (September through June) at 10:30am Pacific Time to listen and learn from our lineup of guest presenters. If you would like to join (please check out our website at spindlesandflyersDOTorg to find our membership application info), your name will go on the invitation list for Zoom invites to the meeting. Some of the meetings will be presentations only. Some of them will be instructive in nature and, if any supplies are needed for your work-along participation, a list will be included in the invitation. Here is our program list for the coming 10 months. A few of them are still awaiting final confirmation, but we think this is a pretty firm list. If there are any changes, we will let you know. September 27, 2020 Will Taylor - Spinning Flax with a Distaff October 25, 2020 Eva Szsabo - R & D and Dealing with Blah Colors November 22, 2020 Alex Byrne - English Paper Quilt Piecing December 13, 2020 (not the fourth Sunday of the month) St. Fleecia Party (our own creation complete with the reading of the St. Fleecia legend) January 23-24, 2021 (Saturday longer duration workshop and Sunday presentation) Stephenie Gaustad - True Woolen Spinning February 28, 2021 Hilary Grant of Fabulous Fiberworks - Eco/Botanical Dyeing March 28, 2021 Marilyn Romatika - Uzbek Ikat April 25, 2021 Mary Madison - Plantation Slave Weavers Remember May 23, 2021 Philis Alvic - The Appalachian Weaving Centers June 27, 2021 Sit Some, Spin Some, Yak Some, Snack Some Year-End Get-Together Would love to meet new people from new places in our safe, online meeting space. Be well.

Show and Tell at guild meetings can be a bit hectic, and sometimes it is hard to see your creations. We have started a show and tell thread on Ravelry on the Spindles and Flyers forum. Please feel free to show your projects over there!

Per carbon dating, we’ve been doing this spinning fiber thing somewhere between 41,000 and 52,000 years. If you have some Neanderthal DNA (and I do) you can say it goes that far back in your family. How cool is that! https://arstechnica.com//neanderthals-made-the-worlds-old/

Big news!!! As most of you probably know, our March meeting was cancelled due to an abundance of caution. And then the isolation directives went into place making the rest of the program year impossible as a physical gathering. So we’ve gone virtual and you don’t even need a mask! You can attend attend guild meetings in your PJ’s and slippers if you so desire. As a guild member you will receive a Zoom invitation email for the April-June meetings. Between now and then, ge...t yourself a free Zoom app installed. The guild has purchased a six-month paid membership which means we can host pretty much unlimited meetings, both in number of participants and time. All you have to do is click on the meeting code in the email and you’ll be included in the gathering. Other than turning on you audio feed and video feed so we can see you and hear you, that’s just how easy it is. Many thanks to the officers who put this together so we can keep our guild energy high during our quarantine and all come out healthy on the other side.

Due to an abundance of caution relative to the Coronavirus outbreak, our March guild meeting has been cancelled. We’ll keep you posted about future developments. On a semi-related note, wouldn’t this image of COVID-19 make a wonderful embroidery pattern?!

Don't forget that our guild meetings, starting this month, will convene at the Berkeley Finnish Hall located at 1970 Chestnut Street in Berkeley. Pictures below show the exterior (so you'll know you came to the right place) and the interior (so you'll know what to expect). By all reports from our intrepid scouts, the space is wonderful; spacious, cozy, well appointed and, most important, welcoming. The 22nd of this month is the date for our annual September Stash Sale of al...l things fiber related so make sure it's on your calendar. Start cleaning out that closet of all the things that make you say "life's too short" and make room for all your new acquisitions (come on, you KNOW you'll find something you can't live without). Doesn't have to be just spinning; weaving, sewing, beading, felting, dyeing, tatting, quilting, knitting, crocheting, etc. tools, supplies and materials are all welcome. We do ask that you donate 10% of your sales to the guild. Retailers are welcome, but remember our space is limited. Things to bring: Your items to sell (and a big basket to hold your new stuff) Your quiet handiwork Library Materials to return, due and overdue Mug for coffee or tea A bite to eat during the break Please remember that guild gatherings are fragrance free, so please check your soaps, laundry products and cosmetics for fragrance. Check our website, spindlesandflyers(dot)org, for times and directions.