Tuesday, December 4, 2018

December Show & Tell - Happy Holidays

The DCWS Guild had their final meeting for 2018.  We will resume our regular meetings
on January 8th, 2019    Wishing everyone all the best for a Happy Holiday Season.

We will leave you with a sampling from December Show & Tell 

Judy with Indigo Dyes Fabric



Anita's adorable doll
Lynda's Blue Fabric

Johanne's Wicker Angles and Cute Hats
Elaine 'Sparkles'

Jan K's knitting
JoAnne's  knitting





It wouldn't be show & tell without some really gorgeous tea towels










Christmas Craft at the Guild

One Guild meeting in November is traditionally given over to learning a new Christmas Craft.
This year Helen and Johanne showed us how to make simple Star decorations.


Supplies:  2 pieces of corrugated cardboard cut in 2"squares
                 2 pieces of coloured paper (christmas wrap or a photo)
                 Yarn       -     8 pins  -   tape

Construction:  
- coloured paper is taped on cardboard and cardboard pieces are aligned to form a star shape.
- pins are inserted in points of the star
- yarn is wrapped around the cardboard - from top pin wind yarn around back of two pins - then around front of next three pins - repeat until cardboard is filled up. (yarn is wrapped on the inside - laying flat against the previous wrap).   pattern can be found on pintrest

Setting up the supplies



Pretty Stars

Indigo Day

Long before synthetic dyes, Indigo (blue) dye was created in many cultures around the globe.  The plants and process varied from region to region, but the result was the same - a beautiful blue.   The fascination with natural Indigo dyeing still exists and there is a quiet resurrection of the process in various areas of the world.

We encouraged members to bring examples of their experience with Indigo dyeing and were delighted to see the tables full of exquisite work.  So many shades of blue and not enough time for all the show & tell.  To be continued at Dec. 4th meeting.
















Thursday, November 1, 2018

Anita's Silk Road Adventure

Anita recently returned from a trip to Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan; two countries on the traditional 'Silk Road'.  She gave a presentation about her adventure to the DCWS guild.  It was interesting to learn about the culture and history of this region and the guild members were especially keen to hear of the Fibre industry. Kyrgystan is known for its Margelan silk, produced in the Fergana Valley and Ikat woven cloth. There are plenty of sheep about for the felt makers to continue working in their craft, producing traditional cloth for Yurts and wonderful items for tourist & export. Interesting, the principal crop in Uzbekistan is cotton, a hold over from days of Russian rule.   Lucky for us, Anita purchased a good selection of items on her journey and had a great show & tell table for us to view.  Thank you Anita for sharing your amazing adventures on a bit of the Silk Road

The stitching on the pillow
is an example of what is done on traditional Suzanis
(blanket like hangings that were used to decorate Yurts)



Handspun Silk Embroidery

This type of hand stitching is often found on men's felted hats

Felting - now a cottage industry


Wood Block Print on Silk



Ikat weaving with silk
Silk Paper

Nuno Felting
Artist:  Aidai Asangulova
(her website is interesting)










Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Visit to Inca Dinca Do Farm & Fibery

DCWS visited Inca Dinca Do Farm & Fibery in beautiful North Saanich on Vancouver Island.
Scenic Fall day at Inca Dinca Do

The Mill is owned and operated by Tracy Brennan.  Our group tour leader was Brenda Nicholson, who showed us the overall mechanics of the Mill.  It was a very interesting experience to see how the Mill processes raw fleece to rovings and fibre.


Fleece waiting to be processed




Extractor - cleans and removes oil from raw fleece






Fleece drying after the cleaning process
Brenda describing the 'Fluffer' machine

Fleece is then processed through a giant carding machine
this one is from the late 1800's
                         
























After the carding another machine turns the fleece into rovings


Final process a machine to spin and ply into yarn

A birds eye view of the equipment in the Mill


The Mill is open for tours 






Our tour was rounded out with a visit to see the beautiful Alpacas and JellyBean the guard Llama.

JellyBean second to left


Such wonderful curious creatures - awesome FIBRE












Tuesday, October 16, 2018

October 2018


Our annual display at the Sidney Museum has completed its one month showing. Overall the exhibit was well received with approximately 480 people attending.


The Red Hat Society ladies were the most colourful group to tour the exhibit, proving it really is  'All About Colour'.

A colourful group at the Museum


The fall program for the Guild meetings can be found in the 'events & news'  page on this site.
Our next outing is a visit to Inca Dinca Do to see the beautiful Alpacas and tour the new Mill on October 23rd.   We will not be holding a regular meeting at the Shoal Centre on that date.



Sunday, September 16, 2018

It's All About Colour

Deep Cove Weavers and Spinners are pleased to present another creative exhibition at the Sidney Museum.  Sept. 17 - Oct 14.  2423 Beacon Ave., Sidney, BC  This is an annual event and community outreach program for our Guild and has been ongoing since the 1990s.

This year's  theme:     'It's All About Colour'  

The front entrance holds an informative display about dyeing fibres.


The main gallery has a showcase set up as a 'Weaver's Studio'




Also in the main gallery are cases displaying the colours of the Four Seasons





In addition to our displays the Weaving Wagon from ArtSea will be in the front reception area.  Try your hand at some 'inspirational' simple weaving.  

We invite you to come by and see 'It's All About Colour'.