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Welcome!
We are a fiber
guild, a support group for fiber enthusiasts. We
are centered around the Fargo,
North Dakota / Moorhead, Minnesota
area. We have members that spin, weave, dye, knit, felt, and do
other fiber arts.
Meeting Time and Place
Meetings are the
second Saturday of each month, from 10:00 AM to noon. The meeting
place may vary. Informal gatherings also happen at random times.
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Calendar of Events:
Upcoming
Events:
Roc Day
Saturday,
January 7th
Moorhead
Center Mall, Moorhead, MN
10:00
a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch at
Thai Orchid, Moorhead Center Mall at 1:00 p.m.
Please
note: This is the first Saturday of the month, instead of our usual
second Saturday meeting time.
Time
to say goodbye to the holiday guests, send the kids back to school, put
away the decorations and return to spinning -- and knitting -- and
weaving!
Bring
your wheel, spindle, cards, weaving, bobbin lace or any project you are
working on. When we’ve worked up a good appetite, we will go to Thai
Orchid for lunch.
We
celebrate Roc Day to remember the times in pre-industrial Europe, when
many of the agricultural and household chores that marked the turning of
the seasons attached themselves to saints’ days. All across Europe, for
example, people slaughtered animals and celebrated the harvest on St.
Martin’s Day. In England, folk tradition carried this tendency one step
further, inventing St. Distaff’s Day to mark women’s return to work after
the Christmas holiday.
St.
Distaff’s Day fell on January 7, the day after Epiphany. On this day,
folk tradition advised women to return to the daily chores they had put
aside during the twelve days of Christmas. Before the invention of
factory-made cloth, the task of spinning constituted perhaps the most
representative of all female chores. Women of all ages, ranks, and
incomes spun thread. Thus, English folk tradition commemorated women’s
return to work on the day after Epiphany by inventing a joke holiday
called St. Distaff’s Day. There never was a saint named Distaff. The word
“distaff” refers to one of the principal tools women used in spinning, a
rod upon which flax or wool was tied and out of which thread was pulled.
This tool was also known as a “roc,” hence the day was also known as “Roc
Day.” \
Although
English custom encouraged women to return to work, men remained at
liberty until Plough Monday. This inequality became the subject of many
Distaff Day customs, which encouraged a playful battle of the sexes. As
women returned to their spinning, custom encouraged men to tease the
women by setting fire to their flax or wool. This act in turn allowed
women the pleasure of dousing the men with buckets of water. It would
seem that very little work was actually accomplished on St. Distaff’s Day
Fiber Artists’
Mid-Winter Retreat
Friday,
February 17th – Sunday February 19th
Cooperstown
Bible Camp
11776 3rd Street SE
Cooperstown,
ND
Mid-winter
is a great time for inspiration, learning and sharing. The annual winter
retreat is the perfect time to meet members of the Grand Forks, Bemidji,
Brainerd and Northern Prairie Fiber Artists Guilds, to share expertise
and friendship.
This
year, the retreat will be held at Cooperstown Bible Camp, 93 miles
northwest of Fargo, about a 2 hour drive. The camp is a popular retreat
center year around.
The
cost will be $85 per person for the weekend, which includes 5 meals
(Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday
breakfast at 9:30 a.m.) and a dormitory style room for 2-3 people (or
more, if a larger group wants to be together.) Roommates can be specified
on the registration form. There are 2 restrooms in the hallway of the
sleeping floor which will be available. The restrooms each have 6
toilets, 6 sinks and 6 showers.
There
will not be a potluck dinner on Saturday evening, as has been done in the
past, since the cooks at the camp will prepare all the meals. People with
special nutrition needs can include that information on the registration
form.
We
can bring our own snacks and coffee and tea will be available throughout
the day. However, there is not a refrigerator available, and the camp
policy says that no alcohol is allowed, so keep that in mind when
planning what you’re bringing.
There
is a large gathering room where we’ll be spending our days and the chairs
have upholstered seats.
A
registration form should be available within the next few weeks. It will
be sent out to members of the fiber guilds as soon as it’s available.
Moxie Happy Hour plus
Moxie
Java 115 4th Street South Moorhead, MN
5:00 -
8:30 p.m.
Third
Tuesday of the Month
Fiber
enthusiasts get together for a cup of joe and friendship. Moxie’s happy
hour is from 5-7 p.m. All espresso drinks are half price. Bring your
favorite fiber project to work on.
Moxie
Dates:
November
15th
December
20th
January
17th
February
21st
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Fiber Challenge 2011
Magic Ball Challenge
Our 2012 Fiber Guild Challenge will
be to make a magic ball out of remnants of yarn that we have and create a
special garment or other item with it. We have all winter to work on it
and we will have a “fashion show” at our spring luncheon in May.
Rarely do we use up every inch of
yarn that we buy for a project. Eventually, most of us are overwhelmed
with leftovers. Making up a “magic ball” is an excellent way to use up
our extra yarn and create a beautiful knitted, woven, felted or sewn
item.
Start by going through your stash
and picking out a minimum of 8 yarns. They may be of a similar color or
texture scheme, or the same gauge, but it’s not entirely necessary.
Once you’ve picked your yarns,
assemble them around you. Take your first skein, pull out a random length
of yarn (1-3 yards) and cut it. Wind this yarn into a ball. Then pick a
second skein, pull out a slightly different length of it, and cut it.
Tie the two yarns together by
holding both ends together and tying an overhand knot. Video instructions
for making a magic ball are on YouTube. Search “Instructional Knitting
Video Magic Ball”.
Continue picking different yarns and
different lengths, and adding it to your ball. Eventually you’ll have a
large ball made up of random combinations of assorted yarns. This is the
magic ball.
If knitting with the magic ball, select
a needle size that is the average for the types of yarns selected. If
there is a big difference in yarn sizes, selecting a large needle will
result in open, lace-like areas where the yarn is finer. Using smaller
needles results in a tighter fabric that will have periodic bulky spots.
Even then, it may take some trial and error to find the needle size that
is best.
The
fun begins when creating with the Magic Ball.
Straight stockinette
stitch helps the tied ends stay on the back side of the work, keeping the
front flat and colorful or will give the finished piece texture by
keeping the tied ends on the front of the work. A striped effect can be
produced by keeping all the yarns the same length. The longer the strand,
the larger the band of color in the finished garment. Adding a small
amount of bright contrast here and there produces an effect similar to
that of sunlight glowing from behind a cloud. Some ideas for Magic Ball
knitting include:
·
Pillows
·
Sweaters
and Vests (see Kaffe Fassett’s
designs)
·
Bags
or Purses
·
Hats
·
Scarves
·
Stuffed
Animals
·
Etc.
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