Barber’s ~

Getting excited for the next guild meeting!  Al Currier will have a great presentation on the Barber Handweaving business that was on the Lummi Reservation. 

Over the weekend I stumbled upon this Barber outfit at a local antique shop (see below).  Do you have any Barber items?  If you do, be sure to bring them as a show-and-tell item for our meeting on Jan. 13th.  I know that members will be anxious to see what was produced in Whatcom County 40-50 years ago.

Caught a glimpse of this “get up” and knew instantly that it was a Barber. 

Shot a picture of the Barber’s tag and the shop’s sales tag ($80!).

A close up of the pattern.

delightfully bombed ~

One of the many moods of Mandy ~ Yarn bombing wear.

What a blast ~ the bomb!  December is always a questionable month for Whatcom Weavers Guild programs.  Many things seem to get in the way ~ holidays, shopping, parties, or snow!  But this year’s December program went off with out a hitch.

Yarn Bombing authors Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain visited us in Bellingham last Wednesday and shared a thoroughly entertaining program.

Leanne (below) worked the PowerPoint presentation while Mandy (above) hammed it up while showing off the items that were featured in their book.

Leanne Prain sharing a sweater designed for and included in Yarn Bombing.

     

One of the ways I’ve learned to judge a good program is by laughter.  Mandy and Leanne scored!  The room chuckled, chortled, and snorted ~ yep, good meeting!

The girls also sold plenty of books and happily complied to the many requests to have them signed.

Thank you so much for coming down to Bellingham to share Yarn Bombing!

On hooks and needles ~

Can’t wait!  Can you?

On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain will be coming to Bellingham to talk bombing ~ Yarn Bombing that is!

What marvelous timing (serendipitous even) to have the Yarn Bombing gals for a visit and program just days after Handmade Nation (the indy film) played at the Pickford Theatre. 

For those not in the know, Yarn Bombing (it isn’t just the title of their book and website yarnbombing.com, it’s an activity – a verb!), seems to be finding its place in the fiber world.  Take a look below ~

 

From the spooky to the functional (ever been cold in a phone booth?), yarn bombing is for all ages and abilities!

Most important of all, keep a sense of humor and have fun.

To learn, hear, and absorb more about Yarn Bombing, be sure to come to the Whatcom Weavers Guild meeting this Wednesday, December 9th beginning at 6:30p for a social time before the official meeting start time at 7p.  We meet in the same place each month, St. James Presbyterian Church’s lower-level meeting room located at 910 14th Street in Bellingham, WA.  Visitors are always welcome ~ plus it is free!

For more information, contact me directly ~ Julie Barnes at mabelswish@msn.com.

Lively program presented by Kim Werker of Crochet Me fame ~

 Kim Werker was a load of fun last night when she presented the Whatcom Weavers Guild’s November program.   Travelling down from Vancouver, Kim and her two friends enjoyed Bellingham’s Fairhaven district by visiting Village Books and having dinner at Dos Padres before the meeting.

It was great to see that we had a number of guests for the program, and we sure hope that a few new members joined last night.  If you haven’t been to one of our guild meetings, be sure to check out next month’s program speakers ~ author’s Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore will talk about their new book Yarn Bombing!

Thank you Kim!  Your presentation was delightful and made us all rush home to look up crochet patterns on the internet ~ I know I went looking for the seraphina’s shawl.

For more about Kim’s great program, go check out her blog.

Fibers & Beyond-Hugely Successful Show

Another gorgeous show ,well and truly finished. Sixty fiber artists filled the hall with amazing works - hand dyed,hand spun, hand knitted, hand woven, hand felted warm and woolly creativity. This once a year show and sale was very well attended, very nearly sold out in spite of the two day downpour. Just another Puget Sounder does not discourage the best of shoppers. Scarves, shawls, wraps,

Baskets-

more baskets-

Rugs- bright, colourful, woven ,hooked- large-

and small.

Socks hand knit by Juliet whose fingers must be so tiny!
These were SO adorable- I had to have two- one for each thumb...or mouse feet.

Beautiful felted Tea cosies by Donna-

Little beds for pine cones-

And a bunch of felted people that showed up ready to party and to eat loads of the home made cookies that were on the back table.

There were things woven to wear in your hair especially if you happen to have glorious long hair like the creator of these barrettes.

And MANY hats, knit , felted, fulled, like this one by Sooby.

One entire section of the room devoted to splendid jewelry, beaded, woven, strung

Loads of fiber from Kathy Green. Cushions, pin cushions, ornaments, socks, gloves, all done exquisitely by guild members.

So, THAT was the show for this year. If you missed it, bummer, you must wait until next October. mark your calendar now.
On behalf of the Whatcom Weavers Guild, this happy elf wishes you all a happy holiday season- started out with one big bang of a show!

CHEERS!!!

Watch the KVOS spot on the Guild right here!

Wow! The Guild’s Sale is Featured on Local TV ~

Guild member April Muegge demonstrates weaving on KVOS’s Experience Northwest with Deb Slater.

Be sure to tune into KVOS channel 12 at 5 pm this Saturday, October 10, 2009 to see the Whatcom Weavers Guild segment on Experience Northwest. The piece repeats on Monday 7:30 am and Wednesday 7:30 am.

The team of Gina Saettone, Kathy Green and April Muegge went down to the station during September to film and we have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to see the spot.

Kathy Green talks to Deb about the Guild and our upcoming sale.

One of the main topics they discussed was the Guild’s Fibers & Beyond sale on October 16 and 17. So be sure to report back to the sale committee if you hear that folks came to the sale after seeing it on TV.

Go here to see a preview of the spot http://www.kvos.com/home.aspx.

Mug Rugs for the YWCA Women ~

From left to right: Jo Collinge, Joyce Noordmans, Sheri Ward, Ann Suloway, and Sondra Rose gather around the gift of mugs and mug-rugs from the Whatcom Weavers Guild to the YWCA. Collinge is President of the Board of Directors at the Y, Suloway is Housing Director; Noordmans, Ward, and Rose are members of the guild.

This past Friday, the Whatcom Weavers Guild presented the YWCA with a gift of hand-made mug-rugs with coordinating coffee mugs, enough for each of its current 36 residents. Over the course of the summer, individual guild members came up with a variety of mug-rugs, some of which were woven, some felted, and some quilted.

The guild conceived the idea as a way to reach out to members of the community, specifically women living in group housing.

Joyce Noordmans, representing the guild, said, “Making these mug-rugs and giving them was a warm feeling for us.” Guild members involved in the project wanted to express their regard for women living at the YWCA. “We appreciate these women for being part of our community,” Noordmans said.

“There is so much love in this,” said Jo Collinge, the President of the Board of Directors for the YWCA, in accepting the gift.

 The mugs and mug-rugs given as gifts from guild members to residents of the Y.

The mugs and mug-rugs will be distributed to the residents of the YWCA. The Y provides transitional housing for women.

The staff at the Y and the guild look forward to other collaborations, quite possibly involving free in-house fiber-related classes for the residents.

Copies of the book, “100 Years,” which describes the history of the local Y will be available for sale at the upcoming Fibers and Beyond sale sponsored by the guild. The sale will be held at the Hampton Inn on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17. Hours on Friday are 6 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds from the book sale will go to the Y.

   

SAVE the DATE for FIBERS & BEYOND ~

Click on the poster above to go right to the guild’s website for details about the sale.

Each year the Whatcom Weavers Guild puts together a wonderful event called Fibers & Beyond.  This is a show and sale of members’ work and should NOT be missed!

Here’s a taste from last year’s sale.

         

Don’t miss this wonderful event that is a sure crowd pleaser and overall inspiration for anyone who might have an interest in enjoying the work of some remarkable artisans.