Inspiration to start the New Year

The Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild [Chattanooga, TN] is the place to be for year-round fiber art inspiration. The guild officers, along with member teams, are planning creative and informative programs and activities to get members and visitors excited about working with interesting fibers, discovering new techniques or shining a new light on classic needle and fiber arts.

If you’ve been away from your needles, hooks, looms, hoops, sewing space or studio, join the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild for renewed interest, encouragement and inspiration in fiber, fabric and the needle arts. Drop in at a guild meeting and see what we're all about. New members are always welcome.

Start 2010 with a new outlook and zeal for the fiber arts!

[photo: detail of free-motion machine quilting by guild member, Veronica Hofman Ortega]

Inkle Weaving with Ann Mullican

This weekend, Ann Mullican (seated left) shared her excitement for weaving and her expertise with the inkle loom at a workshop sponsored by the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild.

Starting with special graph paper and colored pencils, participants designed weaving patterns in preparation for warping tabletop inkle looms with 3/2 pearl cotton threads.

Inkle weaving creates a warp-faced weave in which the long, colored warp threads are what create the pattern of the woven fabric. Narrow bands are produced which are commonly used for belts, trims, handbag straps, cuffs and bands. For this workshop, the woven strips were sewn into a tetrahedron to form a doll or pincushion.

Designing with colored pencils and graph paper.

Measuring string used for the heddles.

Warping the inkle loom.

Checking the warp threads.

One up, one down, up, down . . .

Workshop participants hard at work.

Inkle woven "dolls with character."

Chilly weather at Ketner's Mill fair

Riverbend Fiber Arts guild members braved overcast skies and the 40-degree temperatures this weekend to demonstrate and promote spinning, weaving and other fiber art techniques at the Ketner's Mill Country Arts Fair.

Spinning, weaving and carding demonstrations on the porch of the old Mill and at the vibrantly color clad Riverbend Fiber Arts tent generated lots of interest in the fiber arts, the unique and beautiful hats, scarves, gloves, children's items, Christmas ornaments, quilted journals, yarns and rovings as well as upcoming guild activities (see Inkle Loom workshop). Shown here is guild member, Josie, who is spinning bluefaced Leicester wool roving on an Irish Castle spinning wheel.

Hot chocolate, hot fried apple pies, soup and other country fair cookery helped to keep fingers warm enough to work the wheels, loom and fibers.

Riverbend Fiber Arts tent at the Ketner's Mill Fair.

Mary Lou weaves on a table-top Inkle Loom (left). Star spins alpaca fiber into yarn while Susan cards the fibers.

Pat begins the drafting and spinning process with multi-colored roving.

Inkle Loom Doll with Character workshop

Join the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild for an Inkle Weaving workshop with Ann Mullican, on November 14-15, 2009.

With colored pencils and graph paper, participants will learn how to design the warp-faced Inkle fabric for their doll. Color and design combinations will begin to develop the doll’s "character." Simple warping techniques are used to thread the Inkle Loom and personalities emerge as beads, feathers, lace, fabric wings and found objects are used to fashion the right ‘attitude’ of each Inkle Woven Doll.

This is a great introductory class for beginners and fun for the experienced weaver. Everyone is welcome!

The cost of this 2-day workshop is $60. To reserve your place, contact MJ Levine at mjmlevine@comcast.net and send a check, payable to "Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild," to MJ Levine at 17 Minnekahda Place, Chattanooga, TN 37405. A $10 kit fee is payable to instructor at the workshop. Registration fee is non-refundable.
The workshop will be held from 10 am to 4 pm (Eastern Time) on Saturday and Sunday, November 14-15 at the Bachman Community Center, Signal Mountain, TN.

Teamwork makes charity work light

The axiom, "Many hands make light work," held true at the September meeting of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild. Between giggles, grins and lively conversation, guild members made the work of creating lap blankets for charity a light—and enjoyable—guild project.

For 2009, the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild chose Partnership for Families, Children and Adults—Chattanooga as a local organization to support as a guild community service project. At the September guild meeting, lap blankets were assembled from fleece and flannel fabrics that were donated by the guild and guild members.

"The lap blankets were quick and easy to make. It was a great project for the guild to do as a group," said Sheri S., Guild Vice President. Within an hour, six blankets were cut and completed. "It's one way we can give back to the community," added Veronica O., Guild President, "and it's heartwarming to do something good for someone else." Instructions for making these lap blankets are below.

Brenda R. and Kay P. "Measure twice and cut once."

Ginny S. (above), Susan D. and Sheri S. (below) measure and cut fringe.

Instructions for Lap Blankets:
Cut two coordinating pieces of fabric (we used fleece and flannel) to the same size. Layer the two pieces on top of each other with the right sides facing out. Cut a 4" x 4" square from each corner, cutting through both layers of fabric. Then, using scissors, a craft knife or rotary cutter, create fringe on all four sides of the blanket. (Be sure to use a cutting mat when using a craft knife or rotary cutter.) Cut fringe between 1" to 1.5" wide by approximately 4" deep. Pairing one "fringe strip" from the top fabric and one "fringe strip" from bottom fabric, tie square knots around the perimeter of the blanket to secure the front and back pieces together. Recommended sizes for the blankets are: 36" x 42" (small) , 42" x 42" (medium), 42" x 48" (large).

Note: this project is more fun to do with a friend!

Mary Lou S. and Leanne D. work together (above) and MJ L. (below) shows a finished lap blanket.

Card Weaving—no sleight of hand

"Pick a card . . . any card . . ." An informative demonstration on Card Weaving was presented at the August Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild meeting. Brenda P. provided information on the history of this weaving method which uses cards with holes through which yarns are threaded. The turning of the cards and the position of the colored yarns create the patterns in the finished woven piece. Information was given on how to weave for tubular and flat formats.

After the presentation, guild members had the opportunity for some hands-on experimentation using the tools and supplies of this "loom-less" weaving process.

Got cards up your sleeve? A visit to this meeting of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild showed how turning your cards can create a winning "band."


Guild Show and Tell

Keep the Fleece celebrates International Year of Natural Fibers

Attention fiber enthusiasts! To celebrate the United Nations 2009 International Year of Natural Fibers, Keep the Fleece (www.keepthefleece.org) was created to raise awareness for and share knowledge, skills, resources and products about the world of natural fibers.

Events, competitions for fiber artisans, and fund-raising programs—including the World's Longest Scarf—have been developed and are open to people of all ages, nationalities and skills. Details and a podcast interview with Linda Cortright, the founder of the organization, is on their website. For anyone interested in participating in or starting a Chattanooga-area World's Longest Scarf team, send an e-mail to the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild at RBfiberarts@gmail.com.

Warping a loom with one peg

Members of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild found much interest in the program at the June meeting, "Warping a Rigid Heddle Loom using One Peg." Shown here are Pat K. and Phyllis N. demonstrating the process of dressing a table top loom using a single peg. The process was quick and easy and accomplished in approximately 20 minutes. After the demonstration, members and visitors were given the opportunity to weave using the table top looms.

The Show and Tell portion of the meeting included knitted mitts, felted tote bags, entrelac knitting, hand dyed yarns and woven and knitted items using renewable fibers.

Shearing rained out, rain date set

Lightning and rain storms caused the cancellation of the alpaca shearing day. However, Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild members spent time indoors touring Susan's fiber studio with her many looms, spinning wheels, fibers and handmade items. Lunch and a Knit-In followed. Pictured here is Paula P. winding a newly purchased hank of alpaca yarn.

The rain date for the shearing is set for Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m. Food and refreshments will be on hand. My Little Darlings Alpaca Farm. Everyone is welcome!

The International Year of Natural Fibers 2009

2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibers. It is a unique opportunity to expand the use, and promote more innovative uses, of natural fibers. The International Year will shine new light on the wonders of natural fibers and highlight their importance. The IYNF [International Year of Natural Fibers] is a coordination unit at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Find more information at www.naturalfibres2009.org. Watch the video below.

Fiber Embellishments using soluble Stabilizers

Creating fiber embellishments using soluble stabilizer was the topic for the April meeting of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild. Guild member, Karen W. discussed and demonstrated a technique for creating fiber embellishments that she had used to decorate journal covers for a fund-raising project. Fibers, threads, ribbons, fabrics and other colorful haberdashery are sandwiched and free-motion stitched between pieces of soluble stabilizer. The stabilizer is washed away, resulting in a textured "fabric" that can be further embellished with feathers, beads, charms or stitching. Examples of this free-form textured material and its creative uses were shown during the presentation.

Guild members brought items including woven jackets, quilts, embroidered crazy quilts, woven tapestries and rugs for the monthly show and tell.

Knitting Edges that Don't Roll

Riverbend fiber artists were "on a roll" at the March guild meeting. Guild members MJ L., Josie E. and Paula P. presented "Knitting Edges that Don't Roll," and offered several options for making and finishing edges on knitted items: hems, cuffs, fronts, facings, ruffles, scallops and button holes. The presentation also included the use of circular knitting needles and examples of knitting hats in-the-round. A member Show and Tell preceded the presentation with beautifully hand-crafted woven, silk painted, quilted and knitted pieces.