Fleece blankets, blue jean totes support community organizations

When everyone lends a helping hand, quick and easy sewing and fiber art projects are always fun and rewarding.

Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild members create tote bags for walkers and fleece blankets to support two community organizations.

Members of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild collaborated on two such projects at the March guild meeting to support local community organizations. Tote bags for walkers were made from blue jeans and lap blankets were made with soft, colorful, easy-care fleece fabrics.

Mary Lou shows options for walker  bags.

Guild member and Team Lead for the guild's Community Service Project, Mary Lou Scohier, researched the needs for a local seniors program (Alexian Brothers PACE) and set out to create a pattern for low-cost, easy-to-make tote bags that could be secured to walkers. Blue jeans, with their sturdy fabric construction and multiple pre-existing pockets seemed a most appropriate choice for the source material.

Old blue jeans in various sizes were collected and brought in by guild members. The legs of the blue jeans were cut off at the hip and the opening sewed closed to create the body of the tote bag. The bottom of the bag was boxed and handles for attaching the bag to a walker were made from the jeans legs.

The body of the walker totes.

A tote bag attached to the walker.

Guild members also revisited a project from a 2009 community service endeavor to create lap blankets from colorful fleece fabric. Instructions for creating these popular two-sided throws can be found at this September 2009 post. This is a no-sew project that is fast and fun to make.

Front and back fabrics are aligned with wrong sides together before cutting fringe.

Fringe is tied to create a soft, cuddly lap blankets.

In about two hours, 11 tote bags and 12 fleece blankets were close to completion. Recipients of the items are the Alexian Brothers PACE program and the Hatch's House of Hope program of the Austin Hatcher Foundation for pediatric cancer.

The guild Show and Tell included a bobbin-buster weaving and hand-knit dog sweaters.

Weaving with Levi Strauss and company

Bring us your tired, your faded, your frayed and worn... BLUE JEANS. And, learn how to use them in weaving at the March 5 meeting of the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild.

The meeting program will be a hands-on workshop to make fleece throws, walker tote bags, and using blue jeans in weaving. Please bring scissors and old blue jeans to cut up to the meeting. The guild is also requesting the following for its community service project:

• bib overalls
• old trophies 
• silky rectangular scarves.

February 26 is the 182nd anniversary of Levi Strauss' birthday. A German immigrant and entrepreneur, Strauss was an American textile industry visionary who co-invented one of the most popular pieces of clothing in the world—blue jeans.

In addition to Levi... Lee, Liz Claiborne, GH Bass, Gap, Wrangler, Bill Blass, Ralph Lauren and your Calvin Kleins are all invited to attend Saturday's meeting.

image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss

Southern Select Alpaca Show

In addition to seeing all the wonderful alpacas walking around in full fleece, you will see lots of end-products—clothes, art and furnishings—made from alpaca fibers, spinning and weaving demonstrations, seminars and a silent auction at the Southern Select Alpaca Show the weekend of March 5-6 in Shelbyville, TN.

On Saturday, there will be a team of fiber artists demonstrating the "Fleece-to-Shawl," taking raw, unprocessed fiber and making it into a beautiful woven shawl. The whole process should take around 5 hours to complete. And, the finished shawl will be auctioned off that evening to the highest bidder. This is really quite a fascinating demonstration! You can also check out the winners of the annual "Spin-Off" competition that reveals which alpaca fleece is best suited for a nice finished yarn.

Riverbend fiber artists, Susan Darling, Melissa McFail, Kathy Swift-Lawson and Marti Zoerb will be somewhere in the middle of all the commotion. So, head out to the show after the guild meeting on Saturday, March 5, or visit the show on Sunday, March 6.

—Susan Darling, Southern Select Chairman

Angora bunnies are great balls of fur

The Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild got up close and personal with two furry, four-legged visitors at the February guild meeting with a program on Angora rabbits and their fiber.

Angora rabbits, a variety of domestic rabbits, are bred for their long, soft, silky fur. The "fluffiness" of the Angora fiber creates a "halo" effect that can be seen on garments knit or crocheted from the fiber. Guild member, Martha Ooten, who presented the program, indicated that the fur of the Angora rabbit grows quickly. She harvests the fibers from her bunnies by plucking, combing and shearing every 3-4 months.

Upper left: fiber comparison display. Lower left: items made from angora and alpaca yarns. Right: collecting the Angora fibers.

Ms. Ooten, who is raising eight rabbits, talked about the care, feeding, grooming and breeding of Angora rabbits. Various characteristics of the Angora fibers were explained and a chart compared these fibers with alpaca, merino and bluefaced Leicester wool fibers. A hand-knit baby cap and booties illustrated the halo effect created by angora yarn in contrast with the smooth, but equally soft, alpaca yarn.

Guild members had an opportunity to hold and pet the bunnies, who were quite well-behaved (the bunnies, that is).

Batts made from Angora fibers can be dyed and spun into yarn. Ms. Ooten shared her experiences with spinning and dying the fiber and indicated that the fiber or yarn can also be felted. Examples of hand-dyed batts, hand-spun yarn from Angora fibers and blends with other fibers, and knit and crocheted items rounded out the presentation.

Show and Tell

Show and Tell by guild members consisted of hand-knit hats from alpaca yarn, a beaded scarf, a woven shawl, and hand spun yarns.

Fiber and Bunny Love

February: the month for Love, and love of fiber and fiber arts. Join the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild on February 5 for a program on angora fiber, yarn and angora rabbits. Come to meet and hug the bunnies and learn about the wonderful world of angora fibers.

The February 5 guild meeting starts at 11 am. with the program to follow.

Coffee mugs inspire 2011 Guild Challenge

Veronica Hofman-Ortega (left) presents the 2011 Challenge.
Pat Keran (seated right) cheers.

Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild members and friends raised a glass—or rather a favorite coffee mug—to the New Year and to the 2011 Guild Challenge at the January guild meeting.

The "Top 10 Reasons" (David Letterman style) why everyone should participate in a Guild Challenge were presented, along with details and requirements for the 2011 Challenge—the creation of a tote bag inspired by a favorite coffee mug. Coinciding with the mug theme of the Challenge, which is entitled "Fiber and Caffeine get me going...", were door prizes that included mug rugs, a coffee cup coozie and a ceramic mug.

A new program, called the Fiber Arts Buddy (FAB) program, was also introduced at the meeting. This two-fold program is designed to welcome new members by pairing them with an established guild member; and, guild members with expertise in a particular fiber art discipline will serve as a FAB to assist or mentor another member who wishes to learn a new technique or to more fully develop skills in that particular area.

Meeting "Mug" Shots

Guild members salute a New Year of fiber art activities.

Show and Tell consisted of knitted baby sweaters and mittens made from recycled sweaters.

Knitted lap blankets for the guild's Community Service project were collected for distribution.

Bring your Mug; warm up with Fiber Arts

Beat the cold weather and warm up the New Year with the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild!

To kick off 2011, we’ll be serving hot beverages at the January 8 guild meeting. We invite you to bring along your favorite coffee mug and we’ll fill it with something warm and comforting… or maybe something hot and spicy! Either way, bring your mug (and your mug) and join us!

Our guild members enjoy a variety of fiber and needle art disciplines such as knitting, crochet, quilting, weaving, felting, spinning and dyeing.

Guild Membership for a year of creative and interesting fiber art activities includes:
:: monthly meetings and programs
:: inspiring Show and Tell
:: invitations to special guild activities
:: participation in regional fiber art events
:: members-only discounts for workshops, and
:: the camaraderie and support of like-minded fiber arts enthusiasts.

Be inspired... learn a new craft... make cool fiber art... and meet new friends. Our door is always open to new members.