Friday, March 17, 2017

Subtraction and Addition: Using Discharge and Indigo Dyeing to Create Works of Art with Lauren Strach





– The Lakeshore Fiber Arts Guild’s next meeting will be on Wed., April 5, featuring Lauren Strach on “Subtraction and Addition: Using Discharge and Indigo Dyeing to Create Works of Art, at the Holland Area Arts Council, 150 East 8th St., Holland, MI 49423, starting promptly at 6:30pm with social time beginning at 6pm.  Non-members are asked to pay $5 toward the speaker’s fee.

A St. Joseph resident, master gardener and former college professor, Lauren Strach’s large quilts have the mysterious aura of the garden and wild plants.  She uses recycled fabrics that have been intentionally distressed and then hand sewn together in the boro tradition.  

The fabrics have been made with several processes, beginning with the removal of color through discharge.  Additionally, many of the pieces have been over-dyed with indigo.  Her quilts utilize many of the latest mixed media techniques, including hand-dyeing, discharge, painting on fabric and embroidery.  Her presentation will be a trunk show of her latest work.  Strach refers to this technique as "Boho Boro," as she often incorporates recycled fabrics in her work.


The Lakeshore Fiber Arts Guild invites anyone interested in the textile fiber arts to their monthly program meetings held the first Wednesday of each month at the Holland Area Arts Council.  For more information, visit the guild’s blog at http://lakeshorefiberartsguild.blogspot.com or contact jgould1526@gmail.com or 616-878-1526.

Friday, March 3, 2017

Yarns Way Better than Cake





Happy 38th Birthday to us. The guild was actually started in 1979. Next time we will get it right.



Gail Myrhorodsky presented a wonderful program on Hand spinning and dyeing various yarns. She started out as a quilter, and decided she needed something more, so her husband bought her a spinning wheel for Christmas a few years ago. Not knowing anything about spinning, she dove in. Combining her love of fiber and sewing makes her a very special fiber artist. Make sure to checkout her website at:


Her husband also has some amazing photography on the site.






She uses any number of different fibers to spin including wool, buffalo, tencel, angelina, mohair, and angora. The angelina and tencel she quite often adds to other fibers. She also dyes her fibers in a crock pot. Gail uses an acid dye from Dharma, simmering in the pot for 4-5 hours.


















Above are a few of the items she has made with her various fibers.





First she showed us how she layers the wool mixed with other fibers, quite often tencel on the hackle. Once there are enough layers on it, she pulls it through a button type thing with a hole, making a roving.












Above she is spinning, adding thin fiber pieces as she spins to add texture.







While she is carding the wool, she often adds bits and pieces of various leftover fiber pieces, and quite often this is where she adds the tencel.





It was fun to just watch her spin. See video at the end.



Here she is adding little fuzz balls.



These are wool curly cues she just kind of works in.
Following are several of samples close up so you can see the added pieces.



In the purple she added embroidery thread, not plied, just wrapped.




Next are some of her finished pieces, using all kinds of techniques and wonderful finishing ideas.










Above is a picture of a Woolee Winder. Such a clever idea, it moves the spun fiber back and forth across the spindle automatically.








SHOW AND TELL



Alexa has a new technique for making beads.  Very, very pretty.