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:

http://gailforces.com/

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.