Valley Oak Wool & Fiber Mill

Meredith lead guild members on a field trip to the Valley Oak Wool & Fiber Mill in Woodland. Our private tour was conducted by owner Marcail McWilliams. We saw where fleeces were washed, rinsed, dried, picked, and carded. Of special interest was the yarn spinner/plyer. Paulette helped remove the large filled bobbins of singles in preparation for plying. Marcail adjusted the many gears for just the right combination for that specific yarn, then we watched the plying and skeining process in action. What fun! Many thanks to Meredith for arranging this special outing.

See More Photos Here

Pete McWade ~ All About Flax:  an Amazing Natural Fiber

Pete's presentation about flax and his journey towards growing and producing his own linen shirt was extremely interesting. Pete is very knowledgeable about flax and how to grow it in our area. He is also a collector of antique flax from Europe and brought samples to pass around. He demonstrated spinning flax on his lovely Saxony spinning wheel and his own distaff creation. Those interested in growing flax took home seed packets to plant.

Check out Pete's resources below. More, including a link to the recorded presentation, are included in a special members-only email. 

Thank you, Pete!

Pete's FaceBook Page:    fb.me/naturesyarn

Pete's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@abittwisted/videos

Link to how to grow flax:  https://piedmontfibershed.org/2025/04/15/how-to-grow-flax-advice-from-farmers/

The March 25th guild meeting was well attended. There was a Stash Dash table with fiber arts items to take for a donation to the guild, a selection of books and videos to check out from the guild’s library, a preview of silent auction items, a wonderful presentation by Siobhan Harlakenden on The Viking Age Vararfeldur, and even home baked cookies!

We learned the history and technique to make Viking Age cloth that resembles a sheep’s pelt. Using yarn and wool locks, Siobhan demonstrated how she weaves this warm, flexible cloth. Our own Meredith modeled the cloak she made with a luxurious Vararfeldur collar woven in one of Siobhan’s classes.

If you are interested in taking one of Siobhan's classes in Vararfeldur or other Viking Age techniques, email her at manekeyneko@gmail.com. Most classes are held at Meridian Jacobs in Vacaville. 

Follow Siobhan @ladyharlakendens_handspun on Instagram

The presenter at our February general guild meeting was our very own Gretchen Hilyard-Boyce. Gretchen took us on a virtual tour through the villages of the Kalotaszeg and Maramureş areas of Transylvania, an area she visited with Threadwritten Textiles. We saw examples of their rich fiber arts traditions as well as woodcarving, pottery, and entertainment. Gretchen brought with her lovely samples of the traditional embroidery as well as other handcrafts.

Many thanks to Gretchen for sharing this grand adventure with us.

Marcail McWilliams, owner and operator of the Valley Oak Wool & Fiber Mill in Woodland, was the presenter at our January general meeting. She gave us a peek into the workings of her fiber processing from the washing of fleece through picking, carding, spinning, plying and finishing of yarn. It was fascinating to see photos of Marcail on top of her giant machinery making adjustments. She is currently accepting fleece (sorry, no merino or fine wools) for processing into pin-drafted roving.

If you missed her presentation, the Zoom link is posted in the Members Only section under Zoom Recording. It will be available for 30 days after the meeting.

Make It & Take It ~ Pine Needle Baskets

November’s hands-on activity was fun! Andrea did a great job introducing the group to pine needle basketmaking. In one quick hour we had the fundamentals and were off stitching pine needles into bases for our baskets. 

Many thanks to Andrea and her helper, Meri, for putting on a successful mini workshop. If you finished making a pine needle basket at home, send in a photo and it will be added to the album.

Check out the photos!

Jeanne and Karen, and their set up crew, transformed the Seven Stars Gallery in Nevada City, into a fiber arts fantasyland. There is something for sale for everyone from colorful kitchen towels to graphic shawls to fiber prepped for hand spinning. 

The gallery is open November 1st - 24th,  Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm. Guild members will be demonstrating various fiber arts on the weekends. This event is a local favorite, so we hope you’ll visit us at the gallery. Everyone is invited to join us for an artist’s reception on Saturday, Nov. 9th from 6 to 8 pm. 

Visitors can view and shop a range of beautiful, hand-made items including knit, crocheted, woven, felted, and spun pieces, all crafted by local artists. Come find that one-of-a-kind gift for your friends and family.

Check out the photos here!

The FFG Natural Dye Day held on October 19th was very successful. Louisa graciously served as our dye coordinator and was busy from setup to takedown, setting up pots and monitoring their temperature. Cyndi, our host, with her husband, made sure that there was a separate circuit for each electric burner and plenty of water. Meredith managed communications and brought beverages. Inani shared her knowledge of Shibori and brought samples to inspire. Carol made sure that everyone had lovely samples of wool yarn, fabric, and roving to take home, as well as a silk scarf to dye. Others brought tables, pots, and other equipment for all to use. Many thanks to everyone. We have such a generous community!

The day started with learning about mordants and actually measuring out the chemicals. The first dye pot had wolf moss, or more correctly wolf lichen, which produced a lovely bright yellow. The pot with red onion skins produced a yellow-orange. The fresh rosemary produced a pale yellow with 10% alum. When modified logwood was added the wool turned a lovely blue-gray. When ferrous sulfate was added, the color darkened. The logwood produced lilac with a quick dip and a deeper purple with more time in the pot. 

Louisa and Carol shared their process for surface dyeing the wonderful shirts they wore. We were inthralled with how the various leaves and plants left their imprint on silk scarves, as well. Maybe they would consider teaching a workshop for the guild in the future!

Inani spoke about the various techniques used in Shibori, a more sophisticated tie-dye process. Participants folded, twisted, and clamped silk scarves, then dropped them in the various dye pots. By the end of the day everyone had a unique creation to take home.

Photos

The September 24th meeting of the Foothill Fibers Guild was well attended. Twenty-eight members gathered in person at the library and Sue Zoomed in to join us. New members were welcomed and Margaret filled us in about the CNCH 2025 Conference April 24-27th at Asilomar. Save the date and follow the link for more information.

Meredith, our new program coordinator, introduced this year's theme:  Natural Origins. Then members brainstormed this year's guild challenge. "Use a natural fiber in your challenge project" was selected. Once again, challenge projects will be shared at the FFG June Picnic. 

Carol presented the 2024-2025 budget and it was approved as presented. Mary told us about the Board's idea to hold a silent auction (or two) to meet this year's budget deficit. We had a soft start with a few items at this meeting that had already been donated, with more to come soon. Bidding will close for all items at the holiday party in December. To see photos, item descriptions, and rules, check out the Silent Auction 2024 webpage. 

Representatives of our interest groups told us about what was happening. Spinners are meeting on second Wednesdays at the library, 2:00 - 4:00 PM, with a "Carding Party" on a Saturday to be scheduled for later in the year. Jane announced the next meeting of the Tablet Weaving Study Group would be on Monday, October 28th. Jane will continue to bring Kumihimo supplies and assistance to Second Saturday meetings at the library, 1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Weaving Group is still meeting via Zoom on Second Saturdays at 10:00 AM. It was decided to change the knitting group's name to "Knit and Crochet Group" to better describe the projects worked on when they meet on the first Thursday of every month, 3:00 - 5:00 PM at the Communal Cafe in Nevada City.

After a few more announcements, members brought lovely finished projects to share during Show & Tell time. See photos here. 

The meeting ended with a door prize drawing of a $25 gift certificate to Auburn Needleworks, donated by Donna Seaman.  The lucky winner was Sue V. She will have fun spending that gift certificate at Auburn Needleworks, 13344 Lincoln Way, Auburn, CA  95603. Thank you, Donna!

The Second Saturday gathering on July 13th was very well attended, with over 20 members braving the heat to gather in the library's community room. In addition to the regular members that brought their handwork to the circle, a large group came out for Jane's complimentary Intro to Kumihimo workshop and first meeting of the new  Kumihimo Study Group. 

Jane brought a her samples, inventory of Sinfonia yarn, kumihimo disks, plastic bobbins, and patterns to get everyone started. She also passed out an informational handout with online resources. Folks selected contrasting yarn to braid and set up their disks. After a short demo, everyone was happily braiding.

Jane also demonstrated how to make a beaded braid using bead cord, seed beads and an extra thick disk. Many with bead stashes were especially interested in trying out this technique.

Many, many thanks go to Jane once again, for her generosity of time and materials. Hopefully the new Kumihimo Study Group will meet again soon!

Link to photos.