It was delightful to have the Spinning Group back together after taking August off to volunteer at the Nevada County Fair. 

A new member, Lena, came with a new-to-her wheel. Thanks to Sue V’s mentoring, she is carding and spinning wool like a pro! A veteran member, Mardi, came with the Hansen miniSpinner she won at our Silent Auction. She put it through its paces and she thinks she is going to like spinning on it. 

Folks shared what they had been spinning. Cyndi brought the singles she spun with the batts she made at the Carding Party in August. Ashley shared lovely yarn she has been spinning for embroidery. Gretchen showed us a beautiful skein she had spun, but had questions about the ply. Coincidentally, Mary brought a 3-ply merino that was both plied from three individual bobbins and chain plied. Everyone had a chance to see how different they looked, even though they both had three plies. A discussion about using storage bobbins ensued, as well as various Lazy Kates. 

Topics for our monthly 30-minute skill study were discussed. So far we want to further explore plying and ply twist, color management, and consistency. We will continue our discussion about plying and ply twist at the October meeting.

The FFG Spinning Group sponsored a “Carding Party” on Saturday, August 23rd at the Madelyn Helling Library community room from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This special day was selected to allow FFG members that have weekday jobs to attend.

Members brought drum carders, hand cards, blending boards, combs, a Lock Pop, and even dog brushes to make batts and rolags. There was a huge selection of fiber to use and everyone had fun letting their creativity run wild. There was enough fiber that some members brought home bags of it to play with on their own. We hope to do this again next year.

The FFG May meeting was well attended. There was a motion to change the title of the “Outreach Coordinator” to “Event Coordinator”. The motion carried. The annual election of officers was also held and the slate was approved as presented:

President: Gretchen B

Vice President: Margaret E

Secretary: Ginger M

Treasurer: Carol P

Program Coordinator: Meredith C

Membership: Margaret E

Newsletter Editor:  Andrea B

CNCH Liaison: Autumn B

Librarian: Susan R

Website Manager: Mary P

Events Coordinator: Elisa H

Publicity/Social Media Coordinator: Andrea B

Members that attended the CNCH 2025 Conference shared their experiences. Jane was an instructor and she brought her lovely Williamsburg Handled Market Basket to show us. Almost everyone in her workshop of 16 students finished their baskets, a testament to Jane’s skill as a basketry teacher. Autumn shared her colorful blended fibers and textured yarn from her class with Meagan Condon, A Spinner’s Exploration of Color and Texture. Autumn’s daughter, also a guild member, attended this year as a guest and hopes to register as a workshop attendee next year.   

Donna took Beginner/Refresher 4-Shaft Weaving with Robin Lynde. Although she had issues with her table loom, Donna’s determination resulted in a useful sampler and TWO additional scarves woven on her own after the class. Brava! Carol P’s class, Weft Kasuri: Pattern at the Fell of the Cloth with Beth Ross Johnson, was a fascinating look at Ikat dyeing and the resulting woven fabric. Carol’s sample was very effective.  

Mary and Meredith both were granted Dee Jones Scholarships to attend the CNCH 2025 Conference. Mary shared photos of many conference activities including the Galleries, Return to Sender, Silent Auction Scholarship Fundraiser, Fashion Show, (Keynote Speaker), and Workshop Walkabout. She also explained how Elisabeth Hill designed her Meta Weave drafts for the round robin workshop that Mary attended, and shared the woven samples. 

Meredith took us on her Spin the World tour by passing around paper bags filled with the 30 fiber samples from her workshop. Meredith enjoyed the travel stories and international fiber traditions that were shared during class time as well as the opportunity to produce one huge lovely skein of singles comprised of a little bit of all the fibers.

To view the very informative handout from this class, click HERE. 

Many members wished they had attended this year’s conference at Asilomar after listening to our presenters. Now is the time to plan to attend next year’s CNCH Conference, also being held at scenic Asilomar, May 14-17, 2026. Mark your calendars!

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!