HTS Newsletter, October, 2009Volunteer editor: Gary Lee Phillips, fuffle@ix.netcom.com
HTS Newsletter, October, 2009
Volunteer editor: Gary Lee Phillips, fuffle@ix.netcom.com
Our next meeting will take place on Saturday, October 10, at 10 am at the Old Courthouse Arts Center, 101 Johnson St. (on the square) in Woodstock. The gallery will open at 11 am, for those who would like to see the show. If the weather permits, we will be spinning outdoors in front of the building or in the square, both to promote the show and in celebration of National Spinning and Weaving Week (October 5-11.) In case of inclement weather, we will demonstrate in the gallery instead.
November 14 meeting reminder: We will meet at The Fold to discuss the show results and receive judge's comments. We will also consider possibilities for next year's spinners' challenge.
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The deadline for the next
newsletter will be October 31, 2009. If you are submitting material for inclusion in the newsletter, I really would appreciate having it by the deadline. The newsletter continues to be delayed by late announcements and information, and I would much prefer to get it out to you several days earlier than is now possible.
The show has been judged and is up in the gallery. Thanks to Susan and E.J. for their major efforts in taking all 84 entries down to St. Charles for Heather Winslow to judge and comment. Heather is extremely thorough, and spent over five hours examining and contemplating our work. The gallery opens at 11 am on Thursday, October 8, and will be open Thursdays through Sundays until November 1. If you can possibly get there to see the entire show, including the fantastic work by the Woodstock Weavers Guild members as well as our own, you should definitely do so.
There will be an opening reception for the show on Sunday, October 11, 1 to 3 pm, at the Old Courthouse Arts Center. As in past years, the Illinois Clayworkers Guild will be opening their own show across the hall, so this is a double opportunity to view the work of local artisans and craftspeople. For those who need extra temptation, refreshments will be served and we will have live music in the gallery.
Judges' comments on show entries will be available at the November meeting. Please pick up your entries at the gallery between 4 and 5 pm on Sunday, November 1, or make arrangements to have someone else do this for you.
Our humble hobby of spinning has a long and honorable pedigree, dating back 30,000 years at least. In fact, the fruit of our craft - plain old ordinary string - may be the technological discovery that enabled humans to survive the last Ice Age.
NPR recently reported that archeologists exploring a cave in Georgia - the country, not the state - have discovered linen fibers that are 30,000 years old. They did not discover actual fabric. That would be asking too much after 30,000 years. Instead, the archeologists found twisted flax fibers, a sure sign of spinning. Many of the fibers were even dyed - black, gray, turquoise and pink.
The article quotes Elizabeth Wayland Barber, a retired professor and the author of Women's Work, The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times, the definitive book on the earliest days of textiles. The evidence of early fiber is fragmentary. There are impressions of woven material in clay that date back 25,000 years. The earliest actual surviving piece of string dates back 15,000 years. This new discovery pushes the advent of spinning back even further, providing support for Barber's hypothesis it was string that got the human race through the dark and cold days of the paleolithic.
NPR quotes Barber: "It totally revolutionized what they could do," she says. "On a very simple basis, think of the fact you can tie things up in packages so you can carry more. You can put out nets and snares to catch more game so you can eat better."
The next time you spin, remember. The thread you make ties you to the earliest days of human kind. Spinning makes us human.
So come share your hobby. This month, October 10, we spin on the Woodstock square to support and advertise our show. In case of rain, we spin indoors, in the show. Make history. Spin.
You can find the NPR report at this location on their website.
We need to do our share in watching over the gallery and its contents when the doors are open. Eight members have volunteered to take at least one shift, but we can use more.
This is neither onerous nor difficult. You greet visitors, answer questions, and, if you wish, you may work on your own knitting, spinning, or whatever project you choose. The important thing is that we maintain a presence, so that questions can be answered and theft or vandalism made unlikely. There are no sales from the gallery, so you have no responsibility for money, credit cards, etc.
Shifts run from 11 am to 2 pm and from 2 pm to 5 pm on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Sunday has two shorter shifts, 1 to 3 pm and 3 to 5 pm. Most of the schedule has been filled with at least one person per time slot, but doubling up is helpful and encouraged. This is your chance to see the show in detail yourself, as well, or to get some spinning done. Bring your wheel or drop spindle, by all means.
Name tags are in a blue plastic box at the counter. Please wear yours while you are on duty, and return it to the box before leaving. If you haven't yet signed up for a time slot, contact Susan (susanrubendall @ aol.com) to make arrangements.
For your interest and amusement, here are a couple of fun links: Easter bunny donates his body to science. Honest, this is about knitting, it really is. Have a look.
Camp Pluckyfluff is coming to the Weavers Guild of Minnesota to give a workshop on creative yarn design in Minneapolis, November 7-8. Workshop cost is $230 for non-members, hotel accommodations extra. Scroll down the page to find the details.
Programs for the new year: This year's schedule will be announced as early as possible both at meetings and in the newsletter. Note that all workshops are optional, and you are welcome to come and socialize or sit & spin during workshops. All of this year's presentations will be led by members, so there will be no fees. Refer questions about events or schedule to Susan at SusanRubendall @ aol.com.
There are now eleven months left until all show projects for 2010 must be complete. If you didn't enter at least a skein or two in 2009, shame on you. Now is the time to start planning for next year's show.
If you know of an upcoming event, or have a press release or web link, send it to Gary (fuffle@ix.netcom.com) in time for the previous month's deadline in order to make sure it gets into the newsletter in time.
Space permitting, members and their friends may submit notices and classified advertisements to appear here.
Did you miss the September newsletter? It's still available online, right here. Past newsletters are retained online for one year before we retire them to reuse the space.
Are you receiving a monthly e-mail telling you that the newsletter is ready? If not, you need to sign up for the Hollow Tree Spinners e-mail discussion group.
We are trying a Web-based newsletter instead of e-mailing the actual document. This should mean that anyone with access to the internet will be able to see the newsletter, regardless of the kind of computer or software they are using. Most public libraries now have internet browser access as well. An e-mail will be sent to members once a month when the newsletter is ready, reminding them to look at it and print it if they wish. Please let us know what you think. E-mail the editor, Gary Phillips, or guild manager Toni Neil with your comments or suggestions.
Meetings are on the second Saturday of each month unless otherwise announced. The newsletter should be ready by the Saturday before the meeting. Please get items, announcements, etc. to the newsletter editor, Gary, at least a full week in advance of the newsletter date (TWO weeks before the next meeting.)