February Meeting 2015

Old Business The "River Runs Through It" display has been taken down from Mercy Hospital, we will hold on to it until the Umpqua Valley Quilters Guild Show in April.New Business The "Fins, Feathers, Scales and Tails" challenge is due at our March meeting, so labels and organizing can be done for the UVQG Show. They must have a sleeve and your name tag on the back. A play day will be scheduled for the clothesline bowls that Amy made.

Show & Tell Nancy made a denim pillow, and two seat covers, from her sewing room cleanup project. Crystal had an Open House at her new business endevour "Create & Sip Studios" she will be offering classes in painting and would like to include some textile art classes too. Claire has gotten moved in, and has installed some "EPIC" shelves. "Listen Up" is the title of Jana's Crow wall hanging, the bold background shows off the thread painted crow. The poem is from the book The Language of Crows and it is rubber stamped onto the fabric. "Old Women and Cats" is another creation from Jana, she really takes this saying to heart. Kay reports the traveling SAQA Show is at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center, make sure you stop and see it. A white on white bouquet is made by Vi, I don't think the photo does justice to the many shades of white or the different fabrics and textures that she used. Vi's black wool background with colorful wool felt is the opposite of the tranquil white quilt. The hand embroidered blanket stitch around each piece adds contrast and color. Vera has three scarves made by Barbara Khun of Grants Pass, Oregon, they are done with a dye painted weft, to create a subtle pattern change in the weaving.
Vera Returns from Malaysia Vera has brought lots of show & tell from her trip to Malaysia, her daughter and son-in-law took a month long trip to Myanmar and brought her back many different types of textiles.

Be careful what you ask for, the man across the street who owned the grocery store offered to do Vera's portrait. Can you smile very big and say thank you. Her daughters trip to Myanmar was a journey in alternate fiber sources, a bamboo paper umbrella is the first item.

Followed by lotus stem fibers spun into a soft yarn.

I believe the red scarf is also lotus yarn.

Banana leaf fibers are spun to make this soft scarf in a dark creamy natural color.

Nettle stems are beat with a wooden paddle to break down the fibers and soften them for spinning, much like flax is used to make linen. The soft shawl is woven from the nettle yarn, and the finished scarf is rolled, not folded, to keep the fold creases from breaking the fibers.

Yak fur is spun and knit into headbands, by ladies sitting on the street corners, each headband cost a dollar American.

Nuno felting is the technique used to add bits of brightly colored wool to the base of an old silk scarf.

Wool from Tibetan sheep is brought by Tibetan refugees, either trucked in or brought over the mountains by mule train to Myanmar. A 3 ply twisted yarn, is made and dyed in copper cauldrons with Swiss dyes. These small knotted rugs have a very deep pile.

Large sheets of paper are made with native plant materials caught in the fibers of the paper. Demo Peggy did a demo with Clorox bleach pens, used on black fabric to draw zentangle patterns. No photos are available, can a Fyber Cafe member send me a photo of their work if they tried this technique.