Sunday, August 17, 2008

What Fun At The Fair!

Every year our Textile Guild has a lot of great mini workshops at the Fair - as well as the wonderful yearly events - like the Sheep To Shawl contest. This year these 'teachings' were coordinated by guild member Jo Critchlow -an energetic wonder woman who routinely makes 20 pairs of socks a year. Jo says she makes one pair of socks a week - and she uses leftover sock yarn to make the most wonderful baby sweaters ! Jo did an amazing job and packed the days with so many fun things! One workshop that I missed during this year was about dyeing with fermented persimmons so I was especially pleased to find that the teacher, Chris Conrad, was going to be doing a mini work shop at the fair ! The technique is called Kakishibui & I had a great time tying various objects into this silk scarf. If I do this process again, I think I would prefer to sew the fabric - more like a sh1bori. Once dry there are several ways to darken the pattern & soften the fabric. I used a tablespoon of baking soda in clear water to darken the original color. I am planning to screen some other design elements and colors onto this scarf - hopefully later today. Chris Conrad is an excellent teacher - and I am still sorry that I missed her full workshop. She also adds indigo dye to her work -what a fabulous combination! She donated her time to the Guild for this event - which I think is amazing. If your group is looking for a fascinating class - contact Chris- you won't regret it !
Some of you will remember that I have a fascination for making small baskets. I gave a mini workshop for the Guild this year & several of the folks who attended just took off and make lots & lots of theses gems themselves. Every year the Guild makes something special to give to "fluffy ribbon" winners. Susan Rosenberg, our fearless (and by now extremely exhausted Superintendent) made scads of these little wonders - and I am the proud new owner of the two shown here. It was SO darn much fun to see what other people do with a technique - and makes me begin to understand the fun of teaching. Thank you Susan, for your encouragement & for all of the hard work you put into making the Fair such a huge success - you're quite amazing !
Every year I get one or two baskets. It's the first place I visit. This is the small basket I got this year to hold my most frequently used beading supplies - and beads for the current project. Love the orange! It was really a wonderful fair. I even managed to get another set of holes in my ears (by a local, well known provider - fear not about cleanliness!) - which had been on my list of things "to do" for awhile. The weather was very HOT this year - and dry too (which is a good thing for the Fair!). Heat really does me in though. Friday night I came home, took a shower & lay down for what I thought would be a quick nap. I woke up two hours later at 6:15pm. Fell asleep again at 8:30 pm & slept through until 9 am Saturday. Unbelievable! I was so pleased that I took the time this year to enjoy some of the fun that the Fair - and our Guild - had to offer.
Another of the mini workshops that was offered was basket making. It was supposed to be for kids - but I figure that might well describe my mind set - and it appeared that I was is very good "adult kid" company! I can easily see how basket making could become a serious addiction. I have some photographs for another post of some of the fabulous baskets that were ribbon winners.

3 comments:

Sandy said...

I have a thing for baskets too. Lucky you with that fair. Clark County doesn't have the classes.

Terry Grant said...

I took a basketmaking class years ago and enjoyed it so much! Very hard on your hands.

La Tea Dah said...

Stunning fair photos! You have inspired me. Our fair is this week --- and I will take my camera. I hope they don't mind!

Years ago I was the Open Class Sewing Judge. Do I have stories to tell...

Love
LaTeaDah

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