Mt. Lassen Fiber Guild Event Recap
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Eight members of Mt Lassen Fiber Guild (Chico) participated in Butte County’s Farm City Celebration at Bidwell Mansion in Chico on Saturday, November 5, 2016. A colorful array of handwoven, crocheted, and handknitted yarn-storming pieces fluttered invitingly from the shade canopy, attracting youngsters and their parents.
As usual, our focus was on creating fiber fun for children and educating adults and older children about slow fashion, the true cost of garment manufacture, and the importance of DIY textile arts. From 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, it was non-stop, all-hands on deck as eager children queued up continuously for four hours to learn to use the two spinning wheels provided for their use by Felicia Heidrick. Children enthusiastically treadled the castle-style and traditional Saxony-style spinning wheels while Cyndi Dickinson and Margaret Pekarek (a volunteer from the Young Farmers & Ranchers booth next to us), took turns deftly drafting yarn into bracelets or necklaces in each child’s favorite color.
Older children watched with fascination as Louthea Griffin, Cyndi, and Felicia took turns at the other mechanical spinning device: a drum carder, explaining possible uses while demonstrating how to create a colorful batt, blending alpaca with various colored roving which the children then brought to the spinning wheels. Meanwhile, curious adults had their questions about various spinning wheels answered by Jane Burke as she continuously spun wool from her Schacht Sidekick.
Tina Wilson and Jean Andrews pitched in where needed, quickly learning the ins and outs of Gale Ulvang’s rigid heddle loom and Cyndi’s four-harness table loom. Jean, Tina, and Gale helped children and adults who tried their hand at weaving with colorful yarns provided by Gale and Cyndi. Cyndi and Felicia showed children how to weave with Kumihimo disc as Jaci Siehl showed interested onlookers that a pet cat’s fur can be spun into lovely, soft yarn using a drop spindle. Jaci also spun fine silk yarn from brilliantly-dyed mulberry silk hankies, explaining to inquisitive adults the silkworm’s process.
Children (and their parents) learned, first-hand, the steps involved in do-it-yourself slow textile production. Youngsters took home colorful, well-plied and balanced yarn bracelets and necklaces they had helped to handspin, colorful batts they watched being drum-carded, and Kumihimo kits they had learned to use to create colorful woven cord. All-in-all it was a very successful day for children, their parents, and other interested adults to play with fiber and for Mt Lassen Fiber Guild to fulfill our mission to promote fiber art of high standard, provide educational opportunities, create friendly cooperation among members, and stimulate public interest in fiber art.
Felicia Heidrick, President – Mt Lassen Fiber Guild-Chico