Zoom session from March 16, 2025
Moderated by Ann Rader. A number of people were key in answering questions and providing suggestions: Heidi B., Cindy S, Lee M, Angie C.
Various topics at the beginning:
- Rigid heddle looms are good for using handspun yarn — less waste and gentle on the yarn.
- The book, The Golden Thread by Kassia St. Clair was highly recommended by a participant.
- What is a good wool yarn to use for tabby when weaving summer & winter?
- Gist Array at 3,360 yards per pound is a good choice, sett at 20-24 epi.
- Another wool is Maypole “Willamette” hand weaving yarn. It is a 2 ply lace weight yarn. It’s been discontinued but is still available on Ebay and elsewhere.
- When removing cloth from the loom without having hemstitched while on the loom: you can stay stitch by hand or with a sewing machine before removing the header.
- Weaving with knitting yarns: can result in very soft cloth with a wonderful hand.
- But prior to using knitting yarn for warp, measure how much the yarn stretches by laying the yarn on measuring tape and then stretching it to see how much longer the yarn is under tension. Be sure to add a proportional length to the warp when winding.
- Another way to handle stretchier knitting yarns is to wet finish the skein and then weight it while it hangs to dry (e.g., hang a heavy can of tomatoes inside the skein). This will make winding the warp easier (less stretchy) but you will still need to add length to your warp because it will spring back to its original length (before stretching).
- Cindy S. Suggested the following youtube video would be helpful when using handspun yarn for weaving: Tying a Skein, Determining Yardage of Handspun Yarn, and Measuring Wraps per Inch https://youtu.be/MONJnXfjQLA
- Weaving with superwash merino: works very well, holds shape nicely. Just don’t beat as hard or firmly as you normally do because it will tighten up more. Use a gentle beat.
- Someone had a question about the type of wool used in Navajo weaving: it is generally churro sheep. There is a yarn store in New Mexico that specializes in Navajo weaving: Weaving in Beauty and may be able to help identify wool used in a Navajo woven item you have.
We then transitioned to a discussion about entering the Maryland Sheep and Wool Skein and Garment Competition.
- Wool is defined as the product of a sheep (so, not alpaca).
- Some items must be 100% wool (specified in entry guidelines)
- All other items must be at least 50% wool (by weight, or all weft or all warp must be wool).
Some pointers about entering handspun yarn:
- Follow instructions on the website carefully!
- Dry your skeins thoroughly.
- The figure 8s that hold the skein together should be the same handspun yarn you are submitting.
- Tie figure 8s loosely so judges can examine the skein carefully.
- Only enter one skein per entry (don’t bundle several together for a single entry).
- Follow the guidelines on the minimum weight per skein.
- Don’t include any knots in your skein – it should be one continuous yarn.
- Pay special attention to “intended purpose” – make sure the yarn would really work for the intended purpose. Two skeins may be equally even and lovely, but if one isn’t suited to the stated intended purpose, the other skein will win. This can be the deciding factor.
- Use a 3×5 index card to provide more information for the judges: S-twist, Z-twist, etc. Demonstrate your knowledge on this card.
Angie C. then provided information about entering items:
- The link to the online entry form will go live by April 1.
- Submit up to 5 items per form. If you have more items, start another form.
- You can correct forms even after submission: start another form and click the check box indicating it’s a correction.
- After you submit online, you’ll get a pop-up indicating the submission happened. You’ll also get an email from wufoo.com. If you don’t get the email, go back into system because your form did not get submitted. Be sure to check your spam folder. If you think you submitted and still didn’t get an email, contact Angie Collison.
- Create 3×5 cards for each item, providing information for the judges.
- Bring address labels when submitting – these go onto the entry tag (but remain hidden while judging is happening).
- Several ways to submit your items:
- Bring to the April 1 guild meeting – Angie will be accepting entries there.
- Contact Angie if you’d like to submit items on the Sunday before the festival (April 27)
- Items can also be mailed to a P.O. Box. (Address on website.) Must arrive the Tuesday before festival (April 29).
- Official intake is on the Thursday prior to the festival (this year: May 1) from 2-6pm at the Howard County Fairgrounds, Annex Building.
- Friends can submit items for friends.
- Attach a 3×5 card to each item with details for the judges to consider.
- Last year about 250 items were submitted (prior to Covid, it was over 300). Of these 75-100 are handspun skeins. Only 20-25 handwoven items were submitted in 16 categories.
- Be sure to check the categories as they are updated annually.
- The Mamie Francis awards are no longer being given, though the blanket categories remain (just no special prizes).
- Angie C. will send out a reminder to the Guild about submissions and also asking for volunteers for the Skein and Garment Competition – need volunteers to:
- scribe for judges,
- help set up displays,
- host/monitor during the exhibit, and
- hand items back to people picking up their submissions.
- Angie will check to see if you can enter the fair for free late on Sunday just to pick up items.
- Some awards are given in person at the time of pick up, so submitters need to specify who is authorized to pick up their items.
It was suggested that in the future we should have Hangouts on linen, cotton, and silk.