Open House and Sale

Please join us for our annual Guild open house, show and sale. All fiberists are welcome. Bring your spinning or weaving or knitting or crochet or lockerhooking or whatever and join us for a day of fun and relaxation. There will be a short meeting at 9:15 to install next year's officers - and then we'll be concentrating on fiber fun!

Vendors Include:

• Anacapa Fine Yarns
• Chameleon Colorworks
• Fiberquest
• Knitifacts
• Modern Gypsy Fiber Studio
• Redfish Dyeworks

Guild Members With Items to Sell:

• Norma Ames
• Nona Hummel
• Susie Meach
• Karen Tyner

The historic Dudley House, a lovely Victorian home famous for its holiday craft boutiques, is at the corner of Loma Vista and N. Ashwood in Ventura, just west of Ventura College.

Fees for selling at the Open House are $25 per space (for guild members 10%). You will need to provide your own tables. Food is available nearby.

We hope you'll spend the day and enjoy the advent of fall and the holiday season with us.

Sheep To Shawl 2006

This year's Sheep to Shawl at the Ventura County Fair was a huge success - and the shawl, modeled by Sylvia, was one of our best ever. The winning bidder paid $466 at the auction for this beauty. And Glenda's knit socks were an incredible hit, earning an additional $90!

We had fewer participants this year, but with some hard work and dedicated spinning, we were able to keep Michelle's shuttles filled with freshly plied Romney and finish in the allotted time.

It was Michelle's idea to add beads to the fringe - beautiful!
The shawl was donated to the hospice that cared for the winning bidder's wife prior to her death.

We have lots of leftovers from the Romney we spun for the shawl. Sylvia has purchased another Romney fleece, in brown/black this time. It will be washed and picked, and then in January she will give out portions of it to Guild members who are willing to spin singles. Norma has volunteered to ply the singles into thread, which will then be used as warp for next yearÂ’s shawl.

Cheryl and Sylvia will dye the remaining white fleece to be spun and used as weft at next year's fair. Then we will really be weaving an entirely handspun product. Anyone who is interested in spinning singles, please contact Sylvia at SALeidigATsbcglobalDOTnet.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Sheep to Shawl! See you next year.

Anacapa Fine Yarns

Congratulations to Anacapa Fine Yarns, recently voted the #1 Yarn Shop in Ventura County in the Ventura County Reporter's "Best Of Readers Poll"! To celebrate, Lois and crew are having a 20% - 40% off sale on select yarns during the entire month of October. Be sure to stop by, check out the great yarns and join in the celebration.

These October classes still have openings:

Multi-Directional Diagonal Scarf - One Session - Sunday, October 1,; $30, supplies not included. Level: Know knit stitch confidently. Instructor: Barbara Selesnick. This scarf looks complicated but actually is fun and simple once you learn an easy method of short rows and increases/decreases. You will also learn how to add on a new ball of yarn, how to make and apply fringe, and how to weave in yarn ends. If you are interested in picking up a few more skills and ending up with a scarf that sparks conversation, this class is for you.

Finishing I—Gorgeous Seams - One Session - Sunday, October 8, noon to 3 p.m.; $30, supplies not included. Level: Know how to knit and purl confidently. Instructor: Barbara Selesnick. Learn several different ways to seam sweaters and projects so that they look professionally done! Discover which seams work best for different circumstances, how to end up with a beautiful join at the top and bottom, the use of selvage stitches, and some tips & tricks along the way to end up with a beautifully finished garment.

Vest of Many Colors-Two Sessions – Sunday, October 15 and 29, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $45, supplies not included. Skill Level: Know how to knit and purl confidently. Instructor: Marcy Abrams. In this class, we will make a unisex button-down vest, learning skills that will prepare knitters for more advanced sweater-making projects, such as shaping armholes and neck lines, creating ribbed borders, and making buttonholes. A pattern with sizing for children and adults will be provided.

Block Your Way to Success - One Session - Sunday, October 15, 1 to 4 p.m., $30, plus $8 material fee (for blocking board) paid to instructor on the day of class. Supplies not included, Skill Level: Know how to knit and purl confidently. Instructor: Barbara Selesnick. Has anyone ever said to you that your knitted garments look store-bought? It will happen when you learn the tricks and techniques of blocking. Learn several different methods of blocking, the blocking properties of different yarns, and the ability to create garments that will always fit the way YOU want. You will also learn to correct many mistakes with finished items through the blocking process.

Top Down Sweater - Two Sessions – Saturday, October 21 and 28, 2 to 5 p.m.; $45, supplies not included. Skill Level: Know how to knit and purl confidently. Instructor: Carol May. Learn the simple technique of knitting a sweater from the top down, with a saddle shoulder. When you learn this method, you will be able to make any sweater, for any member of the family. In class, we will make a miniature version; it will fit a 12 month old baby. We will make an easy cardigan, but you will also have directions for a pullover with various necklines, all in adult and children sizes.

Intro to Color Knitting-Intarsia - One Session - Sunday, October 22, noon to 3 p.m.; $30, supplies not included. Skill Level: Know how to knit and purl confidently. Instructor: Barbara Selesnick. Learn to work from a graph to combine different blocks of color to create a design. You will learn the basics of knitting intarsia, tools that make things easier, tips and tricks for success. We will also create a graph of your own design for a second project.