The 5th Annual Wool Gathering is shaping up nicely. Once again we will be at Young’s Jersey Dairy, a mile north of Yellow Springs on U.S. Rte 68, the third weekend in September. Dates and times are Saturday, September 20, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, September 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year we are located behind the Dairy Store, in two very large tents–40 x 140 feet! We’ve already filled one tent with vendors and demonstrators and half of the second tent with an assortment of fiber animals–llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, and rabbits. Eugene Haudenschield is planning to shear sheep for us once again, and Jim Allread is bringing his Border Collies and the ducks they herd. We’re contacting demonstrators of all the fiber arts–any volunteers out there? –and assembling materials for our make-it, take-it projects. Susie Smithers reports that we have 200 CD spindles, and Patty House is bringing her rope making machine. Joan Payne found a neat pattern for making sheep out of yarn pompoms, so we can add to our selection of fiber projects. Carol Miller has again volunteered to teach knitting to beginners. This year we are hoping to add an “Ask the Expert” feature for more-than-beginning knitters who may need a little help with a project. I’ll definitely be looking for volunteers who are experienced knitters and enjoy sharing their knowledge. We will post times and locations for these special demonstrations, consultations, and so on at our raffle item table at the main entrance. (We’ve learned that with tents it’s a little difficult to talk about a main entrance, but the formal entrance is really worth looking for because ice cream cone coupons are given out at intervals there! We also intend to have a new T-shirt design for sale. And you can find out when the next dog show or knitting lesson will be available.) The Society for Creative Anachronism is planning to return for a third year. This group, dedicated to reproducing the dress, the skills, and the manners of the Renaissance, has delighted our visitors with elegant costumes and attention to period detail. Those of us who are contemporary fiber artists, dressed in contemporary shirts and jeans, enjoy the sense of history and continuity members of the Society bring to the Gathering. We’d like to issue a special invitation to any group or guild that promotes the fiber arts to attend our Gathering and to send or bring materials for display or distribution. If you would prefer to receive a newsletter via Email instead of via regular mail, please let us know by sending your Email address to me, Lois Pelekoudas, at Lmpelekoudas@erinet.com, or to Nancy Fisher, our website designer and manager, at nfisher@voyager.net. Whatever the response, we do intend to continue mailings to all who prefer regular mail. For the past several years, the Midwest Festival of Fibers has sponsored A Wool Gathering. We thought you might want to get acquainted with some of the volunteer committee members, so, as a start, we asked our President, Ruth Ann Rahim, to provide us with a brief biography that explains her interest in fiber. Thank you, Ruth Ann, for writing the following.... My involvement in the sheep industry happened in an indirect route with no plans of my ever raising sheep or goats. I grew up on a fruit farm in southern Michigan. My first husband and I lived in Ann Arbor for 6 years and Ithaca, NY, for 2 years. We moved to Yellow Springs, OH, in 1969. I worked at the Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center as secretary before enrolling in Wright State University’s Nursing Program. During my Wright State days, my husband was killed in an airplane crash near Athens, Greece. With the help of many people, my three daughters and I remained in Yellow Springs while I finished my BSN and worked as a cardiac nurse in Dayton. Four years later, I remarried, left the nursing profession, and moved to Springfield. I became involved in sheep raising as we started with cross- bred ewes for the girls’ 4-H projects. We gradually switched to purebred Suffolks when I purchased a Suffolk ram. This was definitely a 4-H project that got out of hand. We went from 16 ewes to a high of 100 when we were raising and showing registered Suffolks. Raising sheep and children led to service as advisor to the Wooley Critters 4-H Club for 13 years and advisor to the Ohio Junior Suffolk Sheep Associa- tion. I also served on the Clark County Sheep Improvement Committee and 4-H Sheep Committee and was sponsor of the Clark County Lamb Cook-Off, first female president of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, member of the Ohio Packing Plant Task Force and the Ohio Voluntary Scrapie Flock Certification Board, director to the National Wool Growers, director of the American Sheep Industry Association, member of the National Wool Committee, representative to the Midwestern Sheep Conference, and founding member of the Midwest Festival of Fibers. I have judged sheep lead classes, queen contests, cook-offs, post-secondary agricultural students, science fairs, and showmanship. In addition to my activity in sheep organizations, I was an active member of the Northwestern FFA Alumni, serving as treasurer for 13 years. I also was a member of CF Water, a clean water advocacy group, and Hands Across America. I went back to Wright State and completed my MBA. There I had several classes and group projects with Dan Young. Currently, I am involved with Habitat for Humanity, where I am a member of the Women’s Build and a member of the Family Relations Committee. I love to garden in my spare time and spend time with my 8 grandchildren. I also like to knit, crochet, and collect yarn, and I am an all around crafter. I do own a spinning wheel, but I have not practiced much. I have had some of my wool made up into comforters and just love them. I currently own 8 Angora rabbits, 6 Suffolk sheep, 3 Cheviot sheep, and about 50 market goats. I think we have a very talented Wool Gathering committee that works together very well. We have had a lot of help and encouragement from our Ag Extension Agent. Putting the Wool Gathering together is something we enjoy and have fun doing. We are very grateful to the Young family for allowing us to have our event at their location Upcoming Events...
If you’d like to try our earliest and most basic craft, plate weaving, make 17 cuts about 1/4 inch deep at equal intervals around the edge of a paper plate. With yarn, warp the plate. Fasten the warp in the middle by passing it over and under the spokes, going around and around until you run out of yarn or want to change colors. When you finish the weaving, carefully cut the loops and tie them together in pairs or fours in order to hold the weaving in place. If you weave tightly, your finished product will cup like a dish when you are finished; looser weaving results in a round flat piece. Weaving with paper strips works well also. Linda Donaldson brought cut paper frame looms and cut paper strips to a Kids’ Night program at Youngs’ last fall, and the children enjoyed making placemats. |