April 2023 Meeting Recap: Member Tips and Amanda Lane presents Reclaiming Yarn From Knit Garments4/25/2023 by Shela Perrin In person meeting at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church located at 1907 NE 45th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97213. Doors open at 6:00pm for social knitting. In person and virtual program begins at 7:00pm and there is no entry after 7:00pm. Covid vaccination, booster proof and masks were required for those attending in person. Masks will only be recommended going forward and vaccination proof will not be required starting in May. We are always looking for volunteers to help at the in person meetings. Please share your availability via [email protected] when you RSVP or by filling out this form. We are in need of a Treasurer. If you are interested please email [email protected]. This position requires being at 2 meetings per month on the 1st and 2nd Thursday of each month. Membership new or renewal is available through the website at the Membership page. Cost is $35.00. Scholarships and Gift Memberships are available. Questions can be sent to [email protected]. If you have ideas for programming and/or speaker suggestions, please share them at [email protected]. Virtual knit night is every Monday evening between 6:00pm and 8:00pm Pacific Time. Drop in anytime and pajamas are encouraged. Visit the Guild Events page on our website for a current link. Member Tips are open for anyone wishing to share favorite tips. Send a note to [email protected] if you are interested in sharing. Raffle prizes for this meeting include a $25.00 gift certificate to Abstract Fiber and Yarn and a $25.00 gift certificate to JaMpdx, ceramics. Gathering of the Guilds takes place April 28 thru April 30th at The Oregon Convention Center and admission is free. Six Portland area Guilds will be showing and selling their art. The Service Projects current challenge items are due. Please email [email protected] if you have any items to contribute. The baby blanket project is a year long challenge to support Boxes of Love and With Love. A new short term challenge will be announced soon. Lori Patterson brought us member tips about color pooling when dying yarn. She has experimented with yarn dyes in a way you can see a distinct pattern in the colors. A Palindrome in this case would be yarn dyed in a sequence that is the same backwards and forwards. The pooling must have a pattern to it, just variegated yarn is not self-stripping and will not give you the effect she demonstrated where the toe and heal knit up as one color and the body of the sock is a mix of colors. Cast on with the color you want to start with and see how many rows of stitches per inch of yarn to make your project. Lori’s list of links on pooling:
Amanda Lane presented the interesting process of reclaiming yarn found in made objects. Why do this? For one thing it is budget friendly, and secondly it is a sustainable process keeping the old items out of the trash. She walked us through the steps including how to over-dye the yarn. She loves all things fiber and understanding how things work. She loves sharing her knowledge with others. Amanda spends her free time knitting, spinning, sewing and weaving. How to choose an item that can be reclaimed? Shaped pieces vs. cut from yardage must be determined before you can tell if it can be reclaimed. If an item is knit in pieces look for seams. If you see serging that is an indication it cannot be salvaged. Hand knitting pieces are a good beginning clue it will be reclaimable. There is inherent loss in the process so choose bigger items than the one you want to make from it. Cables require more yarn and a cowl neck are also good indications. Once you have chosen your item use a double pointed needle to undo the seams, NEVER scissors, its too easy to cut the yarn. As you unravel the yarn ball it up as you go. Make skeins of the yarn so you can wash it. Once washed squeeze and hang to let dry, this helps in getting the yarn ready to knit. If you want to dye a new color you need to know the fiber content. If there is no tag on the original item you can burn it to tell what type of fiber it is by the smell. Once you are clear on the fiber you can choose how to dye it. Rit Dyes are a combination of agents. Mordants for natural dyes aid in the dye bonding process. Once you are ready to dye you will need measuring spoons, dye pot (not used for food), tongs, gloves, eye protection and a mask. You can use a steamer to straighten yarn of hang with weight on it. The process is an investment in time, very little money. You can find used yarn at Backstory Books and Yarn located at 3129 SE Hawthorne, 503-235-8977. Also Natural Recycled Yarn is a good resource for used yarn. Show and tell: we saw a top down in the round raglan in worsted weight. Also a pressed flower shawl. Starlight Knitting is doing a pressed flower knit along currently.
Upcoming fibre events:
Next Month: Ellie Alexander-Loomis presents Scrap Down with Skeinanigans.
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