A nice relaxing day, attended by about 25 people – a lot of spinning and talking and some very nice inkle weaving, plus home made mince pies and other goodies. Our new annual magazine was ready to pick up, and looks very professional. We also had the opportunity to buy more of the challenge bags and some festive fibre collections.
Culloden Christmas Fair
Some Guild members demonstrated spinning and weaving at Culloden Battlefield on 24 November.
4 Corners Workshop
I didn’t manage to get to this workshop, but it looks as if it was a really good day! There was a festive theme, with participants making batts from red, green and white wool, fleece angels, and coiled gift baskets; the fourth corner was designated as “social” and gave an opportunity to carry on with one of the earlier activities … Read More
AGM and Show & Tell 2019
Our AGM is always lively and interesting, and as usual produced a range of suggestions for the new committee to discuss. Following the formal part of the day, and a social lunch we had a Show & Tell, with an impressive array of articles made my members over the year. Here are some photos: Jane and Bryony have just been … Read More
Loch Ness Knitfest 2019
This year the Marketplace was only open on Friday and Saturday. We were able to set up our display on Thursday afternoon and were there to demonstrate on both days. We had a good spot – further from the stage than last year. I was initially concerned that we didn’t have a wall behind us, but in fact it worked … Read More
Spin to Weave Workshop October 2019
I was too late to book for this workshop, run by Christina Chisholm, but visited it to take photos. When I arrived Christina was demonstrating how to avoid wasting precious handspun when using it as warp. She had a strong, commercially spun yarn, wound onto the back beam of her loom, and threaded through heddles and reed. A handspun warp, … Read More
Daviot Vintage Farm Day 2019
Four of us from the Nairn Spinning Group demonstrated at the Daviot Vintage Farm Day on 28th September – Hilma Rask, Christine Smith, Kathleen Watson and myself. The weather is always a factor as the field gets waterlogged quite quickly, but we were lucky – just a bit of drizzle in the morning, then a bit of heavier rain towards … Read More
September 2019 Open Day
A very lively day, with 40 plus people, most spinning, some managing to weave or wind a warp, everyone chatting! Denise handed out bags of fibre for this year’s challenge. This year we all have the same – it will be interesting to see how different the results are! Sue brought along a display of her work for the Certificate … Read More
Summer shows
Guild members have demonstrated spinning and weaving at farm shows around our area. Here are some photos: Sutherland Show 20th July: Nairn Show 27th July: Black Isle Show 1st August:
3-D Weaving and Open Day
Our tutor for the May 2019 workshop was Louise Martin, a very skilled and experienced tapestry weaver. She had brought looms ready warped for us to use, and had sent instructions for those who wished to bring their own looms. Louise started us off with basic weaving, then moved on to weaving ridges, adding “worms” and fringes, and working with … Read More
Forres Theme Day
Four Guild members from the Nairn Spinning Group demonstrated at the Forres Theme Day on 5th May. This is always a nice friendly event, though the weather can be anything from hot and sunny like last year to really cold like this year! My photos make it look as if the interest in our stand was from one man and … Read More
Ann Artis – Daft Batts
‘Daft Batts’, a workshop tutored by Anne Artis. (pictures below) Anne Artis, an ever popular tutor from Callander, was joined by twenty-one Highland Guild members for her workshop entitled ‘Daft Batts’. We were invited to come prepared with a variety of fibre preparation tools but, in fact, only needed access to a drum carder after an initial session with hand … Read More
Red Cross Day at Dingwall
This was a promotional day for the Red Cross, with a lot of very good quality craft stands. Stallholders had been asked to demonstrate their crafts as well, so there was plenty to interest visitors. We had a display of our work and quite a number of Guild members attended to demonstrate spinning and weaving. Serena brought her amazing little … Read More
Playing with Colour
Stephanie Hoyle’s Dyeing Workshop was preceded with clear notes in March’s Guild Newsletter explaining the uses of Procion MX Dyes and which fibres they were suitable for. Recipes were given so we could prepare our fibres ahead of the day. I found this extremely useful as it enabled me to hank up skeins, weigh out tops and label them beforehand … Read More
Feb 2019 Open Day and Challenge
Another good day, with 30 plus people attending, and a shared lunch. Most people were spinning; Sheila had brought along a book charka to spin cotton. Click on the pictures to see more detail. The focus of the day though was the Guild challenge. This started at the September meeting, when those participating had been asked to bring 100 gms … Read More