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Typical Paisley worn with crinoline skirt, when it was at its widest. c. 1865

Editors Note

With the return of proper winters for the last two years a renewal of interest in warm handspun wool might be expected so now could be a good time for us to spread the word. To this end there will be opportunities on the annual National Week of Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing in May and at the Cotswold Farm Park in June. (We'd love to have your experiences for the Newsletter too!) Like most things craftwork tends to fluctuate in and out of fashion and our Guild fulfils an important role in keeping textile skills alive through the lean years. If the recent interest in handcrafts stimulated by the TV series Masterworks indicates a revival we will be ready!

Janet Holman

Committee for 2010

Chairman Carol Mitchell

Secretary Christine May

Treasurer Cherry McClarron

Toni Harris (Vice)

Membership Secretary Elaine Allen

Programme Secretary Caroline Faulkner-Aston

Margaretta Williams (Vice)

Members Frances Taylor

Margaret Tattersfield

Sue Skrine

Newsletter Janet Holman (editor)

Sally Dopson (production, printing & distribution)

Sales Table Ann Helmsley

Peggy Readings

Notice Boards Denise Williams

Teas Veronika Madsden

Shelia Rowe

Library Chris Isherwood

Fees for 2010 Full membership - £20.00

Friends - £8.00

Visitors - £3:00 per visit

Monthly meetings - £1:00 for members

January Meeting

Paisley Pattern - Angela Thompson

Angela Thompson came to our meeting with a very impressive array or Paisley shawls. She surprised some of us, well certainly me, when she started her talk with “The Paisley pattern does not come from Paisley”!

The history of Paisley can be traced back to the Middle East, to the Ying Yang symbol, Babylon and there is also a thought that it was inspired by the date seed. In the 1600s Paisley moved to Persia where it was shown as a flower form. It also shows up in Greece as a flower and as a sign of fertility. The Moguls in India used the pattern in their Cashmere Pashmina shawls, beautiful shawls were brought back to England by employees of the East India Company and in the 18th century became a very popular fashion item with British ladies.

The shawls were very expensive so manufacturers looked for ways to make shawls cheaper at home. The Edinburgh weavers were the first to embark on this, due to their expertise as damask weavers. They employed Flower Lashers and Draw Boys to work on their Jacquard looms and woe betide the Draw Boy if he made a mistake!

Queen Victoria favoured Paisley shawls and preferred large oblong ones in plaid, in fact these shawls became so popular that Edinburgh weavers couldn’t keep up with demand and Glasgow weavers helped and so did the weavers of Paisley! They decided to ship goats to Great Britain for their soft underbelly fleece which was used for Pashminas and the story goes that one ship brought the females and another brought the males and unfortunately one ship sunk in bad weather on the trip, it’s not clear which ship but consequently there were lonely females or males and in spite of bringing more goats over, they were unable to breed due to the difference in the climate. Then Merino sheep were imported from Australia, it is at this time that the name “Paisley” came to the fore. Glasgow manufacturers then developed a method of printing the Paisley patterns on their shawls and that became the demise of the shawl as they were much cheaper and affordable to everyone, the lady of the house was not very happy seeing her servant wearing the same shawl, albeit a printed one. The shawls were then used to cover furniture, couches, pianos etc.

Angela then showed us the selection of shawls that she had brought with her, some she had found in charity shops, antique shops; some had been given to her by friends and family. They dated from 200 years ago, Victorian times, they were made from Norwich silk, Anglo Indian embroidery, Deli shawl embroidered with cream silk, others from Russia and Pakistan. There was also a printed compartment shawl, with four different colours, from Glasgow. Angela also tried to identify and date shawls that members had brought along which made me (and I’m sure others) think that I was going to go home and see what I could find hidden in my cupboards and drawers! Sally Dopson - Jan 2010

February meeting

This was a real 'hands on' meeting. Hilary demonstrated how to use weaving sticks and then set us to work with sticks that she brought with her already threaded and ready to weave. When we had got the hang of this she showed us how the technique could also be used with a peg loom to create wider pieces of fabric. We were also able to inspect some of Hilary's own work in which she used a variety of materials including strips of plastic bags. To demonstrate the peg loom Hilary showed us how raw fleece could be turned into an impressive rug - an inspiration to those with a fleece overload!

PORTLAND SHEEP

The Portland sheep is a heathland breed that has been found in its native Dorset area for several hundred years, it is a representative of the Wessex tan-faced group of sheep. The Doomsday Book records that in 1299 there were nine hundred sheep on Portland. It is a small, attractive, thrifty and hardy animal, the average adult ewe weighing 38-40 kg. The Portland was one of the breeds used in the development of the Dorset breed. Portlands are small, they are free of wool on the face and lower legs, which are tan. The lambs are born fox red in colour and lighten to either white or gray during the first few months of life though some red kemp fibres may be found on the britch.. It is horned in both sexes, and those of the ram are heavily spiralled..

The fine, creamy fleece is much sought after by handspinners. The wool is of good quality “spongey” wool with a fibre length of 6-9 cm and should be combed in preparation for spinning.

The breed has been noted since the time of George III for the delicacy of its mutton, and it continues to produce high quality meat with fine texture and excellent flavour. Portland ewes are good milky mothers, and the breed has the unusual ability to lamb out of season.

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from the AGWSD Newsletter March 2010

Prince Charles Woollen Initiative

The Times reports that Prince Charles hopes to establish a new green label for woollen products, and hopes that high street shops will commit to promote wool each season. The initiative would also back a Wool Week, set to take place before London Fashion Week in September – just as shoppers begin to acquire their winter wardrobe.

National Handweaving & Hand Spinning Week 2011

For National Handweaving and Hand Spinning Week in 2011, the Association is hoping to establish a working partnership with the National Trust, and other similar organisations, to enable historic venues to be available to Guilds as a focus for their activities. In addition we are planning to work with a national initiative called The Big Weave (see the article on page 12 of the Spring 2010 Journal), enabling those Guilds who are interested to set up a community weaving project. More details will be released soon, including details of regional centres where Guild members can gain the necessary training to run a community weaving project

Snow stories: sheep have 'forgotten how to cope with snow'

Sheep might have lost their inbred knowledge of how to cope with prolonged snow, a leading farmer has said.

 Published in Daily Telegraph 08 Jan 2010

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Milder winters meant flocks lost the practice of finding shelter on hilltops – and shepherds have lost the habit too.

The fears were raised by Malcolm Corbett, 58, who farms at Rochester in the Northumberland National Park, and is vice-chairman of the NFU national livestock board.

In the past, flocks were gathered in ''spells'' – open, circular shelters – and fodder was left there for them, Mr Corbett said.

But the mild winters had led the practice to die out.

He said: ''The young ewes learn from the older ones to come in to the shelters during the bad weather, but that's not something they have had to do recently.

''Animals evolve and so do their practices which maintain and sustain them in their environment and this (sheltering under the snow) is something they have not required.''

Mr Corbett said sheep can survive for long periods if they burrow down through a snowdrift and get to a food source.

He added: ''I have no doubt that some will not have survived. ''There is 4ft of snow lying on top of the fells.'' He said snow had not laid for 25 years, adding: ''In the 1960s, '70s and '80s, I remember this regularly.

Books from our library

ITTEN, Johannes (1888 - 1967) The elements of color: a treatise on the color system of Johannes Itten based on his book The art of color trans. Ernst Van Hagen. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company 1970 ISBN 0-442-24038-4

Bobbie Kociejowski recommended this book when she spoke at the Six Guilds meeting in October. It was written as a result of many years of teaching, studying and analysing the relationships between colours. The coloured illustrations are carefully chosen to explain the text and make an excellent reference source. Although principally addressed to painters it could also be useful in discovering and remedying problems with colour combinations in textiles

" If you, unknowing, are able to create masterpieces in color, then unknowledge is your way. But if you are unable to create masterpieces in color out of your unknowledge, then you ought to look for knowledge." Itten

It might sound a bit like Donald Rumsfeld but it does make sense. (as does Donald Rumsfeld's 'unknown unknowns' speech if you follow it through!)

(Book reviews are very interesting, so if you’ve borrowed from our library and have enjoyed the book please let us know by writing a short review)

Themes for Sales Table

April Anything interesting

May Plants

June Fleece, tops etc.

July Dyestuffs & unused kits

Aug No sales table

Sept Produce -(jam, fruit, veg.)

Oct Bric a brac (small items or photos of large items)

Nov Christmas gifts & Handmade cards

Websites Worth a Look

Lots more information on the history of the Paisley pattern.

virtue.to you will find the pattern for a liripipe , like Debbie Stoker brought to the October meeting. Follow The Medieval Clothing Articles: , How to be a Hoodlum and just scroll down to find the pattern.

this site has 1000’s of free craft projects, there are new projects and tips added every day with step by step instructions, videos and patterns.

This is our own Gloucestershire Guild website with lots of information such as details of events, meetings etc. If you would like to comment or make contributions please contact Caroline Faulkner-Aston who is the webmaster.

- This is the Associations website and has everything, including details of the Online Guild. .

mandacrafts.co.uk - This is Amanda Hannaford’s website, lots of good stuff and some very useful video clips to look at.

this site is great for beginners and experienced spinners alike with instruction about spinning wheels, drop spindles, spinning techniques, fibres etc. etc. There are also some very useful instruction videos.

Don’t forget to let me know about websites you stumble upon so that we can all share them. Sally Dopson

What’s On

Feb 6 - April 18

The Shape of Things. Exploring the relevance and relationship of contemporary crafts to national identities.

(see .uk)

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Queen's Road. Bristol BS8 1RL

April 17 - May 29

Kaleidoscope: Fibre craftsmanship in a colourful world.

Association National Exhibition. Mansfield Museum Leeming Street, Mansfield, Notts. NG18 1NG Full details see Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. or Steve Kennett, Exhibition Organiser 01798 831010 or exhibition@.uk

April 24 - April 25

Wonderwool Wales Royal Welsh Showground, LLanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys LD2 3SY wonderwoolwales.co.uk

May 1 - May 21

Stroud International Textile Festival

Details from .uk or

tel: 01453 808076 (Gaynor is looking for volunteers to help during the festival)

May 1 – 7 National week of Spinning Weaving and Dyeing

8 May to Sunday 27 June 2010.

Exhibition ‘Spinning, weaving and dyeing in the north Cotswolds since 1900’ Court Barn Museum, Church St., Chipping Campden. GL55 6JE Open Tues - Sat 10.30 - 5.30 Sun 11.30 - 5-30 Admission £3.75 Tel; 01386 841951

The story of 20th-century textile crafts from Ethel Mairet at Broad Campden in the 1900s, through Mary Osborn at Stanton in the 1970s and 1980s, to craftspeople of the present day. And a chance to try hand-weaving yourself.

May 8-9

The Big Weave (as part of Stroud International Textile Festival)

Red Dog Studio, Five Valley Foyer, Gloucester Street, Stroud. (The Old Painswick Inn) Call in to see us and have a go at weaving

13 - 14 June

Guild Members will be demonstrating at Cotswold Farm Park during shearing.

Please see Frances if you are able to take part.

Workshops are held once a month in the summer, on the Wednesday following the monthly meeting. In the winter they are held twice a month, on the Wednesday following the monthly meeting and a fortnight later.

Venue The Committee Room, Norton Village Hall

Time 09:00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Phone Frances Taylor - 01452 730891 for details.

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Portland Sheep

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Gloucestershire Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers

Newsletter - March 2010

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