Clothos Spinning Guild monthly meeting was last Saturday and that means it was time for the judging of the annual fiber challenge. Some of us took the challenge to create a fiber article from fiber we received from Mt. Airy Farm. Some fleece was CVM, some Cormo/CVM blend. Mine was the heavenly blend of Cormo and CVM. Some members spun yarns, some dyed their fiber, some felted shapes or creatures. All were done using the theme of creating something inspired by a person, place or event in Virginia.
My entry, which Mr. Lady said would win “best nest”, was based on the trip we took to see the eagles’ nests and resident eagles on the James River back in the winter.
The Best Nest
I spun a 4-ply cabled yarn of the Cormo/CVM blend fleece and plyed into it the emu feathers that I received from Shirley Treasure in Perth Western Australia last year! When I looked at my fiber sample I knew what I had to do. A world away the colors in nature are the same. The emu feathers there and the sheep here were perfectly matched in shades of cream and brown.
The singles yarn
The emu feathers
Plying with emu feathers
The cabled feather yarn
Mary’s entry was inspired by the emblems of Virginia: dogwood trees and the cardinal.
Barbara’s entry was spun with coins and actual shredded money! She said that during the spinning that her house was covered in money. Too bad it was not whole bills!
These are just a few of the entries. All 3 of us won fibery prizes and I think everyone who participated had a good time creating and seeing each other’s inspiration and results. And Mr. Lady was right, mine was the best nest. The only nest!
