Month: September 2024

Sunday Scroll Case Sewing vs Great Race Course Route

There is scroll case sewing Sunday Sept 29th from 1pm to 5pm at 1105 Shady Avenue. Please see the earlier post for the details. Also, the Great Race is on Sunday. The 10k race which starts at 9:30 a.m. goes from Frick Park along Forbes Avenue to Oakland and then on Fifth Avenue into town. Here is the link for the map. In the bottom right it lists the closing times for different parts of the route. You should avoid coming through downtown.

Fiber Guild Dye Day

The BMDL Fiber Arts Guild is having a fall dye day on October 6th, 2024.

We will meet from 11-3 PM at Tsvee’a’s House. It is a $10 suggested donation to help me cover the cost of dyes. Any extra goes to the next dye day.

In addition to the usual indigo, we will dye with seasonal fall dye sources, black walnut and kakishibu (persimmon tannin). Some synthetic cellulose dyes in red will also be available for those who want to make some fall purples. I will bring stencils and brushes for those who want to do indigo surizome again; I have learned some new tricks.

While the indigo and synthetic red baths will accept larger amounts of cloth and fiber, the kakishibu and walnut are limited in quantity. Please be courteous and bring smaller projects (=< 1 lb fiber) to dye for these dyes.

Please scour your fibers and wash any fabrics in a ph neutral detergent (like synthraprol) before coming so the dye will take. Message me if you need help with that. None of these dyes require mordants, and some will have color shifts if you do, so please don’t mordant unless you understand what you are doing and what the color change will be.

You are welcome to bring food to share if you like, but please eat a meal if you need to beforehand, as it is difficult to dye and eat at the same time.

Wear some clothes that you don’t mind messing up. I will have disposable gloves available, but you may want long rubber ones if you’re going to seriously dunk stuff in the indigo or red.

Finally, loose (unspun) fiber must be secured with a laundry mesh bag in the dye bath for the sake of the plumbing. Please bring a mesh bag or something to keep your loose fiber from floating freely in the bath and going down the drain.

Fall Dye Day

The BMDL Fiber Arts Guild is having a fall dye day on October 6th, 2024.

We will meet from 11-3 PM at our usual place, 5167 Rosecrest Drive. It is a $10 suggested donation to help me cover the cost of dyes. Any extra goes to the next dye day.

In addition to the usual indigo, we will dye with seasonal fall dye sources, black walnut and kakishibu (persimmon tannin). Some synthetic cellulose dyes in red will also be available for those who want to make some fall purples. I will bring stencils and brushes for those who want to do indigo surizome again; I have learned some new tricks.

While the indigo and synthetic red baths will accept larger amounts of cloth and fiber, the kakishibu and walnut are limited in quantity. Please be courteous and bring smaller projects (=< 1 lb fiber) to dye for these dyes.

Please scour your fibers and wash any fabrics in a ph neutral detergent (like synthraprol) before coming so the dye will take. Message me if you need help with that. None of these dyes require mordants, and some will have color shifts if you do, so please don’t mordant unless you understand what you are doing and what the color change will be.

You are welcome to bring food to share if you like, but please eat a meal if you need to beforehand, as it is difficult to dye and eat at the same time. Light refreshments will be available.

Wear some clothes that you don’t mind messing up. I will have disposable gloves available, but you may want long rubber ones if you’re going to seriously dunk stuff in the indigo or red.

Finally, loose (unspun) fiber must be secured with a laundry mesh bag in the dye bath for the sake of the plumbing. Please bring a mesh bag or something to keep your loose fiber from floating freely in the bath and going down the drain.

September 29th is Sunday September Scroll case Sewing

On Sunday September 29th, I am having sewing at my house. It will be scroll case sewing day. I have lots of fabric scraps and way too much cardboard. I’m inviting folks that are comfortable with sewing machines to come and sew casings for the cardboard to be scroll cases. They are needed to cover the lovely scrolls that people are awarded. There is a constant need at the baronial and kingdom levels for MORE SCROLL CASES. Time is from 1pm to 5pm. The address is 1105 Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh 15232. Please park on the street. If you are bringing a sewing machine and want to park in the driveway to drop your sewing machine, you may do so. But then, please pull out to make room for others to do the same. Also I’d rather that you did not bring cardboard or fabric. I really would like to use up what I have.

I hope to see you next Sunday.

Mid-Week Archery Practice (rest of September) +UPDATE

Hi all from Niall!

I’ve decided to continue our mid-week archery practices thru the rest of September with an earlier start and end time, due to the decreasing sunlight in the evening hours. Starting tomorrow (Thursday, 9/12), I will plan to be at the Washington Blvd. location with the archery range open starting at 5:00 pm and closing up shop at 7:30 pm (or whenever it gets too dark to see). I will also start bringing a small-ish selection of our loaner gear for those without their own or for folks who want to try out the new Asiatic recurves. I’ll continue to have run the Thursday mid-week practices as long as I am able and the weather cooperates – so come on out and shoot with us, and get a Royal Round submitted!

UPDATE: For next week’s mid-week practice on September 19th, we will not meet at the Washington Blvd. location – instead, those who are able are encouraged to join our neighbors in Steltonwald for their practice from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Beaver Valley Archery Association.