USQM Creative Hands Gathering - July 2017

Upper Susquehanna Quarterly Meeting
Creative Hands Gathering
Saturday & Sunday - July 22nd & 23rd
Lynne Graham and Bryn Hammarstrom’s house
39 Chatham Valley Lane
Middlebury Center, PA 16935
Come join Friends of all ages for an hour or two or a whole weekend of fun with crafts at the home of Lynne Graham and Bryn Hammarstrom in Tioga County, PA. The group project will be Shibori Dyeing. No experience is needed and kids of all ages are welcome. Friendly lessons and project help will be available all day.
If you can't join us but would like to see some of the projects we are interested in check out our Pinterest page https://www.pinterest.com/bboyd5180/usqm-creative-hands-gathering/
This weekend is the start of the Endless Mountain Music Festival. If Friends would like to come Friday night to attend the concert and stay over they are welcome, just let Lynne and Bryn know. http://www.endlessmountain.net/2017-program-schedule.html
Saturday
10am-noon – Getting set up for afternoon dyeing, filling buckets, setting up drying stations, etc.
Noon – potluck – bring a dish to share, place settings will be provided
2pm-5pm – Shibori Dyeing, this is a Japanese technique akin to tie-dye but typically done on white fabric with indigo dye. Here are some links to check it out.
http://www.dharmatrading.com/information/shibori-diy.html
http://www.designsponge.com/2014/05/diy-project-shibori-designs-4-ways.html
https://www.seamwork.com/issues/2015/08/shibori-dyeing
What to Bring – white natural fiber cloth or t-shirt to dye (cotton, hemp, silk, maybe wool?), should be
pre-washed and dried.
- rubber gloves
-a couple of clothes pins (if you have them)
-an apron or coverup if you are the exuberant type
Dye and buckets will be provided. We will be outside if the weather is nice, otherwise in the garage, please keep an eye on the weather and bring appropriate clothes.
6:30pm – a simple meal for supper will be provided
After supper - a relaxed evening, possibly a movie or book discussion
Sunday
8:30am blueberry pancake breakfast
11am Meeting for Worship
Noon – potluck lunch
1:30pm – finishing up any projects and getting packed up
If you would like to stay overnight there are a limited number of beds/mattresses on the floor available and plenty of camping and parking space. Please let Lynne Graham know if you plan to stay over lynneg@epix.net / 570-376-5176 or if you need directions. Children of all ages are welcome to come participate in the activities! For more info on the weekend activities or information call Beth Higginson 570-324-2470 or email at ponderit_@hotmail.com
Shibori Dyeing Information from Beth
For those of you who are chomping at the bit here are some thoughts on what to bring to the gathering. Indigo dye does best with natural fibers - so, cotton, wool, possibly silk (I have read different things, if you are interested please do some research, I did not have a scrap to experiment with), linen? T-shirts may be the easiest, just make sure they are 100% cotton. You could also do fabric for a pillow, scarf, towel or wall hanging. Indigo does not chemically bond with fibers it mechanically gets in between them and sticks (in technical terms:) so things will fade with repeated washings, just like your jeans. Certainly you can bring yarn or fleece to dye.
Let me know if you want heavier fabric, like for a pillow, and I can get it where I work. I can do a run to Joann's or Kmart for T-shirts just let me know what size. I highly recommend bringing some gloves! Undyed yarn can be purchased on-line at either Knitpicks or Webshttps://www.yarn.com/ . http://www.knitpicks.com/
dharmatrading.com, where I got the dye also has lots of blank items to dye, skirts, sundresses, etc.
Here are some web sites to look at:
https://www.madebybarb.com/2016/12/18/simplified-shibori-dyeing/
http://www.homeyohmy.com/10-diy-shibori-indigo-dye-projects/
I will bring a dowel and some blocks of wood, can lids, etc for us to play with.