Welcome to the Guild’s 2021 Saanich Fair Fall Challenge! The ten categories chosen to represent the range of items usually in the fibre-related displays at the Fair are each displayed in a separate gallery below. Please enjoy the show! Makers of these items will have an opportunity to present and talk about their work at our September meeting.

If you want to see the photos enlarged just click on any picture and each photo will be enlarged. Some photos will not enlarge any further.  You can scroll left and right through the photos using the arrows (or other haptic technologies if your device permits!) In this larger view, you can vote for your favourite items by clicking the “heart”     at the top of the screen.

Voting has closed on September 16 at 9am for the 2021 Saanich Fair Challenge. The category winners are marked with virtual “ribbons”.  Please join us for the September Guild Zoom meeting to hear from the makers of these wonderful items!

Handspun skein from raw fibre, not less than 25 yards

Bobbie W - Handspun & Dyed
Handspun wool yarn, Cotswold (processed from raw fleece), 2 ply, then dyed with locally grown woad. The white yarn took on a strong blue colour; the grey yarn became darker with blue highlights.
Brenda N - Handspun
Some thick, some thin and dyed green with chemical dye (blue + yellow)
Robert L - Handspun Skein from Raw Fibre
Polwarth lambs fleece, combed prep, cable plied. Approximately 60 yards.

Handspun skein, not less than 25 yards (commercially prepared fibre)

Glenda S - Handspun merino
I spun this yarn from 18 micron Australian Merino fibre that was gifted to me. It is lace weight, 426 metres and 46 grams.
Jean B - 2-ply Silk Hankies
Commercially prepared fibre, from Sanjo Silk 2 ply - approx. - 16 epi – 70 gms

Knitted or crocheted article of clothing, from handspun skein

Marilyn P - Sweater
Last Christmas I was delighted to receive a present of Knotty by Nature's Corriedale and Silk roving in shades of blue, green and purple. I spun the yarn knowing that I would use it to knit a sweater. The pattern that I chose was a Basic Patton Cardigan which allowed me to add the green for interest and to take advantage of the beautiful colours.
Brenda N - Sweater in progress
Just the sleeves to finish and then seaming. Suint/fermentation method of cleaning, so there is a lot of lanolin left in this. Hand carded into fluffy rolags for a long draw spinning. Pattern is Iconic New Zealand Jersey which I am told will fit anyone.
Glenda Sedgewick - Mitts
The yarn for these mitts was spun from local fibre which was hand dyed by Jiil's Fibres. The yarn is 2 ply, about 12 wraps per inch.
Glenda S - Shawl
I knit this shawl using about 400 m of handspun lace weight merino and 1000 m of undyed commercial yarn. I continued knitting until I had used all of the handspun, which gave me a very large shawl. It is light and airy, and very soft!
Glenda S - Socks
The yarn for these socks is all three ply. The fibre is local Romney. The light coloured fibre was hand combed and the dark brown fibre was pin-drafted roving. They spun up slightly differently but worked well together. The socks are warm and cozy.

Needle felted article

Ella B - Firefly Tree
This tree is made from Corriedale roving which has been needle felted around a wire frame. The leaves were created by teasing apart pieces of wet felt, which were then needle felted onto the branches. Two strands of fairy lights have been wound around the branches to create a firefly affect. The battery packs are hidden inside the tree trunk, with switches that can be reached from the top to turn the lights on and off.
Trish B - Loki
Piece number 7 of my Covid Needle Felting Collection. I based it on W. G. Collingwood's illustration in Olive Bray's translation of The Elder Edda or Poetic Edda (1908) of Loki flying in Freyja's falcon-feather cloak. Loki is on his way to Jötunheimr in order to discover the whereabouts of Þórr´s missing hammer.

Wet felted article

Bobbie W - Wet Felted Bowls
Wet-felted bowls, starting with merino roving
Ella B - Wall Hanging
This wall hanging is made from a wet felted background of Corriedale and Tencel roving. The fish was needle felted on afterward using more Corriedale roving. I then ironed fusible interfacing onto the back and finished by sewing on some beads.

Weaving, clothing article, any size (e.g, scarves, shawls, jackets, etc.)

Sharon B - Shirt
A self-drafted shirt. 40/2 linen in Bronson Lace on 4 shafts. Before I started weaving, I sketched out where I wanted the pattern to be. I wove extra for each section so I would have some room to play with exact placement once it was off the loom. And I purposely planned the front so that I would not have to match the crossways stripes. ;D
Jean B - Crackle Weave Silk Scarf
Polychrome crackle pattern Warp and weft – handspun 2 ply silk Epi – approximately – 18 All natural dyes Hemmed stitched and twisted fringe finish.
Gail M - Shawl
Warp is 8/2 organic cotton, weft 20/2 silk. 2 block twill using 8 shafts.
Robert L - Shawl
White polwarth 2 ply. Black and grey 2 ply BFL. All handspun from raw fibre. Woven 15 EPI, 4 shaft Ms and Ws threading. Photo shows only part of the shawl to highlight details. 2" grey border each edge, 2" tabby weave border at each end. Overall finished size 25' x 66".
Jennifer V - Honeycomb Scarf
I sampled several structures for the Dimensional Texture Study Group this year. This 12-harness pattern in fine wool (unknown size and source from my stash), sett at 24 epi, produced little cells of two different sizes. Photos show the two sides as they came off the loom, detail of the finished piece and the finished scarf.
Jennifer V - Waffle Huck Scarf
This was the sample for the Dimensional Texture Group that I used for the 2021 sample exchange. I made a scarf on the rest of the warp. It was a 12-shaft pattern, sett at 20 epi, with three colours of 8/2 cotton for the waffle cells and burgundy 8/2 for the outlines. The photos show the finished scarf and a detail of the all-waffle pattern used for the sample exchange.
Jan B - V-Shawl
Shetland and boucle. I enjoyed the challenge of weaving the V part of the shawl and pleasantly surprised when it turned out.
Brenda N - Woven Top
Top woven by me, design and construction by Roberta Doylend. Cotton blue and green warp and weft with warp and clasped weft detail in 8/2 cotton navy and dark green. Navy side panels of purchased fabric.
Brenda N - Houndstooth shawl
White is from Catherine Mick's sale, brown is my handspun wool/alpaca

Weaving, non-clothing article (e.g, towels, placemats, rugs)

Jean B - Blanket of Many Colours
Blanket – woven on 4” pin loom, hand stitched Woven squares - 2 ply handspun wool Crocheted finish – fine commercial wool All natural dyes
Laura P - Canvas Weave
Safari cotton (slub) natural with 4/8 cotton (both from JST) sett at 12 epi in Canvas Weave. Perhaps next year this can be an entry in the clothing section - hoping to make a cosy "sweat shirt" for the winter.
Jennifer V - Apricot Periwinkle Towels
These towels are 4-harness 2/2 twill, sett at 20 epi, in 8/2 cotton. There were three treadlings, but one of the towels was already gone as a gift, so there are only two different ones in the photo! The photos are two towels on the line and a detail.
Jennifer V - Fancy Twill Towels
This was an experiment; I wanted to design a fancy twill that had some small areas of 1:1 and some of 2:2 to see what happened. I was glad they came out still very flat with enough variety in the treadling. I wove one towel and then changed the tie-up for towels 2 & 3 to eliminate a little 4-thread float I didn’t like. The 12-harness pattern was woven at 20epi. The warp was pale green with a couple of fuschia stripes for fun. Towels 1 & 2 had a blue weft, but I ran out of that, so the third towel is woven in seven or eight colours.
Bobbie W - Cotswold Lap Blanket
At the start of the pandemic I discovered I had several raw Cotswold fleeces and bumps of Cotswold/Alpaca roving in my shed, so decided to process and spin all of it with the goal of weaving several blankets. All the wool comes from a Cotswold flock on Pender Island (Inish Eile Farm) and is in the natural colours. I finally finished the first lap blanket at the end of August 2021 and decided this one I would gift to the farmer who raised the sheep. The blanket is 29” x 56” finished (excluding fringe) and is woven in a plaited twill.
Christine P - Yardage
Yardage for a shirt. Made from naturally coloured cotton from Lunatic Fringe in point twill stripes. Sett at 20 epi.
Jan B - linen
Linen napkins
Jan B - Mohair Throw
Mohair Throw woven using clasp weft technique.
Jan B - Place mats
Double Weave Placemats

Handwoven basket

Brenda N - Basket
This is why Brenda will never be a basket maker.

Tapestry, any size

Jean B - Sky River
10.5” x 9” Woven early in pandemic – walks in the neighbourhood. Spring flowers, staying separated, reaching to a troubled sky (with a streak of lightening). 10.5” x 9” Handspun 2 ply wool and silk; Natural dyes Sett – 12 epi; Fringeless technique
Jean Betts - My World
8” x 11.5” Handspun 2 ply wool and silk Natural dyes Woven at 12 epi Woven at the beginning of the pandemic – “my world” as seen through the window of my front door.
Jean B - Clover Point
5” x 7” Handspun wool and silk Natural dyes Handstitched detail on bottom corner 8” x 11.5" Handspun 2 ply wool and silk; Natural dyes Woven at 12 epi

Any other wool/fibre art article not listed

Jean B - Fabric Book
Fabric book – title “Connecting Threads" Cotton, indigo dyed Patterns include – tied shibori, woven shibori, hexie quilt squares and handstitching. The center pages are woven shibori, folded and block resist dyed and then stencilled with a hand painted gold highlight. Eight double-sided pages. The cover is a large hankie dyed at Kawashima in Japan in 1987.
Sharon B - Hippo
Sewn using a vintage pattern from left over woven waffle weave recycled cotton blue jean yarn. The underbody and jaunty scarf are made with Maiwa fabric and the facial features are hand sewn wool felt. He turned out rather larger than intended and is now referred to as a pillowpotamus!
Jean B - Natural Dyes on Wool, Silk & Cotton
Handwoven cotton tea towels, wool pin loom woven blanket and silk scarf. Woven with natural dyes – all in the same dye pots. Alum mordant used on handspun 2 ply wool and silk. The commercial cotton was mordanted twice - first with a tannin (myrobalan) and then with alum. It shows how the different fibres absorb the colours in their own unique way. The cotton being much paler.