And here’s a detail of part of the knitted pattern:

Judy is a beautiful spinner and knitter and her rugs and other items are inspiring.

We had a display of members’ work, demonstrations of spinning, and an inkle loom and a table loom for people to try.

Sue’s stunning knitted coat was coveted by many of us!

This year, Di and Mary from the lacemakers group also did their display and demonstration in our room. It was great to share the space with them, and to see their beautiful work.

Jenelle and Judy hard at work.

Jenelle’s variegated log cabin scarf.

Gwenda’s scarf in gorgeous autumn tones.

Some of the group at work.

Learn to Weave, on the weekend of 16th and 17th June, with an introductory session on the evening of the 13th June

Beginner Spinning, on the weekend of 28th and 29th July

For more info, click the ‘Workshops‘ link above.

There are still places available in both workshops, and looms and spinning wheels are available to borrow from our group. Our workshops are fun, friendly and informal, and designed for those with no or limited experience.

At our meeting yesterday afternoon, I was delighted to see the latest items from Linda’s loom – a set of four cottolin dish towels, in waffle weave and plain weave. Linda did our Learn to Weave workshop last year, and is making some beautiful things. Unfortunately I didn’t photograph her towels yesterday, but you can see a photo of them on her loom over at her blog. Congratulations, Linda, on another wonderful project!

Part of our display.

Our weaving friend Nancy drove up from Tamworth to join us, and is here admiring Noni’s colourful rug, made from knitting samples.

Our local member of the NSW State Parliament, Richard Torbay, having a go at spinning on the Great Wheel.

Updated to add some photos from Linda:

Judy, one of our longest-serving members, unveiling our new sign which will go on the entrance to the room. Our thanks to Judy’s husband, Peter, for contributing his sign-writing expertise. (Our raffle dolls are in the background.)

Special guest, Richard Torbay, generates laughter.

Richard proposing a toast to a successful future for the group.

We’ll have an short ‘Opening Ceremony’ at around 3.30pm, with champagne to celebrate, and afternoon tea to follow.

Update: We’re delighted that our local member of State Parliament, Richard Torbay, will be able to attend  our Opening.

Jenny and Robyn spinning at the Armidale Show in Friday. Yes, we spent two days there, surrounded by amazing superfine merino fleeces (our region specialises in superfine wool) – but I don’t think any went missing

Our display was informal, because we couldn’t be there all the time (the Show runs until late each night), but people seemed to appreciate being able to handle the items we put out on the table. Quite a few people ‘had a go’ at the table loom, inkle loom, and on a spinning wheel, and kids in particular (but adults too!) appreciated being able to take away their lengths of handspun yarn. We unwind what they’ve spun from the bobbin, and let it twist on itself to form a 2-ply, and voila, a child has something to show family and friends.

Margaret won first place in the woven item from handspun yarn…

…and first place for an item of handspun, and Champion of the spinning section. Well done, Margaret!

Linda entered the show for the first time, with her wonderful twill scarf – her second piece of weaving ever, and beautifully even.

My rainbow scarf won in the handwoven item from commercial yarn, and made Champion of the weaving section…

..but it faced some very strong competition from Margaret’s beautiful scarf!

Sadly, this year there were very few entries in the knitting section – so Jenny’s hand-dyed Jaywalker socks and my socks duelled for honours in the sock class.

Our agreement with the Showground means that the Show Society uses our room during the Show, so we’re not doing a display in there. But perhaps we might have an Open Day sometime in the near future – maybe even an official opening! (Any excuse for champagne )

Members have done a great job sorting out and setting up the new space, and I think all are agreed that it’s got a good ‘feel’ to it – welcoming, comfortable, and pleasant to work in.

(Yes, sanding back the big work table and the chairs and repainting/staining them are on the ‘to do’ list! )

One of our old rooms, with almost everything gone. Leaving here marks the end of an era – the group has been meeting in this building for 20 or more years.

Settingup and unpacking in the new room – which has the advantages of being a larger, single room, and – most importantly! – with no stairs. We can park right outside the door, and easily cart looms, spinning wheels etc inside through wide doors.

Four of us got a fair amount achieved in just a couple of hours – we’ll finish off most of it this afternoon, and gradually settle in and build the ‘homey’ feel.

The new space is probably a similar size to our current space, but it’s all one room, rather than three, and we’ll be sharing it with other groups, including groups with kids who might find our equipment too tempting to ‘play’ with. So, we’re only taking what we’ll use, and can stack in one area of the room that can be screened off. (As much as one can ‘stack’ table looms and spinning wheels!!)

Friday the removalists are coming at 9am – we hope to be all moved by about 11am! Since our present rooms have external, wooden stairs and many of us are not young and fit, we decided it was worth the expense of getting removalists to do all the hard work of carting gear down the stairs. (One of the big things in favour of the new premises is that there are NO stairs!)

Saturday 17th will be our first meeting in the new premises – and we’re looking forward to unpacking and making it our new ‘home’. Hmmm… this event might call for some champagne. Or some wicked chocolate cake. Or both!