Who we are and what we do

The Kennet Valley Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers was formed in 1977 when Jan and John Shailes got together with some friends in their sitting room to spin. As time went on, more people came along, and the group decided to join Berkshire Guild. In 1979, the growing band, struggling to get to Sonning for Guild meetings, took the plunge and formed their own Guild in Newbury, which has been in existence continuously since then. Our members cover an enormous range of textile skills, with experience ranging from beginners to experts. We have recently celebrated our 40th Anniversary!

We're now on FaceBook. Join our community and keep up to date with posts and comments.

NEWS • NEWS • NEWS

MAY

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SATURDAY 7th May
St.Mary's Church Hall, Greenham.

10:30am - 5pm

The Kennet Valley Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers

Speaker: Paul Henry Kilts. Bespoke kilt maker Paul Henry will be telling us all about his traditionally made kilts.
Once upon a time the wearing of kilts was seen as almost exclusively as Scottish, those days have passed, and now kilt wearers are found all over the world from lots of nationalities.

Today anyone can wear a kilt, in almost any pattern or tartan, there are virtually no restrictions. There are thousands of tartans to choose from, hundreds of tweeds and probably millions of other fabrics which would make wonderful kilts.

THE KENNET VALLEY GUILD SHUTTLE

NEW! The March 2022 Shuttle is ready and waiting for your perusal.

Find out about Distaff Spinning, the Ann Sutton exhibition, Fair Isle colour blending, Ruth's special day,
Exhibition Inspirations and much more.

As always, a massive thank you to Lynne for her hard work and dedication to keeping us all fully informed.

If you would like a printed version the Shuttle, please click the button below and print directly from the file or ask a friend or family member to help you.

The Shuttle - March 2022

Trophy Winners

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners.

JUNE YOUNG TROPHY 2022

The June Young Trophy was awarded to Jennifer (left) and Lynne (right) for their outstanding work in making the Kennet Valley Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers Exhibition at the West Berkshire Museum in 2021 a huge success.

Their hard work and dedication is very much appreciated by all of the Guild Members. Congratulations to both of you from all of us!

RUTH'S CELEBRATION

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At our Saturday 5th February meeting, a good time was had by all when KV Guild life member, Ruth Saunders MBE, came to tell us all about her day at the palace, when she received an MBE from Princess Anne.

Ruth was 104 when she completed 26.2 miles over a series of walks in November 2020, raising £50,000 for
Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

Congratulations Ruth, you are an inspiration!

EXHIBITION 2023

Exciting news! Our theme is 'Circles & Spheres - An Exploration'. The exhibition will be held at West Berkshire Museum.
Now we can really get creative! Let your imaginations go wild! We'll be setting up some workshops that will link to the theme during 2022, which will give us an opportunity to create exhibits together. More news on these in 2022.

JOIN THE KENNET VALLEY GUILD

If you're interested in joining the Kennet Valley Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers you can come along to two meetings before we ask you to sign up.
All membership enquiries should be addressed to kvgtreasurer1@gmail.com

WHITCHURCH SILK MILL

Visit Whitchurch Silk Mill, Shop and Café.
The Mill (Tue-Sun & Bank Holidays) 10:30am - 5pm
Riverside Café (Tue-Sun)10:30am - 4:30pm

Find out more about the mill on their web site https://whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk/

Zoom Chat Links - a rich resource of info!

For everyone who would like to follow up on our discussions and the shared resources that emerge at our Zoom Meetings - enjoy perusing these links. The subject matter is diverse and reflects the interesting conversations we have.

Zoom Chat Links

Guild member, Pat Foster has launched her new web site which we thoroughly recommend you take some time to enjoy.
Pat recently published The Draft Book by Jeremiah Fielding 1775 (edited by Pat, and Guild Members, Janet Dunbar and Lynne Harper). Many of our Guild members wove the samples that feature throughout the book. If you're interested in history and weaving it's a must for your book shelf. Pat invites anyone who chooses to weave any of the drafts to send her photos of the process and finished piece.
The book is proving to be enormously popular here in the UK and in the USA.
You can order a copy on Pat's web site. https://www.patfosterweaverdyer.com/

Anu Raud : Estonia, Ato Dunk'u : Ethiopia and Shakil Khatri : India

Lockdown Projects :-)

Take a look through these projects and be inspired to weave, knit, crochet, spin, make tapestries and so much more...

New weaver Julie's most recent creation and a gift for a friend. Lucky friend!

Maggie_M_Winter_Solstice_Sunset_Scarf.jp

Maggie's beautiful scarf using Jamieson's yarns and inspired by their Winter Solstice Calendar - Sunset. Maggie loves all things fairisle; this piece is a work of art!

Julie's just started weaving. What an impressive job she's made of this wonderful textured scarf, which includes recycled sari silk yarn, teeswater locks, Woolyknit 4 ply and some of her own homespun. What's next we wonder?

Pat Foster has recently woven this selection of twill weave scarves. She feels that the ones with the light warps are the most successful. Colour interactions never cease to fascinate!

Inspired by a recent talk about Estonia, Anne has created her own version of the much admired draw string bag.

Meg's latest creations, Gin the cat and Nellie the elephant. Nellie is in full circus regalia with a skirt and pumps added afterwards.

Julie's beautifully knitted shawls using commercial yarns and a fabulous neck warmer that she spun from Corriedale, dyed and knitted.

It's hard to think about sock knitting in a heatwave! Janet's Sockathon pairs 5 and 6 are making us dream of cooler weather and wellies.

Meg's assistant Gin tests her latest crocheted cotton throw for design, colour, style and comfort. It's purrrfect!

Janet's sockathon continues with 2 perfect pairs of cosiness.

Monika has been really busy!

Woven scarf (top left). Yarn - Sirdar Crofter. Warp plain mint colour. Weft fair isle effect, dn knitting nylon/acrylic.

Blue & white scarves are woven in thin cotton.

Woven scarf (top right) made out of 75% merino/25% polyamide. Yarn - Algeria (Nanos Del Uruguay). Warp - variegated yarn. Weft is plain yarn but with an inch either end using the variegated yarn.

Woven brown scarf (far left) using Alpaca Rose 4 ply. Warp - plain using a darker colour called Amethyst. Weft using a lighter colour called Tourmaline. The yarn is 50% alpaca/50% Rose fibre.

Knitted basket weave cowl. 4 ply yarn, 70% baby alpaca/30% silk. Colour, Rhubarb Fool. The buttons undo.

Knitted red scarf in a heart pattern using Yarntelier’s Cashmere lace.

Meg's assistant Gin has been helping her with the latest spinning project. Puurrrfect!

Janet Dunbar - 'Eight Pairs of Socks for Next Winter' project

Janet's on a Sockathon using up all of the odd balls of sock wool she's been tempted to buy over the years. These have been knitted toe-up using the Magic Loop method; a new challenge for Janet. 6 more pairs to go!

Louisa's new loom kindly made for her by her husband Tony. The work is underway and is a great way of using up leftover yarn.

Louisa's Tree Tapestry - the kit was bought at Unravel 2020.

Unravel 'oil slick' fibre with gold running through it. It's called Dryad and it comes in a batt from Spin City. https://spincityshop.com/
Louisa's spun it and made a beautiful cowl.

12"x36" yarn bombing strips for The Southern Wool Show. 2 down and 1 to go. Using super value Stylecraft 100% acrylic dn.

Tony Homden's impressive leather handbag. Lucky Louisa!

Rosie's been busy with the yarn bombing squares. All of the yarn bombing pieces will be sewn together to make Refugee blankets

Stefanie recently finished this gorgeous mochila which was crocheted with mercerised cotton using the method of the Wayuu tribe of South America. The cord was Kumihimo braided with macrame tassels and the strap woven on the inkle loom.

Lesley's been busy! Clean house. Read all sorts of stories. Knit a pair of socks.

Nicky's finally come to the end of the latest experimental weave using Drifter weft and neutral Linen Drape warp. It might be made into 2 conservatory window blinds/shades.

Louisa's 'oil slick' yarn cowl. Looks like she's wearing a pair of Mariana's fabulous upcycled woven earings.

The 'oil slick' fibre is spun.

The finished plied yarn ready to knit.

Sue Hiley Harris

Our Speaker for February, Weaver, Spinner and Sculptor Sue Hiley-Harris, shared her creative journey from art school in Australia to contemporary working weaver and sculptor, based in the Brecon Beacons.

DISCOVER MORE

Silk Spinning Workshop

Sue Hiley-Harris recently hosted a silk spinning workshop in Newbury. Sue's silk spinning expertise enthralled the group and everyone enjoyed learning new techniques to experiment with at home.

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Exhibition 2021

Coming Soon! An overview of the Kennet Valley Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers, Summer Exhibition at the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury. Our theme; I must go down to the seas again