Links of Interest
As of this date, 12/5/2007, most of the links below are included entirely at the webmistress's whim and are not intended to represent any endorsement or guarantee by the guild. Members are encouraged to suggest links for this page.
Spinning
Organizations
Association of Southern California Handweavers Our mother guild. That's why it's under "Spinning" instead of "Weaving."
Interweave Press, Spinning Guilds in California
Riverside County California Spinning Guild Yahoo group of this new guild.
Ventura County Handweavers & Spinners Guild
Publications
Spindlicity An online magazine for handspindlers, created and edited by member Janel Laidman.
How-Tos
Andean Plying How-To at Mielke's Farm Simple diagram.
Collected Wisdom from the Ashford-Spinners Mailing List at FoxgloveFiber.Com.
Handspinning Information Links to various how-tos.
Navajo Plying Photos illustrating technique.
What Finish to put on an Unfinished Ashford Kit? Collected Wisdom from the Ashford-Spinners List.
Blogs
Electric Ladybug Land Member Janel Laidman's blog.
Articles
The New Spinners: Yarn Is the Least of It By Elizabeth Olsen, 1/19/2006, The New York Times.
Webrings
Handspinning webring Mostly vendors.
Spinning and Weaving Ring Mostly vendors.
Vendors
Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill Fiber processing. They also sell their own line of yarns, as well as patterns and kits (see especially the lace shawl patterns and kits).
Chameleon Colorworks Member Janel Laidman's hand-dyed fibers and yarns. Custom dyeing also available.
Curious Creek Fibers Wholesale only. This is Kristine Brooks site. She is the person who supplied us with all that gorgeous silk at the Priscilla Lowry workshops.
Custom Handweaving Member Nancy Boerman sells spinning, weaving and dying supplies, often at our guild meetings.
Holly Spring Homespun Fibers.
Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool and Brokers Ltd. Known mostly for yarn, they also have soft Shetland top for less than you'd think.
Morro Fleece Works This is Shari McKelvy who does that fabulous fiber processing (the coils). Shari's email.
Paradise Fibers Fiber and yarn, good prices and friendly. (One of your webmistress's favorite vendors.)
pollyfiber Fiber; eBay vendor, also sells direct.
Qiviut at Minimills.com Amazing prices on qiviut.
Rovings Custom Carding & Dyeing Specializes in polwarth; some other fibers.
Sid Sharples Woodworker, works on spinning wheels. In Torrance: (310) 316-0278. Be sure and say you got the number from the spinning guild.
Stainsborough Gotland roving The Lord of the Rings cloak stuff!
Stick and Stone Fiberarts New spinning supply shop in the San Fernando Valley! Proprieters are our guild members Margarete Mehrabian and Randall Hayden. Wheels and other equipment, fiber, yarn, classes. Features Janel's fabulous Chameleon Colorworks hand-dyed fibers and yarns.
Stitch Café Popular yarn, fiber and all-round craft store in Valley Village. Lots of great classes. Our member John Pitalbo teaches spinner there once a month.
The Fabulous Fiber Fest Created and run by our member Mariko Gooden, held in August. Vendor booths, contests, displays and more.
The Weavers' Cottage Spinning and weaving supplies, in Canyon Country. Spinning wheels available for rent.
The Woolery Spinning equipment and supplies, as well as other fiber art supplies.
Weaving Rainbow's JaggerSpun fiber special Mostly yarn at this site, but they have mill ends of superwash merino 5lb laps for $40.
General
Breeds of Livestock: Sheep List of sheep breeds, including micron count for fleece breeds.
FiberArts.com list of California spinning guilds Our guild is listed.
Gwen's Fiber Arts Homepage Member Gwen Powell's page.
Spinner's, Knitter's, and Weaver's Housecleaning Pages Buy, sell and trade fiber and equipment.
General Fiber Arts
How-Tos
Gleason's Fine Woolies Ranch in Colorado. Has pages on wool grading, sheep coating, washing a raw fleece, dyeing, felting, finger-weaving, and more. Also sells raw fleeces and roving.
Japanese 'Boat-Shaped' Centerpull Ball Winding Technique Photos from Fruitcake Knits (monkeemaven's blog), originally from Jacqueline Fee's Sweater Workshop. More
Blogs
Ruth's Blog by our own Ruth Schooley.
Webrings
Webrings List by FibreArts Category A page of webring links.
Vendors
Mielke's Fiber Arts in Rudolph, Wisconsin. Supplies for Spinning, Dyeing, Knitting, Crocheting, Weaving, Felting, Bobbin Lacing, Locker Hooking, Naalbinding and Tatting.
Village Spinning & Weaving The shop in Solvang. Wheels, yarns, all sorts of fiber tools, fiber, books, etc.
Fun
Michael Gondry video for Steriogram's record "Walkie Talkie Man," set in a world made of yarn. Article.
General
FiberArts.com Last updated 10/08/03, but our guild is listed.
FiberArts.org Articles, classifieds, calendars. Links are on the *right* side of the page, and along the top.
Spinning and Weaving sources Local SCA members' site with this page of merchants of fiber-related supplies and Renaissance and medieval style accessories.
TextileLinks list of California fiber guilds Our guild is listed.
Dyeing
How-Tos
Dyeing With Food Coloring, Kool-Aid, and Jello About.com's links.
Dyeing Wool Fleece and Felt Links and FAQs.
Mood Indigo, the Old Sig Vat or Experiments in Blue-Dyeing the 18th Century Way
Articles
Madder, Minerals And Indigo: Cotton Dyeing In The 18th & 19th Century By Kimberly Wulfert, PhD.
Orchil, the poor person's purple by Chris Laning.
Vendors
Cushing's Perfection Acid Dye Color Card The dyes we use at our June Dyefest.
Dharma Trading Co. Complete dyer's supplier. In San Rafael, CA.
PRO Chemical & Dye ("Prochem") In Somerset, MA.
Knitting
Organizations
L.A. Stitch'n'Bitch Yahoo group
The Knitting Guild Association "Big" knitting guild.
Publications
knitty.com Free quarterly online magazine, lots of patterns, how-to articles and more.
How-Tos
Crochet steeks Links to other steeking pages.
How to Knit Basics.
Knitting School With links to German terms.
knittinghelp.com Videos of various knitting operations, both English and Continental. Also Abbreviations Explained.
Blogs
knitgrrl Blog.
Knitting in Hollywood Member Kathy Hinckley's knitting blog.
WendyKnits! Hands-down best knitting blog on the web, and now she spins, too.
Articles
Boys who Knit Too by Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune, 2/1/05.
Men & Boys Knitting Up A Storm By Martha Irvine, Feb. 4, 2005 on cbsnews.com.
Political protest turns to the radical art of knitting Article dated 1/31/2005 in The Guardian.
When Knitting Was A Manly Art by Clinton W. Trowbridge, December 05, 1997. (Sensing a theme?)
Webrings
Vendors
Catnip Yarns Discount prices on Henry's Attic undyed yarns.
Fiber Trends Handknit Designs Classic knit patterns. This is the wholesale site showing all their patterns; you'll have to find retail vendors.
Knit Picks Recently launched their own yarn line at unbelievable prices and getting great reviews.
Moonrise Lace Knitting Sandy Terp's site. Specialty items for lace knitting, books, patterns, threads and yarns.
Schoolhouse Press Meg Swanson's online shop. Knitting supplies and publications, including many they've published or re-published.
Sivia Harding Knit Designs Lace shawls and scarves, patterns and kits.
Tradewinds Knitwear Designs Designer Lucy Neatby's site.
Yarn Shops A list of yarn shops in the greater L.A. area.
General
Knitter's Review Online knitting magazine with yarn, book, tool, and event reviews, accessory boutique, polls, and forums.
ModeKnit Annie Modesitt's site.
wiseNeedle Yarn reviews, how-tos, patterns and more.
Weaving
Organizations
Handweavers Guild of America, Inc. "Big" weaving and handspinning guild. Sponsors Convergence and the Certificate of Excellence programs.
Southern California Handweavers' Guild
How-Tos
Blogs
Articles
Algebraic Expressions of Handwoven Textiles Article on fiberarts.org by Lana Schneider.
Webrings
Warp & Weft Handwovens Webring Mostly vendors, some with spinning fiber and equipment.
Sewing
How-Tos
VintageSewing.info Vintage Sewing Reference Library, Inc. offers free online access to public domain sewing books.
Felting
Felting: the fabulous art of removing air Basic felting instructions at Gleason's.
The Feltmaking Process at the Handweavers Guild of America site.
Using Felting Needles to Apply Designs to Felt Needle-felting instructions at Gleason's.
Vendors
Hat Shapers Makers of hat forms for felted hats. Also has extensive information on felting in general, and hats in particular.
Hooked on Felt Needle-felting and general felting supplies.
Other Crafts
Organizations
International Old Lacers, Inc. A volunteer, international non-profit association of people who share an interest in the beauty and intrigue of lace. Their Links page includes a list of suppliers.
Please if you find any broken links. Thanks.