January Minutes

This month our guest speaker was Carol Richmond and she spoke about different types of fiber and their characteristics.  Carol was a wealth of information on this topic, and brought samples to show and pass around along with a handout.

Protein fibers are from animals:  Wool from sheep, mohair from goats, cashmere from goats, camel (2 hump king), Alpaca from camelid family, angora from rabbits, buffalo (American bison), quiviut from musk ox and silk from silk worms.  All these fibers have scales except for the silk.  These fibers trap moisture and heat to keep you warm and dry.  They also repel water.  Generally these fibers are soft, lofty and elastic so they retain shape well.  They dry well, do not pill (if tightly spun) and resist mildew but are susceptible to moths.

Vegetable fibers: Cotton, linen, ramie, rayon and bamboo.  These fibers are smooth, absorb moisture and heat which evaporates quickly so keeps you cool.  These lack elasticity and are heavier than protein fibers so garments lose shape and may sag.  It is best to choose light weight yarns with open designs for these fibers.  This type of fiber is susceptible to mildew and insects.

Synthetic fibers:  Nylon, polyester, metallic, acrylic, olefin and spandex.  These fibers are petroleum-based and water resistant. They do not absorb moisture or wick away from body, however they are durable and strong.  Synthetic fibers dry quickly so they are wash and wear but they will pill and build static electricity.  These types resist water-based dyes but absorb oil-based dyes and also oil-based stains like perspiration and will absorb odors but resist mildew and moths.

Next meeting is February 9^th and we will have David Yuhas who is a designer from Portland as our speaker.  He has a book called “Knitting From The Center Out”, along with other patterns.  He will be bringing his trunk show for us and selling his book and patterns at the meeting.

Charity items are needed for the Soroptimist Baby Shower – Kathy Goebel will take your donations.  Paula Rampy will take any donations for teens in Josephine County for the youth pastor that feeds the homeless teens.  As a long term charity I would like to collect Hats, scarves and gloves/mittens for Hope Station in Salem for us to donate next fall.