This Month
Birthdays
Happy February Birthday to:
- Sue Culbertson
- Margaret Fizer
- Patty Scruggs
Old Business
Co-President Westley Starling welcomed all Guild Members and Guests: Kim Bailey, Zara Elliot, Jeani Shriver, with Debbie Turner & Lori Paltridge – who both joined.
Co-President Janet Bubl mentioned that several members are at Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival in Tacoma and that our future Brioche speaker, Michelle Bernstein, was presenting there.
Janet continued with information for our Brioche Pastiche Workshop that will be held on May 9, 2026 from 1-3:30pm at WHC Education Room.
Registration forms are available at our meetings and on the Salem Millstream Knitting Guild website under 2026 May Calendar. Deadline for registering is April 24, 2026, with accompanying fee for members of $35 and for non-members $50. Registration is limited to 25 people, and Treasurer Sue Culbertson will take registration forms and fees, which will be held until we are assured of 25 registrants. Posters with info and the QR code are available, if you can post them in places with interested parties. Janet thanked Judith Bither’s friend, Jamie, for the attractive poster and registration design.
DUES: Treasurer Sue Culbertson is collecting dues of $30 from all new and renewing members. If there is a member in need of sponsorship, please let Sue know, as a sponsorship is possible, and no one should be excluded for this or other reasons. Janet mentioned that attending two meetings as a guest is our policy, and after that, attendance should be by membership only.
Janet stated that the Willamette Heritage Center (WHC) has a new exhibit, “Echoes of ‘76,” and is starting a Speakers Series this year. There is a new café opening in April – Lively Station. She mentioned that the Education Room was a fitting place to meet and appreciated the reasonable fee. WHC brochures and membership info are available at our meetings.
Last month’s speaker, Dawn Franke, with assistance from daughter Amelia Van Hook, brought their Franke Goat Soaps for us to purchase.
Service Projects
The Service Projects Review was introduced by Co-President Westley Starling. The Asstistance League’s Operation School Bell (OSB) Service Project was presented by Sue Culbertson and Margaret Fizer. They explained the OSB request process: A school counselor makes a request to OSB for new clothing, and then orders are filled. The knitted hats made by Guild members is included with all pre-K to 3rd grade orders. The hat becomes a gift, as it’s the child’s alone and not a hand-me-down. A simple hat pattern made with 20” circulars and 8.5” height is available on our website under ‘Service Projects’. Hats are collected at each Guild meeting.
Member Beth Mauer presented information about Hope Pregnancy Clinic. She requested members make baby hats, blankets and booties that will be shared as a gift to Mothers who come to the Clinic. Many young mothers’ hearts are warmed by the gifts. A baby sizing chart is available on the website under “Ways to Give.” Baby items will be collected at each Guild meeting.
February Service Project donations:
- Hope: 27 baby items
- OSB: 23 child hats
NOTE: If there are any other Service Projects that members would like to bring before the Guild, please contact Co-President Janet Bubl or Westley Starling.
Show & Tell
- Kathy Wilhelm showed off a fashionable and soft triangle shawl called the Bonnie Slide by Taiga Hilliard. Kathy knitted the shawl with Madelinetosh fingering ultramarine violet wool and Fae Mohair -colorway of green, blue & purple by Ritual Dyes out of Portland. She also showed off her Melt the Ice Badge. Both patterns are on Ravelry.
- Tia Purdy previewed her almost completed Thrummed Headband from the February 7 class at Leann Bleakney’s shop, Silver Falls Fiber Co. Tia stated the next class is February 21. The headband’s front is highlighted in cobalt blue Cascade yarn, and its back is a pillowy lime-green felt.
- Judith Bither sported her lovely red Melt the Ice Hat made of the softest Dromedary/Merino yarn using the pattern on Ravelry, and a size U.S. 8 needle can be used to get a larger hat than the pattern describes. Many members are knitting this hat. Judith mentioned that stores are out of red yarn.
- Westley Starling wowed Guild members and guests with the reversible and double layered Elf-burgh Hat made of Noro Silk Garden Yarn. The designer is Ysolda Teague, and the pattern is on Ravelry. This no-seam hat is knitted from the top of one crown to the other as a long tube and then folded. It’s an amazing knit.
- Heather Sly-Haley gave us a project to complete if you are flying for 4.5 hours and not interested in the in-flight movie… it’s called Quick Ombre Hat from Ravelry and designed by Emily Dormier. Heather knitted the hat with her special Italian sage green and cream worsted wools that she bought in Florence last year. Very stylish and special.
Program: Hand-dyed Yarns with Ann Woods from A Skeiner Darkly
Ann Woods, Dyer and Owner of A Skeiner Darkly, presented how her interest in hand-dyeing yarn led to her current business. She displayed beautiful and interesting dyed yarns for us to see, touch and purchase, plus she explained how each skein was brought to life and named.
She reviewed the techniques of dyeing she uses to make yarn variations of solid, semisolid, speckled and pastel yarns. She discussed all the intricacies of dyeing wool: dye powders, dunking, immersion, twisting, sprinkling, lifting out, vinegar washes, pour-over dyeing and assigned pooling, etc. Ann mentioned drying after dyeing takes anywhere from 24 hours to three days.
Ann passed around a wonderful hat from the Ravelry pattern Happy Clusters. The knit used her cluster-colored yarn to make the hat a showstopper.
Ann is a practicing ophthalmologist and also has an interest in Sci-fi. She shared with us that she names her yarns with Sci-fi themes such as “Imperial Guard,” “Hyperspace Expressway,” and “Alderaan Twilight.” This prohibits boring yarn names. You can find her unique and chic yarns on Etsy and in Salem at Skein and Scribe at 3989 Commercial St SE, which offers needlecrafts, books, coffee, and pastries. She invited all to visit the shop.
Next Month
Our next meeting is March 14, 2026 at the Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill in Salem. Westley Starling will do a presentation on how to get the most out of Ravelry.
Other Events
- March 5-8, 2026 – Rose City Yarn Crawl, Portland, OR
- May 2, 2026 – Sheep to Shawl, Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill, Salem, OR
Salem Millstream Knitting Guild 