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Ravalli County Fair 2016
JULY 2016
Fiber Arts Rag
BIG SKY F IBER ARTS GUILD, INC.
N E X T M E E T I N G
J U L Y 3 0 , 2 0 1 6
1 0 : 3 0 A M - 3 P M
Florence-Carlton
Community Church.
From Hwy. 93 going
north or south, turn
west on W Carlton
Creek Rd for .3 miles,
then north on Old US
93 for .1 miles.
The Ravalli County Fair runs from Aug 31 to Sept 3. The fair book is out or you can find information at RCFAIR.ORG .
Entr ies are open to Ravalli County residents and residents of adjacent counties. Marty Walters will be calling shortly to schedule spinning demonstrators.
Please note, I will be very happy to bring your exhibits to the fairgrounds for you if you
get them to me before Sunday August 28 and have a copy of your entry form with your
exhibits so I can get them entered properly. I am also glad to pick up your exhibits if you
let me know.
Lucille Molinari will pick up exhibits at the Yarn Center in Hamilton on Friday, August 26
at 2 PM. Please have a copy of your entry form with your exhibits.
When you drop your exhibits off please let Lucille or me know if you are able to pick them
up at the Fairgrounds. If you are not able to, please let us know what you want to do with
your precious exhibits. We do not want to have them lost in the confusion of release day.
We love and respect your work!
In order to keep your skein's points up, remember: Skeins are to be 25-50 yds in length.
Use four ties in a figure 8 configuration, self-tied or with a compatible yarn. Fiber content
and end use must be specified on a hanging tag attached to the skein.
Please think of all the lovely items you have made this last year with natural fibers and
enter them. Last year we were the only department that did not go down in the number of
entries. If we want to keep our department it is important to keep the number of entries up.
This year we are fortunate to have Cathy Marquard judging the Natural Fiber Products
Department on Monday, August 29 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. WE HAVE OPEN JUDG-
ING! You are encouraged and invited to come and watch the judging. Cathy will be dictat-
ing her comments to a clerk so you can hear what a judge is looking for. It is an education
in itself. Cathy is so knowledgeable about all the techniques we use we can't help but learn
from her. She gives honest (and kind) critiques. Do not miss this opportunity!
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday, August 12 - Entry forms due in the Fairgrounds Office by 5 pm
Sunday, August 28 - Exhibits due by 7 pm
Monday, August 29 - Judging 9 to 4 PM
Wednesday, August 31 - Exhibit Buildings open 10:00 am
Saturday, September 4 - Exhibits can be picked up between 12 and 4 PM
Lucille Molinari Superintendent 363-2704
Marty Walters Co-superintendent 777-2421
July Meeting
Agenda
Same old stuff
(I didn’t get the agenda)
Western Montana
Fair
Aug 9-14, 2016
The entry deadline is Fri-
day, July 29 for online
entries and Wednesday
Aug 3 for paper entries
Enter on line at
www.missoulafairgrounds.
com/western-montana-
fair/.
The guild had offered to
sponsor $10 prizes for the
best of show for knitting, ,
spinning and weaving ( to
be judged by our own
Marty Walters.
THURSDAY, Aug 11,
everyone is invited to
come for demonstration
spinning at the Home Arts
building, near the north
entrance. We will also
have a small display about
the guild there.
Molly McKinnon would
be happy to take entries
out on Aug 9 for anyone.
Big Sky Fiber Arts Guild, Inc. P AGE 2
At the February 13th spin in at Sugarloaf
Mill in Hall, the mother & daughter spin-
ning duo, Jan and Mathalia
Stroethoff, were spinning a pretty col-
ored, chunky single. At a loss of what to
ply it with, and afraid it wouldn't pass
through the orifice as a 2 ply, Jan asked for sugges-
tions. Ideas poured in from around the spinner's
circle! Sue James magically produced a commer-
cially spun thread or fine floss (this author does not
recall exactly!) for Mathalia and Jan to ply with
their heavier single. What a pleasant surprise it be-
came! It was transformed into a very attractive art
yarn or bouclé yarn that would make a great hat,
cowl or scarf!! Much oohing and ahhhing com-
menced ! We can't wait to see what it becomes and
will have a future show & tell to look forward to!!
Beautiful job Mathalia and Jan!!
Spinning at Sugarloaf
Mill, by Laura
More adventures in Dyeing!
by Chris Vance
If you want to do a fast, easy dyeing project,
try Spectra Bleeding Art Tissue on silk
scarves. You rip or cut the tissue paper and
lay or layer it on the fabric and spray with
vinegar and water. When it’s dry, (I couldn’t actually
wait quite that long) you peel off the paper and heat
set the dye with an iron or in the dryer. I did this with
adults and we had fun, but imagine how much fun a
bunch of second graders would have!
See the finished items on page 4.
NEWSLETTER T ITLE P AGE 3
B IG S KY F IBER ARTS GUILD , I NC. P AGE 4 Big Sky Fiber Arts Guild, Inc.
More adventures in Dyeing!
Continued
Look at these beauties! Oh and the scarves are nice too!
Wool Grading Systems
Information from the following sources:
Original written by:
Llyn Payne
Bella Online (past) Spinning Editor
Additional information from:
New Mexico State Univ.
College of Agriculture; Guide B-409
www.aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_b/B409/welcome.html
Many edits by S. Gibson
One of the important qualities of a fleece is its degree of fineness or coarseness. A hand spinner must be able to judge this in or-
der to select a fleece that will be suitable for the planned end use of the fiber.
Over the years, various systems have been developed in attempts to define exactly how fine or coarse a particular fleece may be,
and to set standards for the wool industry. Over time different systems developed. Different terminology was used to describe the
systems, and things became a bit muddled for hand spinners as various suppliers used different grading or count systems to de-
scribe their fleeces.
There are three count systems in use in the USA today. They are:
1. The Bradford Count System also called The English System or the Spinning Count System.
2. The Blood Count System also called the American Count System or simply, the Blood System.
3. The Micron Count System.
Let’s look at each of these grading systems individually and then see how they compare.
The Bradford Spinning Count System The oldest of the count systems in use today is the Bradford Count System, which dates back to 19th century England. Devel-
oped in the town of Bradford, this system is based on the number of 560 yard hanks of single ply yarn that could be spun from
one pound of combed top. Top is scoured wool that is processed by combing so that all of the fibers in the preparation lie parallel
to each other. The spinning method used would be worsted and the most experienced spinners would have spun this yarn. It is
possible that mechanical spinning equipment was used since it was developed about the same time as the Bradford scale was
developed.
Fleece graded on the Bradford Count System is marked with a number followed by the letter s, which stands for skeins. For ex-
ample, a marking of 56s would mean that 56 skeins of singles, each 560 yards could be spun worsted from one pound of that
fleece if it was prepared as combed top. That is 31,360 yards of yarn. 80s would be 80 skeins, 45s would equal 45 skeins. In this
system, the higher the number, the finer the fleece.
The American Blood Count System The American Blood system came into being in the early 1800’s when Spanish Merino rams were imported and crossed with
coarse wool sheep. Everyone agreed that Merino was the standard for fine wool so it was decided that wool would be classified
by the percentage of Merino blood in the sheep. A purebred Merino would be a full blood and would be classed as a fine wool;
then the scale took the cross breeding into account, with half blood being coarser and working down from there through 3/8th
blood, 1/4th blood, low 1/4th blood, common, and braid which is the coarsest grade in this system. This system also considers
CPI (crimps per inch) with the assumption that a higher CPI = finer wool. This system is rarely used by handspinners, though
some wool pools still use it. The Bradford system is able to break wool down into more precise categories of fineness than the
Blood Count System.
Continued on page 6
The Micron Count System The latest and most accurate testing system, Micron Count measures the exact diameter of the wool. One micron is equal to
1/25400th of an inch or one millionth of a meter so special testing equipment is required. For testing, two fleece samples are taken
from different parts of the fleece and sent to a lab for measuring. The results of these two tests are averaged out with the average
being the Micron Count assigned to that fleece. In this system, the lower the count number, the finer the fleece. This is used by most
international wool markets, and more and more handspinners are becoming familiar with it.
The following is a table showing how the 3 systems compare.
Comparison of Blood, Bradford and Micron Counts:
General Type of Wool Blood Count Bradford Count Micron Count
Fine Fine Finer than 80s Under 17.70
Fine 80s 17.70 - 19.14
Fine 70s 19.15 - 20.59
Fine 64s 20.60 - 22.04
Medium 1/2 Blood 62s 22.05 - 23.49
1/2 Blood 60s 23.50 - 24.94
3/8 Blood 58s 24.95 - 26.39
3/8 Blood 56s 26.40 - 27.84
1/4 Blood 54s 27.85 - 29.29
1/4 Blood 50s 29.30 - 30.99
Coarse Low 1/4 Blood 48s 31.00 - 32.69
Low 1/4 Blood 46s 32.70 - 34.39
Common 44s 34.40 - 36.19
Very Coarse Braid 40s 36.20 - 38.09
Braid 36s 38.10 - 40.20
Braid Coarser than 36s Over 40.20
Big Sky Fiber Arts
Guild, Inc.
Guild Officers
Laura Miklautsch, President
406-880-0987
Suzanne Artley, VP
406-273-4778
Margie Lubinski, Treasurer
406-360-3502
Molly McKinnon, Secretary
406-274-1422
Kris Crawford, Program Director
406-546-6412
Chris Vance, Newsletter
406-239-2963
Shelley Hunter/Loey Knapp, Web-
site
PO Box 811
Stevensville, MT 59870
http://www.bigskyfiberartsguild.org/
Calendar
September 23-25, 2016 - Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County Events
Center at Canby, Oregon. For more information, visit http://flockandfiberfestival.com/.
October 28-30, 2016 - 6th Annual Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival at the Fort Dalles Readiness
Center. Visit http://columbiagorgefiberfestival.com/ for more information.
August 9-14, 2016—Western Montana Fair in Missoula, MT.
http://www.missoulafairgrounds.com/western-montana-fair/. Home arts here:
http://www.missoulafairgrounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Home-Arts-1.pdf
August 31-September 3, 2016 Ravalli County Fair in Hamilton MT. http://ravalli.us/200/
Fairgrounds
Sept.2-4, 2016—Festival of the Thread: a textile exhibit in Livingston MT. http://
www.thefestivalofthethread.com/
June 26-July 2, 2017 - The Victoria Handweavers’ and Spinners’ Guild is joining with ANWG to
host the 2017 ANWG Conference at the University of Victoria.
