Clinton News-Record, 1984-10-17, Page 24INCORI'ORATING,TUE BLYTUSTANDARD-THE HAYFIELD BUGLE
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SECOND SECTION
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER. 17, 1984
Christmas Country Fair offers something
119TH YEAR ®No•
Inspecting one of his sewing boxes is Karl Skov. Mr. Skov has
built up a good stock of sewing boxes, frames, spoon racks
and spice racks for the Christmas Fair. ( Anne Narejko photo )
Claire Mackenzie will be one of many people displaying her crafts at the Saltford
Christmas Country Fair this week: Mrs. Mackenzie will have pine cone wreaths, table or-
naments and wall hangings with her. This will be her first time at the Country Fair.
( Anne Narejko photo)
Have you started your Christmas shopp-
ing yet?
If not, you should• think about: attending
Colborne Township's 19th annual
Christmas Country Fair being held at
Saltford Valley Hall today. ( Wednesday ),
Saturday and Sunday. It's the perfect
place to buy those hand -made Christmas
gifts and decorations or just browse and
pick up some ideas of your own.
The fair, which is sponsored again this
year by the Bluewater Chapter No. 284,
Order of the Eastern Star, sells country
baking, and• arts and crafts by local and
area artists and craftsmen.
Lunch and refreshments will be served
at the fair by members of the Eastern Star
Lodge: Admission is fifty cents and all pro-
ceeds go toward. community projects.
Hours for the fair are 10 a.m, to 9 p.m. on
Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday;
and noon until5 p.m. on Sunday.
Lady carries on tradition of spinning
By Shelley McPhee
BLYTH - More than 100 years ago, pioneer
women spun and wove sheep wool out of
necessity. Women and girls carried out the
painstaking task of greasing and carding the
fleece, spinning it into woollen yarn, dyeing
it with natural homemade colors, weaving it
into cloth and finally sewing the material,
into garments for the family.
Today we live .in a world dominated by the
convenience . of plastic and polyester, but
Toni Vos of Blyth is among Several Huron
County women who are still emphasizing the
workmanship of generations past.
Mrs. Vos is a member of the Huron Tract
Spinners and Weavers Guild, a group that
creates beautiful handloomed work. Her
articles will be featured at the Christmas
Fair in Saltford this week.
A past president of the Spinners and
Weavers Guild, Mrs: Vos has been spinning
for more than a decade. Her work
emphasizes completely handmade and
natural components, originating right from
the sheep's back. She has also developed her
talents to ,include natural dyeing and •
weaving.
Mrs. Vos' craft begins with the sheep on
her farm, where she collects the fleece.
Preparing it for dyeing and spinning is a
complex operation that includes washing
and boiling, tedious combing and carding.
.Like magic, the matted, dirty fleece
"comes out just like a cloud," in Mrs. Vos'
words.
A hot, soapy bath helps to remove all the
lanolin from the fleece, a'necessary step for
dyeing.
Mrs. Vosis one of the only Guild members
who uses the ancient process of natural
dyeing. Originated in Eastern countries and
used by Canadian Indians, the dyeing
process uses various coloring from wild
plants and flowers. Mrs. Vos uses a trial and
error system and the results are always
different. She noted, "You never know what
color you'll get, but all colors from nature
blend so nicely." :
In pioneer days, the plants were boiled in
copper and iron pots. The reaction from
each vessel produced a different intensity of
color. Mrs. Vos uses powder forms of alum,
copper, detachrome and iron in dyeing to
produce shhilar effects.
She's used a variety"of plants for dyeing,
including Golden Rod, Joey Pie Weed,
Scotch Moss, - Cosmos, Dahlias, Plantain,
Dandelions, Marigold, Onion skins,
Hollyhocks, Rhubarb, Elderberry, Mint and
Bloodroot.
Some colors turn out better than others
and some plants boil better than others.
Mrs. Vos explained, "There's a lot of color
in Ragweed, but when it's cooked, it stinks.
There's no other word for it."
Plants to be used for dyeing are collected
in summer and fall. Mrs. Vos then freezes
e•
them, until needed for. coloring.
The dyeing process creates natural,
earthy tones, the work is time consuming,
but Mrs. Vos finds it intriguing.
The favorite part . of her work is the
'spinning wheel, which she expertly operates
with one eye on her work and the other eye
on the television.
Her nimble ,fingers and quick foot easily
transform the ragged wool into neat skeins
of yarn.
She has not restricted her spinning to
sheep's wool, but has used sheepdog hair,
angora rabbit and goat's fur.'
Mrs. Vos has transformed wool, fur and
some synthetic yarns into woven material
suitable for tops, dresses and vests.' Her
creations include shoulder bags, . table
runners, toques and scarves,• heavy
ponchos, elegant cocoon styled capes, coat
shawls, lacy mohair scarves, colorful
Navaho rugs and wall hangings.
The original "Handcrafted by Toni" label
is one to watch for at the Country Christmas
Fair.
Her work, along with other members of
the Guild, will also be featured at the annual
Spinners and Weavers display and sale, to
be held at the Benmiller Inn, the . first
weekend in November.
Toni Vos of Blyth will feature her handloomed, naturally dyed crafts at the Christmas
Country Fair. She will join dozens of craftsperson who will be taking part in the gigantic
three day showing, being held in Saltford on October 17, 20 and 21. (Shelley McPhee
photo)
Gerda Abbott is busily preparing for her first showing at the Saltford Christmas
Cduntry Fair. Mrs. Abbott makes ladies' lingerie from scratch. ( Anne Nare-
jko photo)
Craftiness runs in farnily
By Anne Narejko
CLINTON - Working with her hands must
be a trait that Gerda Abbott inherited from
her father Karl Skov. The father and
daughter will be displaying their crafts of
woodworking and lingerie at the Saltford
Christmas Country Fair for the entire three
days.
Mr. Skov claims, "It was my daughter
who started me at the craft shows last
year."
Since that time, the pair have been
displaying their goods together at the Blyth
Threshermen's Reunion, at Lucknow,
•'{1anover, Ripley and Mitchell. This. will be
their first time at Saltford.
"Before I used to just do things for the
family, 'but in the last year we've been going
to shows. We get tables side by side and help
each other out.. Dad sells the odd pair of
ladies' panties andI sell some of his work
too," laughed Mrs. Abbott. •
Mr. Skov has been involved with
woodworking of one type or another for
approximately 30 years. He worked with a
carpenter for a few years and built his house
as well as part of his neighbor's home.
"I guess it's in my blood,"he commented.
Mr. Skov makes plate and needlepoint
frames, sewing boxes, spoon racks, spice
racks, cutting boards, puzzles, as well as
broom holders and some joke items.
He uses a wide variety of wood but prefers
hardwood because it lasts longer. In one
sewing box alone, Mr. Skov uses 50 pieces of
wood and 40 screws. He makes about 20 of
these boxes a year.
Mrs. Abbott has had the opportunity to
attend more fairs then she would normally
have because she has been unemployed.
"It keeps me busy and I get the chance to
Turn to page 2A •
Many uses for pine cones
By Anne Narejko
CLINTON - Some people have an inborn
talent when it comes to crafts, and Claire
Mackenzie of Clinton seems to be one of
these people. Mrs. Mackenzie will be one of
many exhibitors taking her crafts to the
Saltford Christmas Country Fair on October
17,20and 21.
For six years Mrs. Mackenzie has been
making pine cone wreaths of various sizes
because she "enjoys doing anything
crafty."
Mrs. Mackenzie makes wreaths which can
be used for special occasions, such as.
Easter or Christmas, or for different rooms,
such. as the bedroom. She also makes
wreaths to decorate doors.
In order to make the wreath appropriate
for each room,. she uses different ribbons,
flowers, acorns, walnuts or peanuts. In
some instances she uses grape vine for the
frame and spray paints it, leaving off the
pine cones.
Before Mrs. Mackenzie started making
wreaths she owned a ceramic shop in
London. One of the ladies who took lessons
from her brought a pine cone wreath into the
class, and later taught Mrs. Mackenzie the
craft.
Mrs. Mackenzie has found that pine cones
are not the easiest things to find,, plus they
have to be the proper size for the wreath.
"One day I phoned Swop Shop and asked if
anyone in the Clinton area had some pine
cones laying around. I didn't get any calls
for awhile, but one, roan from Brucefield
phoned and brought a couple of bags filled
Turn to page 2A •
Beautiful creations at Fair
BY JOANNE BUCIIANAN
What do birchbark, corn cobs, pine cones,
barn boards, grapevines, wicker and straw
all have in common?
Well, they are all materials which can be
turned into beautiful decorations through
the talents of Aisla Fisher, Dorothy 'Fisher,
Lois Rowe and Eileen Bowman. If you don't
believe it, just drop into the Christmas
Country Fair at Saltford Valley Hall today
(Wednesday), Saturday or Sunday. You can
find these four Benmiller area ladies there
with many beautiful creations they have
been producing in Lois' basement since
August.
Friends for many years (Dorothy and
Lois are also sisters-in-law), the women
first discovered their mutual enjoyment of
crafts about 13 years ago when they
decorated the Benmiller United Church for
that church's annual Berryfest. To this day,
they continue to decorate the church each
ye:.r for the different seasons and special
occasions. ,
It wasn't long before word got around
about their decorating skills, and the women
then began getting requests to do weddings.
This year, they have done five complete
weddings, from providing the bridal bou-
quets and boutonnieres to decorating the
church and making the table centrepieces
for the reception. They also rent out some of
Their wedding decorations.
"Weddings are fun. Each one is different.
The bride usually brings in material from
the bridesmaids' dresses so we can match it
up and then she leaves the rest up to us,
checking in occasionally, to see how we're
doing," explains Lois who not only
decorated for her daughter's recent wed-
ding but, with the help of her friends,
Turn topage 2A•