Griffin Dyeworks

Home | Store | Information | Retreat

Information right arrow Retreat right arrow 2005 Retreat Report
Griffin Dyeworks

2005 Dye & Fiber Retreat Report
by Bjo Trimble

Results of gradation dye class taught by Ruth Northrup of The Dizzy Ewe
Results of gradation dye class taught by Ruth Northrup of The Dizzy Ewe

A LITTLE HISTORY: Less than one year ago, the people involved with Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts decided to hold a Dye and Fiber Retreat. OK, OK, the background chorus is, "YOU decided, Bjo!" I'd noodled the idea around for some time, but we didn't have a venue until Clark took us up to Camp Verdugo Oaks. This Boy Scout camp was ideal so the concept became a plan. That plan became a bunch of flyers sent and handed out to fiber artists in the area, and the response told us the event would be workable. After months of planning, worrying, sorting things out, worrying, and working at CVO to defray expenses, the event happened.

FOR STARTERS: Everyone had a grand time, including the Retreat organizers! Due to varied Real Life factors, most of us haven't really gotten our Retreat thoughts sorted out yet. Cat Ellen, our official photographer, took loads of photos, and we'll soon add her photos to this site. Here are a few of my own digital photos, plus my somewhat random comments on the event. I'll certainly add more later as memory kicks in. Other participants are invited to send their impressions as well as any photos to post here. That's a HINT, Retreat Participants!!! As in: send something in!

NOTE: Some participants are also members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval re-enactment organization, so throughout you may find people with two names; one Real Life name and their SCA name by which—in some cases—they are much better known.

Ranger Terry Hall
Ranger Terry Hall

RANGER TERRY, administrator of Camp Verdugo Oaks, is used to Cubs and Boy Scouts, Mountain Men and religious groups renting his site. So he didn't know what to expect of a bunch of fiber artists (and neither did we!). We invited him to join the fun—not always the case with other groups—and he seemed to enjoy himself. Especially since the ladies made much of him and gave him the best seat when he wanted to watch a demo. They saw to it that he got fed lots of snacks, and Todd Etzel shared some of his home brew. In return, Ranger T gifted each Retreat committee member with a trade bead necklace, and gave me a set of 'ghost' beads that have certainly captured my creativity! At the end of the Retreat, he was gifted with a sprang bag made by Janet Chenault, with a kumihimo drawstring made by Debbie Coyle.

Erin Talevich with Sherry and Cora Acton collating materials to stuff Retreat totes
Erin Talevich with Sherry and Cora Acton collating materials to stuff Retreat totes

MISSED LISTS: When we arrived at the camp, miles from our home, we discovered all sorts of things that had been left behind. In spite of all my lists! Actually, I left some of the lists behind, too. So while I tried to reconstruct my accommodations layout, the lovely people in the photo above gathered all the materials to stuff the totes.

TOTES! An online source provided nice big cotton totes deep enough to carry lots of fleece, a small mini-inkle loom, a lucet or drop spindle, knitting needles and yarn, plus a book or two. We asked various companies for flyers and catalogs, then Midnight Impressions silk-screened our logo on them. They looked very snazzy. On the last day of the Retreat, someone thought of dyeing her bag, which worked nicely and didn't harm the printing. So next year we'll have a tote-dyeing session much earlier in the Retreat.

TOTE STUFFINGS: I'd like to personally thank those companies and enterprising individuals who contributed material to stuff in our Retreat totes. We added extra information, such as favorite charities, etc. Everyone vastly enjoyed browsing through the catalogs and flyers between learning new fiber techniques or showing someone else how to do them. Some of the material was new to many of our participants. Here are our tote contributors:

Plus some worthy additions of general interest:

Our apologies to Thai Silks: www.thaisilks.com, whose catalog did not make it into the tote bags; their packet was inadvertently misplaced at our mail drop and not found until after the Retreat.

Sherry Acton-Snowden and Cora Acton gathering tote material
Sherry Acton-Snowden and Cora Acton gathering tote material

TENT CITY: Early arrivals helped John Trimble, Clark Acton and Todd Etzel set up a tent city to protect us from fierce Southern California summer sun. Thanks to so many people bringing pop-up shade-covers, we covered quite a bit of area. Everyone spread out under that shade and spontaneously set to work. It was as if we'd planned it that way. I was surprised but very pleased. There was a nice mix of Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) members and other fiber artists we'd gathered from handing out flyers at the Southern California Handweavers Conference in Escondido, plus a few other sources. This year, the tent city "just grew"; next year, the tents will be better organized and set farther away from the sidewalk as many participants suggested.

Our "tent city" with everyone busy at something. Bright pink shirt is Bjo wondering what she forgot to do.
Our "tent city" with everyone busy at something. Bright pink shirt is Bjo wondering what she forgot to do.

MY BEST MOMENT: Friday evening—it was very dark in the Tehachapi Mountains and the tent city was lit by strings of lights and lanterns. Most of the participants had arrived and set to work on their own projects or were learning something new. The tent city was abuzz with excited, creative people chattering, meeting new people exchanging information, fully enjoying themselves. This was what I had in mind when I first proposed the Retreat. It was working as planned, and it looked exactly as I hoped it would look! That was a wonderful moment to cherish forever.

The tent city at night, with everyone at work on something wonderful
The tent city at night, with everyone at work on something wonderful

WHEELING ALONG: People learned how to spin with several kinds of drop spindle, on different brands of spinning wheels, and on Roberta (Bru) Brubaker's antique Great Wheel. One participant brought a lovely Ashford spinning wheel, purchased several years before and nearly abandoned in frustration. After a quick tune-up by our experts, the wheel was put in good running order, then she was shown the basics of spinning and went home happy. Another lady brought an eBay find, but had no idea that the spinning wheel was actually missing several parts. Between the experienced spinners in the group, enough springs, screws, etc, were found to put the wheel in running order. At one point, Bru was heard to tell a confused spinning student, "Remember, you are smarter than string!"

Bru shows Cate how to use a Great Wheel
Bru shows Cate how to use a Great Wheel

GETTING FLEECED: Adventurous souls participated in skirting an Icelandic fleece. Bru got these fleeces from Vizual Delite Icelandics: Sindi Loughlin at: <Mikeorsindi@att.net> or Issy Knudsen at: <Issyknudsen@aol.com> They'll send lovely samples from their colorful flock to see and touch. A large, beautifully shaded fleece was unrolled over a picnic table, then Bru and Esther Benedict showed everyone how to pick it over, explaining that there were actually 3 potential wools with an Icelandic. The fleeces were clean, but still had lanolin, bits of vegetation (and other things). Overheard: "I never thought it was possible to have this much fun wrist-deep in greasy fleece!" Participants also had a chance to learn spinning and dyeing, washing wool, comb and card, using standard carding paddles as well as those vicious-looking Viking combs, then how to spin a variety of wool roving, silk caps (or bells), and flax, making sprang bags (not jumping in the air, as someone thought, but an ancient method of braiding).

Janet Chenault gives a drop spindle lesson to Denise Radcliffe
Janet Chenault gives a drop spindle lesson to Denise Radcliffe

THREADS: A variety of interesting threads were used for lucet, kumihimo, fill-the-gap, inkle weaving, card weaving, crocheting, and knitting. The knitting teacher said wistfully that everyone seemed too busy to learn something else, and was promptly taken up by a fiber artist who had not yet had the time to learn knitting.

Bru showing how to braid roving for shaded dyeing
Bru showing how to braid roving for shaded dyeing

MORE FLEECE: Pat Wood, who could not attend, sent a goodly supply of white and gray carded roving to share with the Retreat. Others (whose names escape me right now but I hope they will remind me) also brought roving to share. This was a boon to newbies learning to spin because they had plenty to play with.

Ona Solomon's flax spinning class
Ona Solomon's flax spinning class

LEATHERWORKING: The Retreat had more than fiber classes. Red Sebolt, manager of The Baldwin Park Leather Factory, generously brought belt forms, buckles, leather dyes, scrap leather, and lots of interesting tools to teach how to "pound on dead cows" as he elegantly put it. Cynthia Sebolt was happily busy with fiber arts, so Red babysat 2-yr-old 'Bean' and readily taught anyone who came by. Among Red's most avid admirers was Cora Acton (nearly 5) and Elijah Stone (almost 3) who enjoyed the pounding as much as they liked making something. Elijah gratified his teacher and his mother by creating a delightful montage on leather of trees, birds and a rising sun. Between fiber projects, several participants satisfactorily turned out belts, including Kathryn Trimble making her first piece of leatherwork. Her sister and Retreat food organizer, Lora Boehm, made herself a Viking belt with "I am Lorissa's belt" stamped on it in Futhark. Next time, I plan to have enough time to make myself a belt, too.

L to R: Leather-crafters Kathryn Trimble, Red Sebolt in hat, Lois Merritt watching carefully
L to R: Leather-crafters Kathryn Trimble, Red Sebolt in hat, Lois Merritt watching carefully

LATHE: Clark Acton brought his new toy, a small lathe, and showed how he turned bone needles, and rare wood crochet hooks, knitting needles. He didn't really plan on teaching a class, but his impromptu lessons were greatly appreciated, especially by Lilah Somberg, who turned out a lovely bloodwood crochet hook and proudly showed it around. Clark will plan a full class for next year.

Clark and Lilah at his lathe
Clark and Lilah at his lathe

BEADS and WIRES: Laura Dean brought her beads and wire to teach making wire-wrapped rings, and Kathy Santineau showed several interested people how to make historically-accurate medieval rosaries and Pater Nosters. So there was no lack of variety at this Retreat!

Judging from this dining hall scene, nobody was starving!
Judging from this dining hall scene, nobody was starving!

FEEDING THE RETREAT: The food organizer (Lora Boehm), her cooks (Jason Boehm and Cate Manzo) and her kitchen prep-man (Todd Etzel) get high marks for feeding some 62 people with tasty meals. Cate made sure there was a good supply of comfort food at every meal, from Jell-O to home-baked cookies. Every attempt was made to work around everyone's assorted food allergies and food dislikes, while still providing good meals for all tastes. That's never easy! In real life, Lora is co-owner of her own hair salon, The Big Tease; her husband, Jason, is a pilot; Cate is coffee and tea barista (and new pastry chef!) at The Peach Café in Monrovia, and Todd works at Caltech. Quite a collection of good cooks! Food suggestions for were listened to and may be applied to next Retreat, but no guarantees! These folk were unpaid volunteers, so we can't fire them if they don't listen to us.

COFFEE BAR of SPLENDOR: An added attraction for Retreat participants was this delightful service by Cat Ellen (Eilidh Swann in the SCA) hosted her (nearly famous) "Coffee Bar of Splendor" in the mornings, and for any evenings if people requested it. She made fresh-brewed (drip) hand-selected organic blend of dark-roast coffees plus decaf, and a noncoffee (Tecchino) for those who could not drink actual coffee. Sides included creamers (with or without flavor), soy milk, and/or non-fat milk, plus coffee syrups. She brought a wide variety of tea, caff, non-caff, herbal, flavored, and plain. For sweetners she supplied white, blue, yellow, brown, and cane sugars, 2-3 flavors of honey, and fresh lemons. There was a pot of spiced cider, and hot chocolate (regular or variety of flavors), plus non-dairy cocoa with marshmallows. This beverage service was an extra elegance in a camping situation!

Jason barbequing chicken
Jason barbequing chicken

Lora and Todd cutting up the chicken
Lora and Todd cutting up the chicken

Cate serving Jell-O
Cate serving Jell-O

VENDORS: For this first Retreat, we didn't really look for merchants, since we weren't sure how many fiber-related vendors might come to a first event. So we had two official vendors: Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts and The Dizzy Ewe. Our businesses complement each other well, since GDW has decided to focus on natural dyes and related fiber tools for the most part. Ruth Northrup of The Dizzy Ewe just started her fiber business; she makes delightful greeting cards as well as selling Jacquard dyes, yarns, fiber, plus dye and fiber books that we don't plan to carry. We have absolutely nothing against beautiful books and have lots in our own bookshelves! However, GDW sells at many outdoor events in all sorts of weather where even carefully protected books get shop-worn pretty fast. Until GDW can afford its own storefront, or a walk-in warehouse with classroom studio, selling books is just an extra hassle in our lives. Where is that zillionaire who wants to invest? But I digress.... Ranger Terry, who is known as "Skinner" in Mountain Man circles, brought out some of his trade beads to sell to a group that enjoys unusual decorative items.

John Trimble with Griffin Dyeworks wares
John Trimble with Griffin Dyeworks wares

Ruth Northrup gleefully showing off her new The Dizzy Ewe sign
Ruth Northrup gleefully showing off her new The Dizzy Ewe sign

ENTERTAINMENT: There were other amusements besides fiber arts and dyeing. Lora brought playing cards and board games for quiet moments. Retreat participants—and their wonderfully well-behaved children—played outdoors or in the dining hall with playing cards, board games, and small fiber projects. The August heat invited frequent swimming in the delicious pool. Lacking the time between dyepots for a good swim, a group of otherwise dignified ladies, at a particularly hot point of the day, left their spinning wheels and dyepots to run madly through the lawn sprinklers, much to the amusement of Ranger Terry.

Enjoying the pool in a hot August afternoon
Enjoying the pool in a hot August afternoon

DYEING TO DYE: Of course we had lots of dyeing! While Esther showed participants how to wash dirty fleece, I set up dyepots with the able assistance of eager helpers. We cooked up Osage orange, onion skins, kamala, brazilwood, cochineal, indigo crystals, black oak bark, and several mixes of color. Not quite up to Carol Lee's annual 24-Pot dye session in Encampment, Wyoming, but we'll try harder next year.

Water-bearer and beer-brewer Todd behind dye results
Water-bearer and beer-brewer Todd behind dye results

PADDLIN' ALONG: Todd Etzel made me some nice wooden dyepot paddles that we marked "red", "yellow", "blue", "alum" and so on, to avoid contaminating a light dyepot with a darker dye. Todd spent his free time between food prep in brewing beer in one corner of the patio. Being the closest large person, and also in charge of the water hose, Todd also became our willing schlepper of dirty rinse water and invaluable supplier of fresh rinse water. The dye session produced another good statement by Bru: "First you spin, then you dye." Look for it on a Griffin Dyeworks T-shirt soon!

Indigo crystals on hand-spun wool yarn, silk scarf, wool roving, cotton T-shirt
Indigo crystals on hand-spun wool yarn, silk scarf, wool roving, cotton T-shirt

Cate watches Bru teach how to warp an inkle loom
Cate watches Bru teach how to warp an inkle loom

PREPARED FOR FUN: The best thing about this Dye and Fiber Retreat is that everyone came ready to totally enjoy themselves. A family trio with only one fiber artist had fun; dad went out on the Whittaker Trail and biked around the area while his wife spun. The daughter seemed to enjoy herself without getting involved in the fiber. Later, we were told that they were a camping family and considered Camp Verdugo Oaks a very good site. One crazy group of friends arrived wearing red hats with their shorts and T-shirts. Since they were all under the requisite Red Hat age, they argued that the wearing of red hats should be for adventurous females of any age, not just for older women. Clark not only agreed with them, but modeled one of the hats to show his solidarity.

A very tired Clark Acton in silly red hat
A very tired Clark Acton in silly red hat

FOND FAREWELLS: Sunday arrived far too soon and it was time to stop all the fun and go home. Breakfast was noisy as everyone said goodbye to new and old friends, discussed what they had learned, and traded addresses. Then we had to pack, hug goodbye, and either go home just before a Monday workday, or stay behind to help clean up. We understood that some folks had family obligations, so we were especially grateful that some could stay. All the Retreat organizers were so very pooped!

Dyers hard at work: L to R: Renata Fossett (tie-dyed shirt), Laura Dean lifting dyed fiber, Ansley Davies stirring
Dyers hard at work: L to R: Renata Fossett (tie-dyed shirt), Laura Dean lifting dyed fiber, Ansley Davies stirring

RETREAT PHOTOS: When our 'Coffee Bar of Splendor' owner, Cat Ellen, wasn't fixing refreshing beverages for us, she was taking photos of the event. The photos used in this initial report are by Bjo Trimble. Cat's photos will be posted here later on, along with whatever Retreat Reports we can coax out of participants. Cat brought her laptop since the Program Office in which her group slept was also a computer room wired with many outlets. So she took photos of the event and got signed releases from everyone in the pictures. Before she left the event, she gave us all the releases and the photos on CD. So we took the electronic version of the photos home with us on Sunday. What a busy person!

Therese Griffin, Sombrune Rauzinet and someone seated, resting between packing out
Therese Griffin, Sombrune Rauzinet and someone seated, resting between packing out

WONDERFUL TEACHERS: We had a plethora of teachers! Some people taught who had not signed up to be teachers, which was OK, too. All it took was someone asking how to do something, and several hands would be there, showing how. It was amazing. This is always a dangerous because I'm sure to forget someone who did wonderful things, but here goes. Thanks to Esther Benedict, Roberta Brubaker, Debbie Coyle, Therese Griffin, Ruth Northrup, Ona Solomon, and all of you who are yet to be named in future reports! Thanks also to those who brought our non-fiber crafts: thanks to Terry 'Red' Sebolt who brought a full leather-making kit, to Laura Dean for her twisty wire and bead rings, and to Kathy Santineau for her rosary construction class. One teacher who shows up in all the surveys is Debbie Coyle, a fiber artist to be reckoned with!

CLEANUP: Naturally, Camp Verdugo Oaks had to be left as clean as possible so we would be invited back, and possibly hold future SCA events there. There are not enough words to thank those tired participants who stayed behind to help us break down, clean up and pack out. "Thank you" seems very inadequate. Without that extra assistance, very tired Retreat organizers would never have been ready to go home nearly as soon as we did. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (definitely to be continued!)

Packing up: Renata Fossett (white shirt), Therese Griffin (hat), Roberta Brubaker (purple shirt), Clark Acton, Kathy Santineau (shorts), John Trimble (in back), Theresa Boscia (red shirt)
Packing up: Renata Fossett (white shirt), Therese Griffin (hat), Roberta Brubaker (purple shirt),
Clark Acton, Kathy Santineau (shorts), John Trimble (in back), Theresa Boscia (red shirt)

2006 DYE and FIBER RETREAT: Before leaving the site we set a 2006 date of October 19-22, 2006, to avoid August heat. In Southern California, this is still nice weather with only a 3% chance of rain. We discussed other requested and necessary Retreat changes, but our informal, unstructured atmosphere will be carefully fostered.

2006 RETREAT CHANGES:

Theresa (Mariam) Boscia, my new dye apprentice, about to dye roving
Theresa (Mariam) Boscia, my new dye apprentice, about to dye roving

2005 RETREAT COMMENTS

RANGER TERRY: I hope you guys were pleased with the overall Dye Retreat. If I can make any improvements to make your stay a more pleasant experience let me know.

BJO: Oh don't say that! Our Retreat participants are nothing if not vocal! They'll tell you, believe me. One of the big disappointments seems to have been not seeing the bear. I don't suppose you want to arrange a sighting for us next time? I didn't think so....

Ranger Terry watching Therese Griffin teach card or tablet weaving
Ranger Terry watching Therese Griffin teach card or tablet weaving

JEANNE WILLITS: First, let me say that weekend retreat was the most fun I've had in years. You did a spectacular job with everything from meals on time and tasty to finding great instructors and providing materials for learning. I can't wait for next years. I have since bought a spinning wheel (Louet S17 kit). Now all I have to do is learn how to use it.

BJO: Bring your wheel to the next event!

Drop spindle class
Drop spindle class

DEBBIE COYLE (Lynnette): Summer Weekend Fiber Retreat: I enjoyed the weekend as a whole—YES! It was incredible! It created the perfect atmosphere for a community event. That's the word I heard over and over, 'community'. I'm so glad I was part of it. I was a bit put off by the price at first (not sure I could afford it) but when I realized it included the cost of class supplies (and I wouldn't be paying out $5, $10, or more for each class I wanted to take) the price seemed more than affordable. I got everything out of the event that I wanted:

Favorite moment of the weekend was teaching two-cord lucet to someone who REALLY got the possibilities of things you could do with this, she was SO jazzed and ready to go do cool stuff with what I'd taught her!

The food was good. I am a very picky eater (the list of things I don't like is WAY longer than the list of things I do like!) and each meal had enough things I liked to give me a full meal. The food was good, well prepared, the correct temperature when served, served in an efficient and friendly manner, tasty, and well planned. Several of us were talking about it and realized what we really wanted from the food at the retreat was for it to not get in the way, something formal or lengthy would just take time away from the event activities.

Communication was good—It's a Bjo event, how could it not be???? I felt very well informed and prepared. (And even after years of camping and SCA, I still found things on your packing list that I hadn't thought of!)

But there should be changes—Not so much. Cooler would be better, but outdoors is still the best. A bit more formality PERHAPS for the class structure, but not much—I do a lot of informal, one-on-one teaching and I love it, that's what I enjoyed at the Retreat; plus the other teachers were flexible enough to work around things for me. I learned how to knit Friday, but didn't have time to learn how to purl until Sunday! Therese was willing to meet with a few of us after dinner on Saturday for card weaving lessons, even though she wasn't there to teach card-weaving.

I DO wish there was a way to make it longer, at least have more time on Sunday. I felt rather let down on the way home Sunday, that there wasn't more fiber stuff that day. HOWEVER, I know what all is involved and know that staying any longer would have been a big imposition for those of you putting on the event. And I know that 3 day holiday weekends have scores of problems of their own!

I liked the site—Oh yeah! It lent itself to the event format perfectly. Next time maybe more pavilions, some on the lawn area—BUT not too wide spread, I really enjoyed the closeness that came from the jumble of activities! I'm just happy the 2006 one is not in August (for more than one reason), get the date that works for the camp and y'all and, as you found out this year, if you hold it we will come!

I didn't bring my spinning wheel because I didn't want to bring all my spinning stuff on top of what I was already bringing. Friday night while we were sitting around talking I had a bit of spinning envy, and a sudden panic when I couldn't remember what I'd brought to work on that excited me! But I was sitting next to a lovely lady who told me she was going to teach beginning knitting—and I remember that I'd been wanting to learn to know—before I knew it I was learning to knit! Then I had a nice conversation with some who'd made a wrist distaff, the conversation bore fruit Saturday morning when I realized that I needed one for the fiber I'd just bought and that the kumihimo kit would make a great wrist distaff, so I now had a project to make Saturday in between teaching. Saturday was spent teaching, talking, sitting, and having a great time! And the one piece of info I REALLY needed (how to cardweave) Therese was willing to share Saturday night.

Sombrune and I were talking on the way home—we were glad it wasn't an SCA event. It had all the good things I love about Arts and Sciences in the SCA: interested and knowledgeable people willing to share their knowledge in a friendly, non-critical atmosphere. But not having the overlay of "being Medieval" was a bonus. My favorite line from the event was from a lady to who said "I realized this wasn't an SCA event so I brought my scissors with the LIME GREEN handles!"

I just ran across "Andean plying" and it's cool! I'll probably want to teach that next year. Check out: http://www.mielkesfarm.com/andean.htm and http://www.icanspin.com/andean.htm and know anyone who does woodworking? http://www.mielkesfarm.com/andeantool.htm

BJO: We have limited date choices at a busy Scout camp and are lucky to have gotten our 2006 date. We *are* open for other venue suggestions, because Things Can Happen and a venue can be lost without warning. The Gulf War site in Mississippi being totally underwater is a heads-up that we can't depend on a site being where we last left it.

We're extending Friday and Sunday a bit longer for 2006; we stopped early this year because we didn't know how long it would take to break down. Now we know it's faster than we thought due to all the help we got! We could move everyone to one or two spots and start packing out around them. Especially if they are doing something they can pack themselves.

Thank you for being so ready to teach anything in your wide area of expertise. You are a very accessible teacher and participants loved you and your teachings of inkle loom, lucet cord-making, and kumihimo.

Erin (blue shirt) with drop spindle, Debbie (foreground) doing kumihimo, Sherry on triangle loom in back
Erin (blue shirt) with drop spindle, Debbie (foreground) doing kumihimo, Sherry on triangle loom in back

ESTHER BENEDICT (Astra): Here's a reminder to those of you who took your spinning wheels to the Retreat: It's time to give your wheel a little extra TLC. Dust and grit wear down your wheel and impede smooth operation. Wipe everything down (use a q-tip to get at hard to reach places), and oil all the moving parts. If you're not sure what to oil, I've pasted my article on "A Few Drops of Oil". The wood of your spinning wheel didn't like the hot dry weather any more than you did, and gritty dust is damaging to the finish. After wiping off the dust, treat your wheel to a rub down with whatever maintenance product your manufacturer recommends. Just be sure not to get oil or wax into the grooves of your wheel, flyer and bobbin. While you're at it, take a look at the drive band and break band. Are they worn, stretched or dirty? Maybe it's time for a replacement. Give yourself a soak in some bubble bath. You'll spin better if you're relaxed (and a nice pruney soak while getting the indigo from underneath your cuticles!).

BJO: Thanks for this valuable advice—the article was posted in our new SPINNING section for website visitors to read—and for teaching fleece scouring. Those who washed fleece told me it was loads of fun (somehow, the concept of washing dirty fleece doesn't *sound* like fun!). It was great sharing a dye session with you and learning how to teach.

L to R: Ruth Northrup, Paula and Paul Chamberlain
L to R: Ruth Northrup, Paula and Paul Chamberlain

ROBERT WOOD (Robear): Have you ever done any adire (starch resist) indigo dying? They do it in West Africa using a variety of techniques, including wood-block prints. I'll bet we could do it using rubber stamps. I suppose one might start off on something smaller, but the adire in West Africa was normally about 7' x 7'. Does the indigo rub off on the skin, or would this be suitable for tee shirts for a beginners project? Can I do this using the starch available in the grocery store? It looks like the preferred method is to boil and strain cassava flour, which will probably be in short supply, even at Sunland Produce. But I bet I can get a potato flour, and if I can keep it from getting lumpy, I suspect I can skip straining it.

BJO: Yes, indigo rubs off. No, you can't use the starch from the store; it's not thick enough, but we may be able to thicken it. Let me look up some recipes. We didn't have time this year but we can arrange a dye resist session in 2006.

Ona Solomon with dyed roving
Ona Solomon with dyed roving

ERIN TALEVICH: Totally enriched by the weekend!

Night-time drop spindle class: Erin Talevich in foreground, Tina Dwyer and Lynn Hatfield in the background
Night-time drop spindle class: Erin Talevich in foreground, Tina Dwyer and Lynn Hatfield in the background

ROBERTA 'BRU' BRUBAKER (Bridget): I just got back from the most fabulous weekend at the Griffin Dyeworks Dye Retreat. Although the heat was oppressive and critters were everywhere, we fiber geeks had a great time! Not only did the dye pots bubble and issue forth brilliantly-colored fleece, fiber, yarn and clothing, but there were impromptu lessons on kumihimo, Navajo plying, drop-spinning, flax-spinning, inkle weaving, triangle shawl-weaving, rosary beading, leatherworking, nalbinding, and knitting. We set up a pop-up enclave populated by a wild assortment of spinning wheels and looms. And whenever someone wanted to learn something, there was always a teacher there to teach it.

Someone saw the camp Bear strolling up the road Saturday night! Flies, beer bees, mosquitoes, gnats and other flying things were a bother until you sprayed with repellant. Another camper was confronted by a tarantula in their tent, and I just got a call from Sa'rnat who said a momma tarantula had crawled into her suitcase and gave birth to a bunch of baby tarantulas! So be wary when you unpack! But thanks again to everyone who made the weekend so fun!

BJO: Bruce the Bear was just waiting for us to leave so he could pick over the leavings; he does it after every camping event. Tarantulas aren't poisonous, no matter what Hollywood horror movies say. But glad it wasn't me! Next time we'll warn people to put their suitcases on a stool (tarantulas don't climb well) and to keep their suitcases closed at all times!

The only other critter problem seems to have been the packrat that carried off Todd's shorts to build a nest where she could chew up Rosamund's silk cocoons to get the dried pupae. Packrat having stolen the cocoons from another tent. It was a busy campsite for small critters!

Thanks to you for teaching: Drop Spindle Spinning, Warping an Inkle loom, Traditional Spinning on a Treadle wheel, and most fun of all learning Great Walking Wheel spinning on your 150 year old wheel; those who tried it were thrilled to have a chance at a genuine Sleeping Beauty 'prick your finger' spindle.

Cora Acton and Elijah Stone learning leather-pounding
Cora Acton and Elijah Stone learning leather-pounding

CYNTHIA KONOW-BROWNELL: OK...the next retreat is on my calendar. And I can't be in Hawaii because school will be in session. The only consolation that I have is Hawaii was really awesome....I even did a zipline across a canyon! Cheers

BJO: Well, you may have zipped across canyons, but you missed the Retreat lawn sprinklers!

L to R: Esther Benedict, Roberta Brubaker, Elisabeth Wroth, Denise Radcliffe, Ercil Wroth enjoying the lawn sprinklers
L to R: Esther Benedict, Roberta Brubaker, Elisabeth Wroth, Denise Radcliffe, Ercil Wroth enjoying the lawn sprinklers

ERCIL WROTH (Astridhr): WOW!!!!!!!! What a triumph for Griffin Dyeworks! It was a fabulous weekend with so much to offer to so many. I loved the camp, (the pool :P ), Ranger Terry was great, the food was good (what a lot of work!!!). I had no tarantulas although I could use one right about now. I left the feeder crickets (200 of them) for my daughter's lizard in the plastic bag I bought them in because I was in a hurry to leave for the retreat. They ate through their bag and the plastic shopping bag and about 60-100 escaped into her room (I shut the door before I left). I have gotten most of them, by hand or the vacuum, but I am STILL finding them in the hall, kitchen, and bathroom... ahhhhhh!! The dyeing was to die for!!! It was so much fun, so well conceived, executed. I wish I had seen the bear though. I LOVED the pool!!!!!!!! Thanks for giving all that you have to all of us! I'll write again later, my family is prying my fingers off the keyboard!

Ercil Wroth about to dye her roving
Ercil Wroth about to dye her roving

GINA GARRISON-ARVIZU: The kids activities were great! I think they were thrilled with all kinds of handwork.

BJO: Actually, we had no planned Children's Activities. They either amused themselves or played the several games that Lora brought or participated in adult classes, which several of them did. The kids did well, played nicely together and weren't underfoot as I feared they might be. I'm glad I decided to let them come; the other Griffin Dyeworks folk were OK with having kids at the Retreat but my original plan had been to disallow all children to give moms and the other Retreat participants a rest from kids. I'm glad it worked out so well, and children will henceforth be welcomed by all.

Elijah playing cards with Eva Berg and Rosalyn Arvizu
Elijah playing cards with Eva Berg and Rosalyn Arvizu

SIWAN (Susan Williams): I am "recovering" from one of the most fantastic weekends I've had in a long while. Bjo and her family deserve as many kudos and hugs and general "I love you, you're fantastic, wonderful, incredible, spectacular...'s" as they'll put up with. Thank you!!!! Thank you!!!!

I ended up not weaving at all. I dyed wool and cotton (indigo dyed award cords!). I learned how to pull guard hairs out of a 3 layer Icelandic fleece (Thank you, Baroness Bridget for bringing those!), and how to scour fleece (2 belonging to others, and 3 of my own). Astra and Astridhr were incredibly generous with help, advice and instruction. And the Coffee Bar of Splendoor (and associated stories!) saved my life on more than one occasion!

I saw no tarantulas, no bears, no scorpions or rattlesnakes. (Darn, some people have all the luck). I saw a *lot* of helpful flies (they kept whispering advice into my ears) and about 3 mosquitoes. I did see and hear owls and woodpeckers, and other assorted chatty birds. I had a wonderful time! I'm looking forward to next year's FALL fiber retreat! (Either that, or move the Boy Scout camp a LOT higher in the mountains!)

BJO: Thank *you* so much for being a part of a truly wonderful weekend for even the organizers! Next time, however, we'll try harder on getting the bear into camp if you wish....

You could have seen a rattlesnake if you'd had time to visit the Camp Verdugo Oaks nature museum, where a rattler had temporary quarters in a large terrarium. Ranger Terry showed him to the children so they'd recognize one if they saw it in the wild. By now the snake is back in the wilderness after being Exhibit A for us.

We heard you and all the others about the heat, and have set a definite FALL date of Oct 19-22, 2006. We know that all sorts of other things happen over that date but we didn't have many other dates open to us. The camp calendar is already filling up fast. Also, our own 2006 August is filled with the World Science Fiction Convention (LACon) in Anaheim over Labor Day weekend, and September will see us at the Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon.

We're going over our notes, as well as the surveys (which are printed on the other side of the camp announcements) and comments such as these to make next year's Retreat even better. Things will change for the best.

L to R: Tent city: Carol Constantine and Teresa Robbinett; Cate Manzo (blue shirt) learning inkle weaving in background
L to R: Tent city: Carol Constantine and Teresa Robbinett
Cate Manzo (blue shirt) learning inkle weaving in background

KAREN COCKRELL: Keep the coffee bar. Have a "who used which dyes when" for the reenactors. Having more short retreats is a great idea. Perhaps a small retreat could be geared toward larger projects. Perhaps a small retreat could be geared toward a specific dye—a classic one used for centuries: weld, madder or cutch—with various mordants and modifiers. I'd like to do a set of story-telling.

BJO: I've taught a Dye and Fiber Timeline at various Collegium classes or Arts and Sciences events, so we could make that a part of next year's Retreat. A "short retreat" of one day on one subject is a great idea. Find us a venue and we'll do it. You can get up to 30 shades from one dye and any combination of mordants and modifiers; it's loads of fun to see it happen. Story-telling didn't fit in this last Retreat, because the activity and talking didn't stop until people went to bed. I think it might find a better audience at a Collegium.

Beautiful dye results
Beautiful dye results

LINDA MANZO: Wow Bjo, this was so well organized. Do you work all year towards this?

BJO: Not quite a whole year went into planning our first Retreat and there were times when it didn't feel at all well organized! Right after our 2005 event closed out, we started planning for 2006 so we will have a whole year to work on details. "We' being John Trimble, Clark Acton, Sherry Acton-Snowden, Lora and Jason Boehm, Cate Manzo (hmm, where have I heard that name before?) plus so many others who saw something that needed doing and did it. Next year we need a committee of people to see to various details.

2005 Dye Retreat
Family Portrait
Front row, L to R: Kathryn Trimble (dark T-shirt), Sombrune Rauzinet (green turban), Nancy Colburn (seated, blue cap),
Ruth Northrup (seated, red top), Roberta Brubaker (seated, blue shirt, something yellow in her hands),
Ercil Wroth (seated) with daughter Elisabeth in her lap, Debbie Coyle (seated, white T-shirt).
Back row, L to R: Tina Dwyer (red hat), Ranger Terry (hand on Kat's head), Therese Griffin (white T)
Cat Ellen (blue shirt, taking a photo of the photographer), Theresa Boscia (red hat), Susan Williams (hat),
Erin Talevich (blue T), Ruth Schooley (white tank), Bjo Trimble (bright pink T).
Far back row, L to R: Red Sebolt (hat) with Bean, Clark Acton (dark beard), Renata Fossett (in front of Clark),
(who that is behind Therese?), John Trimble (hat), Kathy Santineau (light cap), (someone too obscured to see),
Laura Dean ('way back), Todd Etzel (nearly obscured)

Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts
129 E. Colorado Blvd #444
Monrovia, CA 91016-2804

Sorry, we are not set up to accept phone orders. Please order through our website. Thank you.

Site Design: Cat Ellen and Theresa Boscia
Site Map
Contact Griffin Dyeworks