Morgantown Fiber Guild Meeting Minutes: February 18, 2009
Members attending: Lori Wall, Susan Slider, Elaine Burrell, Susan Elkin, Joyce Potter, Sarah Beamer, Fran Nicholson, Carol Lagodich,
Penny Gunther, Shelley Poston, Jan Yeager
Minutes from the last meeting, December 10, 2008, were read & approved.
Treasurer’s report given by Lori Wall: We currently hold over $1000. Our yearly donation to MAC is due soon. It was suggested that we
could afford to have paid programs, or to have an outreach program to attract new members. This should be discussed at future
meetings.
New Business: Elaine mentioned the February 21st weavers’ day at MAC, to be held from 11:30am–4pm. Four guests were to attend
from North Carolina.
Lori and Susie mentioned that they plan to work on the Guild web sites, both our MAFA page and our MAC page.
Annual review of by-laws: The previous by-laws stand, with the following exceptions:
Membership (by-law: III-B): Annual dues of $10 shall be paid each March.
Officers (by-law IV-B): Officers shall be elected at the November meeting each year and shall take office in December. (This year is an
obvious exception, as officers were elected at this February meeting, taking office immediately. Elections will again be held this coming
November.)
Amendments (by-law VII): The by-laws shall be reviewed annually at the November meeting (with the obvious exception of this review at
the February meeting).
Equipment Rentals (by-law VIII-A): It was agreed that, since certain items listed, such as the drum carder, are no longer held, an equipment
review is needed. (By-law VIII-B): Rental fees will be set by the Guild in March. It was agreed that the fees and the duration of
loans, though not included in the by-laws, need to be revised.
The revised by-laws will be distributed soon.
Discussions and resolutions concerning Guild meetings:
Several members do not wish to drive to meetings after dark, particularly in the coldest months. Suggested solutions included moving
meetings to Saturdays or having business meetings only every other month.
It was decided (moved, voted and passed) that the meeting calendar should be changed to March to December, with no business meetings
scheduled in January and February. In those two months, it was decided we could hold retreats, in a member’s home or at
MAC, where we could share the projects we were working on. It was noted that weavers would be at a disadvantage, as they couldn’t
easily transport their looms, but they could bring work for finishing.
It was further decided that Mountaineer Week should not be discussed at meetings of the whole. Guild members who choose to participate
in Mountaineer Week should form an interest sub-group and hold meetings on their own schedule.
It was suggested that several people would like to share rides to meetings, especially those that occur after dark. Contact information will
be included in the newsletters to facilitate this.
Guild Elections
Penny Gunther agreed to be president. Penny will also be editing the newsletter.
Susan Elkin volunteered to be vice president.
Shelley Poston volunteered to be secretary.
Paula Bomhoff was not present, but had sent word that she would be willing to stay on as treasurer.
The next elections will be held at the November meeting.
It was decided that the newsletter will be published in March, June, September and December, to coordinate with our new meeting and
election schedules.
Penny noted that she’d like to include more photographs in the newsletter.
Susie and Elaine suggested including “book reports” in the newsletter or on the web site and several members were interested in this
idea.
Shelley noted that her secretarial style is informal, which she hopes will be acceptable.
Program: Susie presented an interesting program on knitting socks on circular needles. Using sock blanks, Susie had previously dyed
then unraveled enough wool for two socks, so that the color patterns of the finished socks matched perfectly. She showed us works
in progress using the toe-up, peasant heel sock method, which she prefers to the cuff-down method, as it’s more “anatomically correct!”
She recommended casting off with lace or with size 2 – 3 needles. Larger needles were said to make “lumpy” socks. Susie’s
preferred needles are bamboo.