Summer 2020 Needle Guild Challenge

By Kathy McCabe

The Needle Guild had been meeting weekly at the MIX at Fenwick in the fiber arts area until Covid-19 shut the university down and drove classes (and the Needle Guild) into the cloud.   The guild has continued to meet weekly via zoom on Mondays.  When we met in person, there was a LOT of fiber arts going on in our little corner of the MIX.  It was not unusual to see textile upcycling, textile recycling, textile repair, clothing design and fabrication, costume making, pattern drafting, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, stenciling; basically, anything that involved fiber at some stage in the process.  Every person there was both a student and a mentor, learning from some and teaching others.

Now that summer is here and since we are already hosting virtual meetings, the Needle Guild will be having a weekly design challenge.   Combining one of the Guild’s primary needlecraft skills with a secondary technique in a themed project of your choosing is going to make for some great summer fiber arts projects, IMO.  The primary needlecraft skills (6) are machine sewing, hand sewing, knitting, crocheting, weaving and embroidery.  The secondary techniques (12) are soft circuits, bio-materials, upcycling, vinyl (HTV or adhesive), painting, beading, other embellishments, mixed materials, macramé/knots, 3d printing, screen printing/stencil and dying.    And the themes (10) are animals, robots, insects, sustainability, seasons, heirlooms, food, outdoors, wearables, and home decor.  

With the help of google dice, the first Needle Guild Challenge is food themed using weaving and screen printing / stenciling.

Next week we will post the results from this week’s challenge along with the results of the dice roll for the next challenge.  If you are interested in attending the Needle Guild meeting or just want some information about the guild,  send us an email at mix@gmu.edu.