Byesville Rotary plans fall activities

Pictured: Shana Fair, club member, handspinner, and natural dyer.

 

Chuck Fair, chicken BBQ chair, reported that after a slow start the August BBQ went well. He went on to thank the Meadowbrook Music Boosters for their great support. The last BBQ of the season will be held on September 16. The club will be working with the Meadowbrook Interact service club.

Shana Fair, chair of the Stuff Santa’s Stocking projectr, announced that the date for this year’s effort will be October 7, 9:00 am—1:00pm, at the corner of Main and 2nd Streets in Byesville. Donations will be used to provide Christmas Food Baskets to families in the Rolling Hills School District. Fair encouraged club members to “dust off their elf hats” and volunteer to work an hour shift. The club hopes to feed between 150—200 Rolling Hills School District families.

The Breakfast with Santa committee has begun planning the clubs annual Christmas pancake breakfast. It will be held in December at the Stop Nine Senior Center.

President Rhonda Stemmer reminded club members that the September 5^th meeting has been cancelled and replaced by a social on September 6. The social will be shared with the Cambridge Rotary and held at the Cambridge Country Club, 5:00—6:30 pm.

Shana Fair presented a program demonstrating the use of natural plants and other materials to dye wool with the methods our great-grandparents used. She brought a display with a color wheel formed by using swatches of all the yarn she has dyed using natural materials and showing how many colors can be obtained. She showed her most recent project—a skein of handspun wool dyed a deep crimson using cochineal—a small insect from Mexico. Materials she has used to dye include marigolds, onion skins, and weeds such as goldenrod, and Queen Ann’s Lace.

Fair explained that mineral salts were used to chemically “lock” the color into the wool fibers. The most common mineral salt used was alum—the same chemical used to make pickles. Some colors—like indigo—do not need a mordant. She explained that indigo is challenging to use because it needs a special treatment to make a good dye. Our great-grandparents fermented the urine by using urine. Today, craft dyers use ammonia or sodium hydrosulfite to make the indigo dyebath.

Connect with #ByesvilleRotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com , Twitter Byesville_Club, or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting. #6690