Three Days With The Dizzy Ewe

The Paradise Spinning Guild was lucky to have Ruth, owner of The Dizzy Ewe (a fiber evangelist/enabler) come visit Paradise and hang out with us.

The first picture is from Thursday's Guild meeting - we were in fiber heaven. The next picture is a "before and after" of some woolies that Ruth and I "found" on Friday while we were out and about. We washed the wool in my basement sink and took the wool to the Woolen and Worsted class on Friday evening. On Saturday, Ruth and some brave folks invated KnitWits - and did some dyeing of woolies - the last 2 pics are of my attempt - the finished strands and then a bit of some spinning on the bobbin.




On Thursday, Ruth attended our regular Guild meeting and was on hand and available to assist as needed.





On Friday, Ruth was our instructor for "Spinning Woolen and Worsted" - we all had an opportunity to try out combs and some had time to try their hand at carders - before we realized time was running short.





On Saturday, we just beat the rain at her class "Graduated Shades from a Single Pot"

Fiber-fest - April 19 - 21, 2007

Are you planning on attending one or all of the classes offered from the Paradise Spinning Guild? If so, let me know - hit the email at the top of the blog.

Saturday, April 21 - "Graduated Shades from a Single Pot" - the instructor has suggested that you wear grungy clothes, bring an apron and rubber gloves. Dyeing yarn can be messy business!!

Friday, April 20 "Spinning Woolen and Worsted" class. If you have combs, please bring them - a limited number of hand carders and drum carders will be made availalbe. If you have your own, feel free to bring them - to use yourself or share.

We need headcounts for confirming class supplies. Please let us know if you will attend!!

Fiber-Fest - RSVP NOW!!

Thursday, April 19, 2007. 5:30p - 7:30p. Paradise Spinning Guild. Lean to spin! Bring your wheel, drop spindle and fiber if you have them. Our special guest will be RUTH NORTHROP. Members of the PSG will be on hand to teach spinning to anyone who is interested.
PLEASE RSVP BY POSTING A COMMENT OR SENDING ME AN EMAIL.

Friday, April 20, 2007. 5:30p - 7:30p "Spinning Worsted & Woolen" by RUTH NORTHROP.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 10a - 3p (lunch on your own from 12-1). "Graduated Shades From a Single Pot" by RUTH NORTHROP.

**There a small fees for these classes. Please post a comment and/or send me an email for specific locations and fees. (Ranging from $5.00 to $25, depending on pre-registration or pay at the door)

Silver Dollar Fair

I wanted to give ya'll some information on the Silver Dollar Fair, that Jaci provided:

There are 5 classes for handspun:

wool - 2ply - white or natural colored
wool - 2 ply - natural dyes
alpaca - 2 ply - any color
any handspun, any ply, any color
item made from handspun

The deadline for registering about 3 weeks away (April 20), entries must be received on 5.18 or 5/19.

Jaci thinks that you can get an application on line for the handspun.

Fiber of the Month

Jaci was kind enough to get this done at our last Guild Meeting in my absence. We have randomly selected fibers for each month. While not required, the "featured" fiber will be the topic of discussion at that month's meeting. If you'd like, spin that fiber, bring something you have knit up in that fiber, etc.

Mark your calendars:

May - alpaca
June - bamboo
July - dryer fluff/dog/milkweed/other odd things
August - silk
Sept. - tensil
Oct - mohair
Nov - yak
Dec - cotton
Jan - llama
Feb - cashmere
March - camel

Upcoming Events

For those who missed the Guild meeting on 3/1/07 - Jaci demonstrated the Navajo plying technique - I think we were good students. No one stomped their foot and I didn't want to cry!! A good sign! (laughing).

March 15: Bring some green fiber to spin. On 3/1 Jaci provided into on the Sacramento County Fair. One of the events is "Best Spinner" - the comment was made that it would be fun to do some of the events at our guild meeting. For example: for "longest thread" contestants are given 10 grams of carded wool and allowed to spin for 20 minutes. Yarn will be judged for length and quality, was well as amount of fiber used." But here is my favoriate: (drats, can't find the exact language) the general idea is the spinner is given fiber, first you spin "regular"; then with rubber gloves on; then blindfolded!! How fun would that be??

March 15 will also be a night of long term planning for future meetings. Do you have a fiber you want to try? Are you a spindle spinner and want to try a wheel? or vice versa?? Come and share your ideas.

April 5 & 19 are our dates (the FIRST & THIRD of each month). Tell your friends, the more spinners the better!!

Sacramento County Fair

Please check out the following link: http://www.sacfair.com/html/comphand.asp for information on the Sacramento County Fair. Click on Adult Entries, then scroll down to "Open Wool Show & Sale" and/or "Spinning"

Jaci was kind enough to forward this link for posting on our blog and will have more information on the Butte County Fair when we meet on March 1.

March 1 Meeting: Some folks have indicated that they are too new at spinning to bring some yarn for a swap. That's OK - the Guild is for having fun and learning new things. Instead of a swap, please share with us what you are working on. We'll encourage you as you grow in your spinning skills! In reading emails, it appears that each meeting we grow by one or two. Please continue to share and bring friends to our meetings. We can't guarantee a lesson in learning to spin, but newbie spinners are welcome - a great place to find an experienced spinner to inquire about lessons outside of a Guild meeting!

Spinners and Knitters are some of the nicest people I know!!