WOOL GATHERINGS The Monthly Newsletter of the Golden Fleece Spinners Society The mission of the Society is to preserve and perpetuate the art of hand spinning; to promote interest in spinning by educating the public through demonstrations, lectures, displays, and news/social media; and to provide instruction and social life in spinning for its members. Next Meetings: Saturday October 28, 2017, 10:00 AM Grace Episcopal Church Baldwinsville, NY Bust Your Stash Guild Challenge Kickoff and Market Day Hostess: Joyce Lock, Treats: Sue Jones, Joyce Lock Please arrive early so you are ready for the business meeting to start at 10:00 am. The guild is sponsoring a workshop with Amy King the weekend of June 23 rd and 24 th, 2018. For beginning spinners and those wanting to review the basics, the guild will purchase Amy s beginning spinning class from Craftsy https://www.craftsy.com/spinning/classes/foundations-of-spinning/35594 and we ll show it in segments at guild meetings. One of the half day offerings at the workshop will be her Wheel Games beginning spinning class for 18-20 students. At the September meeting members ranked their top three choices. At the October meeting we will decide which classes we d like for the remaining one and a half days of the workshop. The top choices are: 1. SOCK IT TO ME The sock yarn you make now is ok but you know it could be better. Maybe you haven't even ventured into making sock yarn because you're not sure it's going to hold up. What materials do I use? How do I spin it so it's sturdy but not rope-like? We'll answer these questions and more. You'll walk out of the class ready to make an excellent sock yarn. STUDENT - Please bring a wheel in good working order with 4 (5 is even better) or more bobbins. Bring a ball winder if you don't have a lot of bobbins. It's also
helpful to have a Niddy Noddy and a Lazy Kate. You must be capable of making yarn and have a good working knowledge of the wheel and be comfortable with basic spinning instructions. This is an intermediate class. Length: Full Day Class Class Size Limit: 16-18 students. Materials fee (per student): $32 2. ALL THE SINGLE...YARNS Anyone that knows me, knows I love my singles yarns. Thin, energized, worsted, bulky, fancy, even, thick/thin...all of them. If you like them too and want to make better singles that are not meant for plying then this is the class. I'll go over how to make the singles, how to tell if you're going about it right, how to perfect them and how to finish them off. This is a fun class and some things may be more surprising if you've never made singles yarns. At the end of class if time allows, we'll go over how to use the singles in garments to get predictable results. STUDENT Please bring a wheel in good working order with 3 or more bobbins. If you have a wheel that has extra whorls, bring them. It's also helpful to have a Niddy Noddy and a Lazy Kate. You must have a good working knowledge of the wheel and be comfortable with basic spinning instructions. This is an intermediate class. Class Size Limit: 20 students. Materials fee (per student): $24 or 32 3. LONGDRAW TRUTH OR DARE I'll tell you all the truths and then you need to dare to trust the twist! We'll expand your drafting horizons. Even if you walk out of this class not loving the true long draw, we'll be working on all the drafting methods between short and long draws. You'll have a new appreciation and new abilities for working with your wheel and mastering that twist with several different types of fibers. STUDENT - Please bring a wheel in good working order with 3 or more bobbins. It's also helpful to have a Niddy Noddy and a Lazy Kate. You must have a good working knowledge of the wheel and be comfortable with basic spinning instructions. This is an intermediate class. Class Size Limit: 15 students. Materials fee (pers student): $22
4. FUNKY CHUNKY SINGLES I love all the singles yarns. We spend a lot of time making them good just as they are but there are some novelty and fun things we can make that are only a single yarn. No plying and we still get a pretty funky and crazy yarn. We'll do wraps and chunky bits and even some stuff that looks plied but absolutely isn't. So if you have a 3rd arm or you just want to challenge yourself, this is the fun class for you. STUDENT Please bring a wheel in good working order with 2 or more bobbins. If you have a wheel that has extra whorls, bring them. It's also helpful to have a Niddy Noddy. You must have a good working knowledge of the wheel and be comfortable with basic spinning instructions. This is an intermediate class. Class Size Limit: 20 students. Materials fee (per student): $32 For Market Day, members can bring items to sell - fiber related, food, plants, etc. Nonmembers may also bring items, but need to pay a $20 fee to the guild. Bring items for Show and Tell, especially items you purchased at the recent fiber festivals. SEPTEMBER MEETING President Jill Robinson called the business meeting to order. Membership We welcomed new member Jean Jonov. Members were reminded to pay their 2017/2018 dues by the November meeting. Membership cards were distributed. Clothing Order The clothing order has been placed. New York State Fair Fiber Competition Winners The list of New York State Fair Fiber Competition winners was made available. Congratulations to all and particularly to Elyse Meltz and Lynda DeLallo for winning the Golden Fleece Spinners' Society awards. The guild s Fleece to Shawl Team Choice Award was split between first place team Ginger s Ewes and second place team We The Sheeple.
The guild approved the addition of a $25 award for the Arts and Homes Center Senior Division. Bus Trip to NYS Sheep and Wool Festival Members can still register for the October 21 st bus trip for $40 the $20 membership plus the $20 bus trip fee. This does not include the $10 entry ticket. There are currently 37 people signed up. Spinning Fiber Raffle Twenty-one fiber prizes were raffled off as part of a generous fiber donation to the guild. More raffles will be held at future meetings. Guild Purchases Angela Mann previously provided the guild with quotes for purchase of a projector to be used for guild programs. The guild voted she should purchase the $99 projector as long as it meets the quality criteria, otherwise she is authorized to purchase the $169 projector. The guild voted to purchase a new carry bag for the guild tent since the current one is ruined. Angela Mann located a heavy duty bag with wheels for $140, she ll purchase it. Fiber Frolic Jill Robinson is sending out the April 14 th, 2018 Fiber Frolic vendor applications. The return deadline is the end of October. Treasurer's Report $8127.99 balance plus $100 in petty cash Meeting Hostess We need hostesses for the for all 2017/2018 meetings, see the signup sheet. Amy King Workshop The guild will be hosting workshops by Amy King June 23 rd and 24 th. Index cards were distributed for members to write down their 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd class choices. A half day beginning spinning class will also be held. This data was analyzed to determine the top choices. See the first page of this newsletter for the results. Since Amy King will be driving from her home, we ll ask her to bring her fibers to set up her store. Locations for the two day workshop were discussed and Jill was tasked to investigate. She arranged that the classes will be at the Clay Senior Center or the Clay Welcome Center in the historical park across the street from the Senior Center. Both locations will provide ample space for the classes and Amy's store, and both have bathrooms and a full kitchen. The Town of Clay is allowing us to use the facility at no charge. Thank you Jill!
Events for your Calendar (* indicates events we provide spinning demonstrations) October 21-22, 2017 November 4, 2017 November 4 5, 2017 April 14, 2018 April 27-29, 2018 May 5-6, 2018 May TBD, 2018 June 9-10, 2018 September 2, 2018 NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, Rhinebeck, NY Northeast Handspinners Association Open House, White River Junction, VT Fiber Festival of New England, Big E Expo Center Fiber Frolic at Beaver Lake Nature Center Yarn Cupboard Retreat & Market Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival Shepherd s Wool Market, Rush, NY CNY Fiber Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Bouckville, NY* Fleece to Shawl Competition at the NYS Fair Wool Center 2017-2018 Calendar and Program Plan (at the Church Unless Otherwise Noted) September 23, 2017 October 21, 2017 October 28, 2017 November 18, 2017 December 16, 2017 January 20, 2018 February 17, 2018 March 17, 2018 April 14, 2018 April 21, 2018 May 19, 2018 June 16, 2018 June 23-24, 2018 July 21, 20178 August 18, 2018 August 25-26, 2018 Annual Welcome to New Members, Luncheon, Market Day Bus Trip to NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, Rhinebeck, NY Bust Your Stash Guild Challenge Kickoff and Market Day Using Ravelry, Facebook, Audio books, and Instagram Open Spin and Holiday Party Annual Roc Day Celebration Open Spin and Market Day Annual Auction Fiber Folic at Beaver Lake Nature Center Bust Your Stash Show and Tell Movie Morning with a Spinning DVD Annual Picnic Workshop with Amy King Open Spin, Onondaga Lake Park Open Spin, Onondaga Lake Park Guild Weekend at the NYS Fair Wool Center Newsletter Editor: Joyce Lock (joycelock3@gmail.com) Ravelry Group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/golden-fleece-spinners-society Twitter: @GoldenFleece1 Website: http://goldenfleecespinnerssociety.org/ Email: goldenfleecespinners@gmail.com, Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/goldenfleecespinnerssociety