August 2008 Newsletter

Next Meeting August 16, 2008
10 AM - 4 PM (more or less)
Email goes to: spinner@serendipityspinners.org

July in a Nutshell

by Sue Toorans

First of all, my thanks to Aviva for taking such clear, handwritten notes of the meeting.

Our meeting was small. Too small. The only people who attended were Nancy W., Marcia, Aviva and myself. Attendance is NOT going in the right direction.

At last month's meeting (remember that it was beastly hot that day) we voted for this month's meeting to be cooler. It was!
We're such a cool group.

Marcia brought the shawls from the Alameda county Sheep to Shawl. We learned that the Silverados spritz theirs with water and pat it before submitting it. This appears to make it look more finished. If Serendipity wants to be a ribbon contender next year, we need to put a team together early and start spinning to specification. In September we will be discussing this option.

I (Sue) will not be attending the August meeting. Please take good notes and have a fun without me. I'll be in San Francisco exhibiting my stone sculpture at the American Craft Council show. It is the 15-17 of August.

The reminder that everyone with email got on the 10th of the month is automatic. Frank only has to send hard copy newsletters to the five, or so, people who don't have email..

I took a couple of minutes, okay, several minutes, to discuss what to do about email I get as webmaster that are advertisements from people selling things. We have concluded that it is permissible to send them on to the guild list if the subject line clearly states it is an item for sale. The email for the loom for sale has been forwarded to the group conforming to these parameters. While I was discussing the website, I've asked that you all take a look at it. I hope for it to be a resource. Sooner or later, our shawls will be up and any post mortem discussion summarized. We'll have a page listing our resources and how to borrow them. Those would be a drum carder, wool combs and our library and anything else we, as a guild, own. There will be clear information on how to check out any of those resources.

New Business

Marcia was soliciting participants for the Founders Day Fandango. She'll pass out flyers for us.

Monterey county fair fleece judging is/was 8/2 and the fleece auction - 8/17. I'll be sorry to miss the auction, if only for the entertainment value.

Stitches 2009 needs a CD spindles booth coordinator. It isn't a lot of work. All the coordinator needs to do is arrange for volunteers, set up, tear down, be there, and have fun. Who will do this for 2009? We don't need to more spindles. If we spend time at the January and February meeting making batts, we'll be good for the fiber for the show. Please, someone, step up to this task.

Old Business

Marcia has already taken the shawls to Glenna Harris. They still need to go to three more guilds but those don't meet in the summer. Marcia and Nancy will take them to see Chris Wallace.

No treasurer so there was no treasurer's report. However, we did discuss the cost of the pins that are awarded to the winners at Alameda. Marcia lucked into an online sale so it only cost us $31.48. We wonder if the winning team of one year should be responsible for buying the pins for the following year. It works for the Masters Tournament. The winner of one year provides the feast for the following year. Pins are much cheaper.

Treasurer's Report

No treasurer so there was no treasurer's report.

Show 'n Tell

Marcia: showed the San Jose Mercury article of 7/18 about felted rocks. Glenna Harris is warping looms for Shibori weaving. Once everyone weaves 10 inches the fabric will be removed from the loom and dyed. She is spinning wool she bought in Montana in colors of pumpkin, green, and yellow. She also showed some seaweed fiber. When she was at Green Planet Yarns, she got a teddy bear pattern that is knitted all in one piece. The shop is soliciting people to knit this pattern out of washable yarn and giving the bear and $3 for shipping to send these bears to orphans and HIV victims in Africa.

Nancy: is spinning generic wool from CNCH. It is a lovely variegated with purples, pinks and greens (or maybe Aviva wrote "yellow").

Aviva: is spinning silk dyed with natural dyes with the intent of knitting a shawl from the Victorian lace book.

Sue: spun yak down from the Yarn Place in Santa Clara. It was spun in two different grists, fat and thin.

There is no Such Thing as a Free Lunch

There may be no such thing as a free lunch but our lunch for this meeting came really close. There was a company that had rented out the History museum for their company picnic and closed the park to the public. They allowed us to stay and play. Graciously, they invited us to partake freely of their picnic. Before lunch there were chips, salsa and guacamole. Lunch was fruit salad, green salad, pasta salad, garlic bread, corn on the cob, baked beans, tri-tip, pork, and chicken. There was beer and soft drinks. There were carts with Popsicle. You could get popcorn, snow-cones or cotton candy. We were invited to partake of all of it. I hope they have more picnics in our park in the future. They fed us well.

New Events and Resources

Quilts and Stitches
Beyond Knitting: Uncharted Stitches
June 17 Aug 24 2008
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
320 South First Street
San Jose CA 95113
408.971.0323
http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/
Tues - Sun 10 am -5 pm
Admission $6.50 adults

New yarn shop in Campbell
Green Planet Yarn
(408) 871-9196
368 E. Campbell Ave, Ste. 100
Campbell, CA 95008
http://www.greenplanetyarn.com/

If you have news or pictures of interest to the group please send it to spinner@serendipityspinners.org