April 2011 Newsletter Next Meeting April 16, 2011 10 AM - 4 PM (more or less) Email goes to: spinner@serendipityspinners.org

March Nutshell by Ginger, Sue and Frank

We had a program scheduled!  Last month, Chris had brought the polymer clay drop spindles she and Frankie had made.   We thought it looked like fun.  She agreed to lead a workshop this month and teach us all how to do it.  In a surprise move, she brought Cookie (a Spindles and Flyers member), who has been working in polymer clay for years.

Neither Sue nor Frank will be at the April meeting.  Muddle on without us.

Remember:  Please invite at least one person to a meeting this year - each and every one of you.

Stitches Report

The booth brought in $376 in donations.  Since we ask for a $5 donation, I don't know how we got a number that ended in 6.  Whatever.  We have enough to pay for our booth for next year and to replenish whatever we need.  We voted to do the booth again next year. 

Old Business

New Business

Webmaster's Report

Your webmaster was unsure if everyone got the email on the 10th that had the link to the newsletter.  Chris found the email so we assume everyone did get it.  Some email sites block, as spam, things going to longs lists of people.  Some hosts are blocking this newsletter.  Please whitelist Serendipityspinners.org.  Your webnaster is working through the required hoops to get the various sites to accept the email, just very slowly.

Show 'n Tell

Frank: showed some of the things he got at Stitches.  There was a green yarn with sparkles.  There was some brown thread with teal sparkles that he's tatting.  He also got some antique buttons.  (This is what I get for pruning my folders before publishing.  The images that should have gone here are gone.  Sorry, Frank.)

Sue: also showed some of the things she got at Stitches.  There was the mink yarn and the Quanaco fiber.  There were some shiny things and some stainless steel cloth.  She also brought a "peasant" bag that she'd machine embroidered, lined with something a little unexpected and put a zippered pocket in.  It was a gift.  Frank is of the opinion that the zippered pocket takes it out of the realm of "peasant".

Mink and shiny things

Stainless steel cloth

Embroidered bag

with a surprise lining

Jessa: is also a member of Spindles and Flyers.  She came with her very special Lil Herbie.  We figured out how to get the second drive band on it.  She showed some tapestry she had made in a class last year in San Francisco.  She also showed us some practice rug bits she had made.

Rug sample

Ginger: showed us some of the fiber chains she had bought at Stitches.  She's spun some of one of them into singles, so far.  She's working on an afghan in the afghan stitch.  Some of the squares will be embroidered in the duplicate stitch.  She has several of the white squares done.  There will be purple squares, also.  We'll expect to see the finished afghan in April.  May at the very latest.

Fiber!

Afghan squares

Nancy D.: found some scarves at second hand store and has unknitted and reknitted them.  She had pittied the person who had knitted the blue one.  Clearly they hadn't done a very good job of it.  It was worming badly.  She re-knitted it and it behaved for a few moments and then started worming badly.  She's decided worms are a feature. She also found a white scarft to reknit because she liked the yarn.

Blue worms

White scarf

Both scarves

Claire: (joined Serendipity at this meeting) was spinning a cashmere/silk blend on a square drop spindle.  She had a batt of teal, blue, and firestar.  She'd splurged on another drop spindle at Stitches.  She got a wheel over the holidays. A friend was really excited so sent a five pound care package of merino and quiviut.

Square spindle

Batt

Splurge

Cookie: (Spindles and Flyers and now a member of Serendipity) didn't know about show 'n tell but had things, anyway.  She showed us her hat made from several shades of green and adorned with the first of a flock of sheep.  She was wearing a cardwoven belt she had made.  Not bad for not knowing she was going to be put on the spot for show 'n tell.

Hat

Belt

Close up

Chris S.: lead the program and brought a lot of the supplies so she left her regular projects at home

Nancy F.: was here!  And her little dog, too.  She had wooden drop spindles.  She brought a bag of acrylic yarn to donate.

Nancy

Her little dog

Wooden spindle

Frankie and Evan: got here after show 'n tell and quietly spun but we have pictures, anyway.

Frankie

Spinning

Frankie's bobbin

And Evan

Then we had our polymer clay workshop:
First we got started and played in the clay.

Cookie making a sheep

We got lovely shots of what Frank's looked like in progress and then finished.

In progress

Finished

Once we had them decorated as we wished, they were ready to bake.
Once they were baked, we added dowels and hooks and had finished spindles.
And then we tried them out!
Now didn't that look like fun?

And that's March in a Nutshell.

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