Spring Retreat Coming Up!

here's some news! It's a spring retreat!

The Spinning Loft Presents…..

Retreating at the Shearer’s

The first ever Spinning Loft REAL spinning retreat will be held April 23, 24 and 25 at Shearer Elegance Bed and Breakfast in Linfield, Pennsylvania.

Yep. A real retreat. There will be instruction in the morning but the afternoons will be free! You can nap, spin by the fish pond or on the wrap around porch, take advantage of additional instruction or whatever you want.

Maximum number of participants is 20, so reserve your spot now. It’s going to be great fun.

Education

Each morning after breakfast we will move with our wheels or spindles to one of the parlors or the front porch to talk about Wool Breeds. Over the three days we will sample wool from each of the breed categories. We will learn about their strengths and weaknesses, washing techniques for each as well as use of flick cards, hand cards and combs. Beth will be your instructor and this is her most favorite topic.

Accomodations

We’ve worked out a great room rate with the Bed and Breakfast or you can stay off site if you like. There is room for 14 guests onsite with double occupancy. Each room has either a Queen or King size bed. All rooms will be $100 per night ($50 per person if there are two of you). Rooms have private baths and televisions. Room choices will be first come first served. Please contact Shearer Elegance directly to reserve your spot at 610-495-7429. You can have a virtual tour by going to http://www.shearerelegance.com

Additional accommodations are available close by in Royersford at the Staybridge Suites. Check it out at http://www.staybridgeroyersford.com Room rates are also very affordable at this hotel which is very comfortable.

Meals

All lunches will be included as well as dinner on Friday evening. For those staying at the B&B, breakfast is of course included. The Staybridge Suites has a complimentary breakfast buffet or you can join us at the Inn for $8pp.

We’ll play dinner on Saturday and Sunday evenings by ear and see what delicious things we can find. I always look forward to a cheese steak when I get to go to Pennsylvania!

Shopping?

Nothing to worry about. We will be bringing lots of goodies from the Spinning Loft. Everything from lovely greasy fleeces to hand dyed prepared fibers as well as tools and small equipment.

Schedule

Friday 9AM-12 PM Breeds Play

12-1PM Lunch

2-4 Optional Drop Spindle Tune up- want more speed? Methods of cop winding? Drafting help? Plus more. Bring your spindles and your questions and we’ll work on it all.

5:30 Dinner at Shearer Elegance. This will be something delicious…not to worry.

Saturday 9AM -12PM Breeds Play

12-1PM Lunch

2-4PM Optional Long Draw Clinic Come on and we’ll just do it. Long draw from roving, hand carded rolags and from the fold. You’ll be spinning yards and yards of airy lightweight singles in just a short time.

Dinner whenever we want! It’s a retreat, right?

Sunday 9AM -12PM Breeds Play

12-1PM Lunch

Right after lunch we will carpool to Valley Forge Park for an optional Trolly Tour. Valley Forge is beautiful and even though no battles were fought there the history is amazing. Come along with us. You won’t be sorry. Cost for this excursion is $16 per person.

Fees and Costs: $250 (Lodging additional)

Materials fee $40 payable at the retreat

Optional Excursion to Valley Forge $16

$125 deposit is required at the time of reservation with the balance due on March 22, 2010.

If you need to cancel a refund can be obtained until March 22 minus a $25 administration fee. After March 22 all fees are nonrefundable.

Call the Spinning Loft at 517-540-1344 for more details or to reserve your spot. You can also email at bethsmithpink@sbcglobal.net

This is going to be fun.

So it was a very busy month. I came back from Colorado and only a few days later was on my way for a spinning emergency in Rhinebeck, NY. Janel Laidman was very sick and I was happy to be able to help her and the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival people out. She had 6 classes scheduled and I was able to fill in for 5 of them. It was great fun and very tiring and I, of course, took only 2 pictures. Both of sheep.

The fine gentleman above is a Columbia Ram. He is a beauty. I stood at his fence and he came right over for a scritch. We were fast friends.
Then there was this lady and I can't remember what breed she is but I just thought she was beautiful and her wool was just scrumptious. Delightful. Then there was a whirlwind of teaching and getting to know Lily Chin and Kathryn Alexander and Amy Tyler.

There were lots of students and I came home with many new fleeces for the shop. I was home for a few days and then off I went to SOAR.
My room mate was delightful (Amy King of course)
Three days with Stephanie Gaustad was a blast. I now feel very confident in my cotton spinning abilities...I did it on almost every available tool and my resulting yarn was very good if I do say so myself.
Denny had a spiritual experience with the Great Wheel and she looked very beautiful spinning on it.
3 hours with Sarah Swett was not enough. I'm sure she thought I was stalking her. She was the final push that made me think I may actually be able to design my own sweater. Yes others have been telling me but I tried on many that fit and looked good and I took measurements of them and so I will begin spinning. The above sweater began with a swatch of the leaf pattern that turned into a great stockinette panel in a garter stitch sweater.
Even the back is interesting.
This is the other sweater I fell in love with.
It's classic and a little quirky at the same time. I have measurements of this one too.
Here she is. All of the yarns are hand spun and naturally dyed. It's good I dont live near her. She would definitely think I was a stalker.
There was a plying class with Judith McKenzie McCuin. That's Jacey Boggs' beautiful face in there. The color progression was done by plying. It began with 4 solid colors which were plied into 3 plies using differnt numbers of strands. Imagine the color progression you could get by using 4 or 5 ply yarns.

Jacey was delightful and I am so excited that she will be here in a little over a week!
Here is Judith herself. I just love her. When she speaks I want to listen. Such a classy lady with tons to teach.
I skipped my morning class on Saturday morning and sat in on Abby's blending class. That's a picture of Jimbob. He's quite enjoyable.
Saturday afternoon I had a color class with Deb Menz. I focused on blending using the hackle. It was great fun. I have a couple in the shop and have big plans for playing now that I know how to use it correctly.

Another great inspiration which I have no pictures of is Sarah Anderson but here is her chain plying video. She had the most beautiful display of yarns made in all different techniques. All were spun in white so the color didn't distract the eye from the spinning. Her spinning is so beautiful.

All in all, the last month was full of inspiration and I have huge goals for the next year. HUGE!

Name Dropping

There will be some name dropping in this post as well as some dropped names as I forget some names and will need to edit them later as I get them.
First name is Miley Cyrus. Yep. Last Thursday I took Maggie and Chelsea to her concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills. They sat together. I sat in in a neighboring section. And FORGOT MY KNITTING!
Maggie and Chelsea didn't have time to knit. There was lots of dancing and singing and happy going on.
Miley flew over the sudience on a motorcycle. made it all worth the price of admission (if you ask Maggie).

The concert was Tuesday night and then I got up bright and early on Wednesday morning and headed off to Colorado for the Schacht Anniversary party and Dealer Day.

On Wednesday evening we went to Jane Patrick and Barry Schacht's house for dinner. Lovely spaghetti and home made sauce as well as great company. Stephanie was there (the Schacht voice of unmatched customer service and sales, as well as talented spinner, weaver and teacher.) Melissa was there. Weaver Extraordinaire. Steve Denkin of Unicorn Books. Liz Gipson formerly of Interweave and now working for Schacht Spindle. And Cindy Lair the Production Manager at Schacht and my pretend girlfriend. How's that for a big name drop right off the bat.

Well it doesn't end there.
On Thursday I had a lunch date with Deb Robson and while I waited I was delighted to share the Schacht showroom with Betsy Blumenthal and gain some weaving light from her.
Here's a photo of the beautious Stephanie. Lovely voice on the phone and the one who tells me what's hot and what I should be stocking.
The rest of the day is a blur and I have very little to show for it as far as photos. Deb came and off we went. First stop was at the Celestial Seasonings factory. We took a great tour and I learn a lot about tea and herbal teas. of course there as a little shopping at the end of the tour.

Next we went to the Dushanbe Tea House. It is beautiful. I've linked to their website. The history of the building is very interesting and if you have time to go through the links it is very worth it.
This is a photo of the foyer ceiling. I couldn't get a good photo of the carvings and the detail of the hand painting.

After a delicious lunch we were off the Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins for some shopping. I got some great books. Then to hurry back for the Schacht factory tour and party where I sat across the table from Ann Budd and chatted with Marilyn Murphy and Linda Ligon and so many others. My sister was at the party because she lives in Colorado. she accused me of being star struck. So? Plus, I'm not sure it's star struck exactly. More of an awe of the talent.
After the party we spent some time in the Schacht office checking out a new kick spindle from True Creations. That's Deb Robson trying it out while Morgaine, from the fantastic shop Carolina Homespun, offers opinions.
The wheel lineup in the Schacht office with two of the wheels sporting the soon to be shipped bulky flyers.
The yarn wall from the "I Made it on My Schacht" contest. There were lots of beautiful yarns. It is obvious that I am a spinner at heart because I took no photos of the weaving entries. I didn't even notice that until now.
This was one of my favorite entries....Llama.
This was the winning yarn made by Jeanine Glaves. A delightful lady I've met at SOAR. She's fantastic and so is this yarn. It is core spun peacock feathers whcih was then woven into a little basket. Just cute...not a great photo however.
Friady was dealer day and it was a full day of discussion and education. This is a photo of someone who I can't remember her name. But notice the boxes of flyers and front maidens for the bulky. They're almost ready!
In this photo Cindy is giving direction for Matchless maintenance as ....that guy who I forget his name...patiently waits for us to get out of his work space:-) He's the guy who puts all the Matchlesses and Schacht-Reeves together. We want to be his friend.

It was a full day. We also learned about loom construction, had a little rigid heddle instruction and a lot of other instruction with a dealer round table at the end. Very fun and tiring and good.
Saturday morning we woke to this! It didn't stop us though. Breakfast was great. I had this thingy...french toast dipped in pancake batter with nuts on it. How can you go wrong?

Then back to Shuttles where I bought a couple of shuttles as well as some other nuggets and talked to Maggie Casey (see how I snuck that one in there?) and got to see and advance copy of Abby's new book. It is beautiful! Everyone should have it in their library. It is one of those books. And I'm not just saying that.

Then to the pedestrian mall to a new little shop called Gypsy Wools. Lovely. She has a love for the long wools so we were fast friends. While there I had an opportunity to chat with none other than Cheryl Oberle. Yup. It's true.

Some lunch, more shopping, dinner with Stephanie's lovely husband, Dan (who was so nice to let me stay with them) and Cindy and Cindy's Partner Sally. Fun.

Sunday morning we even found time for a little weaving lesson where I learned how to use lease sticks when warping the floor loom from front to back. It was a revelation.

How was that for name dropping? I know there are a couple I forgot. Really. Really.

Back home I came and now I want to sleep for a month. I did come home with lots of new ideas for the shop and a renewed excitement. Keep your eyes peeled for newsletter announcements.

In the mean time, don't forget about the sale going on right now. Everything in the shop is 10% off. Everything. Plus. if you spend more that $100 you get to be ina fantastic drawing that includes spinning wheels and fibers and handspun yarn and gift certificates. Jump on over to the webstore to see what you can find!

So here's the thing. In the end of June the kids planted tomato plants in pots on our deck. Our deck doesn't get much sun...our yard gets even less. I love all of the trees. It isn't good for crop production.
These photos were taken 2 days ago. You can see that there are a few tomatoes but they still match the color of the foliage.
Last night was a frost warning. The temperature actually dropped to 30 degrees. We knew it was coming so I told the kids to pick the tomatoes. And here they are...green. Maybe they will turn red. I don't know. Bumper crop of 8 unripe tomatoes.
In other news...Maggie had her first manicure this week and she also got her hair done. I took her to my hair place and they gave her some hot chocolate to drink while she waited under the dryer for her hair treatment to cook. She loved it all.
And now for my Louet wheels. I own 2. The above is a single treddle 25th Anniversary S10. I found this wheel second hand because I got the heads up from my BFF.
Most Louet wheels including this one have a 20 inch wheel and the bobbins have 3 ratios:
1:5.5 for slow spinning and heavy yarn; 1:7.5 for medium yarn; and, 1:10.5 for fast spinning and fine yarn.

I use this wheel mostly for plying because I love the feel of the draw in of the Irish tension while plying and I can be confident that the tension will be pretty consistent while filling the entire bobbin. It is also a great wheel for big and fluffy yarns.

Also, it goes with my Cherry Wheel collection.
The Louet S45 is just cute. It is a strong spinner and the engineering on this thing is amazing. These wheels are now discontinued. It was a much misunderstood model. Sealed bearings everywhere, scotch tension and the thing is pretty fast at the highest ratio.
S45 ratios are: 7:1, 12:1 and 20:1
I've spun a wide variety of yarns on this wheel and it's so small and light that it's easy to take anywhere.

K, what's next? Schacht? Jensen? Reeves? I'll surprise you.

In A Box

First! I have 2 of the limited edition of 30 Schacht Walnut Anniversary Baby Wolf Packages coming to me. They should ship at the end of this month or early in October. If this is on your wish list, I would love to hear from you. As they haven't shipped yet you can have this fab loom shipped directly to your home for no additional charge! Go look at the full details on my web page or in the Webstore.

So, today I will begin a series of blog posts concerning my spinning wheel collection. What do I like about each and why do I keep them. I'm at a point now in my collection that I don't want to have any wheel unless it fills a hole or is something special to me. I thought that perhaps others might be interested in my collection too.

Today's post is called "In a Box" because I decided to begin with my Bosworths.

But, the first thing in a box is Ryan. Last week I came upstairs and looked in his room to see this:
It's an underbed box that usually holds the kid's costumes. He did at least put a pillow down before he went to sleep.
And so first we have the Bosworth Journey Wheel - in a box. This wheel is pretty new. I got it in October of 2008. I actually didn't own a folding wheel and really wanted one. Before I bought it I tried the two that were available to me to decide between single and double treadle. The single treadle version was easier for me to start with just my foot and so that's what sold it. I ordered it Double Drive with the Scotch Tension Kit. I have honestly not tried it in single drive since I've had it.

This wheel is a great performer. I took the following information right from the Journey Wheel website.

Over 30 years ago with inspiration from the Indian charkha, Jonathan Bosworth designed the Journey Wheel as a single-treadle flyer spinning wheel. The Journey Wheels are still made of beautiful of cherry — its color and intensity will deepen the longer you own your Journey Wheel.

As a design engineer and master craftsman, Jonathan has developed the Journey Wheel into a true workhorse spinning wheel which works well with a variety of fibers including wools, cotton, silk, alpaca and more. Just as important, the Journey Wheel is designed for easy travel — take your Journey Wheel with you, wherever you may go!

With principal ratios of 8:1 and 16:1 and intermediary ratios of 10:1 and 14:1, the Journey Wheel is available as a single- or double-treadle wheel. It spins beautifully as a double-drive wheel or with the Scotch tension option, whether you are spinning fine laceweight or thicker yarns.

No settings are lost or parts removed when you fold your Journey Wheel into its self-contained case; nothing is left behind by mistake. The Journey Wheel's unique open U-orifice means you'll never need an orifice hook again.

The Journey Wheel is ...

Portable! It is hinged and folds into itself to form a 14"x16"x7 box. It weighs between 14-15 pounds (density of the wood varies), and is easily carried with a leather shoulder strap.

The Flyer is our own design, featuring a unique well-balanced U-shaped orifice, which means no more orifice hooks. The whole front of the flyer opens like a gate, which makes changing bobbins a snap.

The Treadle is designed to be pedalled heel-and-toe, allowing a relaxed posture for spinning.

Belts are tensioned by a single precise adjustment for double-drive spinning, or by two simple adjustments for Scotch Tension spinning. Belts do not need to be removed to fold your Journey Wheel, or to unwind spun yarn.

Two Spare Bobbins rest easily in the built-in Lazy Kate.

Specifications

Dimensions

• 14" x 16" x 7" folded
• 32" high (opened and upright)
• Orifice 29" from floor

Weight

• 14-15 pounds

Ratios

• Treadle to Flyer: 8.1 and 16:1
• Direct drive double-belted system; Scotch tension optional
• Bobbin to Flyer: 1.8:1
• Bobbin size: 3" diameter, 2 7/8" length

Bearings

• Nylon, teflon & permanently sealed ball bearings require no lubrication. You may oil the treadle pivots, the footman & strap leathers, & the plastic bearing at the front of the flyer.

With ratios of up to 16:1 this is by no means a production spinning wheel, though i have spun plenty of yarn on it. I think many spinners are expecting their folding wheel to do too much for them if they want ratios higher than 20:1. I feel like a folding wheel is for traveling and taking to classes. You learn something new and translate that to your main wheel when you get home. If people are interested in having only one wheel I try to steer them away from the current folding/travel wheel choices.

Another thing about this wheel that I was told before getting it is the bobbins are small. Well! I am so impressed with the amount of yarn I can get onto these bobbins. I've had up to 4 ounces of a medium weight yarn on these babies (the yarn was about DK weight when it was plied).

I like this wheel a lot. It is beautiful and a great piece of engineering. Now I have to get over my fear of carrying it on an airplane!

Next up is my Bosworth Book Charkha. I wanted one of these for a long time but felt I couldn't justify the purchase (Ok, that's funny, I know) Well, when I was registered for a 3 day cotton class with Stephanie Gausted what could I do? I chose the Book size rather than the Attache for one reason only. and I'm just going to say it. I was a little intimidated by the Attache ratios.

The book charkha is small, weighs 1.5 pounds and spins at a ratio of 70:1. The Attache is larger, weighs 5.25 pounds and has a ratio of 110:1.

These things are smooth and spin beautifully. My goal in November is to spin 20 minutes per day on my charkha using the skills I learn at SOAR this year.

The book charkha is a real specialty item but for the lace I love to knit, it is the perfect tool.

I still have 14 wheels (I think) to talk about. At this point I couldn't choose just one favorite. i could probably choose 5 favorites. Seriously.

Next up, my Louet Collection.

Just a Couple of Things

I've been cleaning my fiber room. There are bins full of stuff to Keep, stuff to Sell, and stuff to Give Away. I'm thinking of having a porch sale in the next couple of weeks at the shop to clear out some older fiber and yarn. It's good and there are even a couple of sweater quantities but if I'm really honest, I'm not going to use it - ever.
In the midst of it all came a true queen:-) Amy King. She is the Queen of the Spunky Eclectic empire and her new book, Spin Control, is spectacular and available at the Spinning Loft.

She's cute as a button and NAUGHTY!

Friday's class was all about spinning low twist singles yarns. We made several samples from start to finish.

Saturday's class was all about core spinning. We did many samples and techniques including core spun locks and boucles. Fabulous.

I love this skein a lot and may have to make some more. It is dyed mohair locks spun on a mill spun cotton core.
There was some hair dyeing. Yup that's my head. Pink for a while.
Did I mention she is NAUGHTY?
Most students were easily pulled into the shenanigans but not Lynmarie. She took great notes and made wonderful samples.
A shot of the mostly naughty class. They did work hard though.
Here are my 3 sample skeins. The 3 on the left are the Friday night skeins and then the core spun Mohair and the boucle. I have big plans for making more of all of them.

The class was very fun and it was lovely to spend some time with Amy sleeping together in the naughty girl's room. I heard a rumour that she is planning on coming back in January for a team teaching visit with another fab teacher. We shall see if they can make their plans soon.

That's really all the news. Much paperwork still happening as we complete our accounting software switch.
The finalists in the "I made it on my Schacht" contest were announced today and I would liek to congratulate Evil Michelle and Stacy on making it to the next level. I am taking all the credit for their success. I was their teacher, right?

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

We're just back from 9 lovely relaxing days. There was plenty of knitting, some spinning, lots of sitting around and a teeny tiny bit of work. I could get away with that because Chelsea was steering the Spinning Loft ship.

This post will cover the family activities we did and in a day or two we'll talk about what I did and the yarn shops I visited.

Miniature golf at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City was terrifying. I have an irrational fear of snakes. I know it. I can't even touch a rubber one. So we were playing and got to the 4th hole and Ryan said "SNAKES!" and there they were. Two of them crawling around under a bush. Lou chased them away and made me play through. Now, I would prefer not to pass my crazy on to the kids and so i played through. There we were at the 5th hole and what goes by? Two more snakes! I squealed a little and got on top of a rock. Lou chased them away again and being the trooper I am I played all 18 holes...on the lookout of course.

I did tell the person at the desk though.
Great Wolf Lodge is not my favorite place to play but the kids love it...even the one that is taller than me. In the photo above you can see where Maggie and I spent most of out time in the water park - the Lazy River. Grab a tube and float around. Maggie isn't a big fan of the water slides and so she was either floating with me or practicing her newly gained swimming skilz in the plain old pool.

Ryan and Lousmith, on the other hand, got into all of the available activities. The photo just above is of the 1000 gallon bucket spilling down, which it did every 5 minutes. The boys are both in that photo.
We were at the Great Wolf Lodge for 3 nights and then went to Petoskey. On the way we stopped to see the Budweiser Horses where they were visiting at some casino. These guys are amazingly big! This boy is getting groomed and he loved it.
Our time in Petoskey was a big jumble of sitting around and little else except for our visit to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw). The highlight of the day for me was the Lunch at the Grand Hotel. The Grand has the largest covered porch in the world. I believe I remember it to be 600 feet long.
The buffet at the Grand was almost as long and so very delicious. It's a beautiful place and I'd love to spend a couple of nights there in the future. After 6PM Men are required to wear a Jacket and Tie and women wear skirts or dresses. Fancy.
Mackinac has no cars. All transportation is by horse or bike or foot. Amazing how much quieter things are without cars. I did almost get hit by a bike but...what can I say. It was my fault.
We took a carriage tour of the Island which includes a park that used to be a national park but is now a state park. During the war of 1812 the Fort on Mackinaw Island was taken over by the British for a time until it was negotiated back to America a few years later.
The Mackinaw Bridge connects Lower Michigan with the Upper Peninsula. Here are some facts about the bridge taken from the Mackinac Bridge Authority website.

The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Great Belt Bridge in Halsskov-Sprogoe, Denmark, which also opened in 1998, is the second longest suspension bridge in the world with a total suspension of 8,921 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet. The length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier is 7,400 feet. Length of main span (between towers) is 3,800 feet.

It really is a beautiful thing. On Labor day each year the Governor of Michigan walks the bridge along with 40,000 of his/her closest friends. The last few years the Governor of Michigan has run the length but this year she will walk as she will have some elderly relatives with her.

This is the hotel we were at in Petoskey. it is the Inn at Bay Harbor. Lousmith has stayed here a few times the last few winters but it's usually in February and he gets there after dark and leaves before the sun comes up so it's the first time he's seen the grounds.
There were beautiful sunsets.....
S'mores on the beach of Lake Michigan....
Playing in the lake water....
croquet....
giant checkers throw downs.....
and throwing stones.
The kids spent a lot of time in the heated hotel pool too.
By the last day they had to wear shirts and hats in the pool. We ghostly white skinned people get burnt very easily and I was so upset about Maggie by then. The girl really needs sunscreen every 5 minutes for it to work. One of the days I spent some time at the spa having a massage, exfoliation and facial. I'm very shiny and smooth now.

This week was just what I needed. I feel so much better. Still lots to do but I feel like I may be able to handle it now with the help of the Chelster.