Spinning on the River - March 2008

President's Note

Hi spinners,

This month starts our Beginner Spinner Class. Don't forget to come with your wheel in tip top shape. We aren't sure how many students are coming, we know some are planning to be there but they haven't registered. After Sunday we will know how many wheels we will need the following two classes. Thank you in advance for your support and encouragement for the future spinners.

Sunday also is the first day for registration for the Patsy Z Workshop. The registration form is on the Guild website. Fill yours out and bring it to the meeting. It will be first come first served and we have heard from people in other guilds who are interested. A down payment is required with your registration.

We had a wonderful meeting in February. I hope you have seen the pictures on the website. I think just about everyone tried Navaho spindling and succeeded.

In changing the bank account we were given the opportunity to donate $100 to a charity. This is money the bank put forward, cost us nothing and was not an amount transferable to our treasury. I chose Heifer International in hopes a fiber animal would be gifted in our Guild’s name.

As some of you may remember, the Memphis College of Art traded a drum carder for a spinning class taught by Angela and Mary. The carder was old and needed new clothing to make it useful. I purchased clothing for the drum and a set of hand cards. We will have the equipment ready for the Beginners Class to use and it will then be in the Guild library for check out. I would like you to think about whether or not there should be a small monthly fee for using the drum.

I hope to see you all on Sunday.

Mary

Minutes from February 17, 2008

Members attending: Dana, Patricia, Marjorie, Mary, Maxine, Angela, Marie, Sylvia.
Welcome new members Dana Paschal, Laura Linneman, Nicky Linneman and Leslie Mahaffey.
Welcome to guests Stephanie, Jackie, Anna, and visiting spinners Sandy and Susan.

Treasury Report:
Old balance: $543.09
Deposits: dues, $20
December Balance: $563.09

Mary started introductions at 1:50 PM.

The syllabus for the Beginner Spinning Classes was presented and comments requested. The Patsy Z workshop contract was signed and we are now committed. St. Louis, Jackson, TN and Jackson MS will be invited also. Space is limited. Sign up will start at the March meeting.

Sylvia brought the wheel she has for sale.

Show and tell:

The pot luck refreshment table was full and delicious. Thank you everyone.

The program was Navajo spinning. As many spindles as were brought were passed out (and thanks go to John Schneider for letting us use his beautiful hand turned spindles.) Mary taught carding technique and how to form a rolag. Angela demonstrated and helped spinners learn the technique of spinning on the spindles. All around the room spinners were helping spinners. With the Guild’s bag of washed fleece everyone had the opportunity to card and spin. What a fun afternoon!

Mary

Treasurer's Report: March 2008

Member Gallery

	Angela spun a skein of baby alpaca from Coldwater Alpaca Ranch's "Black Jack." The skein was entered in the Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association "Fiber to Fashion" show in Las Vegas, NV February 2-3, 2008. It came back with a 1st place ribbon for skeins and a judge's choice ribbon for handspun.
	Spinners - please send pictures of your handspun projects for future issues. Your work just might inspire someone else.

Spinning on the River has invited internationally known spinning instructor Patsy Sue Zawistoski for a 3-day spinning workshop in Memphis, July 25, 26 & 27, 2008! From her website http://www.spinninguru.com/, our workshop will be:

The workshop will take place at our regular meeting place at St. Francis. Registration opens March 15th (March meeting). Class fee is $175 + $25 materials fee. See the workshop registration form for full details.

Spinning Wheel for Sale

Majacraft Little Gem 2 needs a new home where it will get devoted attention as it is spending all of its time in it's carrying case -- too much competition from other wheels. It is brand new and has been spun on less than an hour. It comes with three bobbins in its own thermal bag and a traveling kate. It is a very versatile travel sized wheel that will even go on an airplane as carry-on luggage. The ratios range from 4.5 to 12.7 and additional flyers and whorls are available to expand that range both high and low.
The original price was over $600, you can purchase this one for $575 with all the attachments.
Call Karen Saunders at 901-652-6999 or email at ksaunderstn @ bellsouth.net .

Karen

Calendar

All meeting refreshments are Pot Luck.