May Activities

Join us at the Pagosa Fiber Festival, May 26 and 27. Spinners are welcome both days to help demonstrate the art of spinning. But feel free to also card, knit, crochet, weave, or whatever you would like to work on during the festival. Linda Smith has told us that there is a spot for the spinners in one of the festival tents. You should probably bring a chair just in case there aren’t enough to go around. Food is available either at the event or in town. Also, there are some wonderful vendors to stock up on your fiber needs. So plan to attend and get some spinning, or whatever you chose to work on, done. Great opportunity to let the public see what we do and why we do it!

An invitation from Bev Modisette:

Hi Wild Wooly Spinners of the West.,

I want to thank you for your spinning at the Pagosa Fiber Festival and look forward to seeing you this year.

I have been working with the president (owner of Pagosa Lodge) of the Pagosa Springs Lodging Association to get discount packages for Pagosa Fiber Festival (PFF) attendees. So, if you would like to stay overnight and get reduced rates go to http://pagosafiberfestival.com/discountsspecials/lodging to see lodging discounts.

All our workshops, except Introduction to High Whorl Spindling by Susan Jones (Town Park), will be held at the Pagosa Lodge. See http://pagosafiberfestival.com/workshops. I also have an instructor biography page at http://pagosafiberfestival. com/workshops/instructors.

For our vendors we not only have a vendors' page but also a Vendors' Product page at http://pagosafiberfestival. com/vendors/vendors-products so visitors to our website will know what our vendors are selling.

I hope a lot of you will enter our competitions http://pagosafiberfestival.com/competitions . We have 3 divisions - Handspun Yarn, Fleece, and Finished Products (consists of products produced by crocheting, felting, knitting, and/or weaving). We judge our entry against a standard, not against submitted competition entries. First, second, and third place ribbons are awarded for each category in each division. The overall best in each division will be awarded a bronze medallion on a hand-braided horsehair necklace with silver findings. And, the Best of Show overall for all entries in all competitions will be awarded a silver medallion on a hand-braided horsehair necklace, with silver findings, awarded to the Best of Show. If you would like to know a little bit about our judges, then go to http://pagosafiberfestival.com/competitions/competition-judges. Our guidelines and entry rules can be found at http://pagosafiberfestival.com/information-desk/forms.

And, we are having a fun competition - a Sheep to Shawl competition!

One of our vendors is going to give a demonstration on a circular sock knitting machine. Just image all the socks you could knit in a short amount of time! I do have one (it is an antique) myself but I do not know how to use it or how to put it together (it came in pieces).

I look forward to meeting you at PFF. Please come to the PFF booth and introduce yourselves.

Sincerely,

Bev Modisette President Pagosa Fiber Festival http://pagosafiberfestival.com

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Animas Museum Help
As you may know, the Animas Museum is always happy to provide us with a place to spin in Durango. This month, the museum is holding the annual Community Heritage Awards on May 25th and has asked us if we would provide donations for a gift basket like we did last year. If you would like to donate a skein of yarn, some fleece, whatever! please drop it off at the museum before May 25th. THANKS! For more information on the Community Heritage Awards check out http://www.animasmuseu.org/cha.

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Looking Forward to Bayfield Heritage Days
From Linda Smith:
Bayfield Heritage Days is already being planned for last weekend in September. I am sort of in charge along with Linda Parmiter of getting some sheepy events for kids going, such as koolaid dyes and felting balls or felting around rocks or something...sure would like input and help. It is a time when our guild can do some spinning, weaving, knitting, etc. in public and they are willing to put up a shelter just for the guild as well as for a kid space. Would you guys please talk about this...I know there are probably many other things going on that weekend. I intend to vend there; it worked out pretty well for me last year, and since they are planning ahead, hoping that this year will be better than last. We could even get together as a guild and have a booth and sell stuff if anyone is interested. It is a better market for created items than it is for roving and fleece. Anyway, please have everyone think about it and see what you want to do. All events would occur on Saturday. Whatever they do on Sunday won't be of interest to any of us, I don't think..won't be vendors and such on Sunday.

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

All for now--hope to see you at Pagosa!

April Field Trip

Thanks to Pam Ramsey for organizing the trip to Tierra Wools--we had a great turnout of WW spinners from Durango, Farmington, Pagosa, etc.

Tierra's Lupe checks progress on her cochineal dye pot.

Jody, Carole and Paula in the natural dye area

Shearing on the patio

Tierra's loom room

The Big Wheel

April Adventures

This month we have two options for WWS spinning on Saturday, April 28.

For those of us who don't have to stick around for lambing season, Pam Ramsey will be leading a group down to Tierra Wools for their Spring Harvest Festival.

Meet at Gateway (Santa Rita) park by the Chamber of Commerce building at 8AM, this will put us at Tierra Wools approximately 10. Bring a folding lawn chair (optional, but sometimes there are not as many chairs there), drinking water, and pack a sack lunch. Pam will have room for 1 more, maybe 2 but plenty of trunk space. She says that if the weather's nice, sitting out on the front porch, knitting, etc. is always a good thing. Otherwise you can kind of wander around, looking at stuff, dyeing, they may be shearing, it is always very loose but you meet some great fellow fiber people. If you are going, please call or email Pam--check your newsletter email with telephone number/email address or comment below prior to the 28th. She has heard a lot of maybe's and sort of's but doesn't want to leave anyone behind. If you can't go, Pam will be taking pictures so stay tuned to this blog.

If you aren't up for traveling so far afield, meet us at the Animas Museum at 10 am at the corner of 31st and West 2nd in Durango. We'll hang around until 2pm so either bring a lunch or we can go to Zia's--may even be nice enough to eat lunch outside.

Hope to see you at either gathering! Don't forget in May, we'll be spinning at the Pagosa Springs Fiber Festival on the 26th. Make sure to check out their website for the great classes and activities they are planning.

Spinning at the Southern Ute Museum

Had a great turnout, a tour of the new museum, and as you can see, fun in the casino!  

sad news

Hi all,

I guess in a way it isn't really sad news. Elizabeth Mantey has passed on. Her suffering with cancer since March of 2009 is now over.

Her funeral will be held at St, Ignatius Catholic Church in Ignacio at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3rd. A rosary is planned for the Monday prior.

Rest in blessed peace, Elizabeth.

 

Linda

DATE CHANGE--Barnyard Days, Tuesday, April 17th

The Barnyard will be held on Tuesday, April 17^th (please note the date change) from 9 am to noon around the amphitheater at Fort Lewis College. We’ve moved the event a week later so hopefully it will be a bit warmer and the date still works for you.

Please comment if you can make it--hope to see you there!

  

lotions and potions and weaving, oh my!

There are some informative, useful, diverse classes being offered at Pagosa Fiber Festival this year.

Liz Moncrief of Longmont Colorado will share her expertise in making lotions that are good for your skin and don't cost a fortune.

Paula Saey lends her expert knowledge on natural dyes.

Another class will be of great value to those who want to learn all that a rigid heddle can do.

Anyone with fabric scraps will love learning to make sculptures and wall hangings from Mary in her Sculpting Recycled Fabrics class.

And there are others.  Check us out!  Deadline for registration is April 21st.

www.pagosafiberfestival.com

Best regards,

Linda