A Publication of the Northwest Regional Spinners’ Association FEBRUARY, 2018 In this issue ... Calendar Board Meeting 2018 Conference Camp Burton Membership Renewal Date Change PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Pamela McGarvey The 2018 Conference Committee has been working diligently on the site arrangements, teachers, gallery, raffle baskets and all the many tasks that go into our annual learning and networking event. The Conference Program will be e-mailed to members in just a few weeks and will be available for downloading from www.nwrsa.net. Registration will open on-line and mailed-in registrations will be accepted starting February 15. I hope you will all come for part or all of the Conference, May 31-June 3 at Hotel RL in Olympia. The Annual Conference and everything else that NwRSA offers us is made possible by you, the members of this four-state regional association, volunteering to work on Committees and to stand for office as a Director, Alternate or an officer. Without thesupport and participation of members, nothing much will happen. We all have talents, experience and abilities which NwRSA can use to continue current programs and to start new ones. Please take a look at the following brief descriptions of current standing and special committees and see if there are opportunities for you to contribute your skills and interests by serving. • Advertising – assists the newsletter editor in preparing ads for publication and advises the association on advertising rates. • Annual Conference – on a geographic rotating basis, plans, organizes and conducts the Annual Conference. A separate committee for each conference is appointed two years in advance of the conference date which is traditionally the end of May/early June. • Audit – performs an annual audit of the association’s financial records, including annual conference financial records. • Camp Burton – conducts annual handspinners residential retreat at Camp Burton on Vashon Island, WA • Events Calendar – maintains a calendar on the website and in the newsletter of both NwRSA and other events of interest to handspinners. • Grants – publicizes the two NwRSA grant programs (Lee Kirshner Lewis Study Grant and NwRSA Outreach Grant), solicits applications, and selects recipients for award. • Judging & Standards – conducts a training program for judges of spinning competitions. • Library – advises the Librarian on acquisitions and conduct of the library service. • Membership – maintains the NwRSA membership records and publishes the annual member directory. • Newsletter – works with the Editor to solicit articles for publication in the monthly newsletter, LOOSE THREADS. (Continued on page 2) Northwest Regional Spinners’ Association [email protected] Deadline for submissions for next edition: February 20, 2018 Page 1 (Continued from page 1) • Social Media – manages NwRSA’s use of social media tools, including the website, to provide electronic access to the association’s programs and services. • Workshops – organizes and coordinates workshops conducted by both teachers who are not a part of the Association as well as qualified NwRSA members throughout the 4-state region. Please contact me at [email protected] or your area director/alternate (click HERE for a list of areas and email contacts) and let us know which committees you are interested in working on; ideas you have for new programs and/or committees; and if you would be interested in serving as an officer or Director/Alternate to represent your local area at the next election. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Go to www.nwrsa.net for more details Feb 3 Newport Spin-In, Hosted by Area 6060-Yaquina Fiber Arts Guild, Newport Middle School, Newport OR Feb 10 NwRSA 2018 Winter Board Meeting, Hosted by Area 2090, Vancouver WA Feb 15-18 Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat, Tacoma WA. Mar 15-18 NwRSA Camp Burton Spinners' Retreat, Vashon Island WA. Click HERE for details Mar 17 Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale, Hosted by Area 6030, Oregon City OR. Click HERE for details Mar 24 Log Cabin Fibers Arts Annual Spin-In, Area 4010, Coeur d Alene, ID Click HERE for details Apr 19-22 Shepherd’s Extravaganza, Washington State Fairgrounds, Puyallup WA May 31 NwRSA Annual Members Meeting, Olympia WA May 31-Jun 3 NwRSA Annual Conference, Olympia WA - check www.nwrsa.net for details Jun 8 Trout Lake Fiber Arts Festival, Trout Lake WA Jun 9 Meadowrock’s Fleece to Shawl, Trout Lake WA Jun 8-10 Vashon Classic Sheepdog Trials, Fiber Arts Village hosted by Area 2055, Vashon Island WA Jun 29-Jul 1 Black Sheep Gathering, Linn County Fairgrounds, Albany OR Sep 22-23 Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, Clackamas County Events Center, Canby OR Oct 20 NwRSA Fall Board Meeting, hosted by Area 4030, Richland WA NwRSA BOARD MEETING AND SPIN-IN Saturday February 10, 2018 Hosted by: NwRSA Area 2090 (Southwest Washington) Location: Camas High School, 26900 SE 15th Street, Camas, WA (approx. 17 miles east of I-5. Go east on WA SR14 and then WA SR500). The North Commons has lots of windows and views. Lots of room for spinners and vendors. Time: 9AM – 4PM (doors will open at 7AM for NwRSA vendors) Suggested Donation: $5 for NwRSA members, $7 for non-members, $5 plus door prize donation for vendors Judges Training: We will have a room available for practice judging. Food: We will provide coffee and tea and will have plates, napkins, etc. for a potluck. Please bring something to share. Contact: Elizabeth Palmer ([email protected]) with any questions or suggestions (this is our first time hosting). If interested in being a vendor, contact Adrienne Borders ([email protected]). The NwRSA Board meeting will start at 12:30PM. Electronic attendance via ZOOM videoconferencing service and by conference call telephone service will be available. Area Directors/Alternates and Committee Chairs who wish to attend electronically please contact Sheila McLean at [email protected] for set up and instructions. As you may know we lost Barb Quinn in September. Although her family had a celebration of life in December, we thought that NwRSA members would like to share some memories at this spin-in. We will have a microphone handy. Proceeds from the raffle basket(s) and Silent Auction will go to the Barb Quinn Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you have items you would like to donate for the silent auction and/or for door prizes, they would really be appreciated. Interested in a tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mill in Washougal on Friday, Feb 9, in the afternoon? Let Adrienne Borders ([email protected]) know that you are interested and we will make a group tour reservation. www.pendleton-usa.com/mill-tours.html Page 2 NwRSA 2018 Conference – A New Twist May 31 – June 3, 2018 Hotel RL, Olympia, Washington SPINNING, WEAVING, FELTING AND MORE READY FOR A NEW TWIST? Mark your calendar…arrange for time off from work…prepare your family to be on their own… May 31 – June 3 are the dates…Hotel RL, 2300 Evergreen Park Drive, Olympia, WA is the place. Registration opens on February 15. This year, NwRSA will use on-line registration as well as paper registration forms. Look for registration information on the website at www.nwrsa.net and in the Conference Program which will be emailed to all members and be available for downloading from our website. And there is much more to enjoy -- vendors, tutorials and demonstrations, informal spinning and networking, a delicious banquet - all in a comfortable, affordable setting with private baths in each room, and close proximity of hotel rooms to activity locations. One of the highlights of our NwRSA Conferences is the opportunity to learn new fiber-related skills and improve what you are already doing by taking classes with incredibly talented instructors. Did you know that a number of instructors now on the international teaching circuit got their start as instructors at NwRSA conferences? To introduce our Instructors and their classes….. • Jillian Moreno – author of Yarnitecture: A Knitters Guide to Spinning: Building Exactly the Yarn Your Want, Craftsy online instructor, and well-known teacher at many different venues throughout the country. She will teach a full-day class on Yarnitecture and a half-day class on Gist of Grist. • Michael Kelson – has been teaching spinning techniques here in the Puget Sound area for the past few years and has developed a series of SpinPossible classes. For our Conference this year, he will feature SpinPossible – Loft and SpinPossible – Socks. • Gayle Vallance – a favorite Canadian who has taught several excellent classes for us in previous Conferences. This year she will teach Spinning Like a Viking and Opening the Door to Designer Yarns with Cabling. • Amelia Garripoli – those of us who have taken Amelia’s spindling classes know her expertise and easy going teaching make spindling fun and productive. This year she is also introducing a variety of techniques for weaving on small looms as well as Twists and Tricks with Turkish Spindles. • Samantha Loftin – many of us would like to learn more about weaving but don’t have space, money, or time to invest in looms of various kinds and sizes. With Peg Loom Weaving, expense is minimal yet easy to create useful household items. • Kim Perkins – In Art Yarn Carding, learn to create wonderful to spin textured art batts from a large array of wool, alpaca, silk, bamboo, nylon, and multiple other fibers. • Leslie Hoex – In Getting to the Core of Things, class participants can learn various methods of spinning textured art batts, using either batts from Kim Perkin’s class or batts from their own stash. • Elizabeth Palmer – many of us have been frustrated by errors and mistakes made as we learn new skills. Think what fun it would be to learn No Fault Weaving, a Saori style technique where there are no mistakes but rather an emphasis on color and texture.