TAGS: Calendar of Events

We've asked spinners who make a living at their craft to share their stories and provide tips for those of you who are interested in teaching, selling your handspun yarn, or starting a spinning business. We know that not every spinner wants to make a living spinning, but even so, we all have an interest in the people who cultivate the fiber, shepherd the animals, carve the tools, dye the top, to make your spinning dreams that much more attainable.

Also, get a glimpse into the life of an eighteenth century spinner using a Great Wheel for production spinning, salivate over the handpainted top of mail-order dyers, and ruminate with a shepherdess as she contemplates what she's learned from her sheep. Cast-on a lovely pair of fingerless mitts, a scarf that maintains the character of hand-dyed roving, and an endlessly customizable pattern for hats.

In this issue, Kate Larson explores color blending by flick carding locks and with this process she created the lovely colorwork knitting on the cover. We have included two articles about recycling yarn from garments; imagine the treasure trove of awkward luxury fibers at local thrift stores begging to be reborn into something you'd actually wear. We also have a number of fascinating articles—including one by Jacey Boggs about the mechanics of spinning on a wheel and how exactly twist is inserted into fiber and another by Peter Teal in defense of using wraps per inch to measure your yarn. The fiber basic focus this issue is on Lincoln Longwool and the issue includes two projects that take advantage of the wool's unique characteristics (a dog leash and market bag). The issue also explores Bedouin spinning in Qatar, creating a fiber map of your area, and much more.

Events: To Enter; Festivals and Gatherings; Conferences; Exhibits, Shows, and Sales; Instruction; and Travel

To submit listings for the Spin-Off Calendar of Events, please email full details to spinoff@interweave.com or post listings in printed form to Spin-Off Calendar of Events, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655.

The Summer 2011 issue of Spin-Off has a special focus on felt! Starting with the basics and fifteen fibers meant for felting, we move to needlefelted dolls, felted accents to add to your handspun, and using prefelts for wet felting.

But this issue isn’t all about felt! We’ve introduced a new department for more experienced spinners, and this edition focuses on what effect ratios really have. There are also tips for making your own stacked spindles without special woodworking equipment, silk spun for a princess, and we guarantee you will be impressed (and potentially inspired) by the included spindle-spun bed-size blanket woven on a rigid-heddle loom.

The Winter 2010 issue of Spin-Off magazine is so full of fiber that if you snuggled up next to it, it will keep you warm. Open the pages and you'll find (images of) angora, qiviut, alpaca, and sheep's wool tucked into every available space, plus lots of great tips on how to spin these fibers. This year, we've included a six-page Natural Fiber Directory in the issue—this is a special section that you can pull out and take with you for reference when you're shopping for natural fiber. As a bonus, we included enlarged versions of the charts for the Qiviut Shawlette by Sandi Wiseheart on the back of the directory (the charts are also included with the pattern in the magazine). The pattern for the half-gloves shown on the cover is included in the handspun gallery, along with six versions of the half-gloves showing just the tip-of-the-iceberg of what can be done with the pattern if you vary the fiber, color, and/or grist of the yarn you use.