Hello, Nutmeg Spinners! I hope you’re all enjoying your summer and keeping cool (and lately, dry)!

As always, we have a space at Hilltop FarmFest on Labor Day (Sept 5). It’s free to participate; we have a lovely grassy spot by the circular barn and I will bring a canopy so we get shade. There’s live music, a tractor parade, food booths, a huge kid-friendly section of stuff to do, and more. I’ve copypasted the description from the website below; check their website for a more thorough listing of events and music. Keep in mind that the parking fee is waived if you’re an exhibitor. You would tell the parking attendants that you’re here to demonstrate along with the Nutmeg Spinners (also with the CT River SnB, in case they put us under one name) and you do not have to pay the parking fee.

I hope you can make it; this is a fun, relaxing day and the weather is usually really nice. You do not have to come for the full time, either--if you can only do a couple of hours, that’s okay too! Bring a chair, your wheel/spindle/knitting/whatever, and a cooler with some snacks and we’re set! You are also able to sell your stuff if you wish, though the farm requires 10% if you do so.

Any questions, please ask me. I may not be vocal lately but I’m still here!

Hilltop Farm Fest Website: http://www.hilltopfarmsuffield.org/index.php/events/farm-fest

The 9th Annual Farm Fest, a day of old-fashioned family fun will be held on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th from 10am-4pm. People of all ages from all over the area will come to celebrate farms and farming. There will be farm animals, pony rides, exhibits, demonstrations, and contests, including the skillet and hay bale tosses. Highlights include entertainment by Bob Degree and the Bluegrass Storm from the hills of Vermont, good food, the raptors of Wingmasters, tractor pull contests and the Tractor Parade at noon. Admission is free, there is a $5 parking fee.


[Submitted by jbannock]

June’s meeting’s topic is The Ins & Outs of Art Yarns, Art Batts and All that Funky Stuff with Jill Mello of eXtreme Spinning. Jill will cover:

• The basics of an Art Batt

• Techniques for corespun yarns (corespun and coreless corespun)

• How to Spin a Tailspun Yarn

• Securing Add-Ins

• Getting it onto the bobbin

• Yarn as ART

• What to do with all this funky stuff now.

The fiber fee of $10 will be for a goody bag with a 1 oz art batt, ½ oz of locks for tailspinning, loose fiber for corespinning, 20 yards of core yarn, a few add-ins to work with and a pattern for a tailspun scarf.

Jill will also be bringing samples and FO’s to look at and work on.

Jill Mello is owner of eXtreme Spinning, a local independent fiber producer. She describes herself as a self-taught fiber fanatic including knitting, spinning, felting, weaving, and sewing and an unabashed collector of vintage fabrics, odd and unusual trinkets, and hoarder of all things woolly.

The meeting is on Saturday, June 4 from 9 to 2:30 at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield.

Hope to see you there!

April's Meeting will feature a workshop on Needle Felting. Ashley Flagg will be our mentor. Ashley will cover the basics of needle felting in this introductory workshop. Needle felting is a fun way to make 3 dimensional objects with wool as well as to embellish your knitted, crocheted or even woven projects. Guild members need to bring felting needles and a small foam block. These are generally available in kits at local yarn shops as well as at chain stores such as Michaels and AC Moore for under $10. In Sheep's Clothing will have a supply of them available as well. Our mentor will supply fiber packs for $10.

About Ashley Flagg:
A Connecticut native, Ashley Flagg has lived in various parts of New England, and most recently found herself living in Palo Alto, CA. A jack-of-all-trades by training, she has experience with a wide variety of mediums, such as painting, theatrical lighting design, pottery, spinning, weaving and writing. Most recently she has launched Artemisia Ink Studio Arts as a way to bring all of her various and sundry artistic enterprises together and also to showcase her hand-spun yarns and other fiber arts.
Ashley has a strong commitment to the art of making things with one's own hands that are both functional and beautiful, as well as ecologically sustainable. Many of her yarns are made from natural vegetable fibers, such as soy silk or bamboo, and whenever possible, fleeces are purchased directly from farmers. By making handspun yarns, she hopes to give others who enjoy the arts of knitting and crocheting the satisfaction of knowing that their projects are authentically hand-made at all levels. A descendant of the Mayflower Pilgrim spinner Priscilla Mullins, Ashley seeks to keep this ancient women's tradition alive as a dynamic and creative art in the 21st century.

OUR FEBRUARY 5, 2011 GUILD MEETING IS ON. ASNUNTUCK IS OPEN! REPEAT OUR GUILD MEETING IS ON FOR TODAY ASNUNTUCK IS OPEN. SEE YOU ALL THERE.

Since the weather is IFFY for tomorrow, remember before you leave your house to check the ACC Website at http://www.acc.commnet.edu/ to see if they're closing. If the college is closed, WE do not have a meeting. Obviously, don't travel if the roads are dangerous. We'd like to keep you around!

In the even that our meeting for tomorrow is cancelled, we will instead meet on Feb 12.

Any questions, contact one of the Board members and we'll try to help you out!
[Submitted by jbannock]

Just to let everyone know that your newsletter should be in your mailbox, e-mail and it is posted here. If you DID NOT receive your newsletter please contact Barbara (membership chair) and Deb (newsletter editor) and please let them know. Thanks Deb for another great issue of our newsletter!

Just a friendly reminder that February's Guild meeting (Saturday February 5, 2011)is our Annual Potluck and Handmade Auction this year! Handmade items is the theme, baked goods, hand knitted items, or items to make more of those hand made gifts!, Let your imagination fly! Remember to bring your potluck item, if it needs to be plugged in please bring an extension cord, and everyone needs to mark their dishes with the ingredients. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting!

For all members who like to enter their skeins in competitions, the Minnesota Alpaca Expo is looking for entries. Please follow the link below for rules and entry forms. Enjoy!



www.WRRAlpacas.com

The December Newsletter is up and December's Meeting information is also up! Look forward to seeing everyone!

I just got great news from one of our former members Jenny Bakriges, congrats to her on new book coming out in December! Here is the note I just got from her! Oh a sense of pride for the long reaches Nutmeg has!

"Hi Vicki, Beth, and Nutmeg Spinners,
Just letting folks know that my book, Spinning Around ~ Spinning, Dyeing & Knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Classics, has gone to print and will be hopefully be available by December 15th. If you pre-order by November 15th (think holiday gift-giving!), you'll get free shipping from Schoolhouse Press: http://www.schoolhousepress.com/newbooks.htm#BSA

This project took 5 years to complete, after being in the fiber arts for 30 years. Among many other friends and fiber vendors, Alice Field's fleece is featured.

I've never forgotten being a member of the Nutmeg Spinners when we lived in Middletown, CT in the early '90s, and later teaching a workshop for the guild on solar dyeing. Wonderful memories, indeed! Thank you!!

Best wishes,
Jenny Bakriges"