December 30th

Hi Everyone,One last email before my "term" as Secretary is up. :-)December was a busy month, with demonstrating at Forest City Stockade, the Christmas Party with the Mississippi River Spinners, and the Fiber Swap at Karen's.A couple of follow-up items from the Fiber Swap that we wanted everyone to know about --1. Nancy brought some horseradish pickles for the pot-luck that received rave reviews, and she has graciously shared the recipe:Horseradish Dill PicklesUse a 1 1/2qt jar of whole Kosher Dills. Rinse well and slice lengthwise.Add 1/3c prepared horseradish. Boil 1 1/2c sugar, 1/3c water and 2/3c white vinegar. Pour over pickles while hot. Cap. Refrigerate. Occasionally turn jars over. Use after 24 hours. Pickles do tend to get hotter as time goes by!Enjoy! Happy New Year to all of you!2. A few of us were discussing the French Press Felted Slippers, a pattern that's been quite popular on Ravelry lately, and the idea came up of having a get together where everyone would make a pair. They're supposed to be super quick and easy, so we're hoping that's an achievable idea. Karen started a thread about it in our Ravelry group with a link to the pattern and an offer to host the event at her home sometime in February. I've attached some pictures to this email for those of you who aren't familiar with the pattern. The pattern does cost $7.00, and can be purchased from the Ravelry pattern page. It's also available from the designer's Etsy store for $7.50: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37511044&ref=emMaybe we can finalize the details for a knit-along day at our January meeting?And, finally, here's the current list of who's leading the meetings/sending out reminders each month:January - PamFebruary -March - JennaApril - WendyMay - SharonJune - Karen?July - Karen?August - NancySeptember -October -November -December -Hope everyone's New Year's Resolutions include making more time to spin, knit, weave, crochet, etc!Jessica

November meeting

A couple of clarifications:1. It would also be nice if the moderator could send out an update after the meeting if any decisions are made, or if there is any discussion that should be shared with the rest of the group (thanks, Sandy, for thinking of that!)2. Forest City Stockade is December 5th (I had December 4th in my previous email).And I forgot to send the info on Sock Wars and Iron Knitter (one of the many topics that came up at the meeting). So, for those of you interested in Sock Wars V and/or Iron Knitter, you can get all the info at www.sockwars.org. The registration deadline is January 2, 2010. Sock Wars starts January 15, and Iron Knitter starts January 20. There's also a group on Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/groups/sock-wars. You can sign up for just one event or both (I signed up for both; I already know I'm crazy, so you don't have to tell me).Quoting jmacy@cloudnet.com:> Quick update from our meeting last week:>> We will continue this year with taking turns to as "moderator" for > the monthly meetings. In addition, we will not have a Secretary; > instead, the member leading that month's meeting will also send out > the meeting reminder. If anyone is willing to be a moderator, but > would prefer to not send out the reminder, feel free to mention that > at one of the meetings and probably someone else would be willing to > do that part of it. A few people have volunteered already, so > here's the list:>> January - Pam> February -> March - Jenna> April - Wendy> May - Sharon> June - Karen?> July - Karen?> August - Nancy> September -> October -> November -> December ->> We are tentatively planning to have the summer meetings in the homes > of the moderators, since we will probably not have access to the > school at that time. If you'd like to sign up for one of the open > months, let me know (I'm still secretary through the end of > December); otherwise, we'll just fill them in as we go.>> We also decided to start a group on Ravelry, which Karen has already > done for us! Karen and Sarah are the moderators for the Ravelry > group, so if you have questions specific to that, feel free to check > with them. If you haven't joined Ravelry, you should definitely > consider it. Go to www.ravelry.com to sign up, and then our group > is http://www.ravelry.com/groups/minnesota-prairie-spinners.>> Forest City Stockade Pioneer Christmas - Saturday, December 4, 11am-5pm> Once again, we are demonstrating at this event. Demonstrators > should be in costume and should arrive a little early to set up. We > are welcome to sell our handspun/handknit/handwoven items. We will > receive "wooden nickels," which basically means free lunch! At this > time, it sounds like Wendy, Anna, Sharon, Rachel and Jessica are > planning to be there. Even if you can't demo, consider stopping by > to say Hi and check out the rest of the event!>> Christmas Party with the Mississippi River Spinners - Thursday, > December 10, 6pm> Some of you have already received the official invite, but for any > who haven't, here it is:> "The Mississippi River Spinners Guild requests the honor of your > presence at our annual Christmas party to be held at 6:00 p.m. on > Thursday, December 10, 2009, at Crafts Direct in Waite Park.> It will be a pot luck again this year with our group furnishing the > plates, napkins, eating utensils and beverages. Two $25.00 gift > certificates from Crafts Direct will be awarded as door prizes. > There will also be an optional gift exchange. Those wanting to > participate in the gift exchange should bring a fiber-related gift > in the $15.00 to $20.00 price range.> We're looking forward to seeing all of you next month.">> 3rd Annual Winter Fiber Swap/Sale - Monday, December 28> Please make note of the date change from Saturday to Monday! We > will probably start around 10am, there will be a potluck, and > hopefully lots of fiber and fiber-related items to swap or sell > (it's kind of like a giant stash-stirring party). More details to > follow (including directions to Karen's house).>> If I've missed anything that should be shared, those of you who were > at the meeting should feel free to jump in. Otherwise, hope to see > everyone at one (or all) of the December events!>> Jessica>

November Meeting

Hi Everyone,Our next meeting is Thursday, November 12th at the Kimball High School in the Home Ec Room at 6:30pm. Go in Door #2, then take a right, and I believe it's the first door on the right.This is our Annual Business Meeting, so come prepared to discuss whether or not you liked the format this year with everyone taking a turn at being "moderator" compared to previous years when we have had one person serve as "president" for the full year. Also, we will need a new secretary, so start thinking if you'd like to volunteer. I'll be the moderator this month, so if you have anything for the agenda, let me know. I am planning to bring chocolate, so hopefully no one will even notice that we're having a business meeting. :-)Hope to see you soon!JessicaUpcoming Events:November 7 & 14 - Annual Sale at Yesterday's Crafts (Ute's shop); everything in the store 10% off, with some items 20%, 30%, or 40% off. In stock wheels include Schacht Matchless, Kromski Polonaise in Mahogany finish, Schacht-Reeve cherry double treadle, Ashford Elizabeth. Ute is now a dealer for SpinOlution spinning wheels, as well. For more info, you can email her at baaahacres@msn.com.Saturday, December 5 - Forest City Stockade Pioneer Christmas (http://www.forestcitystockade.org/pioneer_christmas.html)Thursday, December 10 - Christmas Party! The Mississippi River Spinners have invited us to join them at Crafts Direct - more details to followSaturday, December 26 - 3rd Annual Winter Fiber Swap/Sale; we'll be at Karen's house (or Wendy's if Karen's house isn't quite ready for visitors)

Upcoming Events

April 4~~Shearing Day at Woolen Meadow Farm, lunch with the group (business meeting) Open house at Detta's Spindle

April 18~~Mn Knitter's Guild Yarnover at the Hopkins High School

April 18~~Weavers Guild of MN open house at the Textile Center

May 9-10~~Shepherd's Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival at the Washington Co Fairgrounds in Lake Elmn, MN

May 14~~MN Prairie Spinners meating at the Kimball High School

June 11~~ MN Prairie Spinners meating at the Kimball High School

June 13-14~~Iowa Sheep & Wool Festival in Adel, IA

Fall 2009~~Fiber Swap Barb M has offered to host this in her studio; Dates will be decided

Upcoming Event

Saturday, 12-27 Fiber Swap/Sale at Wendy's. This is a great opportunity to clear out some of your stash and accumulate more stash or swap out some of your stash for someone else's. We had so much fun at Nancy's last year! Bring your wool, roving, yarn, finished items, patterns, books, equipment, and anything else related to the fiber arts. Or just come for the food and fun! We will probably get started around 10:00 am Any questions and directions to Wendy's call Sandy @ 320-274-5666 or email me @ dsmiller@lakedalelink.net

Natural Dying Days at Pam's With a Thank you to Gail vonBargen, Here are some excepts about those days spent at Pam's from Gails Blog:

The next morning, I piled out of bed, assembled materials and drove up-country to Pam Davis', another Shetland shepherd near Cokato, MN. She was hosting a natural dyeing workshop taught by Karen Rohnsvoog. The participants had spent Friday gathering pots of dye materials, and when I arrived Saturday, I just had to make little skeins of white wool and try the different dye pots. Oh, and also help everyone mix up a vat of indigo I'd brought from my vegetable garden. The colors were amazing-- see here some results:The dyes were: left: a combination of lead plant, goldenrod and indigo. I'd dipped a ball of yarn in the three pots in succession. Next, indigo, near the end of the day, so lighter blue; the gray is from purple basil; canary yellow is from apple bark; bright orange-yellow is wood sunflower; light sage green is Black Raspberry (leaves?); dark indigo blue from an early dip in the vat; goldenrod; and logwood.Amazing. Beautiful, naturally obtained colors. I want to weave a plaid scarf from the colors just to remember that day and how much fun it was.

Secret Spinster Gift

I received a beautiful pallet of colored fiber for felting from my secret spinster. Thanks so much who ever you are.