2012 North Dakota Handspinners' Conference

I thoroughly enjoyed the past two days in Jamestown, North Dakota, at the ND Handspinners' Conference.  Sponsored by the North Dakota Lamb and Wool Producers, and led by sisters Julie and Jeanne, this was a second-to-none event.  We were welcomed, gifted, fed; and had opportunities to learn, share, experiment and shop.  

The conference theme was, "It's about Color".  Everyone participated in the activity of dying wool roving, spinning it, and naming their finished skeins/colorways.

There was much creativity and variety in colorways:

I've always wanted to spin an "art yarn", and this was the opportunity.  Friday night I crocheted a few simple flowers to incorporate in my yarn.  I named it "Fairy Garden":

Julie and Jeannie must have spent hours and hours organizing and preparing for the event.  Our welcome bags included handmade gifts:

On Friday night Julie and Karin led a demonstration on different kinds of wool and skirting fleeces.  They brought a many, many  raw fleeces for us to see and feel, and shared informative flyers and photos on the sheep breeds.  We learned how to skirt a variety of fleeces.  Here's Karin at the skirting table:

I was thrilled with my door prize of natural colored Icelandic wool from Karin's Windy Hill Fiber Company:

Vendors provided fleeces, ready-to-spin fibers, books, and tools to nurture our spinning passion.

Life gets busy, and my spinning wheel often sits unused for months in a row.  I'm grateful for this opportunity to focus on spinning, and visit and learn with fun, warm-hearted artists.