Spinzilla spinning is officially over! The teams have just a few more moments to tally up their yardage and the team captains are collecting and organizing the entries.

The week long spinning event was not without it’s pitfalls.  Team members reported in with flu, headaches, arm pain, leg pain and just plain old life getting in the way of spinning.  Me, I had my own problems……..

I’ve been dyeing fiber for 16+  years……never once have I spilled boiling dye on myself…..until this time. OUCH!  I had to keep my hands covered with ice packs for over a day.  I slept with hands wrapped in blue ice packs. About 36 hours later I was able to get back to spinning.  My goal was 20,000 yards of handspun singles, but with more than a day of spinning lost there was no way I could make it.  That didn’t discourage me I reset my goal for 17,000 yards…………Then Mom and Dad came for a visit Friday afternoon until Monday morning!  I only see my parents for a few days 2-3 times year.  It was difficult to spin and entertain the troops, but I think we had a nice visit chatting while I spun.  9 pm Sunday night arrived right on schedule, and at last it was fiber down and spinners stopped!  Monday was all about plying, plying, and PLYING!  I did ply a few thousand yards during the week, but there were thousands left to ply on Monday.  Plying up the fine lace weight Cashmere and Tussah Silk seemed to never end, but finally the pound +  of fiber was done, almost 3,000 yards of 2 ply lace.  I have some secret plans for this:)  Here is my final picture I sent off as my entry.

The dark brown and greens are for another secret project.  The chocolate Cashmere on the rolls will be shipped off to Tanglewood Fiber Creations. The BFL gradients and other odds and ends will be up for sale in the Shop before long. The Navajo 3 ply will be use on the secret brown/green project.  The pale blue/green/white Merino and Cashmere will be turned into some toasty warm leg warmers and slippers for me!

Spinzilla week was long, and full of road blocks, but it was fun!  It was great to get some spinning done for myself and get some odds and ends finished up that have been waiting too long.  I’ve been a production spinner for many years so producing thousands of yard of yarn in a week wasn’t unusual for me, but it was fun to read about spinners who were experiencing production spinning for the first time.  I can’t help but wonder how many of them will now be bitten by the production spinning bug!

If you are a Raveler you may want to go check out the Spinzilla Group Threads and read the adventures of hundreds of spinners for yourself.  If you are not a  member of Ravelry do yourself a favor and go sign up..it’s free, fun and a wealth of information.  I have made some wonderful friends there!

Now that Spinzilla is coming to a close,  It is time to do some celebrating,  the winning team will be announced on Friday.  Other things to celebrate along with completing Spinzilla are my 27th wedding anniversary, and my 18th year of spinning!!!  Next posting will announce my plans of some competitions and some prizes to spread the love of spinning and my anniversaries!

until next time, Happy Spinning!

Cheryl <^..^>

p.s. get those needles warmed up, because there will be some knitting prizes too.