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A Publication of

Northwest Regional Spinner’s Association

March 2016

Hard working volunteers at the February NwRSA Board Meeting in

Newport, Oregon

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Table of Contents

1 Front Cover

2 Table of Contents

3-4 President’s Message

5 Save These Dates for 2016

6-9 February Board Meeting Minutes

9 Ad—NW Handspun Yarns

10-12 President’s Quarterly Report

12-16 Committee Reports

16-19 Area Reports

19 Ad– Spindlewood Co

20 2015 Financial Report

21 2016 Proposed Budget

22-24 2015 Financial Review Report

25 Ads: Fiber with a Twist, Elsie’s Discount Roving,

Spinnindipty Fibers

26-27 Shepherd’s Extravaganza

27 Ad—Black Sheep Newsletter

28 Shepherd’s Extravaganza Workshops

29 Vintage Charm—2016 Conference Information

30 Ad—Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale, Spinners Eden Farm

31 Ad—2nd Annual Palouse Fiber Arts Festival

32 Ad—Log Cabin Fiber Arts, Fibers First Inc.

33 Ad—45th Annual Whidbey Weavers Guild Spin-in

34 Loose Threads, Calendar and Advertising Information

35 Membership and Advertising Information

36 Back cover, mailing label

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Presidents Message—Beth Witters

Spark Joy

I listen to the Canadian Broadcasting Radio partly because I live in an area

without really good reception of NPR, but also because I’m so close to Canada

that I like to know that the neighbors think and do - an international exchange

of ideas.

In January, the CBC radio North by Northwest weekend program had an

interesting program on getting organized and why we don’t follow through on

our New Year’s resolutions. (http://www.cbc.ca/nxnw/podcast/2016/01/30/

saturday-january-30/) The discussion based on the book “The Life-Changing

Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” and

the 4 tips radio columnist Rebecca Hass took away from that book that she did

indeed find “Life-Changing”:

1. Does it spark joy? Think: not what you want to get rid of, but what

you want to keep. Think of the end goal.

2. Follow the instructions. Taking shortcuts doesn’t work. If it says

walk one minute and run one, don’t try to rush into the 5 minute run

because “it can’t hurt” This leads to self-sabotage and the likelihood

of failure.

3. Watch out for that “inner voice of justification” that gets in the way of

achieving the goal that sparks joy (I worked hard yesterday, and I’m

too tired to exercise today).

4. Look for the Big Picture: In a review of life’s achievements, the fact

that you followed through on the goal should resonate and be mean-

ingful as “the change that made a difference”.

So, how does this relate to NWRSA? We are in the process of working

through a number of “life-changing” issues for our organization and the last

two board meeting brought up a number of topics that we will begin addressing

as we move through changes as an organization.

Vice President Cheryl Miller Oenning and Rocky Wisniewski have been

reviewing our Bylaws and moving towards revising our procedure manual to

be in line with the Articles of Incorporation, our goals and values, and to make

them more functional. It’s rather like taking that first bite of the elephant and

not to be completed within one term of office.

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At the October board meeting we lacked a quorum and we could not com-

plete the business of the day. A possible change in the meeting process in-

volves using technologies such as Skype to include board members who cannot

travel to the meetings. The use of Social Media such as Facebook, YouTube,

LibraryThing, Pinterest, Ravelry, Twitter and LinkedIn are only a few of the

ways available to increase communication to our members and to the general

public.

At the February Board meeting, we began the discussion on how to make

our conferences a better experience for the members. Is larger better? Do we

want to be more of a social club, or develop into forum for learning? Are we

trying to compete with other organizations by having an annual conference that

parrots others? Finding out from all our members what they envision for the

future is an important goal for area directors. It’s the job of the directors and

committee members to craft the future by un-cluttering the past and finding the

joy for the future

Here’s the pitch. We need volunteers to assist on committees. We need

planners for conference. We need tech savvy members to work on incorporat-

ing new technologies into our procedures. We need wordsmiths to write arti-

cles for Loose Threads. We need assistance in putting content on our website

that is informative and educational. If we move to new social media, we’ll

need a team to review, monitor and ensure that it reflects NWRSA’s values.

You do not have to be the whole solution, just part of it. Please consider what

you can do to help NWRSA!

Find joy, un-clutter and view the future.

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Save These Dates for 2016 Events

March 10-13 Camp Burton, Vashon Island

March 12 Norwegian Heritage Festival—Spinners

needed (see calendar on website for details)

Mar 19 9am—5pm Log Cabin Spin-In, logcabinfiberarts@gmail.com

March 19 10am-4pm Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale, abernethyspringfibersale.com

April 2-3, 10am-4pm 45th Annual Whidbey Weavers Guild Spin-in, Www.whidebweaversguild.org

April 9, 10am—4pm Wonderful Woolies Sale—Spinners Eden Farm

April 13 5-8:30 pm Shepherds’ Extravaganza - fiber arts entries

due at J-barn, Washington State Fairgrounds

April 14-17 Shepherds’ Extravaganza Www.shepherds-extravaganza.com

April 28—May 1 2016 PNW Yarn Crawl Www.pnwyarncrawl.com

May 4-8 Fiber Week in the Okanogan Www.okfiberfest.org

June 2-5 2016 NwRSA Conference, Lewiston, Idaho

June 3 Conference Board Meeting, Lewiston, Idaho

June 17-19 2nd Palouse Fiber Arts Festival Palousefiberfestival.wordpress.com

June 24-26 Black Sheep Gathering Www.blacksheepgathering.org

Sept. 23-25 Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival Flockandfiberfestival.com

January 7, 2017 St. Distaff’s Day

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Northwest Regional Spinner’s Guild—Board Meeting Minutes February 6, 2016, 12:30 P.M.

Newport, Oregon

Beth Witters called the meeting to order at 12:30PM at Newport Interme-

diate School.

No parliamentarian available.

Margaret Cook, secretary, provided roll call sheets and verbally verified

attendance. A majority of districts were in attendance for a quorum. Proxy

forms were submitted for areas 2006, 2035, 2050, and Western Washington.

In attendance at the meeting were areas: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2030, 2055, 2060,

2080, 2090, 6010, 6025, 6030, 6040, 6045, 6055, 6060, 6065, and Oregon.

Agenda: Motion was made by Jane McLean and seconded by Audrey

Sinner to approve the agenda. Reports were sent prior to the meeting.

Consent Agenda: Vote was taken to approve the board of director’s

minutes from May 2015 and reports from the President, Newsletter, Member-

ship, Judging and Standards and Area 6030. All approved.

Vice President’s report- none

Treasurer’s Report - Ann Klinect submitted the financial report for

2015 and presented the 2016 proposed budget, which was examined and ap-

proved by the board. A motion was made to accept the 2016 proposed budget

by Donna Manion (2060) and seconded by Jane McLean (6025).

Committee Reports:

Website - Beth Witters read report. Social Media request to update tech-

nology to use social media site tools. Consider solutions to the chal-

lenge of privacy vs. open social media challenge. Loose Threads is

on the website, and about 50% of members receive hard copy. Beth

asked that areas discuss this with their members and is looking for

volunteers for a committee to evaluate how we can best use new

communication technologies.

Conference 2016 - Earlene Mokler was absent. Posters for conference

were presented for distribution.

Conference 2017 - Sheila January presented comprehensive report.

Theme is “A sheep of a different color”. The committee is looking at

various retreat centers as an option. There may be a change in the

number and types of classes offered.

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Grants and Outreach - Rocky Wisniewski sent in report for last board

meeting. Area 2005 received the last grant and has almost completed the

study of natural dyes of their region. There will be a slide show presenta-

tion at the conference as well as notebooks of samples.

Media, Publicity and WEorkshops - Faye Frei has scheduled Judith

McKenzie in Portland area for the spring. Faye will submit ideas for future

workshops to Loose Threads.

Library - Earlene Mokler- The report was read by board and accepted. A

motion was made that members will receive one mailed lending transac-

tion free per year (using a flat rate box or $5.00 whichever is less) by Beki

Ries-Montgomery (6055) and seconded by Connie Paulsen(6060). All

approved.

Camp Burton - Alice Lake, Pam Salisbury, Cindy Kew. Reservations are

being taken for the Camp Burton retreat, scheduled for March 10-13,

2016.

Area reports

Verbal reports were given by area 2010, 2015, 2030, 2055, 2035, 2060,

2080, 2090, 6010, 6025, 6030, 6040, 6045, 6055, 6060, and 6065.

Oregon- Creation of a new area in southern Oregon has been tabled at this

time.

WWA- Diane Dubray gave report. She requested that directors send any

proxy forms prior to board meeting.

Ad Hoc Committee Reports

Use of NWRSA logo - Cheryl Miller Oenning. No report given

Elections Committee Report - Cindy Armstrong presented reports, which

will be given to Jeannie to print in Loose Threads. There were a total of 52

online votes and a total of 128 valid votes. A motion was made by Donna

Manion (2060) to accept the election results and seconded by Patricia Bo-

jinoff (6030).

The following executive officers have been elected: Vice President -

Yvonne Matson, Treasurer - Sheila McLean. There were some areas

with no candidates or write ins. These will have to hold elections at their

next meeting

Old Business

Grants. A motion to reinstate the grant program was made by Marni

Schroeder. Vote was all in favor.

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New Business

There was a shortfall at the 2015 conference. Motion was made by

Marjorie Smith (2080), seconded by Jane McLean (6025) to transfer

$2,129.33 from the general fund to the conference account to bring it to

$6,000.00. All approved.

Bylaw amendments

Motion was made by Donna Manion and seconded by Sheila

January to remove the term staff from the Bylaw articles VI, IX,

XI and re-title and revise articles XI to reflect compensation to

officers, Directors and committee members. Vote failed.

Countermotion was made by Bridget Wilson and seconded by

Marjorie Smith to change the Bylaws as follows (Vote Passed):

Article IX - Standing Committees:

B.3. The Editor is entitled to travel expenses at the same rate as a

Board Member.

D.3. The Membership Chairperson is entitled to travel expenses

at the same rate as a Board Member.

F.4. The Webspinner is entitled to travel expenses at the same

rate as a Board Member.

Amendment to Bylaws: Evelyn Miller made the motion to delete

Article II B4 Group or Corporate Membership from the Bylaws.

Bridget Wilson seconded the motion. Vote Failed.

Liz Palmer (2090) made a motion to allow procedural manual

committee to make changes to the procedural manual based on

the results of this meeting’s vote on the bylaws. Diane Dubray

seconded the motion. All approved.

Amendment to Bylaw concerning Article VI section B Parlia-

mentarian. No motion was brought forward and no changes

made.

Jane McLean (6025) made a motion to clarify when board mem-

bers assume their duties after an election and to change the elec-

tion dates to match the NWRSA fiscal year. Bylaws Article V

shall be amended to “within thirty days following the Conference

Board meeting”. Ballots will be published in September starting

in 2016 and results counted in October. Officers and board mem-

bers will take positions in January starting in 2017. Debbie Frank

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(2030) seconded the motion. Vote approved.

Evelyn Simpson (2005) made a motion to have current year’s

elected positions take office at the June board meeting. Pat Bon-

jinoff seconded. All passed.

Conference Survey - Beth Witters reported the results of the survey she

recently held online. Limited results. The group discussed various ideas

on what future conferences could be. Discussion will continue at the con-

ference board meeting.

2017 Nomination/Election committee is needed for elections of district

directors, president, and secretary position. The committee will be ap-

pointed at the next board meeting and area directors should talk to their

membership to find people to serve on the committee. Members of elec-

tion committee must not be holding current office.

Winter board meeting of 2017- Board would like to have meeting somewhere

along I-5 corridor. 2017 conference is in Oregon

Jane McLean made a motion to adjourn and it was seconded by Marni Schroe-

der.

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President's Quarterly Report Beth Witters

February 6, 2016 Newport Or

Since my fall report was published in Loose Threads and sent out to the

board in October, I'll do a brief recap of my activities since then.

Social Media

During the last few months, there has been a series of emails discussing

methods of improving communication for NWRSA members. (see also the

Webspinner's quarterly report). New social media presents a number of oppor-

tunities and challenges for us. Sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Library-

Thing, Pinterest, Ravelry, Twitter, LinkedIn, various "cloud" sources and

other's I don't even know about, are a quick, user friendly and effective way to

share and update information about events, opportunities, documents, training

and other communications that can help the organization grow and draw in a

younger demographic.

The downside to these "free" services include issues of the digital divide

between members who don't have online technologies or skills, questions about

the ownership of the content, concerns about security of information, concerns

about the uses (or sale of) information that can be gathered from a site (some

information is captured without the user's knowledge or consent, such as

through electronic tracking and third party application) and fraud that can take

place in an uncontrolled open forum. If you look on Wikipedia (another social

media site), there is lots of information about the pros and cons of social me-

dia.

Emails have been exchanged between the Web Team and executive com-

mittee on this topic over the last several months, but this is actually a larger

project that needs a new committee to review opportunities, evaluate resources,

create procedures and implement if found plausible. I'd like to ask area direc-

tors to bring this to your membership and see if we can form a committee at

the next board meeting.

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Financials:

Ann and I have been in frequent communication about our financials and

she has been keeping me up to date on audits as well as preparing the proposed

budget for 2016 that will be presented at the board meeting. The final Audit

was completed and areas for improvement have been reviewed and will be

discussed at the board meeting.

Conferences:

In the Nov/Dec issue of Loose Threads I placed a link to an online Survey

about conference. There were 14 responses which is not a large enough pool to

make decisions I'm afraid. However here are the results— 20% had never at-

tended a conference. The geographic area did not seem important. Classes

were the highest ranked reason to attend, followed by shopping and spinning.

Not unexpectedly, convenience and price were highly desired considera-

tions,;but of those who answered, walking distance was not an issue for more

than half. Less than 1/3 answered questions about what would make them more

likely to attend. Of these half said that they would be willing to arrange their

own food and housing and in a different question half said that they would be

willing to pay for the convenience of having everything centrally located. Un-

der suggestions for future conference location, Rosario Beach resort and Mos-

cow Idaho were given. Multiple day classes was suggested by one person.

Karen Goodman, the Eastern Washington Director, emailed me her con-

cerns about a number of things from her district including the difficulties of

arranging a conference on the Eastern Side of the Region. Long distance travel,

feelings of estrangement and competition with other regional events (Montana

Association of Spinners and Weavers) are among the concerns she raised. I

think that this may be issues in all our regions and rethinking the venues, con-

tent and focus of conference is something I'll bring to the board at this meeting.

Nothing urgent yet, but a discussion point for sure.

Committees:

After 3 1/2 years, Janet and Laura of the Membership Committee have

indicated that they would like to pass this on to a new group of committee

members. They are content to wait until we find someone, but it would be nice

to have some active members from Oregon volunteer for this. For more infor-

mation on the scope of the job, please contact the committee.

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Future Board Meetings:

The lack of a quorum has twice occurred at the Fall Board meeting. I'd

like to discuss this problem and possible solutions during the meeting. I am in

need of a volunteer area to host the Winter 2017 board meeting. The I-5 corri-

dor seems to draw better turn outs (particularly if centrally located).

I appreciate all the work that Directors and Committee members do for

NWRSA. I look forward to talking to many people at the Newport Board meet-

ing and meeting new board members. The times they are a changin'.

Committee Reports – February 2016 Board Meeting

Loose Threads and Calendar of Events—Submitted by Jeannie Hunt

Loose Threads – input is due on the 10th of the month. A reminder email is

sent about the 1st. Please send in area reports as there must be more than 4

areas “doing stuff”. Articles are always needed and will be included on a

space available basis. Photos or art work is always needed for the cover. I am

trying to get LT to the printer earlier so that it is mailed closer to the 1st of the

month (i.e. February LT would arrive around February 1).

Calendar of Events – recent submissions of events have been lacking in perti-

nent details. Effective immediately, when submitting event information for

your area, the following information will be required for the event to be in-

cluded in the event calendar.

Sponsoring Area

Name of Event

Description

Location including street address (don’t just say county fairgrounds)

Date and time

Cost

Other details – such as will there be vendors; will food & beverage

services be available

Contact person or website for information

Basically, the Who, What, Where, When and How Much are needed for your

event to be included on the calendar.

Submit your events to calendar@nwregionalspinners.org. The calendar of

events will be updated monthly at the time Loose Threads is placed on the

NwRSA website.

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Web Site News: The Social Media Challenge – submitted by Barbara

Leahy

Social Media communications is a hot topic today as more people move

to using social media sites, such as Facebook and “Survey Monkey.” Using

Social Media sites, you provide your digital footprint to the content provider

for their usage and re-purposing as a dollar product.

NwRSA members are making requests for change, for upgrades to

NwRSA media. The webspinners discuss these recent requests to update

NwRSA technology to use Social Media sites/tools, and there are many

thoughts on this topic and questions. Roadblocks are an issue. As webspin-

ners, we follow the rules and restrictions in the Bylaws voted by the mem-

bers, and we find people are unhappy with these restrictions, calling them

roadblocks. A big issue, or roadblock, to using Social Media sites is the

NwRSA Member Privacy Restriction to keep member data private. The

NwRSA membership and Executive Committee places the requirement on

the current website to keep member data private, not make members names

and address public. Many members point out today that names and ad-

dresses are already on the Internet; however, the webspinners are following

the laws/rules as voted on by NwRSA members.

NwRSA needs to determine what to do about “The Social Media Chal-

lenge.” Does NwRSA move to being on and using Social Media sites

(Facebook Twitter, Pinterest, etc)? If so, how does NwRSA handle paper-

only folks? How does NwRSA membership work with people who do not

want or use Internet access?

There are many questions. How do members take NwRSA from the

past decade into the Millennium?

Think about solutions. One possible way forward in the move to using

Social Media sites is to go “all online,” get rid of the requirement of a pri-

vate membership database, and use Google sites to track membership (which

another NwRSA member showed me how to do).

Moving to using Social Media sites, poses other issues members need to

find solutions for. The issues are many, and not limited to:

How to supply information to paper-only members with no internet

access.

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Do you have/distribute a roster anymore, online or paper, and how?

Do you have Loose Threads anymore in hard copy? If so, how do you distribute it?

How do you handle Conferences? How do you handle Board Meet-ings?

Do you have email distlists?

How do you handle the IRS status?

How do you manage the money?

How do you do conferences?

Moving to using Social Media Communications poses many challenges

and needs volunteers to work through the problems, through the roadblocks, to

bring NwRSA into the new century, into the new decade. As a knowledgeable

Social Media user, this is your opportunity to contact Beth to join the Social

Media Committee and tailor/implement the Social Media vision for NwRSA.

Do we have a champion who will step up and take this role?

State of the Library 2015 – submitted by Earlene Mokler

The NWRSA Library checked out 43 titles to 14 different members. The

majority were books delivered to members at board meetings and picked up at

Conference. Several members of Desert Fiber Arts also came by the house to

get books.

The hardest part of being the librarian is figuring out how to get the post-

age reimbursed. It is awkward for members to mail a check to the treasurer.

One member sent a check to me instead of the treasurer for just a bit too much,

when I contacted her she just sighed and said to keep the rest as a donation. It

was less than one dollar but she would have been entitled to a refund. Or she

would have had to mail a second check and use another stamp. As it, was I had

to use another stamp to mail the check to Ann. We make it hard for members

to get books

Something I would like to suggest we look at is giving each member one

free postage transaction per year with a price limit of whatever fits into a flat

rate box or $5.00 whichever is cheapest. This will make borrowing books

much easier for members.

I will be attending the Log Cabin Spinners Coeur d’Alene Spin in on

March 19th and can deliver books to any member.

The most popular subject by far is anything Scandinavian followed by weav-

ing. To support these interests I have purchased three new titles; Norwegian

Pick-Up Bandweaving, The Big Book of Weaving: Handweaving in the

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Swedish Tradition: Techniques, Patterns, Designs and Materials and Nordic

Knitting Traditions: Knit 25 Scandinavian, Icelandic and Fair Isle Accesso-

ries. Weaving DVD titles: Slots and Holes : 3 Ways to Warp Your Rigid Hed-

dle Loom, Life After Warping : Weaving Well on Your Rigid-Heddle Loom and

Weaving Well: From Yarn to Cloth Weave with Confidence!

If you find a book or DVD we should to add to our collection please let

me know.

Membership Report—submitted by Laura Ferguson

As of January 19th, membership included 628 members:

Western Washington 340

Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana 70

Oregon 203

Associates 15

Judges & Standards Committee Report

Training of Judges

Times and locations for Part 2 of training are finally coming together. Ann

Klinect and Karen Chabinsky will lead 2, possibly 3, sessions of Part 2 this

winter. The first is January 23 & 24 in a rented space in the Everett Mall, Everett,

WA. That’s covered by the Committee line item in the budget. As always, the

students split the cost of the trainer’s fees. The Committee funds cover the

manuals for each student. The second is February 27-28, hosted by Rocky Wisniewski in Auburn,

WA. At this time 7 JiTs are registered with a possibility of a couple more. A third session of Part 2 may come together for March 5-6. Still on the I-5

corridor. Ann is working on another Part 1 session in the Puget Sound region. Cheryl Reed's attempts to lead Part 1 in the NE WA/ N ID region run into

the lack of a host or location for the training. Several NwRSA members from

that region have expressed interest in the training.

Judging Explained to Area Groups

Myra Willingham, Director of Area 2055 on Vashon Island, set up a ½

day workshop for Committee chairman Cheryl Reed to explain the NwRSA

judging philosophy to fiber folks on Vashon. Participants will judge their own

skeins and projects, just for fun. The date is March 20. The group is covering

her travel expenses. She is not charging a teaching fee.

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Conference 2016

Following the sessions of the Training Part 2 this winter, some JiTs will be

ready to receive their certification at Conference this year. Cheryl Reed will be the Lead Judge to handle the judges' training in the

Gallery.

Area Reports

Area 2010 - Sheila McLean reporting

Area 2010 met on Saturday, January 16 at the Brightwater Center from 1 –

4 pm.

We had several business topics to discuss:

St. Distaff’s Day was a great success, with over 340 people attending

and every vendor booth occupied – and seemingly always busy! Much

of our discussion had to do with thoughts on SDD and ideas for next

year. We expect the school’s bill for use after the end of the month, so

we’ll know in February whether we broke even – but it seems likely.

Camp Burton dates are set for March 10-13, 2016. Registration forms

are now available on the website, or contact Pam Salisbury, Alice

Lake, or Mimi Dillman.

The Arlington Eagle Festival needs volunteers! It’s on February 6 at

Magnolia Hall in Arlington, from 10 am – 5 pm. Contact Karen Chab-

insky if you can help.

See the Show n Tell posting on Ravelry to have a look at all the lovely

items people brought to share!

We had a few door prizes unclaimed from SDD, and we raffled them off

to those at the meeting.

We’re trying something new for the Area raffle: the Area will pay for a

$25 gift certificate to a local vendor. The winner will be responsible for choos-

ing and purchasing the next gift certificate, to be reimbursed. The idea is to

help support the vendors that support us, and to let them know that we appreci-

ate them. This month’s winner was Jerri Richardson.

Our Ravelry groups are NwRSA Area 2010 Fiberholics and St. Distaff’s

Day Spin-In

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Area 2015 - Nancy Bjerke reporting

This fall and early winter has been really exciting for the Spindrifters,

Area 2015.

We had our November Retreat at Camp Casey, Whidbey Island, WA in

November -- 3 days of spinning and sharing, and eating well! Amongst "our

own kind" was the feeling and joy when hanging with our fellow spinning

friends. As our group is working on a yearlong Poncho Project, it was great to

confer with each other on knitting, dyeing and spinning the year for the pon-

chos.

The December meeting was the very enjoyable usual potluck and holiday

gift exchange. Lots of good food, and some stealing of gifts from the White

Elephant Gift Exchange.

The January meeting at Nancy G’s was well attended, with good FOOD,

Ponchorama, and 25th anniversary celebration, including toasts!

Ponchorama Fashion Show. After a year of spinning and mak-

ing ponchos, we enjoyed a fun day of showing,

sharing, and celebrating our ponchos. Mary

Ann set up the room with long carpets for the

runway. Each person modeling wrote up a little

blurb on their year’s experience making the

poncho. The Fashion show was really fun! It

was so cool to see the various ponchos and to hear the stories

behind them. Take a look at the pictures included here.

Spindrifter’s 25th Anniversary Celebration. We celebrated the 25 years

which started with Margaret who organized the group, and Rose who came up

with the name of the group, Spindrifters. Twenty five years ago, NwRSA ap-

proached Margaret to see if she could get 10 people to form a spinning group.

That is the required number to have a group within a geographical location for

NwRSA. Nancy had everyone in the room stand up, and as she listed off the

years to see who the longest members were, it was cool to see the 1st year’s, 5

years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years and 25 year members!

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Nancy asked all the past Directors to stand up so we could acknowledge

and “see” who those folks were: Margaret, Linda Smuzer, Yvonne, Debbie,

Debra, Diane and I. We made a toast to: THE SPINDRIFTERS! TO MANY

MORE YEARS OF SPINNING TOGETHER!

Area 2060 - Donna Manion reporting

About 10 of our area trekked up to St. Distaff's Day for

the 2010 Spin-In. It was great fun--good food, lots of ven-

dors with gorgeous wares, lots of time to spin. Vinita Tayal

(pictured) brought her daughter and Barbara Oppenlander

brought her mother--very nice to have them join us!

We had 3 guests at our January meeting--Jane Jones,

Elizabeth Lee, and Demarus Sandlin...it's always fun to meet

new spinners and draw them down our rabbit hole--ha! During Show-and-

Tell, Demarus, who is from Alaska, shared information about qiviut fiber and

described what it's like to gather it outdoors; she passed around a bag of fiber

she had gathered herself so we could fondle its feathery goodness. Linda Ho-

sea showed us fiber she had hand-dyed and spun--so beautifully done, it could

have passed for commercial--and Donna Manion brought her first pair of knit-

ted socks....Jan O. has been patiently tutoring (and tutoring, and tutoring) her.

Tara Hernandez graciously volunteered to teach us about core spinning

this month. (See the picture of Tara demonstrating

technique.) We learned about appropriate materi-

als to use for the core and for the wrap, as well as

prepping both. Tara brought a myriad of supplies,

as well as samples of what she termed her

"successes and failures." She demonstrated several

techniques, including auto-wrap, simu-ply, wrap &

roll, and the addition of inclusions/decorative em-

bellishments. Those of us who tried it all

agreed...Tara makes it look easy--but, it's not!

Toward the end of our gathering, Brendan George demonstrated his newly

-created spindle--complete with LED attachments--it lights up when it spins!

Wish I could include a video for you, but no can do.

Area 6030 – Debbie Ellis Reporting

Several of our members have gotten into Saori (Japanese freestyle) weav-

ing, which is a great way to utilize bits of handspun and other fibers in the

stash. As a direct result of this, we have received an invitation to demo this

technique (and to demo spinning, as well) at the NW Agricultural Show at

19

Portland’s Expo Center. This is billed as the 2nd largest such show on the west

coast – and certainly a unique outreach opportunity.

We will be busy making items for the NwRSA conference goody bags at

our March 13 spin-in day. This will also be our “stash bash,” in which we can

give away, swap or sell fibers and equipment from our respective collections.

We are now accepting vendor applications for our annual Abernethy

Spring Fiber Sale, to be held Saturday, March 19. As always, we emphasize

local and regionally-produced fibers and equipment. Applications can be found

at www.abernethyspringfibersale.com.

From Volume 1 – Issue 3 – November, 1983

A HINT FOR KNITTERS

When you find that you haven’t enough of the same shade of yarn

to finish a garment, undo the sleeves of the back and spin a couple of

spools of the nearest you can find. Then put your stitches on a circular

needle or double pointed ones and with two balls of yarn, knit alternate

rows of the original yarn and the nearest makeshift. You will be thrilled

at the almost invisible way they merge into each other..

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21

22

Financial Review

Executive Summary and objectives: At the request of the NwRSA Treas-

urer, I conducted a review of the internal controls related to the General Ac-

count(s) of the organization for the calendar year 2015. Controls and accounts

related to the annual Conference and Camp Burton are managed separately and

not covered in this engagement.

Scope and methodology: I performed the following procedures:

Reviewed prior audit reports to identify areas for follow up.

Reviewed audit reports covering the 2015 Conference and Camp Burton

conducted by Tina Rheinford.

Reviewed the Treasurer’s Notebook to identify protocols and any changes

for 2015. In addition, reviewed notations and inquiries made by the treas-

urer.

Interviewed the Treasurer to identify changes to policies and/or proce-

dures, and to determine via inquiry of any instances of fraud and the risk

of fraud.

Reviewed bank statements and accounting records to verify accuracy,

completeness and timely recording/reporting.

Reviewed revenue received (i.e. deposits to general fund), expenditures,

and tested a sample of each to validate accuracy and completeness.

Results:

With respect to controls related to financial transactions for general operations:

ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION: The control related to reconciliation of

the general fund account to the bank statements was working as designed,

with no exceptions noted.

DEPOSITS: From a sample of 16 deposits selected for testing (covering

31% of the total amount) controls related to deposits are working as in-

tended; no exceptions noted, and all deposits made in a timely manner.

With the addition of PayPal, controls and processes are in place to better

ensure accuracy and completeness.

EXPENSES: From a sample of 16 expenditures selected for testing

(covering approximately 49% of the total), controls related to expenses are

working as intended; no exceptions noted.

23

FINANCIAL: While controls with respect to financial activities are in

place and working, and several on-line procedures have been successfully

adopted to streamline financial transactions, NwRSA should continue to

examine computerized and web technology to improve day-to-day opera-

tions as well as events such as the annual conference. See DISCUSSION

below.

OTHER:

PROCEDURES: Procedures related to Financial Activities reflect the

original fiscal year (June 1 through May 31), specifically in the procedure

manual under NwRSA Finances, Annual Budget, which states “Our fiscal

year starts June 1 and ends May 31 each year.” The fiscal year was

changed to a calendar year with the approval of bylaws revision 18 in

2013.

Recommendation: Update procedures under Financial Activities as

needed to reflect the calendar year, Jan 1 through Dec 31.

PROCEDURES: Communications among members of the Board of Di-

rectors and various committee chairs have been reported as “challenging”

in at least two instances in recent years. As a result, agreed-upon proce-

dures and projects have suffered lengthy delays and frustration among

teams. Leadership at any organization sets the “tone-at-the-top” which is

a key component in maintaining an effective and ethical system of controls

in any business or operation. If an officer or committee member is unable

to perform assigned duties/responsibilities, a process should be in place to

ensure on-going operations can continue. Of particular concern would be

the treasurer’s position which seems to have limited options for back up if

necessary.

Recommendation: NwRSA By-laws should include a provision for succes-

sion in the event an officer is unable to perform agreed-upon duties and

procedures, including for reasons of illness or death. The BOD should

establish a policy to cover steps for a replacement, interim or permanent.

See DISCUSSION below.

FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES. According to the audit report related to Con-

ference and Camp Burton, controls over financial recording and reporting

are not working as intended. Specifically, new accounts were added to the

authorized Chart of Accounts, which resulted in several errors.

Recommendation: The Treasurer is responsible for the accounting struc-

ture and access to the structure which should be limited to authorized indi-

viduals only. Access and permissions by conference and/or committee

members must be limited to the assigned responsibilities. In addition, a

security review should be included in the annual audit procedures.

24

AUDIT CHECKLIST: While the original checklist was practical, it has

become outdated and must be revised to reflect business practices many of

which are now computerized and web-based. The audit checklists for the

annual conference and Camp Burton are also outdated and should be re-

vised.

Recommendation: Over the next six months, revise the audit programs

completely, including a security review over access to applications in

place over financial activities and banking

DISCUSSION: Several other topics emerged during our review:

Due to physical distance, members of the executive committee and/or

committees may not be able to meet face-to-face when needed. The cur-

rent Treasurer pointed out difficulties in completing transactions or pro-

jects in a timely manner as a result. As noted above, while successfully

implementing several web-based operations, NwRSA should consider

additional applications or web-based solutions to streamline members’

ability to make payments, register for conferences/events and the like, for

example. Consider also how cloud computing may be used to store, man-

age and process data for the organization, yet still provide on-going access

according to defined roles.

As noted above, the treasurer is not easily backed up or replaced. One

option for consideration not only for ‘back up,” but for the future is adding

an assistant treasurer or “treasurer-in-training.” Continuing this assess-

ment, consider also how to introduce newer/younger members to the op-

erations of NwRSA in order to pass along the intuitional knowledge and

wisdom developed over the years by the founding members

My appreciation to Ann Klinect, Sheila McLean and Rocky Wisniewski for their assistance and cooperation with this audit and controls review. Nancy Winston CPA, CISA, CIA, now retired

25

Spinnindipity Fibers

Mystery Batts, Natural and Dyed Fibers, Needles and Notions

Karen Bruggman, Owner

19008 78th Place West Edmonds, WA 98026

Call for an appointment: 206 909 4933 or 425 778 4933

26

As I sit here writing, this I’m planning ahead. Madrona starts tomorrow,

and although I probably won’t get to go until Saturday I am thinking about all

of the wonderful things I will find that I NEED to buy. Some for a project,

some for stash augmentation, and hopefully some for entries in a fiber art’s

event.

It may seem like there is still a lot of time, but April will be here before

you know it and with April comes your first opportunity to enter your skeins or

finished items for judging this year. Planning for Shepherd’s Extravaganza is

well under way, the list of classes (and there are some really great ones) and

the entry form are up on the website (http://www.shepherds-

extravaganza.com/0 , and you can’t beat the price, $30 per class plus the cost

of materials. But I digress. I was telling you why you should enter your items

for Judging.

First it gives you an opportunity to receive valuable feedback on what you

are doing well, as well as suggestions for improvement. How many times have

you looked at something you made and only seen the mistakes, did you point

them out to everyone? This gives you the opportunity to see if anybody else

can find themselves what seems to be glaringly obvious to you, or are you just

being too hard on yourself. Also since you’re not being compared to anyone

else for the scores everybody could get a 100% blue ribbon, wouldn’t that look

good hanging on your studio wall? Plus it’s good practice to get you ready to

enter at a larger venue, such as Conference in June or the Washington State

Fair in September (or Oregon/Idaho state fair – sorry I don’t know their names

or dates). Don’t believe me? I know of at least one item that went from a red

at Shepherd’s to a high blue at conference because of how she wrote her story

about why she did what she did. Information that didn’t get included at Shep-

herd’s and therefore couldn’t be considered was remembered and told to the

Judges at conference and made all the difference. Other entrants commented

as they were picking up their items that what they thought was a flaw either the

judge didn’t think so or thought it was done fine, and some even got the infor-

mation they needed to fix a problem that was bugging them. For example, a

sweater that used a different yarn for the sleeves from the rest of the body so

the sleeves came out not quite in the same proportion. The Judge suggested a

change of needle size for the sleeves and that made a big difference.

Shepherds’ Extravaganza

Submitted by Sonja St. John

27

Need another reason? How about to help train the next generation of

NwRSA Judges. I know there has been one session of Judges training class 2

in Western Washington so far this year (I was in it) and there will be another

one the end of this month with more still to be scheduled. In addition to the

classes, the Judges in training have to help judge at conference two times, and

help judge at another venue of approximately 50 items. I want Shepherd’s to

be one of those venues to “payback” the graciousness of the great NwRSA

Judges that have been willing to drive to Puyallup on that Thursday morning in

April. So, I need your help. I need 48 more entries (I have 2 done). Can I

count on you? I can give you a free fair entry ticket as bribery (that’s all I’m

authorized to bribe with).

If you need more information you can find Shepherd’s Extravaganza on

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsExtravaganza/?fref=ts and on

Ravelry, http://www.ravelry.com/groups/shepherds-extravaganza. I try to

check the Ravelry page daily (I’m the Moderator there) and answer questions

as they come up. Most importantly look for information on the official website

http://www.shepherds-extravaganza.com/ Don’t go to the fair website as it

won’t help. Although Shepherd’s does take place on the fair grounds, and it

does take place during the Spring Fair, it’s not really part of the fair so infor-

mation is not on the fair website. Hope that helps save you some frustration in

finding the information you need.

Hope to see you in April!

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29

NwRSA Conference 2016

Vintage Charm June 2-5, 2016

Lewis-Clark College

Lewiston, ID

First I need to apologize for missing the last newsletter. Our son had a car

accident but he is out of surgery and home now. Life just got a little too hectic

there for a while.

I would like to introduce our keynote speaker to you this month. Paula

Vester is from Georgia and specializes in colonial and vintage fiber arts. Her

web site www.worldinaspin.com is amazing. Please take the time to check it

out. Paula will be teaching Bast Fibers Without Stress, Using Your Handspun

in Knitting and Crochet, and Summertime Blues Indigo dyeing. Here is a little

of her bio.

Paula Vester has been spinning for the last 35 years. In the beginning,

working at Oatland Education Center in Savannah, she talked to school groups

about small farm life in South Georgia in the years before the Civil War. But

after leaving Savannah to live in Stone Mountain, she found a connection to

the spinners and weavers of the world throughout history and broadened her

research and experimentation. She has taught Ancient South American Textiles

to both children and adults at the Carlos Museum at Emory University in At-

lanta and traveled all around the Southeast to teach. She has taught at both the

Taos and Estes Park Wool Markets, and organized conferences, demonstra-

tions and exhibits for the Peachtree Hand spinners in Atlanta. She has been a

member of PHG since its founding in 1985. Mostly, she spins and uses her

yarns for the love of the rhythm and the feel of the fibers and yarns in her

hands.

I know we will all learn so much from her. I can’t wait for June to get

here.

Your Fiber Friends,

Connie Schlosser Earlene Mokler

connieschlosser@yahoo.com emokler@gmail.com

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Log Cabin Fiber Arts

In Association With

Northwest Regional Spinners Assoc., Area 4010

Presents: The 26th Annual Spin-In and Fiber Fest

March 19, 2016

Kootenai County Fairgrounds

Buildings 1, 2, and 3

4056 N Government Way, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815

9am – 5pm, FREE ADMISSION and PARKING

New Location, Expanded Hours!

Demonstrations/Classes

Fleece Market

Local and Regional Vendors for Tools and Supplies

Lunch Available on Premises

Fiber Arts Exhibits

Meet New and Old Friends

Come Watch, Learn and/or Participate

All Fiber Artists (or wanna-bes) Welcome

Spinners, Dyers, Knitters, Crocheters, Felters, Weavers...

Contact LogCabinFiberArts@gmail.com or

Check Facebook for Updates

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34

Loose Threads Information

The deadline for Loose Threads is on or before the 10th of the month

prior to the publication month, i.e.: Jan 10th is the deadline for the

February issue. Loose Threads is published 10 times a year, with com-

bined issues in July/August and November/December. Articles and

areas reports can be sent to editor@nwregionalspinners.org.

Calendar of Events

Please send al l ca lendar i tems to the ca len-

dar@nwregionalspinners.org .

Include the following information when submitting your event to the

calendar— Sponsoring Area, Name of Event, Description of the Event,

Location (including street address; e.g. don’t just say fairgrounds),

Date and Time, Cost and any other details such as will there be ven-

dors, will food and beverage services be available. Be sure to include

a contact person or website link for additional information. Basically,

the Who, What, Where, When and How Much are needed for your

event to be included on the calendar.

Advertisements

Please send all advertisements to: Mimi Dillman, Advertis-

ing@nwregionalspinners.org

Area Meeting Locations and Meeting Information

can be found on the NwRSA website,

https://www.nwregionalspinners.org/NwrsaOnly/index.php#AreaMaps

.

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NORTHWEST REGIONAL SPINNERS ASSOCIATION

Membership Information

Membership in NwRSA is open to anyone, at least 16 years old,

interested in spinning and who lives in Idaho, Montana, Oregon

or Washington.

Associate Memberships are available to those who live outside

the region.

Individual and Associate Memberships are $25.00 per year.

Family Memberships (living at the same address and over 16) are

$30.00 per year.

To join or renew your membership, go to

www.nwregionalspinners.org.

Click on Membership

Print out the membership for.

Complete the form and send it with a check to

Laura Ferguson

1044 Loraine St

Enumclaw, WA 98022

Advertising Rates

Deadline for submission is on or before the 10th of the month prior to

printing. (i.e. January 10th for the February issue).

All display ads must be ‘camera ready’ or in an approved electronic

format to avoid incurring any additional charges.

Rates

Classy Ad: $.25 per word, $5.00 minimum

Display Ad: Business cards $10.00

Other Ads: $40 per page or proportionally for part of a page ($20/

half, $10/quarter). Page size is 7.5” x 4.5”

Discount

Member: 7.5% of 5 consecutive issues / 10% for 10 consecu-

tive issues

Non-members: 5% for 5 consecutive issues / 7.5% for 10 con-

secutive issues

Send advertising with payment (make checks payable to NwRSA) to:

Mimi Dillman

4214 109th Ave NE

Snohomish, WA 98290

Advertising@nwregionalspinners.org

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