Happy New Year!!

So let’s talk about a fiber club.

I have been wracking my brain, asking people for their opinions, researching what is out there and I am still undecided on what is the “best” practice to run a club. When I commit to the club I want to be absolutely certain I am prepared for the responsibility that accompanies it.

So I had an idea, an idea that will help me to truly comprehend what is involved in releasing a large quantity of a single colourway on a single day to a large group of recipients…

Let’s have a spin along!!

The idea is simple, over the next two weeks I ask that each of you post an inspiration image on the ITW Ravelry Forum. And during that time, I ask that each of you vote (with a click of a (LOVE) button) for your favorite image – feel free to invite friends over to the board to cast their votes as well. At the end of two weeks I will review the votes and use the image with the most votes as an inspiration image for a colourway to be made available for sale the week of January 18^th-22^nd. The fiber will then ship the week of January 25^th-28^th.  Exact dates will be posted in the forum as things progress.

Like most fiber clubs and spin alongs, the final colourway will remain a surprise.  The fiber type will be decided and announced prior to the sale date.

Oh, and I failed to mention – the individual who posted the winning image will receive a 4oz braid of the spin along fiber as their prize free of charge!!

Let’s see, what other details are important. Oh, yes, the actual spin-along! Once the fiber has been shipped and received you will each have two months to spin up your fiber and share your results in the ITW Ravelry Forum. On March 22^nd I will randomly choose a winner to receive a yet to be decided prize!

Questions? Feel free to ask HERE, I am almost certain I missed some details…

WOW.

Just wow.

The excel document has been created and after a few hours of data entry every single entry has been documented!!

There was a grand total of 331 entries. You. People. Rock.

Thank you so much for every single comment, tweet, blog post, Facebook announcement, Ravelry post and group membership sign-up! You folks are just awesome.

So without further ado, the screen shot of the winning number:

And the winner is…

Mestina of Macomb, Illinois !!

Congratulations Mestina! A message has been sent through Ravelry requesting your shipping information.

To the rest of the contestants: I offer my sincere thanks and a promise that this will not be the last giveaway…

So, what do the two coordinated items featured in the picture below have in common? Well…

They will soon belong to one lucky winner!  Yep, both of them!

The batt: 4oz 56’s Falkland Wool batt from Into The Whirled
The bag: Crafted  by the fabulous Stitched by JessaLu

Why?

There are so many reasons why, but the most important of them all is simply because I wanted to give something back. Starting this venture has been one of the most exciting and rewarding things I have done to date and it is my turn to show my appreciation for the people who make it what it is. And lets be honest, I get something here too. Your feedback and word of mouth are by far the best advertisement I could ever ask for!

So, how does one get a chance at winning this fabulous coordinated give away?! Most importantly – No purchase is required, and you can have multiple chances to win! Here is the breakdown on how to gain those entries:

1) Visit the shops and find something that strikes your fancy (new or sold) and comment on this post before Midnight on Friday October the 2nd.

2) Blog about the giveaway and send your friends; just be sure they name you as their source – each time someone mentions your name in their comment – both of you gain another entry.

3) Tweet a link to this post or the shop and include #itw or #intothewhirled. Two tweets per day are permitted.

4) Help spread the word on Ravelry – just be sure to come back here and let me know!

5) Join the Into The Whirled group on Ravelry. Every memeber of the ITW group will be counted as an entry.

6) Join the Stiched by JessaLu group on Ravelry. Every member of the SbJL group will be counted as an entry.

So there you have it!

Using a random number generator I will pick the winning name and announce the the winner on Monday October the 5th.

ETA: Comments are now closed!!

Time to tally all comments, tweets, blog posts, face-book entries, Ravelry comments and group memberships. See you Monday!!

Strange how sometimes the more that is on the To-Do list the quicker things get done. Yet sometimes the more items there are on the To-Do list, the slower things get done; it is like you get stuck and don’t really know where to start. Yea, if that made any sense to anyone else but me – you know what I am talking about. So in an effort to cut to the chase and get the ball rolling here we go…

1) I just started a Facebook Fan Page HERE. Feel free to take this moment to click the link and become an ITW fan, then come back and finish reading what is in store. I am new to the whole Facebook thing so I may be a little slow it getting that going, but I will!

2) Thanks to the encouragement of some fabulous people I am going start a Ravelry ITW forum group – that will be done sometime this week! I will be sure to let everyone know when it is open and ready for members!

3) Creat a plan for the ITW fiber club and formally announce it. Just an FYI – I am looking at a late fall announcement on this.

4) Finalize details on blog giveaway to be announced in a couple weeks. Stay tuned, you will not want to miss this one…

5) Create a newsletter format for upcoming shop updates. If your interested in being on the mailing list please take a moment to subscribe to the ITW newsletter. I promise not to spam you, or share your information.

6) Spend every waking moment in the studio preparing for Etsy updates and the upcoming fiber festivals!!

So there you have it, some, but not all of the To-Do list. This morning I decided rather then keep it locked away in an endless brain loop I would share it with each and everyone of you. Now, it is no longer a list of ideas – it is a list of commitments!!

I needed to take a break from the multitude of projects I am working on to share with (perhaps even taunt) you with a photo of my contribution to the September Phat Fiber Sampler:

For those of you not familiar with the Phat Fiber Sampler you might want to take a quick look at this POST – then sign up HERE to receive Email notification of the exact date and times the box is posted for sale on ETSY. Oh, and if you like free stuff – and I mean really incredible indie crafted free stuff; be sure to add the Phat Fiber Blog to your blog reader!

Did you really think I would post a colour picture of the contribution?! I will offer these tidbits…

Each sample  is .50 ounces of 64’s Merino wool top handpainted in a never released colourway named ‘Minotaur’. In addition to the 50 samples shipping to PF-HQ I will be sending a 4 ounce carded batt (in the same colourway) for the blog giveaway!

That Stitched by JessaLu is hosting a celebration give away?

All of the details can be found on her website linked HERE. Her box bags are simply beautiful. The attention to details can be summed up in one of my favorite characteristics; obsessive!

I just added a fourth to my collection last week!

Oh, and if you happen to wander over to add your name to the hat, mention that I sent you. I could always use a fifth…

We interrupt your regularly scheduled coverage of the Tour de Fleece to announce that the Phat Fiber Sampler is giving away a free four ounce carded batt in the Mercer’s Pier Colourway.

Please direct your attention to the following LINK and put your name in the hat to win this oh so luscious, lofty, doublewide Falkland wool batt.

We now return to the regularly schedule program…

The June Phat Fiber videos are up in YouTube!

…boxes go on sale today, Sunday June 14, 2009 HERE

Falkland wool top and batts in the “Mercer’s pier” colourway debuting in the June Sampler will soon be listed in the shop!

… for the Tour de Fleece of course!!

Now, where was I? Ah yes, the Tour!

I read about the Tour last year, told myself that I would do it this year, then promptly forgot about it! Thankfully an awesome customer linked my name to a forum message and I found my way to the main message board for the 2009 Tour. I promptly joined the group, offered up some prize donations and poured over the rules and the forum posts.

So here is what is involved:
1) Join the Ravelry group
2) Join a team, join two, or not – the choice is yours
3) If you have a Flickr account, join the group

Here are the rules for those who are considering the race:

1) Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 4th through Sunday July 26th. Days of rest: Monday July 13th, Monday July 20th. (Just like the actual tour)

2) Spin something challenging Wednesday July 22nd. (The Tour’s densest mountain stage with 5 mountain passes)

Oh, and last but not least, there are PRIZES!

Okay, now that you are all informed, I need to choose my team and decide my challenge. See you on the Tour!

Just a quick post…

I wanted to do my part in spreading the word on the incredible idea that the creators and contributors of the Phat Fiber Sampler have brought to life: The Super Box. In a nutshell, a massive box of samples has been assembled for one lucky drawing winner. But the awesomeness does not stop there – to get a chance at winning this you need to do a good deed: Donate at least 5.00 to the American Red Cross. Each 5.00 donation = 1 drawing entry.

Now, I bet that your wondering how to partake in this drawing…

Simple:

Step 1:
Visit the Red Cross website and donate to either your local chapter or a fund of your choice.

Step 2:
Forward the email receipt you get from The Red Cross to sooperbox@live.com

Step 3:
Keep the number(s) you will be assigned after your forwarded receipt is processed by the the fine folks at Phat Fiber HQ.

Step 4:
Look for a special video number drawing on the Phat Fiber Blog at the end of the June to see if you’re the lucky giveaway recipient!