Spindles that came home from the spin-in will be inventoried followed by a photo session, the editing process and uploading them to the website. Spindles will be uploaded to the blog for previewing. An announcement will be made by Thursday as to the day(s) and times when spindles will be available in the store.

Saturday’s spin-in and fiber fair put on by the Aurora Colony Handspinners Guild — a very active guild full of enthusiastic fiber people–was great fun. We love this small, local show full of spinners in a low-key setting on a community college campus. After the initial rush of customers the pace slowed down affording us the chance to demonstrate and visit with people.
1) The first hour isn’t the best if you’re in a hurry; want a few pointers; hate crowds; need some personal assistance.
Big shows such as Black Sheep Gathering are super charged, energetic, non-stop venues where it’s almost impossible to catch our breath, especially in the first opening hours. Wait until after the opening hour onslaught of buyers if you prefer a less chaotic, leisurely chance to look at and test spindles, or to ask questions. As much as we enjoy it, attending to individual needs about spinning technique lessons isn’t possible when there are others are waiting.

2) Not all spindles are displayed.
We’re old hands as vendors having started selling at shows over twenty-five years ago. It didn’t take long to learn, as a rule, people do much better if there’s a limited number of items to look at, thus, we try to keep a good number of spindles available without presenting an overwhelming display. New spindles are put out as others are purchased. Putting out a limited number also insures that people who can’t get to the show until the last hour, or last day should still have a good selection to choose from.

3) We hate that we’re both lousy at remembering names.
No matter the numerous little tricks we’ve tried, names elude us. Please don’t take it personally.  Ed tends to think of associations and calls people accordingly, no insult intended. People he’s known for decades are still the “lawnmower guy”,”music man” or by an identifying feature. (Why do we get upset by being called a feature name if it’s not done out of cruelty? When I was 13 we moved to the Navajo rez where it didn’t take long to become known as “Horse Teeth”.  By ninth grade I had braces, and a different given nickname – which friends from long ago still call me, which I love – it’s part of who I am. 🙂
Tell us your name every time you see us and eventually it’ll click.

Sunday afternoon Ed and I went on a leisurely bike ride at one of our favorite places, the Minto-Brown Island along the Willamette River. For all those still waiting for the last bit of snow to melt here are some pictures to give you hope.

There’s a good network of trails and varying scenery. We’ve not yet explored the whole park. Lots of people from Salem use the park with its spacious dog play areas, and all the bike/running/walking paths. There are areas to access the river which are probably crowded in the summer. (Our first visit was last September.)

All along the trails people nod, often with a smile and a hello. There is a calm, positive atmosphere that does the soul good. Leaving the park I thought how wonderful it was to be a part of a small community where people of all ages, shapes and races were pleasant and friendly. If only that goodwill would spill over into all walks of life around the earth.