Captain's Blog: Spinzilla is here!

Last night at midnight EST (which is 11pm my time), I started spinning some alpaca that's been in my fiber stash for a few years now. It only took an hour to fill up my first bobbin - and thus, Spinzilla has commenced!

Natural black Alpaca single - so hard to photograph!

Tomorrow I plan on finishing this alpaca and then starting on one of the many pretty handpainted rovings I've earmarked for this event; I believe I've neglected to mention two very recent acquisitions from last week when I succumbed to Cloudlover's special Spinzilla deal for 15% off orders. I couldn't resist this dyed Polwarth in special colors inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas. Since they're local, I also got my fiber super-fast - as in, the very next day!

Cloudlover Dyed Polwarth Roving in Sandy Claws & Zero.

I'm quite excited to be the team captain for Team Louet during this first-ever event celebrating Spinning and Weaving Week. We have a fantastic team filled with talented spinners PLUS I'm pretty sure we've got the best prizes of any team around ($400 fiber prize pack, anyone?). Sorry for bragging, but I just can't help it!

Last week, a few of my teammates were chatting about something that hadn't occurred to me yet: the importance of self-care in the midst of so much spinning. Stretching, yoga, a hot bath, or a few well-timed hot tub sessions (if you're lucky enough to have access) are all great way to keep yourself in prime spinning form. I'm also a big fan of icing whatever is ailing me, and for the really bad symptoms of overuse, I swear by acupuncture. Whatever your preference, I just want to make sure everyone takes a little time out of each day for self-care!

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone spins this week and sharing my own progress, too. ETA: I created a worksheet to keep track of my yardage this week based on my 1.33-yard niddy noddy. Click here to download a PDF version to use (just remember to check your niddy noddy's yardage and use the correct number in your calculations).

Thanks for joining me - happy spinning!

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