Hi all! Good news! The Spin Out 2007 Prize Packages have been awarded! I have sent emails to all of the winners – please, please, PLEASE! Check the email address you used to email me your raffle information. Also, PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDERS! I can’t tell you how many times email gets dumped into spam!

I realize that many of you are not at the place where you usually read your email (ie: work – I’ve gotten a few Out of Office Replys already.) I’m sorry for the timing of all of this – but don’t fret. Your box will be waiting for you. And maybe if you read this you’ll check your email? (And your SPAM filter?)

The emails all came from the same address: cara@spin-out.org.

Whew!

I also want to take a moment to sincerely apologize for the length of time it’s taken me to award these prizes. If I had had any kind of inkling what a humongous undertaking this would be – that the bulk of the work would coincide with the exact same time that my business is at it’s busiest. And that this year my business would be busier than ever. And that I’d be pregnant and sick and have half the energy I usually have – well, to be honest, there wouldn’t have been a Spin Out this year. Last year Spin Out was in June – which gave me the whole summer to get things out and still have plenty of time before work got crazy. And there were maybe HALF the prizes to give away. And work wasn’t as crazy as this year. And I wasn’t pregnant and sick.

I truly appreciate that you have not given up on me. Know that I want these prizes out of my house as much as you want to see them in the winners’ hands. I’m reminded daily (by the boxes ALL OVER THE HOUSE) that I haven’t fulfilled my obligations. I always fulfill my obligations. My integrity is something I treasure and I’d hate to think that someone might question it because I’ve been sincerely overwhelmed this year.

To all of the people who so generously donated to the raffle and to all of the vendors who so generously donated the prizes: I AM SORRY. Truly sorry.

Thank you.

I will be announcing a list of winners and the remaining prizes that were never featured sometime in the coming week. I want this all done (and hopefully OUT OF MY HOUSE!) before my birthday. Think of it as my present to me AND you.

Thank you again for your patience and continued support.
L, C

Please join me in congratulating

Once again, THANK YOU everyone for your contributions and prize donations and all around fantastic support. The rest of the prizes will be awarded in the next couple of weeks. THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

AND I haven’t puked today!

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! I’m so pleased with the outcome, I can’t tell you. I think Heifer International is a FANTASTIC organization and it warms my heart to see you all come out and support it. THANK YOU!

And a HUGE THANK YOU to all the PRIZE DONORS! The raffle would be NOTHING without you all! THANK YOU!

I’ve sent emails to the winners of the Lendrum, the Louet and the STR Sock Club and I hope to announce them publicly tomorrow. As I said before, the rest of the prize packages will be awarded sometime in the next two weeks – AFTER RHINEBECK. Thank you so much for your patience. My work life is in full swing and I can’t get as much done as I need to during a day – so please bear with me. THANK YOU!

Closer than close – we are SO FREAKING CLOSE to $30K I can TASTE IT! C’mon People!!! If you haven’t donated to Spin Out yet, here’s how:

For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

And more good news: while I did throw up today – I WAS PUKE FREE YESTERDAY! Although it did make puking today kind of really really sad, I did have one day reprieve. Things ARE getting better. Here’s hoping for a PUKE FREE RHINEBECK (at least on my end. I know how some of you fiber folk can put back the booze. COUGHVickiCOUGH.)

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.

In the last two days, we went from $21210 to $26240! OH MY! I have to say, I set the bar high this year and I’ve been kind of doubtful that we’d make it. Not through any fault of all of you, but my own neglect. Last year I was on top of this thing like you wouldn’t believe! Updates all the time, egging you all on to give give give! Lots more advertising on various blogs. This year? Not so much. I’m not going to give excuses, but I must tell you how completely appreciative I am of your support for this project. It warms my heart so much. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

So – this is the LAST WEEKEND to give! CAN WE GET TO $30,000?!? The registry will remain open through Monday, October 15, 2007 and then it will CLOSE. My goal is to list the remaining prizes I have here on Monday. It’s a busy busy weekend, but I’m going to try my best! If you haven’t given yet (or would like to give again!) here’s how:

For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I will be announcing the winners of BOTH WHEELS and the SOCKS THAT ROCK CLUB MEMBERSHIP on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week – after the registry has closed. I won’t be awarding any other prizes until AFTER Rhinebeck. I’m so sorry, but I just can’t get it all done.

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.

Dear Spin Out Rafflers! I have NOT forgotten you! Our total is now at $21210! YAY!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! And we still have FIVE days to go! The RAFFLE will remain open through October 15, 2007. Please consider giving if you haven’t already. Here’s how:

For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

PRIZE UPDATE!

I still have a bunch of prizes to photograph and post. I hope to have that done by the weekend. Things have really kicked up a notch over here – I’m in the full throws of the busy season at work which doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I will be announcing the winners of BOTH WHEELS and the SOCKS THAT ROCK CLUB MEMBERSHIP on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week – after the registry has closed. I won’t be awarding any other prizes until AFTER Rhinebeck. I’m so sorry, but I just can’t get it all done.

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.

First things first – I didn’t take a SINGLE picture on Saturday! I’m SO SORRY! It was a wonderful, crazy, emotional, exhausting, triumphant, surreal day and you’ll forgive me for slacking off!

The best part of the day for me was Ann, sitting next to me, spinning the most beautiful fiber, saying over and over again how fantastic it was to be spinning in Central Park, the sun on her bare toes. See – this was the dream. Two years ago we were sitting in her den talking about how great it would be to spin outside – to have a whole bunch of spinners outside, in the sun, spinning our little hearts out. We had a nice test run last year in the torrential rains, but this year? This year we were most definitely LIVING THE DREAM!

Thank you all so much for coming out and spending the day with us – spinners, knitters, people interested in the fiber arts. It was a great day for me. I was with some of my favorite people, got to meet new people, helped people learn a new craft.

Thanks to Jenny and Peggie and Regina and Martha and everyone else giving lessons to new spinners for teaching their hearts out! Thanks to all my guild friends, the Long Island gals, who made the trek into the big city! Thanks to Kay and Regina for watching out for me and making sure I ate! (You SAVED me!) Thanks to the spinners and knitters who came far and wide! Thanks to all the tourists who stopped and gawked! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Even though I didn’t take pictures, I know everyone else did. Please leave me a comment and let me know where I can look! I really appreciate it! In the meantime – try here and here. I know there are LOTS of pictures to see.

OH MY GOD! I was EXHAUSTED! It was all I could Sunday to climb out of bed and throw up. 😉 Anyway, the FUN IS NOT OVER! THE RAFFLE CONTINUES ON UNTIL OCTOBER 15! I’m thrilled to announce that our total as of this morning is $17300! THANK YOU!!! The goal is in reach. If you’d like to donate, here’s how:

For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.

Look what came in the mail the other day?

That can only mean one thing – SPIN OUT 2007 IS ON!! Apparently the weather gods intend to SHINE on me this year – although I should probably keep my mouth shut and not tempt fate. If you’d like to obsess along with me – click here!

I dragged Kay to scope out the sight yesterday and here’s the lowdown:

Saturday, September 29, 2007 – 11 AM until 5 PM

Central Park, Cherry Hill Fountain

— Cherry Hill Fountain is best reached by the WEST 72nd St. Park Entrance. Go past Strawberry Fields (Forever) and keep walking on the path – as straight as you can go. You should come to a Daniel Webster statue and an information kiosk. Ask at the kiosk, but Cherry Hill Fountain is straight passed that – you go a bit to the left and you’ll see a big clearing of concrete with the fountain in the middle. HERE is a map of Central Park. Cherry Hill Fountain is located in the South End of the Park.

— SEATING. There is a very limited number of bench seats available around the fountain. Wheels are NOT PERMITTED on any of the grassy areas around the fountain, but there’s plenty of concrete available. (That’s why they gave us this site.) If you absolutely MUST have a seat, I’d suggest you bring your own, as SEATING IS LIMITED.

— PARKING. This event takes place in NEW YORK CITY. Parking is pretty much non-existent, unless you don’t mind paying exorbitant parking garage fees. (Like $40 per 3 hours in this neighborhood.) If you can, I’d suggest you take public transportation whenever possible. ABSOLUTELY NO CARS IN THE PARK.

— SUNSCREEN. The area where the event takes place has very limited shade. I’d make sure you bring sunscreen. Rumor has it’s going to be a very sunny day. 😉

— FACILITIES. I have no idea if there are bathrooms around. There are definitely places OUTSIDE the park where you can find bathrooms, so be prepared. (And by that I don’t mean bring your own port-a-potty, just know that you might have to leave the event for a bit to use a bathroom.)

— CONCESSIONS. When I was there yesterday, there were a few drink/ice cream vendors around pretty close by. I’m assuming they’ll be there on Saturday. They’ll be a rip off, but if you’re really really thirsty…. Again, outside the park (not a far walk) is the Upper West Side with lots of places to eat. You might want to bring some snacks though.

— ABSOLUTELY NO BUYING OR SELLING. My permit states that I cannot sell anything. So there won’t be any vendors at the event. And I won’t be collecting monies for the Heifer Registry. If you’d like to donate to the raffle, please do so here.

— GENERAL BEHAVIOR. This sort of goes without saying, but my permit states we should act like human beings. No loud music, no destroying the area. No drugs. Etc. I had to pay a $200 bond to insure clean-up of the area – which I should get back if the area is clean after the event. So please, leave your area better than when you found it.

— IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF RAIN. I’m pretty much counting on this being a non-issue. If it turns out that the weather people really do hate me, and we have HORRIBLE rain like we did last year, I’m basically canceling the OUTDOOR event. (The raffle goes on as planned.) Unfortunately, I do not have the energy this year to kill myself looking for a place inside. Last year’s place sort of fell into my lap at literally the LAST second. If that should happen again – great. If someone has a place in NYC they’d like to offer up in case of rain – great. But as of right now – if it really, really rains – it’s off. If it’s overcast and a bit drizzly? I’ll be out there. Thanks for understanding. (Also note that the Parks Department DOES NOT offer rain dates. So this is it for the permit.)

— ALL ARE WELCOME! Please! COME! It doesn’t matter if you spin or not. There will be plenty of knitters there happily knitting along. And if you’d like to LEARN to spin, there will be many many people to help you learn. Always wanted to try a wheel but never got the chance? I guarantee that you will be able to try a wheel. Not sure what to do with a spindle? I can guarantee you will learn how to spindle spin. I so hope to see you there!

JUST A REMINDER: The SPIN OUT 2007 Central Park event and the SPIN OUT 2007 Raffle are actually two separate simultaneous events. There will be NO PRIZES awarded at the event on Saturday. Prize awards won’t happen until AFTER the registry closes on October 15. So there’s still plenty of time to donate! Here’s how:
For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

I think that covers pretty much everything. If you have any further questions, please leave them in the comments. I hope to see many of you there on Saturday. I’ll be the one sitting next to the bucket. 😉

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.

Lots and LOTS of prizes this week – so let’s get right to it! I’m very pleased to announce that our total as of this morning is $14020! THANK YOU!!! Don’t forget – the registry doesn’t close until OCTOBER 15, so there’s still PLENTY of time to get in on all the prize action. All it takes is $10 and a dream!

Here are our new vendors just added to the sidebar! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Artsygal
Jennie the Potter
The Knitting Nest
Schrodinger Originals
Skylark Yarns
Unravelled
Wool2Dye4
The Yarn Museum
Yarntini
Zen Yarn Garden

And away we go!

I love these prizes! First off, we’ve got a hand turned spindle from Wooly Wonka Fibers. Anne headed my call for spindles! YAY! THANK YOU ANNE! And Helen, well, Helen of Painted Skeins went above and beyond! She sent us three 4oz braids of Merino SPECIALLY DYED IN SPIN OUT 2007 COLORS! How FANTASTIC is that?! THANK YOU HELEN! I LOVE IT!

Jennifer over at Woolgirl sent us THREE sock yarn packages – all with two skeins of sock yarns and stitch markers and all kinds of good stuff – and a Mama Llama bag as well! Fantastic prizes! THANK YOU JENNIFER!

Terry from Crash Into Ewe outdid herself with three different skeins of sock yarn and two different rovings! THANK YOU TERRY!

Lots of prizes here! Allison at Simply Sock Yarn sent us a gorgeous skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn in the perfect Fall colorway! THANK YOU ALLISON! From Roxanne at Zen Yarn Garden, we’ve got two different sock yarns – one has an accent color for heels and toes! THANK YOU ROXANNE! And finally we’ve got two sock yarn bags from Tipsy Knitter – so cute! THANK YOU!

How lucky are we?! THREE skeins of the much loved YARNTINI sock yarn! WHOO HOO! THANK YOU JESSIE!

Jenny over at Woolly Boully sent us some gorgeous sock yarn and roving! THANK YOU JENNY!

Lisa Souza‘s done it again! Three different sock yarns and some beautiful roving! Lisa’s roving was one of the first I ever spun and it was a DREAM! THANK YOU LISA!

Lorajean over at Knitted Wit sent us a gorgeous roving of South African wool and a beautiful skein of sock yarn – but better than that, she’s donating half her sales to HEIFER until October 14 or she runs out of stock! SO GO BUY STUFF! THANK YOU LORAJEAN!

Here we’ve got a GORGEOUS handmade knitting bag from Actual Size Creations! It’s called Lone Star and it’s got a great lone star on the front, plus awesome cowboy fabric lining it – AND it comes with a matching DPN case. FABULOUS bag! THANK YOU VALERIE!

It wouldn’t be SPIN OUT without The Yarn Museum representing! Linda has sent us two sets (4 boxes per set) of the fabulous notecards from Yarn Museum. Each card has a awe-inspiring image of handspun yarn. Creative inspiration doesn’t get any better than this! THANK YOU LINDA!

This next prize defies all expectations! Sheila and Michael Ernst have taken their expertise with glass and turned out a SPINDLE! This is the Lime & Violet spindle and it is so beautiful in person – I’m sorry my picture just doesn’t do it justice. The
y didn’t stop there, though, and included an absolutely STUNNING pair of GLASS circular needles and two of their stupendous buttons! THANK YOU SHEILA AND MICHAEL!

This is just a small representation of the fabulous prizes from SOAK and Azul Bath & Body! Jacqueline, from SOAK, sent us a great big box of wool wash – my favorite – including samples for the event on Saturday! THANK YOU JACQUELINE! And Kristi sent over some great sample sizes of her crafter’s balm. THANK YOU KRISTI!

Stacy’s in the middle of opening her new yarn shop, The Knitting Nest, down in Austin, TX, but she found time to send us a great prize! Four skeins of gorgeous single ply wool, some lovely lavender soap products, and a great collapsible knitting basket! THANK YOU STACY!

Meera, at Knitnack in Maplewood, NJ, was all kinds of generous! First up, we’ve got a BEAUTIFUL Offhand Designs knitting bag – it’s just gorgeous! AND she sent us a Fleece Artist kit for the Imogen Jacket! Gorgeous stuff! THANK YOU MEERA!

Not to be outdone, Linda LaBelle over at the Yarn Tree upped her ante – she’s added a sock club membership to her 200 SOCK CLUB! This club is filled with beautiful, hard to find, indie dyed yarn. Here’s the description for the 2007 Sock Club. It’s not to be missed. THANK YOU LINDA!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

If you are a business and you would like to contribute a prize, please email me at prizes@spin-out.org . Also, if your name is not on this list and you feel it should be or there is a problem with your listing, please email me at the same address. THANK YOU! (HEY! YOU! Do you create or sell SPINDLES? I could use some SPINDLES for prizes. I like to make kits with all the wonderful fiber we receive. It’s great for new spinners! THANK YOU!)

DONATE DONATE DONATE!

Please, if you haven’t purchased a raffle ticket, do so now. Here’s how it works:
For every $10.00 you spend on The Heifer International Gift Registry, your name will be placed in the proverbial hat for prize drawings in October. For instance, if you spend $50.00, your name will be put in the hat 5 times. You can win more than one prize if your name is in there more than once – we will not be pulling out names after a win.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Last year I realized that while I get registry data, I don’t get exact donation amounts. To get your full raffle value, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION! Please send an email, with RAFFLE in the subject line, to donations@spin-out.org. If you don’t do this, your name will be placed in the raffle ONE TIME. THANK YOU!

Cross Posted at spin-out.org.