By
Roy Clemes
/ January 13, 2020 / 8 minutes of reading
Hello there!
We usually like to start our first newsletter of the year with a reflection on the recent past… but not this year. Two thousand and twenty is clearly not messing around. It is here to kick butt and take names.
If the first week of the year has shown us anything, it is that this year won’t be dull. Which really means, it will be easier than ever to get sidetracked and waylaid as we strive to achieve our goals for the year. Here are a few tips for staying on track, whether you have great big ambitious goals for the year, or are looking for incremental improvements.
1) Have a plan! Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Considering how the first nine days of the year have gone, maybe all plans for this year should include getting punched in the mouth, just in case.
2) Write down your goals! You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.
3) Make a list of all the tasks you need to complete to achieve your goals, then break your tasks down into smaller steps! If your goal is to knit a sweater this year, create a list of fiber prep, spinning, plying, swatching, and knitting. Then break each of those into individual steps, such as lock popping, carding, and dizzing under fiber prep.
We truly believe each and every one of you can accomplish whatever goals you set for yourselves, no matter how audacious your plans or how much the universe may conspire to create chaos this year.
Best wishes for 2020! Looks like we’re all gonna need it.
Warm regards,
Henry and Roy Clemes
Bay Area Workshops
Our first classes here in the S.F. Bay Area are just over a week away!
Workshops at the Courtyard by Marriott Richmond Berkeley – Richmond, CA
January 18-19, 2020We’re offering two NEW workshops just a few miles from our global headquarters in a venue that’s completely NEW to us! While this isn’t our first rodeo, it IS the test flight for both the workshops and the location, so we’re offering them at a discounted rate.The workshops will be held at the Courtyard Richmond Berkeley, located just off the Hilltop Road exit from Highway 80. On Saturday, January 18, we’ll teach the next development in our Color Theory series: Carding for Fractals. The following day, we’ll teach Breed Sampler: Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em, which is more self-directed than any workshop we’ve taught before.
For more info and to register, head to our website.
Color Theory: Carding for Fractals
Have you marveled at the eye-popping colors of the increasingly popular fractal yarns? Fractals can be spun from braids, but the repeating patterns that comprise a fractal can be prepared on a drum carder. In this class, students learn how to start with fleece to create their own preparation for two- and three-ply fractal yarns.
Breed Sampler: SE2SE
This workshop is designed around the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Iniative from the National Livestock Conservancy, which aims to connect fiber artists with heritage breeds of sheep. Students work at their own pace to either sample a variety of the breeds in the program or stick to one or two breeds while carding enough for a project. Due to the free form nature of this workshop and varying pricing of each breed, materials fees will vary for each student and will be charged during the workshop.
February Shows
It’s hard to believe show season is starting again, but Red Alder and Stitches West are just around the corner!
Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat
(formerly Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat)
February 13-16, 2020
Murano Hotel, Tacoma, Washington
We’re thrilled to participate in the inaugural Red Alder and we’ll teach and vend as we have in years past at the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat.
There are just two seats left to join us in Exploring the Drum Carder on Valentine’s Day! There’s still room in plenty of good classes! The full class schedule can be found here.
Stitches West
This will be our 9th year at Stitches West! We will once again be in the {Among Friends} Neighborhood with some of our favorite fellow vendors.You will find us in booths 846-848, at the end of the 800 aisle. The floor map and list of vendors is available here so you can plan your trek through the (often overwhelming) market in advance.
About the Neighborhood: For the sixth year, we are part of a group of like-minded makers in a special area at the back of the 600-900 aisles at Stitches West. Our neighborhood is full of yarn, project bags, kits, stitch markers, fiber prep, spinning, and weaving tools, ceramics, and most importantly awesome people! To add to the fun, we have organized a little game where you can meet all of our friends and have a chance to win an amazing prize package. It’s easy to play: pick up a postcard in any participating booth and get it stamped by each vendor.
We also have some BIG news regarding the Neighborhood at Stitches West:
The {Among Friends} Neighborhood is offering a 10% discount on select items at each of our 13 vendors during the show!! You can unlock this discount by purchasing a limited edition tote bag designed by Nerd Bird Makery beginning on Friday, January 17th at 10 AM.
That’s a 10% discount on select items at:
A Needle Runs Though It
Black Diamond Alpacas
The Black Squirrel
Creative with Clay
The Dye Project
Firebird Yarns
Houndstooth Fiberarts
JaMpdx
Kira K Designs
Nerd Bird Makery
Sincere Sheep
Wonderland Dyeworks
We can’t speak to exactly which items will be on sale in other booths, but for us the discount will apply to hand cards, books, Good Clean Fiber (other than subscriptions), and Unicorn Fibre products.
Checkout the video below for a sneak peek at the bags! (Other items pictured with bag are not included) Don’t forget to set your alarm to order your bag and get the 10% discount! We look forward to seeing you at Stitches West!
April Shows If April showers bring May flowers, then what do April shows bring? Lots of fiber and opportunities to take classes!
DFW Fiber Fest
April 2-5, 2020
Irving Convention Center, Irving, TexasDFW Fiber Fest will hold its
quinceañera this year, celebrating 15 years of fiber, fun, and family in the Big D. We can’t wait to see all that they have planned! We’ll be vending as well as teaching in our 5th year at Texas’s premier fiber festival. Although workshop registration just opened last month, there are only a handful of seats left in each of our workshops:Intro to Blending Boards – full day – Thursday, April 2
Anything But Batts – morning – Friday, April 3
Fiber Blending on the Drum Carder – afternoon – Friday, April 3
PLYAWAY International Spinning Retreat
April 14-18, 2020
Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Hosted by the good folks from PLY Magazine, PLY AWAY is the ultimate retreat for hand spinners. We will vend as well as teach a full schedule of classes – seven classes in five days! We are honored to teach alongside some of the finest instructors in the spinning community.
While our class schedule is too long to list here, you can view it on the PLY AWAY website. Several classes – including a couple of ours – are already sold out, and several more have only a seat or two left. Check out the classes and register before it’s too late!
We’re Heading South Our schedule this year includes two trips South of the Mason-Dixon Line!
Handweaver’s Guild of America Convergence
July 24-30, 2020
Knoxville Convention Center, Knoxville, Tennessee
We began participating in the biannual international weaving and fiber arts conference known as Convergence way back in 1972. We’ve been to over a dozen Convergences around the country through the years, and have made it to each of the last three. The 2018 Convergence in Reno, Nevada was a huge hit! This time around, the Smoky Mountains set the backdrop for what looks to be another great event.
Workshop registration is now open and all three of our classes are already over half full! For the full schedule of events – including the Sheep to Shawl competition, tours, and fashion show – head to the Convergence website.
SAFF – Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival
October 23-25, 2020
WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher, North Carolina
We are thrilled for our first trip to the Tar Heel State for SAFF!
More info to come soon so stay tuned.
It’s cold out there… Cuddle up with some reading!
We’ve all heard them. Now find out why they persist, and how to solve them. Head over to our blog for this short but insightful read.
The latest issue of PLY Magazine is hot off the press and should be arriving soon – if it hasn’t already – for subscribers and in a yarn shop near you. This issue is right in our wheelhouse, and it was hard to stop at just a few proposals. The PLY crew saw fit to accept two of Roy’s articles: “Putting the ‘F’ in Drum Carding” details the effects of friction while using a drum carder while
“A Dizzying Experiment” chronicles our testing and development of our
new Diz Pack. The Prep Issue of PLY Magazine can be purchased here, while a subscription to the magazine can be ordered here.
Did Santa show up empty handed?
If you found your way to the naughty list and ended up with a lump of coal in your stocking, we can help you fix that now that our hottest tools of holiday season are back in stock! The Lock Pop | The Diz Pack
(You didn’t think we were going to offer advice on how
to get back on the nice list, did you?)
New Prices in Effect February 1
Our annual price adjustments will go into effect on February first. All orders received by then will be charged at the 2019 prices.
Current Good Clean Fiber subscribers:
The majority of our Annual Subscriptions will renew within the next month. Please head to clemes.com/my-account and click on the “Subscriptions” tab to check your renewal date and make sure your billing information is correct.
