There's a warm breeze in the air, the bees are buzzing, the birds are chirping... and the mosquitoes are biting. That's right, summer is just around the corner! What better way to kick it off than with some fellowship and skill building here at the Clemes and Clemes Summer Camp.
Over the course of the next week, you will learn new techniques, get to know your equipment better, step outside of your comfort zone, and hear stories from fiber arts gurus. The entertainment is on us... the s'mores are on you! All of this - including entries for the daily and grand prize drawings - is completely free. If you feel like making a purchase or dropping some coin for us before leaving camp, it would be greatly appreciated!
Details and registration are below. Each session is limited to 100 participants on Zoom - though an unlimited number of people can watch live on our Facebook page without pre-registering. Videos will be made available at a later date.
Here's the session schedule (all times are Pacific):
Saturday 6/13 - 3-3:45 P.M. - Virtu-Wool Fiber Festival
Sunday 6/14 - 1 P.M. - Maker on Maker: Maggie Casey
Monday 6/15 - 11 A.M. - Fleece of Oregon and Colorado
Tuesday 6/16 - 1 P.M. - Getting the Most out of your Drum Carder
Wednesday 6/17 - 11 A.M. - Maker on Maker: Jacey Boggs-Faulkner
Thursday 6/18 - 1 P.M. - Working with SE2SE Fleece
Friday 6/19 - 11 A.M. - Maker on Maker: Judith MacKenzie
Saturday 6/20 - 1 P.M. - Broken, Tender, and Dirty Fleece
During each session, we'll mention a code word. On Saturday 6/20, we'll create a link at the bottom of this page to enter the code word for each session you've watched. Each code word earns you an entry into that day's drawing. Each submission with four or more code words will be entered for the grand prize: a one year subscription to the Good Clean Fiber club of the winner's choosing.
Summer Camp Promotions
We’ve added a few bonuses to sweeten the deal for any Elite Series Drum Carder purchased during Summer Camp:
- 30 minutes of one-on-one Zoom or FaceTime conferencing and 4 ounces of Good Clean Fiber with the purchase of an Elite Convertible
- One hour of one-on-one Zoom or FaceTime conferencing and 8 ounces of Good Clean Fiber with the purchase of an Elite Crankless
- One hour of one-on-one Zoom or FaceTime conferencing and 16 ounces of Good Clean Fiber with the purchase of an Elite Crankless Doublewide
In addition, we’re extending the following promotions:
- Free shipping on all orders over $50, and a flat $5 shipping charge for orders under $50. The price you see is the price you'll pay, even on big items like a drum carder or a blending board
- 90 day money back guarantee on all drum carder and spinning wheel sales. No questions asked, simply pay for return shipping and we'll refund the purchase price
- Temporary price reduction from $4,500 to $3,999 for the Elite Crankless Doublewide
Saturday 6/13 - 3 to 3:45 P.M. - Virtu-Wool Fiber Festival
The Virtu-Wool Fiber Festival takes place from 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. Eastern on Saturday and Sunday, June 13th and 14th. At the top of every hour, a new vendor gets a chance to demonstrate a technique or show their wares, and to answer questions from viewers. Each vendor has a special code word that they will mention; if you write the code word in the comments while that vendor is live, you will be entered to win a prize from that vendor. That's twenty chances to win! We will be live at 6 P.M. Eastern / 3 P.M. Pacific on Saturday the 13th. Head to the Virtu-Wool Fiber Festival Facebook page to watch.
If you missed the Virtu-Wool Fiber Festival, our session is now available on YouTube.
Sunday 6/14 - 1 P.M. - Maker on Maker: Maggie Casey
Maggie has been spinning since 1973 and holds HGA's Certificate of Excellence in handspinning. She has taught thousands of spinners from beginners to polished experts and is the author of Start Spinning–Everything You Need To Know To Make Great Yarn. We regularly see Maggie at the Estes Park Wool Market and PLY Away and at her (sadly, recently closed) store Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins - which we considered one of, if not the best, fiber arts brick and mortar stores in the country. We'll talk about spinning, the changing face of retail in the fiber arts community, the Estes Park Wool Market, and more.
If you missed our conversation with Maggie, it is now available on YouTube
Monday 6/15 - 11 A.M. - Fleece of Oregon and Colorado
This time each year, we head to Oregon and Colorado for the Black Sheep Gathering and the Estes Park Wool Market. Between the two shows, we typically purchase around 100 fleece. This year... we hope to still purchase that many fleece. We have already bought several dozen from Oregon producers and had them shipped down to us. Later this month, we'll make the trek (sans trailer and tradeshow booth) to Colorado to pick up fleece direct from a handful of ranches.
In this Zoom session, we'll show some of the breeds and crossbreeds that we frequently purchase from the Beaver and Centennial states and demonstrate different ways to process them.
If you missed the live session, it is now available on our YouTube channel.
Below is a selection of Good Clean Fiber with fleece only from Oregon and Colorado. The entire listing of nearly two dozen fleece can be seen here. The more Good Clean Fiber that is purchased from this page, the more fleece we will purchase direct from Oregon and Colorado producers.
Tuesday 6/16 - 1 P.M. - Getting the Most out of your Drum Carder
Our Elite Series Drum Carders come with six tools - a doffer, cleaning brush, batt lifter, burnishing brush, packing brush, and diz. On top of that, there's a Lock Pop, diz pack, rolag dowel kit, and rolag block. Just what are all the tools and how do you use them to efficiently process fiber? Join to find out!
If you missed the live session, it is now available on our YouTube channel.
Wednesday 6/17 - 11 A.M. - Maker on Maker: Jacey Boggs-Faulkner
Jacey has spent the last decade falling in love with fiber, writing a book (Spin Art, Interweave, 2012), writing for various fiber and spinning magazines, producing a spinning DVD (Sit & Spin, 2009, self), and teaching all over the world. Jacey is excited to marry her passions of spinning, teaching, and writing as the publisher and editor in chief of PLY. We'll talk about all things PLY-related: PLY Magazine, PLY Books, and PLY Away; we might even talk about plying!
If you missed the live session, it is now available on our YouTube channel.
51 Yarns
The first offering from PLY Books, 51 Yarns takes the reader on a spinning adventure!
Add to Cart
A Spinner’s Dozen
The second offering from PLY Books, A Spinner’s Dozen is a guide of invaluable spinning tools.
Add to Cart
Thursday 6/18 - 1 P.M. - Working with SE2SE Fleece
Barely a year old, the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative from the Livestock Conservancy has changed the game when it comes to raising heritage breeds of sheep. The program incentivizes fiber artists to use rare breeds by providing prizes for filling a "passport" by completing projects with fleece from the Conservation Priority List. While this has created a huge demand for wool from rare breeds, many shepherds are not yet used to raising sheep for fleece, so there is often high vegetable matter content, second cuts, and other traits that fiber artists typically shy away from. In this Zoom session, we'll cover how to deal with a fleece that is less than ideal.
If you caught this session live, you know we had some technical difficulties. Unfortunately, the recording also came through with some glitches. We promise another session in the future covering fleece from Shave 'Em 2 Save 'Em in the future.
The code word for this session is: Tunis
Below you will find a selection of Good Clean Fiber that qualifies for the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative. The complete listing can be seen here.
Friday 6/19 - 11 A.M. - Maker on Maker: Judith MacKenzie
Judith is the ultimate textile artist and teacher. She has an in-depth understanding of every aspect of spinning, weaving, knitting, and dyeing. Her teaching career spans the globe from such fascinating places as above the Arctic Circle all the way to Turkey. Judith is the author of Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning, The Intentional Spinner, and The Practical Spinner's Guide: Rare Luxury Fibers, creator of numerous videos on sheep and spinning, and often writes for Spin-Off, Knits, and Handwoven magazines.
We are excited to now carry Mother MacKenzie's Miracle Dye Kits so we will talk a bit about dyeing and anything else fiber-related that comes up!
If you missed the live session, it is now available on our YouTube channel.
Saturday 6/20 - 1 P.M. - Broken, Tender, and Dirty Fleece
We've all bought that one regretful fleece. Or maybe it's two... or five. But they were cheap, right? They might have even been free. And it was so soft and would have been the perfect fleece if not for that break right in the middle of the staple, or the weak tips, or all of the dirt and vegetable matter...
Now they live in the bottom of your closet, in total darkness; sad, lonely, and destined to become mulch when you finally get tired of avoiding them. Let's drag those fleece out, make some decisions on if, and more importantly, how they are salvageable. This session is going to feature the Lock Pop, as seen below.
If you missed the live session, it is now available on our YouTube channel.
Sheepy Bags
These sturdy bags hold two one-gallon jugs of milk. Your mileage may vary depending on the size and style of adult beverage you or may not be sneaking in your tent.
Thanks for spending Summer Camp with us!
If you had a good time, please subscribe to our email newsletter below to find out about more fun events, classes, tools, and whatever else we're cooking up. We're also accepting contributions starting at $5 for Summer Camp Tuition. Thank you for participating and your support!
Enter each day's code for a chance to win prizes!
During each session we mentioned a code word. Use the link below to enter the code word for each corresponding day. Entries with four or more of the eight code words will be entered to win the grand prize. Entries must be received by noon Pacific time on Monday, June 22, 2020.