Stringtopia Spring String Thing (AKA my birthday party)

I'm warning you now, this is a picture heavy post.

So for my birthday every year at the end of April Abby Franquemont and some of her friends throw me a huge birthday party:

OK, so not really, but it IS a big spinning and fiber arts event and it HAS been on my birthday for the past 3 years so, I choose to think of it that way.  This was my third year and the first year I've had very many pictures. (Also the first year I brought my husband.  Not a coincidence.)  

We came in Friday afternoon and didn't take any classes on Friday (I hear they were great).

But we did attend the Bash.  This year there were spinning games.  One was distance spinning, how much can you spin in 2 minutes.  There were several spindle rounds

 

This is a picture of my friend Janet (who has way better pictures of her classes of which I have none)

 I *think* Devin won.

There weren't as many wheels in the room

Hey that's me:

(that's WAY farther than it looks like it is)

I didn't win, but it was a really interesting thing to do because I thought I was spinning the most terrible, lumpy, awful uneven yarn, just for speed, and it turned out to be really not bad.  I should spin faster. 

On Saturday I took an Andean backstrap weaving class from Abby which was really fascinating.  It might have to be it's own blog post later, but I learned a lot and didn't quite break my brain (but almost did).  I am now equipped to weave like an Andean 5 year old, apparently.   

 Saturday night's party had more  games.  This one was longest long draw - teams.  The teachers demonstrated:

This team made it all the way around the corner and down the hall:

 Janet and Carol and I failed miserably after about a yard, we overspun our yarn and it snapped.  There is no photographic evidence but we totally went really far and around a corner when we were practicing.  

Team spindles did really well, I just don't have a picture of it.

Janet and I talking about knitting apps with Sandi Wiseheart, one of my favorite people.

 

And someone dared Abby to spin on an 8 pound boat anchor they brought along.  

Which she totally did.

So. Many. Jokes. 

 I took a spindle long draw class on Sunday which was excellent and I got a lot out of it.   It's the main thing I've been doing since I got back (more about that later).  I have no pictures of that class, either, but if you ever get to take it from Abby I highly recommend it.  

The one thing I notice from all these pictures is that my husband is in none of them.  Lebanon, OH, where Stringtopia is, is a really cool small old town, and he is a history nerd so he had fun exploring town while I was in class, and hanging out with the fiber weirdos at night.  I even got him to spin a very little. 

Going to Stringtopia is like finding my people, people who get me.  Can't wait for next year.