Maureen Burns, come on down!

Using a random number generator  and the comments on the last blog post, it turns out that luck was on the side of Maureen Brown tonight!  She’s our fiber winner!  Shipping out to her is 6 ounces of Spunky Eclectic’s Golddigger in merino/linen!

Stay tuned, we have the fiber from Anne Podlesak’s Brighton top to give away too!  Plus lots of other goodies.

And if you haven’t noticed that we now have cute little web ads over there  ————————->

Notice, darn it!  Do you want one?  They’re super adorable and very affordable!  If you don’t want one, consider supporting the companies that do advertise with us (just make sure you do it via the ad or they won’t know that their ad is working! Without them we couldn’t make PLY, plus they make cool stuff.

xo,

jacey

 

Fiber give-a-way — Elektron scarf!

I know that Bernadette, PLY’s photographer and my very best friend, is catch-your-breath-fall-down gorgeous (not to mention talented). It’s also true that anything, absolutely anything, would look beautiful on her. But given all of that, the Elektron scarf,  by Kristy Howell from issue #4, really is stunning.

howell3There’s something about the delicate lace, the slightly rustic character of the fiber (60% merino wool/ 40%flax), and the complex goldnenrod color, when combined, just shines.

Well guess what I have in my hot little hand?  Yep, enough of that exact fiber from Spunky Eclectic’s in gold digger — to spin and knit your very own Elektron.  Would you like it?  You would?  I thought so.  I feel like I know you so well.  And you know me right?  You know that I’d like to give it to you.  All of you.  But since I have just enough for one project, I’ve got an idea.

I need something from you.  I’m collecting spinning snapshots for a very special project in our next issue — the community issue.  I need lots.  Lots and lots.  Like hundreds!  So if you send me a digital snapshot of yourself or a friend/friends spinning (please make the subject of the e-mail snapshot) and then leave a comment on the blog saying you sent it and that you’re okay with us publishing it — you’ll be entered in our random drawing!

Don’t worry about it being the best shot ever, it’ll be very very small so nobody will notice if your yarn isn’t even or if you don’t have your good bra on.  However, I do need it to be of people spinning!

Okay?  Sound good?  Let’s do it!

Step 1. send a photo of yourself spinning  to Jacey (with snapshot as the subject of your email).

Step 2. comment on this blog post  that you sent me the snapshot.

Step 3. On Friday, July 11th, I’ll announce the winner and ship out the fiber!  

love,

jacey

We made a mistake in Twist

We are sad to announce (here and on the Twist issue’s extra page) that we made a mistake. A big mistake.  Through no fault of the author, in the issue about twist, in the photos in article about measuring twist angle —  we totally did it wrong.

thats0degrees

See, you’re supposed to line your yarn up with 0 (zero) degrees. As you can see in the magazine on the paper twist guide behind the purple one, 0 (zero) degrees is often in the middle of the twist guide. But not always.  On this purple one, it’s the horizontal line at the bottom.  And that’s where our trouble began.

notthat

Yep, we lined up our yarn with the mid-line. In this case, the midline is 90 degrees!  Not 0 (zero)! Which made the twist angle we reported INSANE! Seriously, a 75 degree angle of twist – that’d be something wouldn’t it?  Fishing line socks, anyone — they exfoliate and never wear out!

thisway

Above is how, for this particular twist gauge, we should have aligned the yarn, along the bottom, like a yarny horizon.  But we didn’t do it that way and we’re very very sorry.

sorry

PLY’s got some new digs

This is the nicest website I’ve ever been allowed to post on.  Seriously.  It’s nice.  Right?  After a year, 5 issues to be exact, I decided it was time.  The magazine deserved a website that reflected how awesome it is, how hard everybody involved in it works, how much great information it holds,  and now that is what it has.  I keep going to other websites and then coming back, pretending to see it for the first time.  I love it that much.  Miss Jessica Becker deserves all the adoration and adulation.  She certainly has mine.

Now that we’ve got a rockin’ website, we’re going to use it!  There are a few of us that you’ll see popping up around the blog, keeping you informed about what we’re doing, what’s happening with the photography, the production, the printing.  We’re also going to put all of our calls for submissions here (check out the moodboard page), our tipjar question (yep, there’s a page for that too), our call for dyers, spinners, and designers.  And give-a-ways!  Yes, we’re going to give away stuff.  To you!  Like the fiber for projects in the issue. By fiber, I mean, the exact same fiber used in the issue.  Cool, right?  We always get fantastic dyers with great fibers so we’re going to share that with you (and give our small businesses a little attention at the same time).

In short, expect this blog to be used. Just watch and see.

silk types (bombyx, eri, muga, tussah) showing different natural dyes

Thank you for donating!

Thank you for donating to PLY Magazine!

We simply wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for the gracious support of the following folks who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign:

 

Marcy M. Moffet

Cooperative Press

Paula Durrant

Mary Catherine Black

Liz DeVoss

Caroline Griffin

Janice Zindel

Angela Baker

Antonia Smith

Spunky Eclectic – Amy King

Regina Lauless Imhoff

Janet Dalzell

L. Brackbill

Coleen Nimetz

Karen Alpert

Vanessa Grimmett

Fabulosity Yarn

Limpus Shetland Sheep Farm

Sharon Terry

The Kuntz-Romanoski Family at koru Fiber and Dairy

SpinArtiste.com/Arlene Ciroula

Lisa F. Leard

Linda Hillesum

Jayne Schafer

Laura Sniderman

Jennifer Newcomb

Patti the oldgoatwoman!

wormspit.com

Gord Lendrum

Peggy Mitchell

Bonnie Miller

Wonderland Fiber

BuenaSuerte

Gwen Powell

Twisted Kitten Creations

Janine Bajus, Feral Knitter

Cloudlover Yarn & Fiber

Camelot Dyeworks

Natural Obsessions

YarnSpinners Tales Podcast

Barbara Bates

Debbie Bartle

blackmoondog

Tsarina of Tsocks

The Fuzzy Bunny

Liz Gipson

Linda Brust

Deborah Kaplan

Sibylle Peter & Regula Rudin

Gail Roemer

Adam Trilling

Storybook Fibers – Kristine Haddock

Sarah Townsend/breyerchic04

Leah Vandergriff

Loop Fiber Studio

Laura Hennessy

Ercil Howard-Wroth

Sharon Houck

Aunt Janet’s Fiber Mill

Cathy Davies

Dicentra Designs Fiber Arts

Alpacas at Orchard Hill Farm

Rachel Hamm

Jellyfish Knits

Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Sharon Hanger (squirrelacre)

Kristin Price

Susan Ramsey

Marie Ekberg

Spruce Hill Fiber Farm

Flying Goat Farm

Fable Fibers

Suzanne Tetreault, ACraftyLawyer

Laura D. Scott

Daniela ROBIN

Porpoise Fur

Angela K Schneider

Studio Avenue Six

missknitta’s studio

Sarah Anderson

WI Peterson

Rowen White

Stony Mountain Fibers

Joanne Burrows

Dixi Talke

K. Case

Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair

R & B Alpaca Ranch

Ezara Penning

Kristie “Bionickristie” Grange

Jill Marchant

Gayle Andrus

Stephanie Tomasco

Jane Morton Bynum

Angela Jenkins

FuzzbeeYarns

Susan Brockett

Fiber Optic Yarns

Knit Unto Others

Nimblestix

BlissDesign.com

Mandy Blomenkamp

Sarah Herman

Inspiration Fibers

Batts in the Bellfry

Angie Simon

Sarah McGinnes

Split Rock Ranch

www.spinwise.co.uk

Maria Ey. Luihn

Lisa Davies

Sheryl Means

Just 4 Ewe Fiber Studio

Cheryll Athorp

Emsket’s Fiberworks

Stephanie Brady

Diane Palme

Bryan and Katie Sebeck

Enchanted Knoll Farm

Autumn Olive

Knitting Lagniappe

Donna Magee

Connie Kephart

patricia stevenson

Blueball Mountain Spindle & Needleworks

Barbara Bonn

Jennifer Radcliff

Helena Wood

Southern Cross Fibre

Deb Bouchard

Rainbow Twist Handspun

Natasha Sills – Gritty Knits

Beth Gallego

Kate Richbourg

Hampton Artistic Yarns

Stitched by JessaLu

Rainbow Farms Pygora

Peggy Richard

Teri Plemel

April Rose

CompassioKnit

Lori Blevins

ReBelle

Gregory Road Handspuns

Karen Monique Chan

Yarn Hollow

Swan and Moon Designs

Duffy “Fiberqat” Stephens

Heather Brooks – Anchorage

Moonlight and Laughter

Jennifer Shuster-Clark

Sheeri Cabral

Ru Temple Design Studio

Nancy Streicher

frabjous fibers

Hello Yarn

Gwen Tevis

Debra Lukeis

Susan Sucheta

Rosemary Moore

Ruth Goldenberg

SpritelyGoods.com

Melissa Bravin

Vicki Castro

Carolyn Ramos

knottynaomi

Pocket Wheels

Heather NH

Swayguild.com

A Lawson

Fuzzy Wuzzy Fiber, Wool & Wheels

The Weaver’s Shop at Har-Ber Village

SLM Alpacas

Into The Whirled

Windy Hill Farm (Cormo Sheep and Fibers)

M. Lynn Yu

Virginia Gillespie

Lazy SockMonkey Designs

Clemes & Clemes, Inc.

Cathy Brooks

Ann-Marie MacKay

J. Elizabeth Clark

Twisted Yarns

Caryn Vainio

Barbara G Meyer

Carolyn Leigh Bennion Ferro

Jeri Brock Woodworks

HansenCrafts LLC

Laura Cummings

Sheep Dreams/Tanglewood Farm

Margot Williams

Ann Fisher Rhodes

Sonya Anderson

Hatter Rose Custom Clothing

Carrie Pugh @ Unraveled Designs

Joy Dunn

Colleen Ponzani

Carol I. Cooper

Gilead Fiber Farm/Kristen Judkins

Karen Bone

Deb Accuardi

Malarky Crafts

Jacquelyn Reith

Suzanne Bills

Bridget Smith

Myrtle’s Daughter

Vicki Campbell

TheFiberAddict.com

Sheryl Ramm, someday to be “Driven Fibers”

Kara Perpelitz of SpinHeartSpin

JAYNESTANSFELD.CO.UK

Doula Quinn

Ivy Dickinson

Applegrass Farm Icelandic Sheep, Cumberland, ME

WhorlingTides

Jimi Green

Patricia Boldenow

Kristina Schmitt

Kate Axtell

Yarn Geek Fibers

GuidedByColor.com

Shelly Kilgallon

Stacey Simpson Duke

Warren Agee

GabriolaGeorgiaStraitCam.com

itsjustmeghan

Tracy Forbes-Bosley

Jennifer Ostheimer

B Maura Townsend

Allison R. Levin

Lost City Knits

Beth Smith

222 Handspun

FBN Plastics

Catherine Dickman

Carrie Ouradnik (craftypuppylover)

Julie Sprague

Jenny Sagrillo

Ruth Blau

Peggy Laipple AKA PickleSoup on Ravelry

Dragonflylotus Designs Handspun Thread

Melanie Weiss

Amelia Garripoli, Ask The Bellwether

Shooting Yarn

Tea Time Garden

KL Noyes

Maureen Miller

Michele Mathews

Kimber L. Cortese

Beth Raymond

Vickie Beaver

Laura Cameron

Little Bird Fibers

Pam Boulet

The Woolery

Greenwood Fiberworks

Unbridled Animal Rescue, Inc

Little Monkey’s Stitch n Spin

Tiny Dino Studios

Brigette Goulet

Denise Tilrico

SpinDoctor Podcast

Nightfall Yarns by FibroFibers

Tanya Koenig

Caitlin Doran

Sheridan Femia

www.justcurves.biz

Marieanne Coursen

Holly Odegard

Kathy Harry

YARNSHINE

Rebecca Agin

Jill Robinson

Ayse Sercan

Janelle Wertzberger

Badfaerie Designs

Christina Duke

Pat and Tony Santangelo

Georgean Curran

Majacraft

Heritage Spinning & Weaving

Spinning Mermaid Fibers

The Yarn Wench

Vero Pepperrell, Running with Crayons

Anne Burgeson

Kendrick Kreations

Jane Cooper

BohoKnitterChic Spins

John Michaud

Sincere Sheep

The Copper Corgi Fiber Studio

cjkoho Designs

Georgiana Dorr

Joy Adiletta

Barbara Currie

Stash Enhancement

Jae Biritz

Deborah Robson

Raven Ridge Fiber Arts

Kelpie Fibers

mimoknits

Diana Collins

Shelia January

Cephalopod Yarns

Laura Paul

Fiberific!

Clara Beauty – Yarn & Knit Design

Barclay A. Dunn

Kristin L. Frazier

BellaNel

Eliza Sheppard

laurie sitkiewicz

Kathy French

Larissa Kats

Vicky Scowcroft

Amerai

Julie Higgins

Yuka Suzuki

Sunburst Ranch Shetlands

Lizette Hopkins/SpinGlitz

Jillian Moreno

Robin Pruss

follow the star studio

Patti Edwards

bridgett davis

Kathy Rohacek

Redsknits

Bob Bercaw

Pipe’s Canyon Pygoras

Cynthia Konow-Brownell

planetKnit aka Karen Ward

Wooly Ridge Farm

Shadawyn Fiber Arts

Freehaven Farm, Ltd.

Debbie Doty

Alba Ranch LLC

Charlene Mudd

Mickey Perdue

Cricket Thicket

Rebecca Tyson Smith

Just Ducky-Hand Spun

The Cloistered Lamb

Furnace Creek Farm