Posts

Jacey Faulkner

PLY Guild: Second Season Drop – Episode 3

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I am thrilled to report that the third episode of the second (worsted) season of the PLY Guild has dropped and is almost ready for your viewing pleasure! It’ll be up on July 18th (we had a little family emergency and so it’s running behind 2-3 days).

This episode is all about combs! You’ll learn how to choose combs and use combs from some great teachers including: Maggie Casey, Laura Linneman, Michelle Boyd, and Jacey Boggs Faulkner. We’ll cover 2-pitch Viking combs, 4-pitch English combs, 3-d printed combs, combing with clamped combs, combing with unclamped combs, combing with a hackle, dizzing, and planking! It’s a long episode so set aside some time, get out whatever combs you have (or some fiber and a wheel/spindle) and enjoy! If you don’t have combs, don’t worry, the next episode is all about creating worsted preparations without combs! 

Watch the episode now!

We’ll see you again with a new episode in six weeks (but in the meantime, come see us in a spin-in)! If you haven’t already gotten your membership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

Join the PLY Spinners Guild here 

If you’d like to learn more from your favorite fiber instructors, make sure your membership is active! Each month is jam packed with new instructional videos and virtual spin-ins. Membership is cumulative, meaning you get access not only to the current episode, but also to every previous episode and recorded spin-in as well. 

The PLY Spinners Guild (PSG) hosts three 90 minute spin-ins every month: 

  • On the first Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 5 p.m. Pacific.   
  • On the third Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 10 a.m. Pacific. 
  • On the third Thursday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 5 p.m. Pacific. (This is the Building Skills Spin-in for spinners who want a less technical experience than our other spin-ins!)

The guild is priced at $85/year or $12/month. This is a very good deal for the amount of information and community you will get, especially since new video lessons are added every six weeks! This fee allows us to pay for the substantial hosting required by so many high-def videos and the charge per member to access the site, along with fairly compensating the teachers, editors, and everyone involved in making the guild work. 

If you aren’t already a member, we think you’d definitely enjoy it! 

The PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe. 

Guest Blogger

Third Thursdays Guild Tip

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Time to ramp up for tonight’s PLY Spinners Guild Third Thursday foundational spin-in! We’d like to take a moment to feature some tips from one of our wonderful PLY Guild spin-in leaders, Donita Westman. 

 
The old saying is that “practice makes perfect”; over twenty years ago, my music education mentor challenged me to consider if that was true or if “practice makes permanent” was more accurate. (Spoiler: she was right. She’s always right!) Learning to spin requires practice and the way you spin is a result of that practice. Whether you’re new to the craft or a seasoned spinner looking to try a new technique, what and how you practice will determine the kind of spinner you become. Since we talk about the importance of practicing but often skip over how to practice, I wanted to share a few tips on how to approach practice that will help you become better practicing anything.  

Set the mood 

Practicing a new skill is challenging. If we come into a practice session stressed and anxious, we will be less successful and, over time, associate spinning with stress and anxiety. While we can’t solve the world’s problems before we sit down to spin, taking a few minutes to clear our minds and let those emotions flow through us and go on their way before we start our practice session will make it more enjoyable and successful. Make a mug of your favorite warm beverage, turn on some relaxing music, take as many deep breaths as you need, do some gentle stretches, or do all of the above! Engaging your senses allows you to focus on your spinning. Actively thinking about how you are spinning is necessary to learning that new technique! 

Set a goal for your practice session 

Focus on one aspect of your spinning for this time. Choose a goal that you know is achievable in the time you have and make your goal observable. Ask yourself “How will I know if what I’m doing is working or not?” For example, if I want to work on more consistent drafting distance for a yarn with consistent diameter, I can find reference points for how far my hands are moving, look at how opaque or transparent the fiber in my drafting triangle is, and look at a ply-back sample every so often to see if my yarn has fewer thick and thin spots.  

If I’m not seeing progress toward my goal, I can consult a spinning resource (like PLY, a spinning book, a spinning teacher, or an experienced spinner who creates yarn like what I want to create) to find a strategy that moves me toward this goal, not reinforcing habits that aren’t working. If I find my yarn is becoming more consistent, great! I can continue using those strategies to make this practice permanent.  

Set a timer 

Any time you are building a new skill, you want to set a time limit for your practice session. I recommend 15-minute sessions, with an optional second 15-minute session after a short break. These breaks are good for your body, as you are using your muscles in ways they might not be used to moving or holding them tensely as you focus on your goal. Taking a break to get up, have a sip of water or tea, or look out the window for a minute gives your body a chance to let you know if you have resources to continue or if you’re feeling fatigued and need rest. These breaks are also good for your brain, so you can process what’s working for you and check in with your emotions to see if you’re feeling frustrated. If at the end of 30 minutes, you’re feeling good – that’s the time to step away! Putting your spinning down while you’re feeling positive will bring you back time and again, while quitting when you’re frustrated will discourage you from future practice because you associate spinning with frustration. If you are drawn back to your spinning later in the day, try another 15-minute session, but always remember to get out while the getting’s good! 

Learning to practice takes less time than you think. Once you learn to practice, the skills will come more quickly and easily. The more you learn new things, the more you’ll want to learn more new things. Think of all the possibilities that will open up for your spinning once you master how to practice! 

Emily Davis-Hale

PLY Guild: Second Season Drop – Episode 2

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Ding! Ding! Ding! 


The second episode of the second (worsted) season of the PLY Guild has dropped and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 

  • Four brand-spanking-new spinning segments 
  • Four great teachers: Deb Robson, Maggie Casey, Jillian Moreno, and Jacey!
  • More than 2 hours of spinning content!


It’s a great episode filled with lots of information about choosing fibers for worsted yarns. 

We’ll see you again with a new episode in six weeks (but in the meantime, come see us in a spin-in)!  If you haven’t already gotten your membership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners committed to learning, growing, questioning, answering, and supporting their fellow guild members.  We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. PSG supports people of every ability, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, and gender. We hold that every single community member is important. We believe that black and brown lives matter. We see and support our LGBTQ+ community. We reserve the right to remove anyone that meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.    

Guest Blogger

Third Thursdays Guild Tips

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As we ramp up for tonight’s PLY Spinners Guild Third Thursday foundational spin-in, we’d like to take a moment to feature some tips from one of our wonderful PLY Guild spin-in leaders, Terri Guerette. 

What should I bring to a workshop? 

Although not something to bring to a workshop, one of the reminders I often offer to people taking my workshops is to make sure your tetanus shots are up to date. We work with a lot of sharp tools that are sometimes used on raw fleece. So we really need to make sure we protect our health! 

There are a lot of factors to consider when taking a workshop. How long is the workshop? Where is it being held? But the most important thing is to pay close attention to the class description for the items you should be bringing to class. If there is anything in the description that you are unsure of, please don’t hesitate to contact the instructor. 

My next recommendation is to make sure your items are clearly marked with your name since many of us have the same or similar equipment. 

Beyond that, you can consider bringing a myriad of things, including but not limited to a repair kit with the items you may need for your specific wheel; documentation supplies (notebook, pen/pencil, labels, bags); and personal care items (hand sanitizer, snacks, water bottle, throat lozenges). 

Last but not least, it’s usually a good idea to have one or more of your shawls/sweaters with you because workshop environments can be quite varied. Besides, it’s so much fun to share the things we’ve made with our friends, old and new! 

For a more in-depth discussion of this topic, see: 

“The Ultimate Spinning Toolbag,” PLY Magazine (Winter 2017): 44–48 

“Power Learning,” PLY Magazine (Autumn 2018): 34–37 

Also, if you haven’t already seen the news… 

Season two has begun!  
The first episode of the second (worsted) season has dropped and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 

  • Four spinning segments  
  • Three teachers: Maggie Casey, Heavenly Bresser, and Jacey 
  • 2 hours of spinning content 
  • Jacey has included a new intro to the guild (which you should totally watch, it has lots of new info) 
  • And two teacher teas (from last year) for the teachers in this episode (which if you haven’t seen them yet, they’re delightful) 

It’s a great episode filled with lots of worsted drafting, and it will get you ready for everything else we’re going to do this season.  

Also a reminder! Sunday, April 20 there will be no guild spin-in! 

This is Easter Sunday so we’ve decided to not hold the spin-in, but don’t worry, we’re going to make it up with a fantastic giveaway at the next Sunday spin-in. (Remember when we spent that whole spin-in looking at a fancy new carder? Well…) 

Meagan Condon

New Guild Spin-In Today! Join us!

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Hooray! Hooray! Today’s the day! 

Today is our first ever third Thursday PLY Spinners Guild (PSG) spin-in! 

We encourage you to check out our new spin-in at 5 pm pacific today, March 20th. These third Thursday spin-ins are dedicated to helping you develop the foundational spinning skills and fiber confidence you want. So, if you’re looking for something a little more foundational in addition to, or instead of, Sunday spin-ins, we’d love to see you.   

All of the spin-ins are put on by the PSG. Third Thursday spin-ins will be hosted by one or two of our PSG hosts – Lori Paterson, Donita Westman, Terri Guerette, and Heavenly Besser – while Sunday spin-ins will still be hosted by Laura Linneman and Jacey. 

 If you aren’t already a member of the guild, make sure you are signed up so you can participate!   You’ll have full access to all our incredible video tutorials as well as the spin-ins, where you can ask questions and get real feedback from other spinners. 

We can’t wait to see you there! Please remember that the PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.

Jacey Faulkner

New Monthly Spin-In for the Guild!

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New Monthly Spin-in focused on building foundational spinning skills! 

There’s nothing like spinning with friends. As spinners, we love to learn from, share with, and generally support each other. Spin-ins provide all those things and the twice monthly PLY Spinners Guild spin-ins (via Zoom) have been one of my favorite regular happenings this past year.  We meet for 90 minutes on the first Sunday of each month at 5pm pacific and the third Sunday each month at 10am pacific. We chat and spin, ask questions, show off what we’re working on, and often deep dive into a specific spinning technique or fiber.  

These Sunday spin-ins have really focused on building community, SALs, show and tells, Q/A sessions, and special guests (PSG teachers, PLY Magazine authors and designers). While we’ve always welcomed newer spinners and celebrated spinners of all skill levels, we do understand that it can be intimidating to join in when you aren’t confident about your skills.  

For anyone that has felt like that, even just a little bit, we encourage you to check out our new spin-in on the third Thursday of each month at 5pm pacific. These third Thursday spin-ins are dedicated to helping you develop the foundational spinning skills and fiber confidence you want. So if you’re looking for something a little more foundational, in addition to, or instead of, Sunday spin-ins, we’d love to see you on third Thursdays starting on March 20th.  

All of the spin-ins are put on by the PSG. Third Thursday spin-ins will be hosted by one or two of our PSG hosts: Lori Paterson, Donita Westman, and Terri Guerette while Sunday spin-ins will still be hosted by Laura Linneman and Jacey. 

Donita Westman
Terri Guerette
Lori
Heavenly Bresser

Donita Westman knits, spins, weaves, and teaches fiber arts in central Ohio. When she isn’t creating with fiber, she’s likely playing with her dog, reading, literally herding her husband’s cats out of her fiber studio, and sometimes blogging at donitawestman.com. 

Terri Guerette learned a variety of fiber arts from her mom at a young age and began spinning in 2004. She quickly developed a passion for her newest hobby. Terri teaches and demonstrates spinning and other fiber arts in many different settings (living history events, schools, farm days, fairs, etc.) and is always happy to share her knowledge. She was a SOAR Scholar in 2011. 

Lori brings her love of Black history and teaching to everything she does. Lori finds spiritual sanctuary in the meditative nature of knitting, spinning, and dyeing. Since 1990 when she saw a woman wearing handknit socks, she has been determined to not only make her own socks but to make so many things from fiber. Lori hand paints yarn for knitting and fiber for spinning in her Portland studio (a converted garage) and sews together pretty colored fabric in her (very little) spare time.

Heavenly Bresser is an award-winning handspinner, spinning wheel restorer, and international fiber arts instructor. Some of her areas of passion include a love for working with color, working from fleece, and researching historical information for antique spinning wheels.

We can’t wait to see you there! Please remember that the PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.   

Meagan Condon

New Guild Episode Drops Saturday!

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Are you ready for this? The latest guild episode is coming! I repeat, the latest guild episode is coming!

Saturday (February 15, 2025) we reveal the 14th (and final) episode for season 1 of the PLY Spinners guild! It rounds out a season full of foundational spinning episodes taught by some of the best spinners and spinning teachers around. And boy, is it a doozy! Featuring several greats in our community—Stephenie Gaustad, Michelle Boyd, Roy Clemes, and Jacey Boggs Faulkner—this episode is a wrap of of the season with some (older) never-before-seen segments that were too good not to share, and some (newer) segments on small fiber processing tools and yarn handling tools. There’s some stuff on oiling and leaders, and a great, giant segment on getting started spinning (because Jacey didn’t want anyone to go any further without having a good handle on the basics). So if you just need a refresher, this baby should get you up to speed. Finally it also includes a segment on how to use the guild—a segment you can (and should) watch on YouTube. You won’t want to miss out.

Join the PLY Spinners Guild Here

If you’d like to learn more from your favorite fiber instructors, make sure your membership is active! Each month is jam packed with new instructional videos and virtual spin-ins. Membership is cumulative, meaning you get access not only to the current episode, but also to every previous episode and recorded spin-in as well.

New Monthly Building Skills Spin-in

The PLY Spinners Guild (PSG) hosts three 90 minute spin-ins every month:

  • On the first Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 5 p.m. Pacific.  
  • On the third Sunday of every month, guild members meet and spin at 10 a.m. Pacific.

However, those spin-ins can get more technical and in-depth than some spinners are ready for or comfortable with. In response, we’re launching a new monthly spin-in! T

he Building Skills Spin-in will start in March and will take place at 5 p.m. Pacific on the third Thursday on each month.

The first one will be on March 20. Just like all the PSG spin-ins, guild members will get a spin-in link the week before the spin-in and it’s always posted in the PSG forums.  

The guild is priced at $85/year or $12/month. This is a very good deal for the amount of information and community you will get, especially since new video lessons are added every six weeks! This fee allows us to pay for the substantial hosting required by so many high-def videos and the charge per member to access the site, along with fairly compensating the teachers, editors, and everyone involved in making the guild work.

If you aren’t already a member, we think you’d definitely enjoy it!

The PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.