Episode 14: "Wonder Wheels Power, ACTIVATE" (41:13)

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning, I think you know just what we feel... when we're spinning... well, when WonderMike is spinning. Maia Discoe and Brooke Sinnes of Tactile Fiber Arts Studio join the Yknit guys for this episode. WonderMike chatted with these spinning divas one late night after a month-long series of spinning classes held at KnitOneOne in Berkeley, CA. They spoke of many spinning things: past, present and future.

The following people and topics were mentioned:

• Birkenstock Shoes - Required spinner attire
• Spindlewood Spindles
• Conference of Northern California Handweavers
• California Cashmere Company
• Straw Into Gold - historical information
• Richmond Art Center
• Norwegian Purl
• Barbara Walker's Stitch Guides
• Celia Quinn
• Judith MacKenzie McCuin
• Earthues Natural Dyes
• Tactile Ravelry Group
• Aija, the scouring, spinning and knitting blog-star of sockpr0n
• Beacon Bend Alpacas
• hizKNITS farm photos from Beacon Bend Alpacas

The following books are recommended by Brooke and Maia. Please support your independent bookstores and LYS by searching for them there. Books about fiber Dyeing:

• A Dyer's Garden by Rita Buchanan
• The Craft of Natural Dyeing by Jenny Dean
• Indigo, Madder, and Marigolds by Trudy Van Stralen
• Want Natural Colour? by Jeanie Reagan
• The Art & Craft of Natural Dyeing by J. N. Liles

Books about Dyeing History:

• A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield
• Color: A Natural History of the Palatte by Victoria Finlay
• The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet by Brian Murphy
• Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World by Simon Garfield

Books about Spinning:

• The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning by Alden Amos
• In Sheep's Clothing by Nola Fournier & Jane Fournier
• Start Spinning by Maggie Casey
• Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning by Judith MacKenzie McCuin
• Spin It by Lee Raven
• The Yarn Book by Penny Walsh

TACTILE FIBER ARTS CONTEST
We've got two prizes for you courtesy of the kind souls at Tactile.

The first prize is for the non-spinners or just-got-bit-by-the-bug folks. Tell us what drew you in. What was the thing that hooked you? Your prize is a Learn to Spin kit which contains a 2.1 oz. Schact Hi-Lo Spindle, 2 oz. of naturally dark BFL, 2 oz. of naturally dyed BFL, an organic cotton tote and "Spin It" by Lee Raven!

The second prize is for the experienced spinners. All you have to do is tell us your FAVORITE thing about spinning. That's it. Your prize is a $50 gift certificate.

To enter either contest, please leave a comment on Yknit.com or on Ravelry under the YKNIT group discussion. One winner for each prize will be randomly selected from all the entries. DEADLINE FOR ENTERING IS OCTOBER 15, 2008.

CALLING ALL GUY KNITTERS!
The Men's Fall Knitting Retreat will be held during November 7-9, 2008 at the Point Bonita YMCA Center. More details can be found on Ravelry or on MenWhoKnit.com. Please tell all the crafty guys in your life to get in touch with us if they'd like to participate. And if you know any businesses who'd like to donate yarn, patterns, tools or fiber, please put them in touch with us.

Contest Winners
Episode #12, Y Would Dye 4 U: Scout donated a skein of her glorious superwash merino sock yarn in the Marigolds colorway. Our randomly selected winner from the entries is Alex, FetchBoi40639 on Ravelry. His prize is already on its way to Missouri.

Congratulations to our winner and thanks to everyone who participated! The entries for this contest were inspiring.

We used snippets of the following songs in this episode:

• Dizzy performed by Tommy Roe from Tommy Roe's Greatest Hits (Curb, 1970)
• Fanfare for Rocky performed by Bill Conti from Rocky: Original Motion Picture Score (United Artists, 1976)
• Cinematic Snippet performed by Mark Hammil (Luke Skywalker) and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) from Star Wars, Episode V, Empire Strikes Back (20th Century Fox, LucasFilm, 1980)
• If I Were a Carpenter performed by June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash from Ring of Fire: The Best of June Carter Cash (Dualtone, 2005)
• Comme Un Igloo performed by Etienne Daho (with digital drop-ins by Maia) from Paris ailleurs (Virgin France, 1991)
• Spinning Wheel performed by Blood, Sweat and Tears from Blood Sweat and Tears Greatest Hits (Columbia, 1971)
• Spinning Around performed by Kylie Minogue from Light Years (Emd Int'l, 2000)
• Spinning Away performed by Brian Eno and John Cale from Wrong Way Up (Opal, 1990)
• It's a Small World After All performed by The Chris Walden Big Band from No Bounds (Origin, 2006)
• Sheep performed by The Tiger Lillies from Farmyard Filth (Misery Guts, 2000)
• The Wheel performed by Rosanne Cash from The Wheel (Columbia, 1993)
• Spinning Straw into Gold performed by Barry & Holly Tashian from Straw into Gold (Rounder, 1994)
• The Windmills Of Your Mind performed by Varla Jean Merman from Enough About Me, An Unauthorized Biography (Peak Productions, 2000)

Always, a HUGE thank you to everyone who downloads and listens to Y KNIT.

YSpin? It's where it all begins!