Sunday, June 1, 2008

Welcome to HHHH!

Hi all and welcome to the first Hush-Hush Handspun Hootenanny (HHHH) swap! This is a "secret" swap for hand spinners (all levels welcome). Does it sound like fun??? It sure is! Because who doesn't like getting handspun?!

Requirements:
* You must be able to spin 4oz of fiber by the time the swap ends - there are no restrictions to this - you can do singles, 2ply, 3ply, whatever your pal would like
* You must send minimum of 4oz of fiber to your pal (unspun)
* Since this is a 1 package swap, you need to be willing to ship internationally
* You need to have an anonymous email address to send your downstream pal emails

You are not limited to sending only the handspun and fiber, you can send other things as well - soap, trinkets, sweets (be sure to put it in a ziploc to protect the fiber!), etc.

IF YOU CANNOT MEET THESE REQUREMENTS, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP! (seems kind of silly to say this, but after reading horror stories about other swaps, I want to keep this as friendly as possible) I understand that life sometimes gets in the way, so it is important that if you are not able to fulfill your duties, to let me and/or your swap pal know ASAP.

Here is the timeline:
up to 6/30/2008: signups and questionnaires posted
7/7/2008 - Receive your spinning pal and start spinning!
8/9/2008 - Swap ends

Note:
Having a blog is NOT required. I will invite everyone to join this blog, and you can post here.

Contact with your pal is critical for a successful swap. Be sure to send at least 3 emails:
* Initial contact to clue your pal in to who they will be getting treats from
* Sometime while your spinning, to let them know your progress and/or ask any questions to help decide what to give them
* After you've shipped their package so they know it's on it's way
You can send more emails, of course, but those should be the bare minimum.

To sign up, email me at bockstark.knits(at)gmail(dot)com with the following information. You should receive a confirmation email and invite to this blog.

Please include:
1. Name
2. Mailing address
3. E-mail address and anonymous email address
4. Ravelry ID
5. Blog address
6. Allergies? (Smoke, pets...)
7. Do you have smoke or pets in your home?
8. Do you spin with a wheel or spindle (or both)?
9. What spinning level would you consider yourself? (beginner/intermediate/advanced)

9 comments:

jeanius said...

this sounds like fun.. but are there price categories or minimums? will we be paired randomly? Thanks!

bockstark.knits said...

I didn't specifically set a price minimum since it varies wildly and also people may want to dye their own. The absolute bare minimum (which would be 2 4oz rovings - one to spin, one to send), it would be approximately $25.

As far as pairing, I would like to try and match people (after reviewing blogs) according to interests/skill levels and not just randomly. I hope that helps!

Braizyn said...

I'm a bit confused based on your comment above. We buy 4oz of fiber to send to our pal, AND we have 4 oz of the same fiber to spin ourselves, and then we spin the 4 oz of fiber we get from our pal and they spin the 4 oz of the same fiber they sent us? What do we do with the fiber when we're done? Keep both? Thanks for helping unconfuse me.

bockstark.knits said...

You will send to your pal 1 4oz skein of handspun as well as a 4oz braid (or batt) of unspun roving as a gift to them. They should be different rovings (unless they want all 8oz to be the same).

In turn, you will receive the above from someone else. There is no back and forth.

I hope that makes it clear?

Kathleen said...

Sounds like a marvelous trade! I loved those little Surprise Bags we got when we were kids, and this is kind of the same thing. Fun, fun, fun! Plus we might even make a new fibrebuddy. My inner kid is jumping for joy. Wheee!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like fun. Being new to swaps - how do I join up?

bockstark.knits said...

spinkitty - see the bottom of the post. Send me an email with that info!

juli said...

I'm in! Sent my info a couple of days ago, maybe it went to your spam box? Please let me know, I'd really like to get started with the questeionnaire.

karen said...

sent my req in today.. how awesome :)