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Spinning to help the Wetaskiwin Museum

On December 5, the Spinning Knitwits will be turning wheels starting at 9 a.m. as they begin the Back to Back Challenge as a fundraiser
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On Saturday December 5

On Saturday December 5, the Spinning Knitwits will be turning wheels starting at 9 a.m. as they begin the Back to Back Challenge as a fundraiser for the Wetaskiwin and District Heritage Museum.

Our team of seven spinners and knitters will spin and knit a sweater in a day! A back to back (from the back of the sheep to the back of the man) challenge is a timed event where seven spinners/knitters make a sweater from the fleece off a sheep in a day. The first back to back was held in 1811 at Newbury in Berkshire, UK. It has since turned into a large international event used for fundraisers around the world. We are bending the international rules a bit, as we are not shearing a sheep in the museum, but we will be spinning Shetland wool roving instead. We are also allowing substitutions for breaks, but only seven will touch the wool at any one time. Otherwise, we are maintaining all other rules!

We will be auctioning our finished sweater at the end of the day. In preparation for this event, the Spinning Knitwits have spun and knit four "practice" sweaters. Raffle tickets for these sweaters are available at the museum for only $5, and they will be drawn throughout the day on the 5th. There will also be a wonderful selection of smaller hand knit items available for a silent auction just in time for Christmas shopping! Our goal is to make a significant donation to the museum by the end of the day!

We wanted to thank the museum with a fundraiser for their providing us with a cozy venue for our Wednesday knitting group. For over 10 years, we have enjoyed their hospitality and felt that our heritage fiber arts would be a great fit for what the museum represents. We appreciate the museum's outstanding contribution to commemorate our community’s culture, heritage and history. For example, the preservation of the Women of Aspenland histories is a wonderful record of community contributions by local women. The beautiful textile displays are fascinating and a wonderful historic record.

The event starts at 9 a.m. sharp at the Heritage Museum (5007 - 50th Ave, Wetaskiwin) and will continue until the sweater is complete, we're hoping around 5 p.m. Don't be sheepish, please come to cheer us on!