I don’t really remember what prompted me to try it. I’m the type of person who tries a million different crafts which may or may not last. At the moment it’s pottery (about 8 years now, pretty good for me) and spinning. Before the spinning came felting. Before the felting was cross stitch, boutis, patchwork, crochet, dyeing yarn with plants… get the drift? (These are, of course, only my fibre arts; there are others, believe me.) And then I’ve always sewed and knit. I think I must have just come across it one day on the internet and said (as I always do) “Hey, I can do that!” And I can, and I do.

(3 spindles full before plying for a sock yarn)

I started with a toy-wheel spindle and some alpaca that I found on eBay and with the help of YouTube, managed to transform that alpaca into usable yarn. Then I came up against a sizeable problem: how to get my supplies? Here in France, people are astounded if they find out you knit. As for spinning, well that’s just unbelievable, medieval! So the internet it was, again. Colourful wool, a book or two, half a dozen beautifully crafted spindles and a basic spinning wheel later, I am producing yarn… Slowly… but regularly.

(Bollywood challenge: Lagaan yarn)

I spin for the same reason I learned to knit: to feel less guilty about sitting in front of the telly for hours on end. Well, that’s not entirely true… umm, I like being able to do something no-one else I know can. But seriously, I have always gotten immense pleasure from making things, and in particular from making them from scratch, be it a meal or a jumper. There is pleasure in the doing and then pleasure in the having. I think a lot of people who don’t ‘get’ handcrafts don’t realize the process is as important as the end result; they only see the time it’s going to take them to get there. My spinning is done in front of the TV in the evening or at the weekend, a little at a time. Lately I’ve been getting tendinitis if I overdo anything (pottery, knitting and spinning are all quite hard on the hands) so I’m learning to pace myself. The end of what you’re spinning is always the worst: I just want to plough on and get it finished and I inevitably end up hurting myself.

So what do I do with my yarns? I knit them, of course! – usually for me, but I will condescend to use inferior skeins for family members or friends. You know, the stuff you spun because it was there, but you didn’t have it earmarked for anything in particular. Like with a lot of my other crafts, I wait until inspiration strikes. Then that green polwarth that I just had to have because of the colour will tell me what it wants to be and I will try to spin it accordingly. This is why most of my handspun gets knitted up relatively quickly. Some projects mature for a long time. A basic idea will kick around in my subconscious for ages until that aha! moment strikes, usually when I’m at work and can’t do anything about it. I also love participating in spin alongs or challenges, as they really force me to try something I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. My main inspiration is colour, though. I spend hours drooling over colourful braids, hankies, tops, batts and often buy colours that I already have in abundance or that I would never use for myself. But the pleasure in spinning them aces their practicality every time.

Living in a flat has so far held me back from my current spinning dream, which is to take a raw fleece and process, spin and eventually knit it. I aim to remedy this over the summer, as I will have access to a garden where I can wash a fleece. From the outset I was really drawn to the idea of art yarns and made a few attempts at some early on, but then decided to concentrate on being able to spin more proficiently before I try again. A lot of people seem to think that your first effort at spinning – that lumpy, bumpy tangle masquerading as yarn – is art yarn. Not so! Come on people, it’s really hard to do! I have so much respect for my fellow spinners met through Ravelry, in particular the art yarn crowd who not only possess an amazing sense of colour and texture, but are equally amazing spinners to be able to produce such beautiful skeins. Anyway, now that I can spin a fairly respectable single I intend to learn to do coils in the near future – if I can manage to spin a little thicker! My other project for the future (kicking around for a while now) is to somehow combine pottery and spinning. All ideas welcome!

(These rolags….became this yarn)

Editor’s Notes:

You can find Cass on Ravelry as robocass

Then suddenly, I found something that stuck: spinning. Even back in those awkward first days of fiddling with my spindle, I knew I had hit on something special and different (to this day, I have never been able to actually drop my drop spindle, but I digress…). I now spin on two wheels: my beloved Ashford Traveller “New Zealandy”, and my Spinolution Mach 1 “Frank the tank.”

Unfortunately, CRADD sufferers like me tend to be impatient. I have endless respect for those who can create a 1200 yard skein of perfectly even, two-ply, lace weight yarn. Unfortunately, that respect does not translate into the required amount of patience to do it myself. Every time I’ve tried to spin thinly and evenly, a little inner voice whispers in my ear, “This is no fun; you could buy yarn like this at the store! Why don’t you make something unusual instead?” And so my interest in art-yarn just sort of happened; there was simply no other option for me.

What began as selling occasional skeins of handspun on Etsy eventually evolved into selling both yarn and fiber on my own website, Gritty Knits. I began selling Ashland Bay and Ashford fibers alongside my own hand dyed roving, and I also invested in a drum carder to make and sell blended batts. I quickly realized that the more products I carried for my customers, the more fiber I had at my disposal when the muse struck. The spare bedroom has since been converted into a warehouse filled floor to ceiling with wool, batts, unusual art-yarn ingredients, and more colors of Angelina than you can shake a stick at …arranged in Roy-G-Biv order, of course.

The question art-yarn spinners are asked most often is, “What can I do with this?” I have to admit, that question confuses me. Having always been the artsy-type, the list of possibilities seems endless to me.  “What CAN’T you do with this?” Every new skein I see starts an immediate list running in my head: “Wow, that would make a great purse. Or hat and mitten cuffs. Or pillow sham!” Sometimes I’ll want to keep a skein just sitting on my desk, as-is, because it feels like a work of art by itself. The only drawback is my unfortunate geographical situation: I live in Houston, TX, where winter only happens on TV, thus negating the need for warm garments.

I recently purchased a small loom and discovered that weaving is the perfect medium for unusual yarns. Every single inch of the yarn is displayed, and we southerners get the added benefit of a much thinner fabric than with knitting or crochet. Yardage seems to go much further on a loom, a factor that compliments the small size of most handspun skeins.

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I rarely spin a yarn intended to pay homage to any particular person, song, or picture. That may have been my intention on a few early experiments, but frustration taints the experience when it doesn’t come out looking exactly the way I envisioned it. My solution to this problem is simple: stop envisioning. Without a plan to start with, the finished product can never be wrong. My current strategy amounts to little more than grabbing handfuls of whatever fiber happens to be within reach and crossing my fingers that everything matches at the end. Chances are someone, somewhere in the world will like it. And with any luck, they will find my website and adopt it.

Find more of Natasha’s wonderful musings, yarns and fibers here:

Store: http://www.grittyknits.com

Blog: http://blog.grittyknits.com

I wanted a spinning wheel.  However, at the time, I could not justify spending several hundred dollars on an Ashford or Louet spinning wheel when our family was planning a move abroad.

A few weeks later, I noticed a sign at my LYS advertising a “Learn to Drop Spindle Class”. Curiously enough, I had never heard of a drop spindle.

The shop’s proprietor explained that it was a handspinning class with a wooden spinning tool. She also said that drop spindling was gaining popularity and it would be fun for me to try to this” new old way” of spinning.

I desperately wanted to learn how to spin, but at the same time a bit reluctant to sign up for the class because Toronto was in the midst of a summer heat wave. Did I really want to learn how to spin wool in 40 degree temperatures?

When I attended the first evening of the spinning class. It was a bit overwhelming since I was the only one in the class who had never seen a drop spindle prior to this lesson.

I felt like I was the slowest spinner, and the last to complete each step of the way. I was the last person to tie her leader onto the shaft, I was the last one to pre-draft my fibre. I was the slowest spinner. I could not wrap the yarn around my wrist to Andean ply. It was discouraging because I just did not get it.

The instructor encouraged me to go on, and not give up. As the sweat poured down over my forehead, I managed to twist the fiber into something that looked like very chunky yarn.

I did complete the two sessions and spun my very first 50g skein of blue faced Leicester. My first skein remains a skein, and I don’t think I’ll ever do anything with it, other than just look at it. Oh by the way, I’ve named my first skein, Jools.

Editor’s notes:

chicwithstix to this day does not have a spinning wheel. She teaches the Learn to Drop Spindle classes at her LYS in Dublin.  She also shares her enthusiasm and passion for the drop spindle with other fibre enthusiasts at knitting groups throughout Dublin, and as the secretary for the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. You can find her blog here: http://chicwithstix.wordpress.com/ and she hangs out on Ravelry as chicwithstix.

While growing up, my mom had a spinning wheel as a decoration in her living room.  It didn’t have all it’s working parts and was painted black.  I desperately wanted to spin it.  Not actually spin yarn, just to make the wheel turn.  That, however, was forbidden.  As I grew older, the only thing that I thought about when I though about spinning was that it was something little old ladies used to do before commercial yarn became more accessible and they moved on to buying acrylic yarn and knitting toilet paper cozies.

I started knitting scarves when the big fun fur scarf craze was going full force.  After I made those for all my friends and family, it was time to move to something new.  I couldn’t do sweaters because I didn’t want to work with the same color of yarn for the amount of time it takes to make a sweater.   I ended up being a yarn accumulator.  I bought yarn, yarn and more yarn with no particular project in mind, but just because I liked the color or the feel of the yarn.  I realized the yarn I liked the most was yarn with personality such as Colinette Point 5, sari silk yarn and Noro.  It was then I realized that I wanted or maybe even needed to create my own yarn.

The owner of Frog Eye Fibers, Sue Groundwater, not only had the best yarn shop around, but she was also a spinner.   When she showed me her garage full of fiber, I felt positively giddy.  I knew that spinning was for me.  Happily, for Christmas in 2007, my husband bought me my Louet S51 and an all day lesson.  She started me on a plain brown wool.  I understood her reasoning, but it was so boring.  Most of the brown wool I left her store with is still in the bag.   I knew I needed to spin sparkle, color, glitz and happiness.  I also knew I had a lot to learn because spinning art yarn is indeed an “art”.

Until I spent a lot of time on the internet studying what other spinners were doing, I felt like an aberration as spinners go.  I drive a sports car.  I have a tattoo.  I’m not a little old grandma.  I’m not an earthy, back-to-nature kind of person.  I like to intentionally spin yarn that is not “perfect”.  After checking out websites of other spinners, I realized what a wonderful, diverse group of people spinners are.

When I found the book Handspun Revolution, I felt like I experienced my “aha” moment.  I was able to see yarns and techniques that justified my feelings that creating yarn is an art.  It also helped me learn techniques and inspired me to spin outside the lines.  I wasn’t weird.  I was an artist.  There were others out there like me.  When I found Ravelry I discovered still more people who approached spinning the same way I did.  It’s not just the way to make yarn.  It’s a way to create something that is unique that I can knit into something functional, or leave in a bowl on my table to enjoy the yarn just being yarn.

Another holiday came and I received my first drum carder, a Louet Roving Carder Jr.  Carding my own batts gave me the freedom to create the color combinations I saw in my minds eye.  If I am inspired by a turning leaf or thoughts of the beach I can go to my studio and create a batt to spin.  I can’t resist adding in sari silk, glitz, various fibers, ribbons or other things to add texture and personality to my yarn.  A trip to the craft store has me wandering the aisles looking for something different to incorporate as I card or spin.

In spring 2009, I was able to attend Camp Pluckyfluff in MD.  It was humbling to be in the presence of all the fibery greatness.  Not just Lexi, but Stef from Loop, Cindy from Studioloo, Liz from Hobbledehoy, Carissa from Treadle to the Metal just to name a few.  Here unconventional was normal.  People who were unconstrained by what others thought spinning should be.  I was so inspired by what I learned and what I saw others doing.

Since then, I have started selling my batts and yarn at my etsy store, Flying Pig Fibers.  I am awaiting the arrival of my Louet Classic carder and have also started dyeing fiber.  I love the satisfaction that comes from knowing I can take the fiber from fleece to fashion and do it myself.

Editor’s Notes:

You can find more of Stacey at her shop  - http://www.etsy.com/shop/FlyingPigFibers

Patchwork landscape beginnings…

I’ve always loved making things.  One of my earliest textile projects was a hand-sewn patchwork ‘landscape’ to spread out around my little toy horse stable.  It was made from fabric and wool scraps and I gradually added to it over time (between the ages of about 7 to 11 years old).  It was huge and included fields, paddocks, paths and tracks, a section of black felt road with stitched-on stripes (for road-safety training purposes!) a riding arena and even a beach and the sea behind the stable!  It was pretty epic but I loved it.

In my teens I drifted away from doing creative craft-related things in favour of the usual teenage activities.  The craft ‘wilderness years’ ended when I took a feltmaking course about six years ago.  I found out about felt through a lovely lady at work, who’d just ‘got into it’ in a big way.  Her enthusiasm was infectious!  Making felt is a magical process that I really enjoy but I found that I didn’t really have the space or facilities at home to do it very often.  I’d caught the fibre arts ‘bug’ though and it wasn’t long before I came across something new to try.

Discovering handspun yarn…

I was lurking around on Craftster one day when something caught my eye in the ‘fibre arts’ forum.  I didn’t know what it was but it looked amazing and on closer inspection it turned out to be some stunning handspun art yarn.  The yarn was part of the weekly ‘Fibre Friday’ thread, where people post pictures and descriptions of what they’ve been spinning.  I soon became addicted to Fibre Fridays and loved seeing the incredible yarns each week!  Through Craftster, I found out about Lexi Boeger’s fantastic Pluckyfluff website and bought her little book ‘Handspun Revolution’.  The yarns spun by Lexi and the amazing spinners on Craftster inspired me to get a wheel and start spinning.

It took me a while to figure out which wheel would suit my needs (and to save up for it!) but eventually I decided on a Majacraft Suzie Pro, with a jumbo bobbin and ‘wild flyer’ to cope with bulky art yarns.  When my wheel arrived, I taught myself how to spin through trial and error, some videos on the internet and a couple of books.  I found the book ‘Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning’ particularly useful.  Once I got the hang, I really enjoyed spinning and churned out vast quantities of slubby thick-and-thin yarn, mainly spun from dyed roving and wool tops.

I started to notice people mentioning Ravelry more and more so I joined up and discovered a wonderful new place to talk about spinning, share techniques, show off yarns and admire other people’s creations!  The online community of spinners and fibre artists is so friendly and creative; everyone is very encouraging and hugely inspiring.

A slippery slope…

As my spinning progressed, I tried some new techniques and became obsessed with corespinning and spinning curls and locks into yarn.  I started buying gorgeous batts from some of the talented fibre artists on Etsy and then started making my own when I was treated to a drum carder for my Birthday!  I love blending batts almost as much as spinning them!  Some of my favourite fibres to work with are soysilk and bamboo (particularly grey carbonised bamboo), silky soft wool such as Merino, Falkland and Bluefaced Leicester and the gorgeous curls of Lincoln Longwool and Wensleydale.  I love naturally coloured wools too, particularly all the different shades of Shetland.

One fibre-craft seems to lead to another and I’ve dabbled in weaving (mainly on a peg-loom), dyeing, knitting and crochet as well as feltmaking.  I like working with environmentally friendly or reused/recycled materials.  I’m keen to do more with natural dyes and I love it when my fibre hasn’t travelled very far (like the Wensleydale and Shetland fleeces I picked up from a local sheep-keeping postman).  I also hate things going to waste, which is probably why I’m currently knitting some bunting from an off-cut of shower curtain fabric!

Spinning into the future…

I’m lucky enough to live in a very ‘sheepy’ part of the world (the Lake District in Cumbria, England), surrounded by hills and mountains full of sheep and lots of opportunities to see the vast array of different breeds at local shows.  Cumbria is also home to a fantastic fibre extravaganza called Woolfest, which I look forward to every year.  There are lots of spinners and fibre-artists in the county and I need to get ‘out there’ a bit more and get involved in my local fibre community!

One day I’d like to have a bright sunny craft studio filled with light and fibre, where I could spin and be creative every day.  Maybe a little yurt with a wood-burning stove and a deck for outdoor spinning on a nice day, surrounded by a garden full of herbs, veggies and natural dye plants, with my own flock of sheep grazing nearby… that’s my dream!

I’ve already got far more yarn than I could ever use and so many ideas for new yarns and batts that I’m in danger of being swamped by fibre at some point soon!  I’d love my creations to go to new homes where they’ll be enjoyed so I’m in the process of setting up a little fibre-business under the name ‘flyhoof’ (using my flying stick-horse logo).  I’ll start with a shop on Etsy and possibly also Folksy (like a UK-based version of Etsy) and I’d like to do craft fairs and get ‘out there’ a lot more with my spinning and other crafts.  Watch this space!

Editor’s Notes:

You can find more of Kate here:

Blog: http://flyhoof.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skeffto/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/flyhoof
Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/people/flyhoof

Teresa’s Alter ego, The Treadler, naturally made entirely of wool.

Should you stumble across the path of this oh-so-public spinner perhaps in a waiting room, on a bus, in an elevator, at a festival or fair, or simply notice her sprawled out alongside a pile of fluffy fibers in some darkened alleyway don’t ask her why she’s twirling that spindle or pumping that treadle. Don’t ask her because she will answer and she’ll talk your poor ear off about the joys of spinning and the pleasure of homespun worsted, woolen and novelty art yarns. Just ask her husband who knows only too well of her affliction and has been documenting her decline – although not as fervently as she documents each and every one of her fiber projects.

The Treadler’s Personal Diary

Teresa’s husband knew her back when she was but a recreational user of fibers, back before their living room became an “action-packed” fiber studio, or what she refers to as her “fortress of solitude”, when there wasn’t a drum carder permanently attached to the dining table, before she had dreams of joining a graffiti knitting gang or insisted that he address her as “my wife, The Treadler” when in public and “mild-mannered Teresa Clayton” when alone together at home.

One small corner of their living room where a television once resided.

There was a time when he believed there might still be hope for his wife. He even considered the potential healing qualities of a planned family intervention. But, now “the family” includes 500 silkworms and he is completely outnumbered.

One of 500 adorable domesticated insect pets due to spin silk sometime next week!

Besides, let’s presume he were to have her committed, which would be easy enough to do (just take a look at her blog: http://thetreadler.blogspot.com), he’d be safely rid of his crazy-spinster-silkworm-woman but stuck with all her paraphernalia! And, what would he possibly do with the great many spinning wheels, dye stock solutions, looms, spindles, silkworms and that tremendous stash of wool?

Oh! The fiber stash! No. It’s best to simply ignore that fluffy 500,000 lb elephant in the room.

Editor’s Notes:

You can find more of Teresa’s funny and playful musings, as well as her lovely fiber art on her blog, Etsy shop or on Ravelry.

Blog: http://thetreadler.blogspot.com

Ravelry: thetreadler

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetreadler

My mom taught me the basics of knitting when I was in college. Of course one thing leads to another and I end up with some fluff and a drop spindle. NOPE, not for me. Proceed 5 years into the future when my co-worker mentioned she picked up a spinning wheel at an estate sale. I thought to myself, “hmm that sounds like fun!” I quickly purchased an antique wheel on eBay and then about a month later I also had a drum carder. Realizing the limitations of the old wheel rather quickly, I began my hunt for “the perfect wheel.” By this time I started seeing fabulous “art yarns” created by other talented spinners on Etsy, Ravelry, and Craftster. I wanted to spin those yarns! Research found that the Lendrum DT Complete was the way to go, so I placed my order. I could not be more thrilled with my Lendrum!

Being that up until recently I was a 100% self taught spinner, I am pretty proud of my creations. I did however recently take my first spinning class, Camp Pluckyfluff in Chicago with the ever-so-talented Lexi Boger of Intertwined fame! WOW what a thrill it was to be around other creative souls that shared my passion for turning piles of pretty fluff into out of this world works of art!

As I previously mentioned I mainly spin for myself. I enjoy spinning all different types of yarns, but my personal favorite techniques are corespinning, bulky singles, and Navajo plies. I currently own 2 spinning wheels, my go-to Lendrum DT which permanently has the jumbo flyer on it for bulky spinning and plying, and more recently I added a Kromski Sonata with Woolee Winder to my now growing “collection.” I love my Sonata for very different reasons than my Lendrum. The Sonata and Woolee Winder allow me to spin thinner with ease, plus the added benefit of the Woolee Winder allows me to pay no attention to the bobbin and just keep spinning! I have found that owning these two wheels really encourages me to use different techniques to create beautiful yarns.

Splitting my fiber time between spinning and carding (not to mention knitting and weaving) can be a bit tricky. Some nights I feel I should be upstairs in my studio carding batts for my shop, but at the same time I want to relax and spin for myself. I try not to let the “shoulds” or “have tos” drive me, but rather listen to my heart and only create things when I am truly inspired. I have always felt that creating something is a very personal experience and the finished product is a gift from the heart. Every batt I create and every yarn I spin has a little piece of my heart reflecting through it, because when I am creating a yarn or batt there is nothing else in the world I would rather be doing at that very moment!

I enjoy using intense color and unique fibers in my batts. I rarely make a batt of solely commercially processed and dyed fibers. I like to incorporate my own intensely dyed fibers along with natural local fibers, those dyed by other fiber artists, and any other unique colors or textures I can get my hands on.

I pretty much card on a whim, pulling random bits that go together from my wall of fiber and add-ins. I also like to put together kits that include a batt plus some fun add-ins for making your own art yarn, such as the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” kit seen above. I do take notes occasionally and call those batts I can make again my “Repeatables.” Confetti Cake, seen below, is a much loved batt made with Squishy white merino and hand dyed wool neps and firestar.

I enjoy selling on etsy because I can do it easily on the side of my normal 8-5 job. I did however recently vend for the first time at the Michigan Fiber Festival this past August! It was great to meet other spinners at the event and get instant feedback on my creations. I was shocked at the outpouring of support people had for my outside the box batts and special add-ins! All of the wonderful feedback I received at the festival was not only encouraging but also motivating. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

I am always open to sharing ideas and creative processes so please feel free to contact me on Ravelry, Twitter, and Plurk as “PmpknPunk,” and be sure to visit my etsy shop at www.UniquelyYoursDesign.etsy.com and join the group “Uniquely Yours” on Ravelry.

“To CREATE one’s own world in any of the arts takes courage.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

There are so many skeins that intertwine to bring me back home; in this case, quite literally. Last October, we moved full-time into the “beach house” that my husband’s parents purchased the year we were married. The house is full of memories. We came here almost every summer weekend for over forty years. One of the four bedrooms is still referred to as “Pop and Gram’s room”; that’s where my husband’s grandparents stayed. My husband’s computer room is where his brother stayed. We now occupy my in-law’s master bedroom. In a sense, we have grown old to become them. We can look in any room and see family furniture (including the book case and bureau that were in my husband’s bedroom room when he was growing up).

The house is tiny; much smaller than our home of 34 years in the Philadelphia suburbs. The move was a total horror story–moving 34 years of “stuff” into a house that was not only half the size, but also filled with “stuff”. (If you want the full horror video, look at http://drop.io/anniesl/media)

The next full-circle strand starts, in part, at the 2008 MD Sheep and Wool show. I have had fiber in my blood (and in my hands) since a knitting needle was first placed there when I was eight. I have woven, spun, knitted, crocheted, needlepointed, embroidered, and beaded my way through many years. Since about 2000, my passion had been beading–working with seed beads of increasingly tiny sizes and collecting Lampwork beads on eBay and Etsy. At that 2008 MDSW show, I stopped in the Uncommon Threads tent and found the yarn of my dreams–a lovely pink yarn with BEADS in it. It was just enough to make a scarf, which I immediately began and finished. I loved that scarf–and I never got to wear it; it was lost in the move to the shore.

Someone browsing fiber at Maryland Sheep and Wool

As part of our horror show move, we converted the garage of the house into a studio for me. I’m a graphic artist and Photoshop “expert” (I guess that is my title). I teach online courses in Photoshop and Illustrator that are given though local colleges in the US, Canada, UK, NZ, and Australia. So, I’m on the computer all day (and night). Now, in the new studio, I would have my beads, my fiber, and my computer (all my toys) in one place

The studio

And, coming home again, I would finally have a place to set up my spinning wheel where I could use it easily!

My spinning wheel

Let’s back up this saga to “my spinning wheel”. I got my first wheel somewhere in the late 1970s. I’d taken a workshop from the Embroiderer’s Guild to learn how to use a drop spindle. The instructor wanted to get together enough people so she could order unfinished spinning wheels directly from Ashford at the wholesale price. My first spinning wheel cost me $35.00. I was shown how to turn yarn into thread and how to use hand cards. I never learned that there was more to do with it than that. In 1980, I was stricken with fibromyalgia, which is an arthritis-like disorder of the muscles and connective tissue characterized by pain that keeps jumping around and, in my case, a total lack of stamina and arm strength. The poor wheel sat in the garage for several years until I finally gave it, and my four-harness loom, away.

I think that lack of color (and wool) to spin might also have played a role here. I’m all about color. Natural wool is lovely, but it isn’t going to keep me interested long enough to ever get me to finish anything. (I am really good at UFO’s. When my son was born, my mother reminded me that I could NOT put him in a closet like the other unfinished projects! Though there was really no danger of that…) There also weren’t very many sources of dyed spinning fiber in Philadelphia in 1980.

At some point in the mid 1980’s I purchased a knitting machine with a motor (because I lacked the arm strength to push the carriage). That was not a very satisfying experience. The yarn was most cheap acrylic and the motor would snap the yarn every few rows. I got very tired of “knit fours rows, drop the stitches, fix the yarn, pick the stitches up from the floor, put the stitches back, and start over.” However, I made some very good friends from this–and learned Photoshop and got my first electric spinning wheel.

Gee, those sound like they logically follow from getting a knitting machine! It’s that tangled skein again.

Briefly (if I can be brief with anything), I had been working full time for a nightmare boss when I developed fibromyalgia in 1980. I had left work with a herniated disk to go onto long-term disability. When I was illegally laid off, I went back to school and got my MS in Information Science. I spent most of the 1980’s teaching management information systems at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Drexel was the first college in the US to adopt a mandatory purchase of the Macintosh computer in 1984–so of course I got one. However, it only did black and white graphics. That was an improvement, though, over the really clunky input devices that were being sold by the knitting machine companies to input patterns to the electronic knitting machines.

There was no easily available internet just then, but the local knitting machine store put me in touch with Susan Lazear of Cochenille Computer Knits. Susan was developing a program that would allow you to use a personal computer (at first, the Commodore 64) to design repeat patterns and send them to the knitting machine. Susan also had just started a new forum on CompuServe for fiber crafts and she asked me to be a sysop for the needlepoint section (I had had a needlepoint shop for several years and I painted canvases and designed custom projects. I also had written a self-published book on how to select needlepoint stitches for a painted canvas.)

Even though we were still at the point in technology where I had to place a really expensive phone call to London to purchase Rowan yarn, I now had a toe-hold on the computer age. I learned the ins and out of CompuServe and how to send messages and work in a forum. I also read about these interesting new graphics programs coming out.

I complained one day to a co-worker at Drexel, that I wanted so badly to try out these new programs to see if they would do textile design, but I couldn’t afford them (Illustrator 88, Freehand, Corel Draw). The co-worker just happened to host a talk show on local radio called “Talking About Computers.” He suggested that I write to the companies and ask for review copies of the software and then come on his show and review them. So I did. One of the programs sent for review was Photoshop 1.0!

I began to write to for a local desktop-publishing newspaper doing software reviews. I became active in the Adobe forum on CompuServe and was asked to become a sysop there. I was then approached by an acquisitions editor for Waite Group Press and asked to write my first book, Photoshop 3.0 Special Effects How To.

My computer station in my studio

And the e-spinner??? I met all my Crafts forum friends at Convergence in Washington, DC around that time, and I was tending Susan’s booth when she came running to tell me that she’d found a place that had an electric spinning wheel and that I should go and buy it because I’d be able to spin again! So I did. It was okay, but there still weren’t all that many types of fiber I could find to spin.

Stitches East was born about a mile from my home. That annual event finally gave me access to hand dyed fiber every year. I also bought my Spintech spinner there. I didn’t do much with that either, but I had it and promised myself that “someday” I was really going to spin again.

I bought a Majacraft Susie at MD Sheep and Wool in the mid 1990’s in the mistaken belief that the double treadle would be good exercise. I can manage about five minutes at a time… However, it is a gorgeous room decoration (sigh) and I would look at it longingly. My friend and I were looking for a new spring and tension cord for it in 2008 so she could take it to a spinning workshop when we found my pink beaded yarn. The skein is starting to take shape…

My Majacraft Susie in the old house

When I discovered that the pink scarf did not make the move with us, I was devastated.  I contacted Uncommon Threads and they gave me several names of spinners. That’s how I found Material Whirled online. The yarns were a revelation. I had never seen art yarns before. I also discovered a web ring of art yarn spinning and so I “found” Insubordiknit and Pluckyfluff. Now I was totally hooked (or spun-in–if I don’t want to mix metaphors!)

One of my aims for the new studio was to get back to spinning. Now I had a real goal. I wanted to make beaded yarn and make another scarf! I’ve since had the pleasure of meeting both Lexi (Pluckyfluff) and Jacey (Insubordiknit) and taking their workshops. Jacey’s DVD has pride of place where I can keep popping it into the computer to see.

Art yarns that I spun at the workshops

I’ve brought the skein full circle, but another thread is forming from it. I love the spinning. I coaxed Curt Fricke into making me a special e-spinner that would take a jumbo bobbin, and we modified a Majacraft Wild Flyer to fit on it. I finally have a wheel I can easily spin with; it’s a joy to use. I purchased a drum carded at the 2009 MDSW. My new studio is overflowing with fiber–certainly more than I will ever be able to use up in knitting. I joined Ravelry and found the wonderful Etsy community of spinners and fiber artists. And I just opened my own Etsy shop so I can share my joy and love of fiber (and Photoshop). I want to stock it with beads and beads projects, yarn, batts, and Photoshop elements. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to package Photoshop “help”, but I would like to be able to offer quick fixes for fiber photos that didn’t turn out as expected or tips for designing patterns on the computer.

Some of my beadwork

I am trying to find my own voice and style in spinning and carding but I am so grateful for the community that has welcomed me into their circle. I think I have come home.

My beading station with lots of Loop clouds waiting to be put away

Here it is a bit neater!

My bead storage area for seed beads and projects with fiber above it

My collection of Lampwork beads

Fiber Everywhere!

In the closet

Bottom view

Back of the closet

Editorial Notes:

You can find more of Sherry:

Ravelry: prancingpixel

Etsy: http://prancingpixel.etsy.com

Photoshop Course: http://www.ed2go.com/cgi-bin/ed2go/newcrsdes.cgi?course=ic4&title=Introduction^to^Photoshop^CS4&departmentnum=DP

Though I am a relative newcomer to spinning, it has gripped me with an intensity and singleness of mind like no other craft I have tried. And I’ve tried many: needlepoint, cross-stitch, quilting, tatting, crochet. Several years ago I taught myself to knit, after one of my sisters gifted me with a scarf. The simplicity of two little stitches, knit and purl, and the multitude of variations on those stitches resulting in amazing patterns and textures intrigued me. Eventually (or inevitably, as some might argue), knitting lead me to spinning. Not only could I make cozy sweaters and intricate lace, I could actually create the yarns used in my projects.

And thus an obsession was born.

Spinning provides an immediacy that none of my other crafting endeavors can offer. Take a handful of fiber, sit at the wheel or pick up a spindle for five minutes, and you have yarn. And the satisfaction of tangible results is instantaneous. I can sit at my office desk for a week, producing detailed documents and solving problems and generally earning my keep – but what do I really have to show for it? I press the power button on my monitor, and it all disappears in the blink of an eye.

My yarn, however, is still there.

And the things you can put in yarn, and make yarn from! There are no real rules to spinning, beyond the simple physics of introducing twist into fibers.   Start with locks, batts, roving, top, rolags, sliver. Animal fibers, plant fibers, synthetic fibers. Old torn-up shirts and silk ties, strips of newsprint and magazines, Easter grass, ribbons, shoelaces, party streamers, wire, strings of holiday lights. Fat, thin, twisty, balanced. A spinner is limited only by his or her imagination. (And in some cases, what can be crammed through an orifice.)

Spinning may be a creative outlet, but it can also be contemplative. The repetitive motions in spinning give a person time to think. And conversely, time to not think. I find spinning to be similar to meditation, when I am aware of thoughts coming and going, but finding no need to dwell on any in particular. After spinning for any length of time, I am more relaxed and centered.

And, I have something to show for it.

Spinning rewards the patient. Very few people are instantly good at it. But given a little practice, the spinner is rewarded with an ever-expanding range of skills. And with spindles, practice can be done just about anywhere – commuting, queuing, sitting, standing, walking, alone, with others. It is a wonderful ice-breaker, post-apocalyptic-skills jokes aside. Who among the watchers will be the next to join our ranks?

The spinning community, to a person, has been a welcoming, inspiring group of creative and passionate people. I am incredibly fortunate to have them as friends. The willingness to share knowledge and explain techniques is second only to the enthusiasm shown for each spinner’s creations… which is music to anyone’s ears.

Editor’s Notes:

Tracey Grzegorczyk can be found on Ravelry as RiverPoet. She spins much more yarn than she can ever knit (definitely due to lack of time, not lack of desire!) and some of her yarn can be found at her Etsy shop: http://riverpoet.etsy.com. Her next endeavor will be designing knitting patterns targeted toward using handspun yarn. All phots by Tracey Grzegorczyk with exception to the first lovely shot of her spinning which was taken by Mark Oppenheim.

I feel part of a grand tradition – while I wasn’t around for the big back to the land movement in the 60’s, a core of homesteaders steadfastly preserve these sorts of skills until the next time society comes around to join them. To celebrate Y2K I threw a Survival Skills Fair in college including a spinner with a great wheel, but at that time her work seemed so mysterious that I didn’t even think about trying to learn. I had discovered the magic of turning string into fabric when I was fifteen, working 12” granny squares on each leg of my bus ride, but it took until last year, teaching myself to knit and joining Ravelry before I determined that spinning was next on my list.  (Incidentally, I am totally amused that pop culture did not forget Y2K but instead converted it to the Coming Zombie Apocalypse. What skills will you contribute to the group fleeing the ravenous hordes?? I am convinced clothing ability is worthy of trading for shotgun protection, especially in my latitude.)

I started off with a Spindolyn, but did not practice enough to really get the hang of it – things only clicked this April when I got my Clemes Modern wheel and took a class with the local spinning group. That moment was amazing – I pulled out a few “motivational braids” I couldn’t resist from last year, and never looked back. Sorry overdue baby blanket whose owner was born in March – spinning is just so much more fun! Sorry permaculture group – there’s no way I’m waiting for garden season to end! If I’m not spinning, I’m thinking about spinning. Driving home from the North Country Fiber Fair two weeks ago, the night sky was made of fleece and I found myself coveting the colorway. I am in fact so entranced with spinning that I have not yet actually knitted with any of my handspun – but I hope to break that pattern with the Halloween sampler batts I’m currently working on.

I don’t paint, so this new experience – holding clouds of pure color in my hands that I can make into anything at all – has been just amazing. I definitely go for the bright colors, things that make me happy when I see them. This cool rainy spring was all about orange and green! I am very pleased that my skills have advanced to the point of being able to focus on color effects instead of merely consistency – the subtly striping blue-and-tan Finn wool from Gnomespun.etsy.com was the first project where I set out to achieve a specific goal. I plan to use this as either mitts or sleeves to show off the stripes. This was only my 7th skein, and it picked up a 1st place in the Medium-weight category at NCFF!

I have amassed a library of different breeds that I intend to try out – squooshy lofty Finn is my current favorite, over even Merino – but Intertwined has inspired me to move past my fave indie-dyer variegated tops to collect and combine my own materials. The joys of chunky batts! Of realizing that it’s ok to be not absolutely smooth and even, but in fact desirable! Of seeing that yarns can actually do or say something beyond just being pretty!

I am currently collecting materials for:

• Pink Lemonade – a stash indie-dyer variegated pink braid livened up with cottonwood-, goldenrod-, cochineal- and madder-dyed carded wool and yellow mohair locks.

• Brock Sampson – golden mohair locks, shredded denim and strips of tshirt, combined with plenty of blood-red Corriedale. Embellished with some crumpled monarch butterflies dipped in red paint.

• Mad Science – immaculate white merino, shiny metallic chrome lab fixtures, firestar explosions and neon green bursts of radiation leading to giant spiders, glow-in-the-dark ants, blood and decaying moldy green zombie flesh. I hope someday soon I’ll be able to express a concept without irony!

Editor’s Notes:

You can find more of Becky here:

Website: http://rosehip.wordpress.com

Ravelry: vortenjou