Years ago, in 5^th grade elementary school, my spinning seed was planted.  I remember vividly our visiting spinner, demonstrating how to use hand carders, her spinning wheel, and talking about our colonial history in Lowell, Massachusetts.  I sat cross-legged on the floor, my jaw hanging open the whole time, awestruck and transfixed.  Dressed in full colonial attire, she gave us all a lock of fleece to keep, which I did for about the next 20 years in a tiny cedar chest.

Fast forward to age 28, I find myself in the Harrisville Design Studio, in Harrisville, New Hampshire.  Standing there surrounded by looms, fibers, yarns and books, I spied a spinning wheel in the corner, pulling at me like a magnet.  It was my lucky day when a woman came over to give me a demonstration, then invited me to try it.  The only words I have for this experience are “I fell head over heels in love.”  There are so few childhood dreams that live up to adult expectations, but here was one that did, above and beyond.  Barely containing myself, my husband and I drove home that day with my new Ashford Traditional, and an assortment of wool in orange, yellow, rust and green.

I spent the next two years spinning everything I could get my hands on, including the downstairs neighbor’s dog fur.  Spinning was pure joy, an obsession, I dreamed about it constantly.  I found out when and where all the sheep and wool festivals were in my area.  The first time we went, it was just like coming home, forever embedded in my bones.

Spinning changed my life, in a rather ironic way.  I was a junior art undergrad when I started spinning.  My focus had been graphic design, but then I listened to my heart and switched to fine arts, leaving the computer behind.  After graduating, a professor and good friend encouraged me to consider grad school in the artisanry fibers field, which I did.  During this time, studying and experimenting with everything in the fiber field, I continued spinning at home, saving almost every skein for an unknown future blanket.  The yarn was so precious to me, that it had an almost priceless value.  I understand now this was because it represented the realization of a childhood dream coming true.  I had learned crochet at age 8, and pursued it full force since my early 20s.  Merging crochet with pure handspun was a personal goal, which I finally reached in 2005 with my White Christmas Tree blanket.  In 2003, I was blessed with an opportunity to work at the Lowell Folk Festival as a spinning craft demonstrator.  This meant so much to me as it takes place on the grounds of Lowell High School and the downtown area, where I spent so much time growing up.  The yarns I spun that weekend became part of that blanket.

After that, I was finally able to spin for other things, more fun, less serious, and less precious!  I was wishing for new inspiration and wanted to try bulkier yarns.  I installed the jumbo flyer on my wheel.  This was OK for a while, but had trouble plying.  It was time to do research, and there was my answer, the Ashford Country Spinner combined with Lexi Boeger’s book Intertwined.  Flashback to 5^th grade, jaw hanging open again at the new possibilities, only it could be in my hands now!  Little did I know in addition to this, there was Ravelry, and joined immediately (all of this in August 2008).

Ravelry was the beginning of another journey and new direction.  First, I was still reeling with excitement from Intertwined, which I credit for giving me “permission” to combine materials. I would never have dreamed before this of putting synthetics with natural fibers.  (I’m still thinking about why I was such a purist.)  Soon after joining Ravelry, I found the Fiber Friday spinning group.  Speechless.  Who was the genius behind this?  The unparalleled Studioloo!  THEME YARNS!  Experimentation without fear, self-discovery, no boundaries, personal challenge, metaphors, motivation, relationships, friends, community, encouragement, and fulfillment all reside here.  This is what I have wanted from spinning all my life.  It’s about possibilities, can function as therapy, and is a tangible place to put what bursts out of your soul.  We can share our heartfelt work with others who understand and care on the same level.  Spinning is art.  It’s expression.  There’s room for everyone who wants to be a part of this world.  Spinning is as important to me as breathing.

The conclusion to the irony is this; I once left the computer behind to focus on art.  Now my spinning art wouldn’t exist without it, and I have even embraced digital photography and video as a medium in conjunction with spinning and all my fiber work.  Finally, because of spinning, I have learned that all things in life are connected (over and over again), and while art pieces can be finished, making art is never done.  Spinning has taught me to keep an open mind; it’s global and infinite.

Editor Notes:

You can find Laura on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/people/indigonightowl

Or on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31145748@N03