Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2017 från Spin-Off

When we first chose the theme for this issue, we had competitions such as Spinzilla and Tour de Fleece in mind: organized but friendly challenges to spin more. As we explored, the theme took on extra facets. Skein competitions offer formal critique and sometimes even a cash prize. Serious competitors in the International Back to Back Wool Challenge train throughout the year. Almost every crafter can feel the urgency of Joan Ruane’s quest to finish a project on time in “A Wild Ride Through Cotton” (page 74). Those of us who dread the pressure of a formal contest can take a different view of challenge. Instead of striving for an impressive outcome, I can push the limits of my creativity, as Esther Rodgers suggests in “Are You Spinning Your Wheels?”…

When I first learned to knit, I found the repetitive rhythm meditative and knew I wanted to learn more about other fiber arts and how they might influence my knitting designs. In the beginning, spinning and weaving felt complicated, but I was continuously reminded that the textile arts hold a never-ending opportunity for creative expression… if I just give myself the gift of time, seek guidance, and have patience with myself. As I learned more, my interests expanded to dyeing yarns and roving, to weaving, and eventually, to spinning. I found the processes of spinning and weaving, like knitting, created a feeling of comfort, meditation, and calm. My recent obsessions have been learning about the symbolism in Navajo tapestry weaving, and cultural knitting and weaving traditions. Through time and across…

Nothing compares to using handspun yarn in a knitting project, but some people feel overwhelmed by the process. It can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be complex. There are just a few choices to make to get the yarn you want—and even if you make a not-great choice, it’s not the end of the world (especially if it’s a sample). Here’s the not-secret secret about those choices: you are making them anyway. It might just be in your head, and it may be on autopilot as you spin your default yarn. But you are answering those questions already. So why not do it with some intention? That’s all you need to make yarn you are happy with each time, a yarn to aim for. Think about what you…

Would it be possible to take my homegrown cotton, remove the seeds, spin the fiber, and weave a dress to wear to my granddaughter’s wedding . . . and do it all in six months? Already scheduled were a month’s teaching engagement in New Zealand, a family cruise to Alaska for my eightieth birthday, several stateside cotton spinning workshops to teach, and a four-day stint at the fiber arts demonstrations at the county fair. Oh, and my house was for sale. The answer is yes, but by the skin of my teeth! COTTON FOR A COWGIRL My first grandchild was born in Tucson, Arizona. Cary Ann stands 5 feet 3 inches in size 7 shoes and is 100 percent cowgirl. Growing up on a ranch in southeastern Arizona, she has…

James Watson wrote to us this February to share the sad news of his son Andrew’s sudden death. Andrew was a superb wheelmaker who learned the trade from James, his father. It is with great sadness I have to announce the sudden death of my son, Andrew James Watson, at age 52 on 11 February 2017. Having been in excellent health, he suffered heart failure at his home in Burlington, Ontario. He was the sole manufacturer of Watson Wheels, having taken over the business from me several years ago. His custom wheels and chairs were meticulously made entirely by him and were much in demand internationally. He had an order list extending over two years. Unfortunately, there is no one else to continue with his line of products. The family…

NATURE PROVIDES DYES FOR RAINBOWS A Workshop Approach by Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser Think natural dyes produce muted hues prone to fading? Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser is out to set the record straight with her new book Nature Provides Dyes for Rainbows. Divided into three workshops, the book is based on classes held at Carol’s Missouri studio. The Missouri Dye Plants Workshop uses vegetation found in many parts of the United States. The Ancient Dyes Workshop focuses on dyes imported and sold in the United States from the late 1700s through the early 1800s. The final workshop on Lesser Known Ancient Dyes centers on natural dyes used in other countries. Meticulously illustrated with fullcolor photographs, the book demonstrates the process of dyeing, how to acquire natural dyestuffs, and the results of dyeing…

When I first started exhibiting sheep at county fairs in the late 1970s, spectators would ask, “Why are the sheep wearing coats?” Back then, coats were for shorn and washed meat sheep, to keep them looking white just until show day. Once the show was over and the sheep were back on the farm, the coats were stowed away until the next season. Nowadays, wool sheep breeders are aware of a growing demand for high-quality, very clean raw fleece to be worked by fiber artists. Handspinners across the country are looking for wool that is not just clean but also free from vegetable matter such as hay and straw, contaminants that take time to remove and can ruin a fleece. And so the idea was born to cover our wool…

Unintended consequences can be good or bad; in the case of Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins’ Rock Day Challenge, they have been very good indeed. My shop, Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins, has a regular spin and knit night, like many shops do. We meet once a month to spin, knit, eat cookies, and laugh. We introduce ourselves, describe what is on our wheels or needles, and pass around any completed projects. After all, who else can appreciate all the work and creativity that goes into something made by hand? Show-and-tell has become an important part of the meeting. As items are passed around, questions are asked and compliments given (and sometimes sympathy for a never-ending project). We share problems, offer advice, and inspire new projects. It also breaks the ice, making…

CALIFORNIA Farm Days at Macedo’s Mini Acre—Turlock September 23-24, 2017 (209) 648-2338 www.macedosminiacre.com Celebrate the origin of fiber with our herd of over 70 alpaca! Alpaca yarn, fleece, rovings or batts for spinning. Alpaca gifts and clothing. We can’t wait to meet you! Natural Fiber Fair—Arcata September 9-10, 2017 (707) 599-2729 www.naturalfiberfair.com At the Arcata Community Center. Vendor hall, fleece market, workshops, free demonstrations, fiber circle gathering space, food and fun! Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta—Oceanside October 7-8, 2017 (858) 335-2004 www.VistaFiberArtsFiesta.com A gathering of fiber artists: weavers, spinners, felters, knitters. Yarn and fiber, including raw wool, roving, exotic fibers, handspun yarn, hand dyed and hand painted yarns. Admission free, parking $5. COLORADO Salida Fiber Festival—Salida September 9-10, 2017 (719) 221-2337 www.salidafiberfestival.com Get your fiber fix here! Great variety of vendors,…

Ukrainian designer Anna Marinenko ran a 2015 Kickstarter campaign for her arm-knit blankets. Her company, Ohhio, aimed for $20,000, but she raised $200,000! While Marinenko’s success is not typical, many fiber artists are experimenting—and succeeding on a smaller level—with crowdfunding. A TALE OF TWO CRAFTSWOMEN In the spring of 2016, Kelly Corbett packed her car with dyeing equipment: hot plates, vats, dyes and mordant, drying racks, and the all-important yarn, yarn, and yarn. With her car stuffed, she drove her traveling dye-works toward her Boston class from her farm in Woolwich, Maine. Kelly’s fiber arts business, Romney Ridge Yarns & Wool, included a brick-and-mortar dye studio, but she needed portability. She talked with the food-truck owners at Boston’s SoWa award-winning outdoor marketplace, where she sold yarn on Sunday afternoons. With…

Tell us about your day job. I’m lucky; I have the best job in the world! I get to talk with young people about their deepest values just at the time when they’re trying to figure out what those are. I teach ethics to college students. We talk about what goes into a good life, what a just society would look like, and some of the barriers people experience trying to achieve a good life—like marginalization, exploitation, and powerlessness. I offer students tools for making their own ethical decisions. One they find useful is an idea from Immanuel Kant, which is that you should never treat a person as if she or he were nothing more than an instrument for getting something you want. Don’t treat people like things. Got…

To answer this question, we didn’t ask one spinning teacher; this represents a digest of opinions of many spinning teachers. Although there is broad agreement about the extremes of woolen and worsted spinning, no firm consensus exists on what precisely defines the vast middle. Fibr and drafting traits together make yarn that is more woolen or worsted. Between those extremes, you can make infinite yarn combining elements from along the woolen/worsted continuum. We do it all the time. Do you spin rolags with twist between your hands but smooth down the yarn? Spin very crimpy fibers, prepared as top, with a bit of backward draw? Break off a staple length of smooth top and spin it over the fold? The blend of traits shifts the characteristics of the finished yarn.…

It happens most every autumn: photos of plump skeins of handspun, adorned by their blue first-place ribbons, begin appearing in the social media feeds of the spinners whose work we admire. Somewhere in the back of your own mind you wonder, “Could I do that?” The answer is a resounding yes. A handspinner of any experience level is fully capable of winning a ribbon in his or her local fair or fiber festival. I know, because I did it myself. After just two years of spinning on a wheel, I entered my own local fair, the Georgia National Fair. My skein of a chain-plied wool/nylon blend won not only first place, but also our fair’s version of Grand Champion (both in my division, apprentice). You can do it, too. The…

For spinners, knitters, and weavers, our arm strength and grip are crucial. Without a solid grip, we couldn’t hold knitting needles, draft fiber, or hold a shuttle. Grip and upper extremity strength are often overlooked by crafters because they reason that because they are not lifting heavy objects, they don’t need to condition. Au contraire! I know of many crafters who have overuse and strain injuries, pain in their joints when pinching, or shoulder issues when using a drumcarder or throwing a shuttle. Muscle imbalance and weakness may contribute to such injuries and pain.1 For many years, I worked as a physical therapist at a hospital, where I lifted sick people in and out of bed yet rarely hurt myself. I used correct body mechanics, and I conditioned my muscles…

ARIZONA ALPACA FIBERS OF ARIZONA—BENSON www.alpacafibers.com Large assortment of Luxury Alpaca yarns in natural and hand dyed colors. Alpaca Fleece’s, roving’s and hand carded bats. 15900 S. Empire Rd. (520) 586-3920 FIBER CREEK—PRESCOTT www.fibercreekprescott.com Weaving, Spinning, Knitting, Crochet, Felting, and other Fiberarts. Yarns, Equipment and Supplies. The yarn shop that has it all, we are here to help and please! info@FiberCreekPrescott.com 1406 Willow Creek Rd #123 (928) 717-1774 CONNECTICUT MADISON WOOL—MADISON www.madisonwool.com Madison Wool is a fiber lover’s paradise! Beautiful, hard to find yarns for knitting, plus one of a kind handspun and hand-dyed yarns. We have a whole room for fiber by the ounce or braid, and fun embellishments for carding art batts for spinning/ felting. Spinning, felting, weaving, dyeing and knitting classes by local and international teachers. Many…