Thursday night I attended my first Spinners' Study group as a Boise Valley Handweavers Guild member. Yay! I looked forward to it all week! Since I began to spin just over a year ago, I've only spun with other spinners twice. Once I spun with Carol Dunn at TOTS last October and then in February I attended the Winter Blues Spin In in Crouch, ID. Both of those experiences were so good for me as a spinner. I learn something new every time I spin with someone else. However, all my spinning in between and since has been a solo deal. When I looked into the Guild and read their website, at first I didn't think I'd really be a good fit. I'm not a weaver. I crochet, knit, quilt and spin but I just can't see myself picking up another craft right now. Space and expense are the main reasons. Oh yeah... and time. :) But when I read that they have a spinners' study group that meets once a month, I decided to give it a shot and join. I'm so happy I did!
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There were a lot of us there. I didn't do a head count but more than 10 of us showed up with wheels and some brought bobbin lace and other projects. Because I was the new kid on the block I did lots of listening but they were all so welcoming and warm that it wasn't long before I felt comfortable enough to take part in some of the conversations going on. Right now the study group isn't actually studying anything in particular we're just meeting to spin and talk. Like a quilting bee with spinning instead of quilting. I got to feel other people's fiber and ask them about it. Peggy, one of the ladies I sat next to showed me how to do a lovely long draw with a long stapled fiber. She was sooooooo good at it!! I decided that by this time next year I will be able to do a lovely even long draw single too. Peggy made it look easy but I know it will take me practice and more practice.
There were two other new spinners there besides myself and they were both spinning on Ashford Traditional wheels. Seeing their wheels made me miss my first wheel a bit. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Rowenna and Suzannah and wouldn't trade them for anything. But my first wheel was a Traddy and to me, just looking at that wheel says "spinning wheel". Plus, their wheels were stained a lovely dark and deep brown which was very attractive. Everyone was spinning something different too. Mitzi was using a Columbine wheel and it was pretty cool to watch. Her bobbins for that thing are enormous! I just had my Concord silk/merino blend wool and kept working on that. Jeff ordered some lovely Polwarth wool for me and I'm very excited to get it and see what it's like to spin. I listened to some of them talk about their fiber stash and I was in awe. I have lots of fiber and my sheep and rabbits are growing more for me every day but I have NOTHING like some of these ladies do. Amazing. I'd better hurry and stash more if I'm to catch up. lol!
It was a wonderful time with some wonderful ladies and I'm already looking forward to next month's meeting. I'll take better and more pictures next time to shows some of the other projects and wool the others are working on. Meanwhile, I feel the need to spin coming on.
