Trenchwork

One of the advantages to going stateside for a little while was that I was able to meet some real, live spinners, face to face. I had the pleasure to join a small group of Tallahassee Knitters at their Thursday evening meeting, during which one knitter—Hazel—dragged out her spindle to keep me company.

I met with the Cotton Patch Spinners in Carol Singletary’s home in Thomasville, and for the first time in my life, saw other people spinning on wheels and making real, honest-to-goodness yarn. If you develop a new obsession hobby, it really does help to see other people participating in said obsession hobby. Fay helped me see what the long draw was (even if I haven’t quite gotten it down), and none of the ladies visibly cringed at being swamped by a ton of newbie questions. I saw a Babe, a Lendrum, a couple of Louets (or was it a couple of Lendrums and a Louet), a couple of Travellers, and one Gem, all gathered in one place, all spinning different fibers in slightly different ways. I came away from that meeting feeling as if I haven’t wasted my first six months of spinning and that I’ve learned rather a lot in a short period of time—and perhaps am not doing so badly after all.

And yes—I’m kicking myself for not remembering to take a few pictures!

And finally, I met with Ann Durham while she span at the science museum formerly known as the Tallahassee Junior Museum.

It’s thanks to DH that I have this photo at all since I was so focused on what she was telling me and watching her spin that I totally forgot I had a camera in my purse!  Ann was the graduate advisor in the English department and later in Graduate Studies while I was at FSU, and I knew the name rang bells.  It was a distinct pleasure to find her again; she is a joy to work with and I always knew that she not only gave me the right information, but that I could trust her judgement—and that if she didn’t know the answer, she’d tell me and then do her darnedest to find it for me.  Ann is one of those people you want working with you, and whom any supervisor worth his or her salt would want as part of the team.  When GS lost her, they lost a prize.  However, the textile arts department gained one since she now teaches with them part time.

By the way, the skeins hanging behind her?  They’re hers.  She’d started hanging the yarn in order to demonstrate what spinning and natural dyes could produce, but visitors kept asking what she’d do with it, and what it was going to be.  In mild desperation, she took lengths from the skeins and attached them to a woven mat (which, if memory serves me correctly, she wove herself), and suspended them as a wall hanging.  Voila!  No more questions.

In the meantime, Ann and I sat there and span—her on the wheel, me on the spindle—while we talked about fiber, academics, politics, the unfortunate combination of the last two, and spinning.  It’s Ann who told me about carbonized bamboo, or black bamboo (which is now on my wish list for the future), and showed me how to handle a join in spinning from the fold.  She didn’t laugh when I asked dumb questions or made totally greenhorn statements, she was patient and willing to share her time and insight, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I had to pick her brain on a day which was nearly impossibly hot and muggy and as she sat there in full recreation regalia, including pettiskirt and pantaloons.

This quality is one I’ve found in the spinning and knitting community online, and it’s one of the things I’ve most valued over the past year.  I know there are a few twits out there in the virtual world just as there are a few in the f2f world.  But I’ve been fortunate, and I’ve not met them.  Instead, I’ve been encouraged and supported by a crowd of folks who’ve been generous with their time, resources, and knowledge, and I can’t help but wish academia and other communties would take a page from this book.

In any event, I owe these ladies a generous thanks for their willingness to share their time and knowledge with someone they’d never (except for Ann) met.