Knit Redplaid

I walked into a new world today.

Last year I met a spinner, Marg, at a demonstration she was participating in at the local fair. She works at one of the two yarn shops in town, and invited me to join their Tuesday afternoon fiber arts meeting [hang out in the back of the store around a big table, craft and yak]. I never made it until last week. It was great! Knitters/Crocheters are the nicest people. I talked about learning how to spin and I was invited to the local spinning guild's casual spinning afternoon they have in a member's home once a month during the summer.

That was this afternoon. I arrived and found myself warmly welcomed into a beautiful house on one of the more ritzy streets around here, surrounded by 8 energetic women, none of them looked less then 10 -15 years older than me, all setting up wonderful looking spinning wheels and pulling out all sorts off amazing fiber: camel, musk ox, silk, dog, cotton, flax and wool. And I said to myself, "Kellie, you are way out of your league now. Don't say or do anything stupid." I was there to soak it all in. I watched, chatted, asked a few questions [didn't want to be a total wide-eyed newbie asking about a million things].

After about 20 minutes Marg asked if I had brought anything to work on.

"Ah, ya" I gulped. "I brought my homemade spindle." There was no putting it off any longer. I pulled out my homely CD & knitting needle spindle with my homely fleece [you know, the wool my friend cut off my BIL's sheep and that I am having such a hard time getting the VM out. Just follow the links if you don't.]

No gasps of horror.

No looks of disgust.

All I got was, well not much of a reaction at all. No one was shocked or dismayed. They obviously had seen it all before, beginner spindles, beginner technique, beginner yarn. All I got was encouragement. I was told I had a nice touch, well actually I over heard the expert spinner, Pat, say to Marg, as she looked at my yarn, "She has a nice touch. She just needs to get on a wheel." And I discovered I am being way too picky about my fleece. I saw others spinning with fiber that had VM in it. I was told that a lot comes out with spinning, more with knitting. I was shown the sweater the group worked on together in the spring on Sheep-to-Sweater Day. The fleece was spun and knit dirty, right from the sheep and then washed. It is beautiful. I was truly amazed.

Two hours gone and I was told we would be having tea and cake soon. Yahoo! By this time I had resorted to knitting on my Cardigan for Arwen by Kate Gilbert because my CD finally broke. I was told to make an other one with 3 CD's glued together to make it heavier and more durable. Will do! I walked into the dinning room and found a beautifully set table and elegant spread: coffee bread and gruyère, mini strawberry tarts, blueberry and apricot bunt, chocolate cookies, mini cream buffs. wow. And wonderfully open conversation to boot. I had been thrown into a pool of wisdom and experience I couldn't even touch yet they made me feel like I was one of them and invited me to hang with them at this years demonstration at the fall fair. It comes full circle.

My eyes have been opened to new possibilities, new ideas, new adventures to come. I will be taking a spinning class in October and then I can rent the guild's spinning wheels for $5 a month. Ya! That's the truth! Now to get on with making that new spindle.