The soft hum of spinning wheels filled the activity space downstairs at the Parkside Gallery on Saturday, June 10 as the South Cariboo Weavers, Spinners and Fibre Artists Guild hosted a workshop on how to spin wool at the Parkside Gallery.
Ten women worked side by side, five teaching and five learning the art of spinning.
While on the quiet side, the room was filled with soft conversation and laughter as spinners gently twisted the fibre onto the bobbin, sometimes perfectly, sometimes needing to go back and correct what they had spun.
“It’s a lot of fun,” says participant Gina Gigliotti, who attempted spinning for the first time. “It is very soothing once you understand how to do it because I feel like my body can be really tense — like a death grip. You relax.”
For spinning, loose fibre is attached to a wheel, which people use a treadle (pedal) to operate. Once the fibre is on the wheel the operator puts a twist on it as the wheel spins the fibre onto a bobbin. The process creates a yarn usable for things like knitting or crocheting.
“Some of these arts are becoming extinct,” says Diana Merritt, president of the South Cariboo Weavers, Spinners and Fibre Artists Guild.
“These activities are still out there and it’s not just old people who are doing it, it’s all ages.”
The guild hosted the event on World Knitting Day to introduce people to spinning.
The guild itself has 43 members, male and female, that include weavers, felters and bobbin lacemakers.
The guild holds a monthly guild meeting, while the spinners meet twice a month, the weavers meet once a month and a combined group meets every couple of weeks.
“We have a little bit of everything so that among our group we can teach each other these different crafts,” says Merritt.
The spinning was a success for the women in the room. While no one spun their straw into gold, the women also avoided pricking their fingers on the wheels.
All of them went home with a spool of yarn.
“One of the rules about spinning is to never ask the spinner what they will do with their spool when they are done because that’s not the point of spinning. The point of spinning is to spin because it’s a very relaxing and enjoyable thing to do,” says Merritt.
She also says the guild is always looking for new members.
“We have fun together, we go and we do different things [other] than just spinning. We go out together or go out for dinner or go to a play or the things that are happening in town, just to get out.”
The club also rents the expensive spinning wheels out at affordable costs.
For more information on joining the guild or its activities, people can contact Merritt at 250-706-0477 or via email at dianamerritt55@gmail.com.