A Whole Lot of Nothing

Knitting? Sure, I've been doing some. But since what I've been knitting is either black or a Christmas present, I can't talk about them or show them to you.

Spinning? Sure, I've been doing some; in fact, I passed the 3-mile mark last week. But I didn't take pictures and now it's too dark. I have 3 more bobbins spun but since those are singles, there doesn't seem to be much point of talking about it or showing it to you.

Ravelry? Been doing that, too. I spent some time this weekend in the forums and browsing through patterns. I saw a post in the Beginning Spinners forum from Abby, in Sudbury, Massachusetts, who was having trouble with her spinning wheel, which turned out to be a Country Craftsman, similar to mine. Abby and I exchanged a bunch of posts, eventually moved to email, and carried on a detailed conversation for a good deal of Saturday. She and her husband were more than a little frustrated with her wheel, but after exchanging pictures and information, we got her wheel working. Tonight Abby reports that she and her husband each spun a first bobbin of single. Her next questions were about finishing the yarn. Congratulations to Abby, who today became a spinner!

I did get a chance to get another spinner started this week. I met Jan Islay through Ravelry. Jan and her husband moved here recently from San Luis Obispo and brought their alpaca herd. She was looking for someone to help her learn to spin, so I invited her to our Westside Wednesday for a starter lesson. I told her it would be such a shame to have all that lovely fiber available and not make use of it! We got her off to a pretty good start, although alpaca isn't the easiest fiber to start with.

I've also been "talking" via Ravelry with Tami. I met Tami last summer when she helped organize the World Wide Knit In Public event in Tanasbourne. Turns out Tami got bitten by the spinning bug, too, and needed some help moving from a drop spindle to a wheel. She's borrowed a Louet and has 2 bobbins of singles, so next Wednesday, we'll do a plying lesson.

It is so amazing that people who would probably have never meet "in real life" could find each other and spend time "talking" about a common interest! It's easy to forget how much technology has changed our everyday lives. Without Ravelry, I never would have met Abby, or Jan, or Tami. Not too many years ago, the only way to learn spinning (or knitting, or lots of other things) was to find someone (often just by word of mouth) who could give you lessons or struggle alone with books from a library. But today, I got a chance to share knowledge and experience with someone 3,000 miles away. I wonder what those spinners of the past would think of that?

Speaking of sharing knowledge, next weekend is the Oregon Flock and Fiber Fest. The PDX Knit Bloggers will be there in force. We'll have an "official" presence this year, with a tent on the lawn. The members will be offering drop-in demos and help with knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, or just about any other fiber-related subject. I plan on spending at least all day Saturday at OFFF; if my energy level holds up, I'll be there Sunday as well. So next week, I'll have LOTS of pretty pictures to show you and lots to talk about.