While St. Distaff's Day, also called Rock Day, was traditionally the day that women returned to their work and spinning, many modern fiber lovers celebrate the holiday by gathering together. Earlier this week, Liz Good wrote a great post about St. Distaff's Day and its importance to spinners. Many groups and guilds, like the Hollow Tree Spinners (Illinois and Wisconsin) did not meet in person but shared their personal fiber pursuits for the day online. Others, like the Buckinghamshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers, had a regular meeting planned, to which they added Rock Day sentiments.

Many St. Distaff's Day gatherings were held, large and small, throughout our fiber community. I love learning about all the unique ways in which different spinning groups and guilds celebrate their craft. Here are some interesting fiber folks to tell us more:

 

South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers at Rock Day 2013. Photo courtesy of April Lippet-Faczak.

Trisha Goodstein of the South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers shares, "Twenty spinners, weavers, braiders, and felters, including three new members, came together for a memorable Rock Day on January 5, 2013, to celebrate our fiber passions. We raised $94 for the Mt. Holly Library. We shared a meal together and exchanged gifts from the heart. I wish I could say enough about what a great group of fiber artists we have in our guild. An amazing collection of talent!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

The St. Distaff's Day Spin-In in Lake Stevens, Washington. Photo courtesy of Karen Bruggman.

Karen Bruggman of the Northwest Regional Spinners Association tells us more about the twenty-ninth annual St. Distaff's Day Spin-In  at Cavelero Middle High School in Lake Stevens, Washington. "There were close to three hundred attendees, most with spinning wheels. One would not think that there could be that many different makers of spinning wheels.  Thirty vendors were selling everything from fiber to yarn to spinning wheels. The excitement was growing as we drew numbers for over one hundred door prizes and baskets full of fibery things. At the end of the day as people were leaving, I saw many hugs as friends parted until the next spin-in."

 

 

 

 

Aubrey couldn't be at Stringtopia for Rock Day. She called the shop, described her dream batt, and the Batt Bar went to work. Here it is, fresh off the carder. Photo courtesy of Shelly Kilgallon.

Abby Franquemont and Shelly Kilgallon, owners of the new Stringtopia Fiber Arts Studio in Lebanon, Ohio, devised an interesting way for their far-flung fiber community to participate in the studio's first Rock Day. Shelly says, "We wanted to do something that would allow us to celebrate with all the friends of Stringtopia who live far and wide, so we decided to offer our Batt Bar service for remote call-ins. Our Batt Bar is where the customer gets to go through our two big huge bins of scrap fiber that we have left over from production and classes and also one-offs and goof-ups. They hand us their fiber blend selections and we put them on the drumcarder to create a unique custom-made batt. The calls were almost nonstop throughout the day, and it was a blast going back and forth over the phone about colors and textures and inspirations."

 

 

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