Spinning to see the world

Anne Merrow — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:00 GMT

These symbols painted on a wall told me I'd arrived at the textile destination I sought: the silk factory.

Using this low-tech equipment, workers reel silk from cocoons.

The spinners, knitters, and weavers of the Andes come to life in the first issue of SpinKnit, now available on DVD.

Traveling for textiles

Spinning and knitting change the way we travel.

I don't just mean packing a knitting project for long car trips or a spindle and fiber in your bag. I mean the truly amazing locations to which spinning and knitting can take us.

I did have a sock on bamboo needles as I traveled in the very back of the bus from Shanghai to Wuzhen, China, but the bus was so cramped that I didn't pull it out. Instead I consulted my itinerary and looked at the one Mandarin character I'd been sure to copy down: the one for silk.

By this point in my trip, I'd learned about six words in Mandarin. I'd also burst excitedly into a yarn store on the busy shopping street Nanjing Lu, pulled out my sock-in-progress, and showed the gathered knitters and staff. (They were nonplussed, as though I had burst in and demonstrated that I, too, drink water.) It was through luck and the kindness of strangers that I found the bus to Wuzhen, purchased the last seat available, and eventually arrived in the water town by means of a bicycle rickshaw.

Wuzhen is a lovely town, but I only had eyes for the silk factory, brocade factory, and the lengths of indigo-dyed calico hanging outside the dye workshop. I spent hours watching the workers process the silk and weave it into extraordinary tapestries. The Winter 2011 issue of SpinKnit shares videos and images of the silk workers, which I found captivating.

A few days later, I made my way to Suzhou, famous for its silk factories and museum. The traveler's luck that carried me through the rest of China faltered in Suzhou; with an inadequate map, I missed the silk museum by an hour and a mile. Instead, I walked along the city's canals and stumbled into a yarn shop. Unable to read the labels, I chose a dark teal skein of laceweight yarn and carried it to the counter, where I proceeded to draw a sheep on a scrap of paper and baa at the clerk. Between my poor drawing skills and apparent insanity, it took her a minute to confirm that it was indeed wool. My Chinese souvenir yarn is currently awaiting a project.

Visit the World of Fiber

In our first three issues, SpinKnit has taken you to amazing fiber, spinning, knitting, and other textile destinations around the world. The first issue, now available on DVD, brings spinning and weaving in the Peruvian highlands up close and personal, with video of indigenous spindle spinners and shepherds at work. The Fall 2011 issue visits Chiapas, Mexico; North Ronaldsay, Great Britain; and Forks, Washington. Get a taste of textile travels from these eMags—or let them whet your appetite for your own fiber journeys.

SpinKnit, where you want to be

Anne Merrow — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:00:00 GMT

Spinning sisters in Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico. Photo: Robert Medlock.

Amy Clarke Moore takes you along to a spinning retreat in Forks, Washington.

Tom Forrester sharing in his Toronto workshop. Photo: Sandi Wiseheart.

No need to be envious—join us!

As the editor of SpinKnit, I sometimes get jealous. It seems like all the authors I work with are off to somewhere fascinating.

Linda Ligon went to Chiapas, Mexico, where she met Tzotzil women who keep sacred sheep. In the marketplace of Chamula, she watched a spinner wield a supported spindle lightning-fast as her sister carded. Around the corner, she saw a weaver set up her backstrap loom to weave the yarn into dense fabric.

Amy Clarke Moore spent an enchanted (if slightly damp) week in Forks, Washington, made famous by vampire romance but known to spinners as the site of Judith Mackenzie's Tribal Textile Treasures retreat. Amy learned to shape cedar in traditional ways, taking classes in Quileute roses and Makah woven baskets from artisans in those tribes.

Sandi Wiseheart went to visit Tom Forrester in his Woodshaper Studio outside Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he showed her all the steps to making one of his signature spindles. She saw him select and shape a piece of wood into a Russian spindle before her eyes.

Fortunately, when these writers finish up their adventures, they bring us goodies. They take photos and videos that almost make me feel like I was there, and they tell stories of the amazing spinners, knitters, weavers, and other artisans they meet.

But holding down the fort here can be great, too. When Jacey Boggs was in town, she spent some time demonstrating how she creates one of her most fun textured yarns—by tailspinning. Listening to Jacey explain the technique and watching her hands as she spun, I felt like I was getting a private lesson. (Don't worry:mdash;I'll share. Jacey's video and her pattern for Tailspun Mittens are in this issue.)

And it's not too far from here to Lyons, Colorado, where Joanna and Keith Gleason are building America's first flock of Bond sheep. I'm sorry I couldn't take you along when I drove out to meet the sheep, but I did bring back videos demonstrating how the Gleasons feed, clothe (yes, clothe!), and shear their sheep to make sure they produce wonderful fleeces for handspinning. And I couldn't resist sharing some lamb antics, too.

While hearing about these journeys makes me wish I could go to these places, touch these fibers, and meet these people, experiencing them through SpinKnit—seeing photographs, watching videos, hearing experts tell their stories—is the next best thing.

SpinKnit eMag : Drop Spindle

Spinning to see the world

Traveling for textiles

Visit the World of Fiber

SpinKnit, where you want to be