This past Saturday, I connected with another fiber lover today and I owe the shop finding to one of the lovely girls on the trip named Raechel. Last Thursday, I went as a parent volunteer to Williamsburg, VA. It was the eighth graders class trip. We were there from Thursday – Saturday. On our last day, we had one more tour and at the end we had 1.5 hours of free time. The day before, I’d heard about a Weaving shop and it was my intent to go there on my own, but I honestly did not think I would have the time to do that. Well, since we did have free time, I thought thewe could pop by there and check it out. I’m so glad we went. We also stopped by the local silversmith shop, and a herbal shop that sold plants and a jack of all trades shop that seemed to sell a bit of everything. The business owners were in period clothing which made it even more fascination.
Say hello to Karen, she’s a Master Weaver and a Spinner at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. We walked in as she was giving an demonstration. Of course, I started asking questions. It appeared she was using a walking wheel to spin cotton and so I asked if that’s what it was. She told me it was and also gave other names it’s known by. Seeing colored homespun yarn on the wall, I asked if they were naturally dyed and then started talking about spinning. Well, that’s all that was needed to really start talking about spinning and our love of fiber. If we weren’t’ so short on time, I definitely would have stayed longer. She was a wealth of knowledge and since she’s a master weaver, I would have loved to stay and ask questions about that, however I do have her business card so I will stay in touch. This lovely lady gifted me with a few ounces of cotton and wool from a Leicester Sheep. They have long fiber.
My daughter and I separated the cotton on the bus so what you see in this picture is cotton fiber that has had the seeds removed. The only thing left to do is to card and spin the fiber into cotton yarn. It’s too late to plant the seeds this year, but we’ll do that next year.
Of course I’m thrilled! Leicester has been on my must spin list for some time. I have not made a move to purchase any yet, because I still have plenty of fiber to process. But now, I have received a few ounces of it to try for free. I’m hoping I have a chance to spin sometime this week. Upon leaving, my daughter said, “Mommy, who knows this might be the beginning of a new fiber friendship.” I must say I was touched by Karen’s generosity. I do enjoy giving and often it is to strangers. So her random act of kindness is even more meaningful since I was the one receiving. That doesn’t happen to often and that’s fine. Thanks again, Karen! 🙂
