We know when we have found our people. The signals are clear.
You see knitting sticking out of a silk-screened shoulder bag or a spinning wheel strapped into the passenger seat. Maybe a hand-woven garment, handknits in winter, or a propensity to sniff yarn.
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| Amy Wolf judging the fleece at Estes Park Wool Market 2015 |
Conversations overheard include words like AVL, draft, border leicester, pick-up, bobbin, tapestry, dyeing... In fact I suspect this is why we go to conferences. We know the people there will understand us.
Small conferences like Michigan League of Handweavers Conference are a great place to spend time with other fiber enthusiasts. I enjoyed teaching at MLH partly because I know my fiber geekiness will not be frowned upon.
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| Participants in the Color Theory for Tapestry class talking about Millie Danielson's work in tapestry (Millie on left, Linda on right) |
The instructors were top-notch and I relished the opportunity to talk to the likes of
Kathrin Weber (Blazing Shuttles),
Sharon Costello,
Cheryl Rezendes,
Kate Larson, Mary Sue Fenner, JoAnn Bachelder and Sadelle Wiltshire.
Kate Larson's class was learning to spin different yarns for various Scandinavian knitting patterns as well as weaving belts.
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| Kate Larson (center) and two of her students |
One of the things I loved about Kate's talk to the conference and her work in the classroom was the stories. All the patterns have stories. Narrative seems integral to her work and I'll be following her work with Interweave and in SpinOff magazine. She has a book coming out in the fall,
so pre-order!
The Practical Spinners Guide--Wool.
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| Kate Larson's work. Examples of different yarn preparation and spinning in the mittens and some traditional belts |
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| Kate Larson. All handspun with traditional knitting pattern and embroidery work. |
Cheryl Rezendes was also doing some amazing work. She also has a book that just came out on fabric surface design (called helpfully enough,
Fabric Surface Design). In another life with a lot of time, I would take every class both Kate and Cheryl offer. They were inspiring.
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| Surface design work of Cheryl Rezendes |
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| Cheryl Rezendes |
And here is another one of my people. We spent some time at "Alamosa Beach" this morning otherwise known as Great Sand Dunes National Park. Medano Creek runs a few months a year and is the best thing in the world for little girls to play in.
Do you know who your people are? The ones that make you feel safe and inspire your creativity?
Small conferences like Michigan League of Handweavers Conference are a great place to spend time with other fiber enthusiasts. I enjoyed teaching at MLH partly because I know my fiber geekiness will not be frowned upon.