behind the scenes: spinning a thread

Bear with me… this might be long and rambling.

 

Things that are amazing: I belong to a worldwide community of people who are inspired and consumed and creating – with and by a rather obscure pastime that many would consider quaint or outdated. The fiber arts community is my joy, my inspiration, my never-ending challenge and cheerleader and the place I always wanted to be.

 

Things like THIS happen in this community. The *this* in question is a post by my Spin Sister Suzy of WoolWench Handspun Yarns and Fibers, where she talks about the stuff Rob and I have been making, and encourages her followers to come say hi and check out our shop.

You might notice that she and I make many things that many would consider as the same – yarn, fiber. [in theory – because no spinner/dyer/fiber person ever really has something just like the others.] But that’s how it so often goes in the Fiber World – we love helping each other out, we get excited by the successes and discoveries of our fellow artists, we share sales and patterns and techniques and videos and links. That’s what we do, because sharing makes us ALL bigger and better.

 

This is what I try to do when I do Community Thursday. I try to give a little lift to people I know who are trying new things, who are struggling, or who are just being amazing that week. I share things that inspire me too, even if I don’t know them personally.

I also share intimately personal bits of my business, both because I think that vulnerability can be a strength if shared willingly, and because I figure that people out there can learn from my mistakes and successes equally.

When I teach spinning, I always show my students my beginner’s yarn. It’s for a couple of reasons: one, to show students that I started just where they are on day one of being a spinner, and practice brought me to the level of spinner that I am now. Another reason is to show them that even a beginner’s yarn is valuable and useful – mine is knit with seed stitch into a piece that’s decorative and quite pretty with its variations and quirky mistakes.

We all start from the same place. And with work, we can improve. And most importantly, what we create at the beginning of the journey is just as important as what we make later on, with experience under our belts. The journey is important. Most important of all is who we find along the path as we journey, and how we help them as they help us.

Maybe I’m naive. That’s not a new charge against me. But I believe that we are building something amazing when we spin the threads between us in this community, when we connect this way.

The threads we spin are strong, and long.

I wanted to have a video of the shop for tonight, but saying this was more important.