I was standing at a booth at a knitting festival, admiring the handspun yarn and trying to figure out why I hadn’t spun in so long. It’d been since we’d moved the year before… No! It’d been longer — since before the babies were born! New babies and major house moves can push lots of things off the rails — even stuff that a girl really loves, like fiber arts.
The lady running the booth came up and asked me what I was interested in, and I explained that I was a spinner but my wheel was in storage,buried amongst all the unpacked boxes in the garage, but looking at her spinning was… Oooh! Oooh, it was inspiring me! I was going to go home and dig out my wheel and get spinning again.
And just like that, she invited me to come round to her house for a spin-in. She didn’t know me from Adam but she didn’t hesitate for a moment. That was well over a year ago and, through her, I’ve met a whole group of incredibly inspiring fiberistas — women who have taken their passion and really built it into something. They spin and dye and knit, they sew and felt, and make bags and buttons, art, images, and jewelry… Most of all, they inspire, they inspire, they inspire. Without them, I never would have believed that I could take this love of fiber that I have, and all these years of experience from doing it as a hobby and turn it into something real. All they did was be their fiberista-selves, but they were encouragement to me the whole time, and I don’t think they even know it. I’d like to introduce you to them.
Cosy is the lady who first invited me to come spinning. She is a full-time fiber artist, spinner and dyer, knit designer, teacher, and published knitting author. More than that, she is laid-back, fun to know, and generous with her time and expertise.
Gwen has fabulous style, tells mad and hilarious stories, and dyes the most sublime colours.
Lauren is an artist who does beautiful felted jewelry but, mostly, she just totally cracks me up.
Ana makes fabulous things out of gorgeous fabrics — bags, bracelets, covered button hair accessories. And she and I always seem to have so much to talk about — I love chatting with her.
Behind Julia‘s quiet demeanor is a hugely talented knitter and dyer, whose self-striping sock yarn has been featured in Vogue Knitting.
And Alex is an amazingly talented photographer who has just launched her own business. She took some shots of my family recently, and she was brilliant — so full of energy and ideas — and the results are fantastic!
you’re too sweet 😉 it’s only when i actually think about how ridiculous i am (hi! i don’t know you but you’re excited about this too, let us do it together) that i feel a slight bit timid.
but i wouldn’t take back my inviting you for the world. blessings on your business!
Cosy, I said it before and I meant it — I am so grateful and so glad that you weren’t overly cautious that day! Because I’d gotten so busy with life and completely fallen out of spinning and knitting and the whole fiber-arts thing, and then I came home from that first day and I had those wild-woman eyes that you see people get at big fiber festivals… and I haven’t looked back since. So thank you thank you thank you for just opening your mouth and inviting me that day! 😀