I started this blog some months after I learned to spin yarn and to knit. I think my posts might be helpful to someone going through the same discovery process. Along the way I have learned to weave, learned to do språng (braiding on stretched threads), learned to dye, tried out lots of equipment, read many books, hung out with passels of handspinners and handweavers, gotten a fair whack of people started on spindles, and gone to wool festivals near and far. I've been fortunate enough to meet and talk with a number of makers and producers of fiber arts supplies.
Some of the themes of this blog are re-skilling, the environment, fair labour practices, and history. And Shakespeare, just because I like Shakespeare and sometimes his plays mention textiles.
As it says on the home page of the blog, my name is Kristen Hughes. I can twist fibre into yarn with a hand-powered drop spindle, and I see handspinning as a worthwhile and relevant skill. My goal is to produce some of the textiles I use and wear. I aim to use natural materials, some of which may be regional and free of synthetic chemicals. This blog records what I learn and do. You may be here looking for a story, a solution, or information.
I am a homesick Canadian from Vancouver Island, and I live in Virginia, U.S.A.
Here are some blog posts that will tell you how sheep got hold of my brain:
Hello World (2009)
No Longer a Beginner Spinner (2009)
Why I Spin Yarn and Why You Should Care (2011)
Handspun in my Real Wardrobe (2013)
Map of Yarnia (2016)
Somebody Set Up Fibershed Virginia, Please (2018)
My Taste in Yarn (2018)
The Portfolio page has an overview of my work in handspinning, knitting, handweaving, tablet weaving, natural dyeing, and språng.
You can find my how-to videos (which are mostly about språng) and interview videos (which are mostly about the fibre arts) on YouTube as thesojourningspinner. You can find my pins of fiber arts objects (mostly about språng) on Pinterest as thesojourningspinner. My Instagram account is rosetwistllc. I am on The Peahen's Ponderings podcast episode "Getting More Satisfaction From Your Fiber."
I consider my greatest fiber arts accomplishment so far to be the linen bath towel I wove. Not because it was large or beautiful or expensive but because it became part of my household textiles. I used it, to the horror of a friend of mine, and I used it until it became shabby and worn out.
The most important lesson I have learned from the fiber arts is that you have to gird yourself to make a lot of things that don’t meet your standards in order to eventually refine your skills and your understanding enough to be able to make things that you find satisfactory. And tastes differ. You need to zero in on what you personally find satisfactory.
Some fiber artists consider themselves to be artists who make statements. Some consider themselves craftsmen. I consider myself to be a woman who has put in the effort, time, and money to acquire some skills and is working on applying them in order to meet her basic wardrobe and home textile needs.
By mentioning or describing any product, producer, vendor, manufacturer, fibre artist, external link, content provider, technique, book, or the like on this blog, I make no endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee. Their views and mine may disagree. I disclose it when I accept an unsolicited gift from a business. Links to external websites work at the time of posting but may become broken over time.
I write a post when I have something to say about yarn and the fibre arts. I usually schedule the post to go live on a Saturday morning at seven in the morning.
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