When I was young, my family visited Williamsburg Virginia. I still can remember watching the colonial reenactors preparing wool for spinning and weaving it into cloth. The wheel was hypnotizing.
So, when I started participating in the local public market, I was thrilled to see the young kids stop and watch me spin. But what amazed me even more was the number of people who stop to watch and tell me their own stories and memories involving spinning and weaving.
There was one elderly gentleman who told me his wife wove tapestries that covered the entire wall of a bank lobby. A 95-year young grandmother learned spinning from her grandmother. Little girls wondered if it was the same wheel Snow White used. But what I loved the most was teaching and showing others what made me fall in love with the fiber arts.
I’m still doing the weekend market and look forward to meeting interesting people and hearing their stories. One of my favorites came from a young girl with her dad. “Look” her dad said, “that lady is weaving”. And without missing a beat, the little girl turned and said, “no daddy, that’s a spinning wheel”.
I loved it!
Donna
