Spinners find relaxation in the fiber arts

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Monday, February 04, 2008

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Practicing the fiber arts of spinning and weaving can “take you anywhere you want to go,” according to local artisan Joy Kammerer.

Whether it’s searching for various textures of wool or learning a new weaving technique, devoted practitioners of the fiber arts are easily “hooked” on their craft and all of the elements connected with the ancient arts.

Local spinners and weavers describe fiber arts as “fun” and “meditative.”

In Kammerer’s case, her fascination with fiber arts began almost 35 years ago while she was still raising her seven children. Her five daughters, and most of her grandchildren share in varying degrees her enthusiasm for spinning and weaving. All 23 of her grandchildren learned to knit and crochet.

The workroom in Kammerer’s Meade County ranch home is filled with yarns, looms, spinning wheels and projects in various stages. A few pieces belong to her grandchildren.

Kammerer retired a year ago after 20 years as a nurse, but her retirement hasn’t been boring, in part because of her interest in fiber arts.

“I can keep totally busy,” she said. “There’s always something to do.”

Kammerer recently accompanied two members of a regional spinning and weaving club on a trip to Peru. Club members often coordinate trips to wool outlets and distant fiber arts shows.

Also taking the Peru trip was Marilyn Lucero of Custer. Lucero took her first spinning class about 13 years ago. An interest that started as a hobby has now become a way of life, she said.

A former book wholesaler, Lucero operates a farm called Black Hills Woolies. She markets the fiber of her own sheep, llamas and alpacas, selling yarns and roving (carded fiber) to spinners at various shows and other outlets, along with other fiber art products.

Lucero’s conversion from salesperson to farmer and fiber merchant was gradual, she said.

But she has plunged in wholeheartedly, traveling to Spain and New Zealand to learn more about her craft.

And she’s not alone.

“There are communities of spinning and weaving groups all over the world,” said Karen Meston of Hot Springs.

The Black Hills spinning group counts among its members people living throughout the Hills region and Wyoming, Meston said.

A weekend in mid-January found more than 20 spinners and weavers gathered at Outlaw Ranch near Custer to ply their craft.

“I came to spinning fairly late,” said Meston, who started spinning 10 to15 years ago.

Meston was experienced at knitting and crocheting, having started before she was 10 years old.

Her familiarity with yarns probably inspired her desire to learn more about weaving and spinning, she said.

“You move from one kind of handicraft to another, and you never quite give up the first one,” Meston said. “You just keep doing one more thing.”

Meston took a weaving class in her 20s but was working. After her retirement, Meston took a spinning class and later learned weaving while her husband was working in New Zealand.

“There are these communities (spinners and weavers) all over the world,” she said. 

Black Hills Spinners is a loosely organized group, but it meets frequently. Separate spinning and weaving groups meet monthly.

The club helps “keep you going,” Kammerer said. The gatherings are a good time to learn and share information with others, she said.

A spinning or weaving group is also the best way to learn the centuries-old arts, according to Meston.

Since spinning wheels and looms are expensive, Meston recommends making sure that this is a craft for you before making an investment.

And be prepared for a few disasters along the way.

“I’ve had lots of surprises,” said Kammerer, smiling.

Her specialty is felted hats. She knits an oversized wool hat resembling a typical stocking hat. The knitted hat is washed in hot, soapy water. The combination of the heat and agitation causes scales on individual hairs of wool to contract and bond together.

“These were mistakes,” Kammerer said, holding up two doll-sized hats that were originally intended as adult hats.

After the hats are washed, Kammerer fits the hat on a hat block, using a mallet to pound the crown into shape. It can take up to 24 hours or longer for a hat to dry.

Kammerer sells her hats and other products at craft shows and fiber arts fairs. She admits that at $50 a hat, she’s probably not making what a hat is worth because of the time involved.

“People in the Midwest are a different type of people,” Kammerer said. Handmade knitted felt hats like hers would typically sell for $125 in other regions of the country.

Selling hats, woven coasters and other products helps support her passion for spinning and weaving, she said.

At one time, Kammerer used wool from her own sheep for projects. The grandchildren have since taken over the sheep, so grandma has to occasionally “negotiate” with them for fiber.

Running out of fiber or yarn is the least of Kammerer’s worries.

“I’ve accumulated quite a stash over the years,” she said.

Unlike Kammerer, Meston, who prefers weaving, does not sell her handiwork. She prefers to give them as gifts because she could not charge enough to compensate her for the time and yarn she has in an item.

“I would not feel good about selling something just for the costs,” she said. “My time is not minimum wage. I’d rather give it to people I care about.”

Regardless of how their interest started or the techniques they practice, today’s spinners and weavers still practice arts as ancient as time that have changed very little. Whether the goal is a finished product or just the journey along the way, they all share a kinship and are willing to help beginners, Meston said.

Many spinners and weavers — both men and women — are people who lead fast lives and, needing a break, find the repetition of weaving and spinning relaxing, Lucero said.

Working with your hands at a spinning wheel or loom is unlike daily life, where you don’t get a lot of feedback, Meston said. Most of the time, people do not know what happens with their work.

“Here you get to start at the beginning and you have fairly decent control over most of it all the way to the end,” Meston said.

For more information

For more information on spinning and weaving, the Black Hills spinners meet the second Monday of the month and weavers meet the fourth Monday of the month. Meetings are currently held in private homes.

Contact Joy Kammerer at 923-1535, Karen Meston at 745-5054 or Marilyn Lucero at 673-3233.

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com