Fiber to Scarf Exchange 2008

Back in October or November of last year –-possibly while driving home from Rhinebeck-– I started to think about all the knitters and spinners I know. Maybe it was because I’d watched Mona learn to spin at the end of September. Perhaps it was because I’d spent time at Rhinebeck with Mar and Joe and Carol and Lars and everyone else. Or perhaps it was because I’d done my best to teach Dave to spin.  I dunno what else it might have been. Maybe it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, as I thought about it I realized that my friends and I are on this interesting continuum. On the one end of the scale I saw the very good (to superb) spinners who are good knitters, and on the other end are the novice spinners who are very good to superb knitters. I don’t know anyone who is a superb-all-around knitter and a superb–all-around spinner. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. We’ve all come to our crafts at various times in our lives; we’ve all been working at them with differing amounts of intensity and depth; we all have differing levels of skill at the different crafts.

Now I’m not trying to say anything negative about anyone, and I hope no-one is offended by what I’ve written. That’s the not the intention. It’s just to acknowledge that I know a great group of people –-I consider myself quite blessed, in fact--  and each of them does some things well, and other things really well, and some things superbly.

One of the things I’ve noticed with beginning spinners is that they feel awkward about their first skeins of yarn. They compare them to skeins of commercially-spun yarn --which may or may not be a good thing-- and judge their work as bad or good, or crap, or as “novelty yarn”. The yarn doesn’t get used for anything. It doesn’t even sit in a basket in the middle of the table where it’s handy to be pulled out and bragged about. It gets hidden in a box somewhere: maybe in the attic. Forgotten about.

I think that’s too bad, because some of that yarn –-perhaps it’s underplied or overplied or thick’n’thin-– could be used in a simple project. Maybe it could be used as an accent yarn with commercial yarns comprising the majority of the project. Or maybe it really could stand alone by itself. I mean, even with the lumps and bumps and splooches and slubs and wonky bits it really is good enough that it could stand alone, in a project, by itself.

I remembered an article in the Winter 1991 issue of Spinoff magazine ("Secret Sibling Scarf Exchange" page 17-18), about a guild that organized a mystery project exchange between members. I wondered if I could organize some kind of similar exchange between the spinners I know…something where the novice spinners could be encouraged to use their yarns, and more experienced spinners could be enticed into the game by …what? And the people I expected might participate live in Canada and the USA…how would I bridge the wide geography.  Hm…

The other thing I considered was that if people knew who they were spinning and knitting for, they might kack out of the exchange. They might get performance anxiety and that could lock them up. They might freak out and need large amounts of chocolate or ice cream to carry on. Let’s face it: I’d be pretty intimidated knowing I was spinning and knitting for some SuperDuper Incredible Spinner. “My work just isn’t good enough for her,” I might start thinking. “Here I am spinning this stuff that I’m calling yarn for this World Authority on Spinning, and oh my gawd, why bother. I might as well just put it in the garbage and hope that nobody noticed. I mean, she’s just going to look at this and roll her eyes and wonder why I even bother trying.” So it became important to me that people not know who they were spinning/knitting for, to keep it anonymous. Novice spinners wouldn’t feel intimidated by knowing who they were spinning for, and all spinners had the challenge of receiving some fiber and having to make something from it, within their skill levels.

The whole thing, based on the plan profiled in the SpinOff article with only a few changes, turned out to be quite simple. I emailed a whole buncha potential participants and explained the basic "rules" for the exchange. You can read them here.

Thirteen people (including me) signed on. Six people have finished their scarves and sent them to the recipients. Only 1 person had a total nervous breakdown when she found out who she was spinning and knitting for, requiring large amounts of chocolate for her to recover her composure.

As I get photos and comments about the scarves I’ll post them on this page. Plus there'll be a heading for this in the blog's sidebar.

Over and out for now.

Edit, May 23, 2009: Heading in the side bar removed.

Comments

[Josiane]

What a great idea! I really like the way you chose to run that exchange; it's certainly one of the most interesting exchange concept I have seen. Thanks for sharing it - it's really inspiring!

[Laritza]

We do something similar at our guild the Wasatch Woolpack. I started it a couple of years ago. We have not had many takers, but we are doing it this year again and I have people asking me if we are going to do it again this year. Here is what we do:
http://yorksett.blogspot.com/2007/05/wasatch-woolpack-handspinner-team.html

[JoVE]

I had the balls to actually knit with what I spun when I started and that taught me that knitting hides a lot of flaws in the yarn. Sometimes I look at what I spin and think it looks kind of crappy but when it is knit up, it looks fine.

Congrats on encouraging some folks to do that. I saw Joe's post about this and look forward to seeing what others did.

[Kenny]

Uggghhh!!!!! I totally suck at spinning. So, I guess I can fall in the suck at spinning, good at knitting category. I tried spinning with Chris and ended up fu**ing up his wheel. That's how spinning impaired i am! :) Sorry Chris.

I can't way to see the fiber to scarf exchange. I think it'll be great. I'll just stand by and watch from afar.

And I'm not going to do the meme. Well, maybe, but I'm boring........ and maybe a little lazy too. I might write something over the weekend!

Luv ya!

Kenny

[Deborah Robson]

How nice to see that article/idea rediscovered. I know the folks who originated it loved it, and others who played with it at the time all came away delighted. That was pre-major-internet-connection, so they didn't have the problem of novice/well-known spinner mix. Good solution to that. Nice fiber honestly spun is a pleasure, regardless of the skill level.

[QueerJoe]

I was aghast to find out that my performance anxiety was common. You can't imagine how obsessed I was at trying to come up with the perfect yarn for the fiber and the perfect scarf for the yarn.

It's funny, I can't even remember what roving I sent you for the exchange. I think it was some merino something or other.

I guess public mocking of the resulting scarf wouldn't be very appropriate?

[TrickyTricot]

I just got mine in the mail last night from Danny, and as I sat down to get started on the knitting (for my own) last night, I had a momentary panic attack. I'll send a photo very soon - Danny did a bang-up job... he handled the fiber like a pro, and the results are fantabulous.

[Kenny]

Can't tag you because you tag me, but I did the meme and you're one of the people that I would like to know better. L:)

[Mar]

I wish I could have been a part of your Fiber to Scarf fun but I was too busy working and traveling. Well. The travel is OVER!!! Company decided it's just too expensive now. Thank God. So next year, I'm in.

I still have my first plyed skein, which I drag out onto the blog every so often to encourage beginners. Hey, it may look like crap but it was my crap and I remember being thrilled that I actually produced something. Novices just need to know that it's practice, all the way. Spin some every day and you'll get there. And WTF wants perfect anyhoo? (Well, me, but I'm just awesomely anal-retentive sometimes.)

[Julian Jefferson]

I do wish everyone would enjoy their craft and not get hung up about whether they are good enough. My spinning is rather haphazard which I like because my knitting/ crochet/ lace is contemporary. In order to become a so called expert you need to concentrate on that one accomplishment. Life if far tooooo short for that - but I do admire those that take the time. My spinning teacher did say to me that teaching spinners to add slubs etc to make fancy yarns was difficult she was highly amused that I could master so called fancy yarns i.e. uneven yet had not mastered the finner consistent yarn. One of these days I might - well I won't at the moment as the spinning wheel is up in the loft!!!!