SISKIYOUFIBERARTS

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY GRANNIE LINDA IN 2010
AND WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER 2010 CALPACA (CALIFORNIA ALPACA BREEDERS & OWNERS ASSOCIATION) NEWSLETTER CALLED THE "CONNECTION", EDITED BY AASE FREDERICK.

Siskiyou County Fiber Arts

Overshadowed by beautiful Mt. Shasta, in Northern California, lies Siskiyou County. Interstate 5 dissects it, and the north end of the county borders the state of Oregon. I have resided here for almost 15 years. The climate is considered “high desert”. The winters are cold, the summers are hot, but the weather, over all, is quite mild. The skyline is huge, and the variety of terrain gives the county many facets of beauty and majesty.

Almost ten years ago, after my husband bought me a spinning wheel for Christmas, I began attending monthly meetings of the Siskiyou Spinners. They meet in a different member’s home each month. The group has been meeting this way for many years. Everyone brings a sack lunch, the hostess provides beverages and dessert, and we sit and work from mid-morning to mid afternoon.

At my first meeting, I immediately began learning from women who were accomplished and experienced fiber artists from many walks of life, and with many personalities. I was awed by a room filled with about a dozen women, most of whom had a spinning wheel in front of them, calmly and happily spinning away. They chatted away about family, friends, new fiber adventures, and recently acquired fleeces. Some were fleece growers and some were not. I spent the entire day just watching the various styles and techniques, and asking many questions. These knowledgeable women were gracious and generous with their information and helped me to begin a journey into spinning that would lead me into all kinds of projects! The group spins at the county fair each year, demonstrating to the fair-goers. They also provide large rosettes and premiums as special prizes for handspun entries in the fair. They have had group outings to local fiber-related businesses, and they plan group attendance each year to a large wool festival in Eugene, Oregon – The Black Sheep Gathering. The Siskiyou Spinners also get together once a year and have a dyeing day where they make a rainbow assortment of gorgeous hand-dyed fibers.

With the popularity of electronic mail in the last decade, the group has been able to be advised of many fiber-related events throughout the county and the northwest. They have shared hurts and heartaches, as well as successes and triumphs. They share fibers, new ideas, interesting new methods of spinning, weaving, or knitting.

Every meeting seems to be an encouraging experience.

In 2006, we began a similar type of meeting in the evenings and titled ourselves the “Siskiyou Knitters”. We also meet in a different member’s home each month and we meet after dinner and go until the hostess, or her sleepy husband, is ready for us to leave! There is a two-week gap between the meetings of the spinners and knitters so many people are members of both groups. The Siskiyou Knitters, as the Siskiyou Spinners, are a wealth of information. They are helpful to new knitters and crocheters, and challenging to more experienced needle artists. The group will do charity-knitting projects for local women’s shelters and crisis pregnancy centers. They are quick to share interesting patterns, new ideas, favorite yarn shops, and knitting websites. The group, very often, have yarn exchanges where everyone brings a package of yarn with specified guidelines: Red - for the February meeting, red-white-and blue for the July meeting, fall colors for November. The yarn is wrapped “fun or functional”, then numbers are drawn and the packages are exchanged. This practice has become a hi-light of the group and can be a good way to ease an abundant stash! We have had chocolate exchanges during the holidays, recipe exchanges, and even book exchanges. The group is always quick to welcome new members. They have even held a group baby shower for an expectant member.

In 2010, the group is having a Lace Knit Along where each month a short lesson on lace knitting tips is given and a lace-knitting pattern is handed out. This lesson is given at the Siskiyou Spinners meetings as well.

In an age where neighborhoods lie empty most weekdays, and women no longer gather at the central water fountain to do laundry and chat, it is nice to have a community of people that can encourage and support one another.

About the same time the Siskiyou Knitters group was formed, a web site was begun to post information on meeting times for both fiber groups. Photos of events are posted there, as well as coming events, times and places. There are some basic instructive knitting information and links to many local fiber-related businesses. There is a page for local fleece and fiber growers to post contact information. There is no advertising and nothing is for sale, it is just a site to further support the fiber artists in Siskiyou County.

As my Ashford Traveler sits in the corner of my living room, bobbins beginning to fill with a gorgeous dark gray fiber from a local Cotswold-blend sheep named “Chris”, I am reminded of the wool growers in this county that are exceptional at what they do. This county produces some of the finest fleeces in the world. The growers take wonderful care of their animals and it shows in the quality of the fibers.

In the other corner of the living room is a stack of bags and buckets with knitting projects, a finished lace shawl, Lace Knit-Along information and a skein of lace yarn (wrapped “fun”) ready for a yarn exchange at the Siskiyou Knitters meeting tonight. I so look forward to these meetings. I know it will be fun to see what the other knitters have been working on and it will be fun to see the expressions on each face as we open each other’s yarn exchange offerings.

If you would like to see some photos of either the Siskiyou Spinners or Siskiyou Knitters, visit our web site at: