Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A Twisted Idea

I belong to three knitting guilds.  Not groups - official TKGA guilds that focus on educating members whilst doing good in the world.  Why?  Because the knowledge and skill attained through monthly programs and  seeing the work of others teaches me so very much.  Every month brings something new -  whether it is an 'Ah Ha!' moment, an unfamiliar yarn, the perfect pattern or a link to a different way to do short rows.

But never in my wildest thinking did it occur to me that I'd sit at a guild meeting and take seeds out of a raw cotton boll, open a paper clip and spin yarn!  Enter Mary F., who by the way has successfully grown her own cotton in the back yard.

With a wink and a few funny stories, she demonstrates her unique spin on making cotton yarn with the humble paper holding device.


Look at it!  Gorgeous stuff.
Perfect.  
Her practiced hand gets just the right amount of twist. 
So thin. 
So useful. 
So magic.

I'm not a spinner, but even I learned to honor the little triangle where the fluff twists into something usable.

I tried.   I made single strand bumpy boucle.  (photo not included)


Riverside Knitting Guild
North Coast Knitters Guild
El Segundo Sliptstitchers

4 comments:

  1. That's interesting. Does she spin large amounts with the paper clip or was it just for demonstration purposes?

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    1. We did not get that far. But, she did demonstrate how easy it is to turn the single into two ply and keep going. Probably mostly as demonstration on spinning and that it is not necessary to spend time preparing the cotton - just remove the seeds and save to plant next year.

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  2. HEY THAT IS MARY FRANCES!! Wow, when worlds collide... I know her from GLASG of course.

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    Replies
    1. Yes! She is a member of Riverside Knitting Guild now and contributed to our education.

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