“I Will Never…”

I should have known better. It’s happened a couple of times before. I said it years ago…”I will never knit socks.” And then, somehow (I honestly don’t remember what made me pick up teeny tiny needles and start knitting my first sock) I found myself knitting pairs of socks one right after the other.

So I should have known a couple of years ago, NOT to say, “I will never spin.” I was so firmly confident that with the panoply of yarns available, already spun, I would just do myself a favor and stay away from the whole spinning thing. And certainly not bring in another piece of furniture to collect dust in my house. Nope. I will never spin. So I said.

Never say never.

Here’s how it went. One of my students/knitting friends was first and foremost a spinner. Out of a desire to talk to her about her passion, listening to her describe what she was learning, a tiny speck of curiosity took up residence somewhere in my creative world. Of course I told her “I will never spin” and all the whys. Oh a drop spindle? What’s that? Small thing? Doesn’t take up a lot of space? Fun to use, portable…oh really? Hm. Perhaps I could try it. My oldest daughter had recently taken to spinning and was doing great with her drop spindle. So I thought, “Why not?” and bought a spindle and some wool.

Why not indeed?

It’s like a staircase. One step up.  You don’t realize the stair steps are leading you somewhere. You just take that step out of curiosity and voila, another step appears. A fall fiber festival with wool and spindles hanging everywhere, with big neon signs (not really) on them saying Spin Me! More conversations with the spinning friend. A visit to a spinning guild with her on a Sunday afternoon where someone was giving away some of her spindles, demonstrating ways to use them, and ladies sitting at their wheels. Uh oh. Wheels. Those look fascinating. And that lovely sound they make. And look at the gorgeous yarns they spin. Perhaps I could find one that looks compact, not so big and bulky. Oh and maybe I could paint one…I saw that at the Fiber Festival!

Several stair steps later, last summer, I bought a vintage Louet spinning wheel from a local spinner for a super price. Promptly painted it. I kept thinking what if I can’t do it? What if I’m just not able to make this thing work? I sat down to it and began to spin. And wonder of wonders, I took to it right away. A duck to water. That kind of thing. All of a sudden I found the stair step I had climbed was now a broad open field of wool and fiber with little gates leading off to dying wool, eco dying, blending wool, batts, rolags, and braids. A delightful place to spin around in.

This stair step thing is how it goes most of the time. I suppose for some folks, they fall into a new creative outlet hook, line, and sinker, all in one fell swoop. For me, it is often dipping a little toe in and just seeing what the waters are like. Telling myself all the while…”OK, this is alright, but I will never go any further with it.” Ha!

I’m learning…to never say never. Ya just never know! 🙂

8 thoughts on ““I Will Never…”

  1. Suzanne Glassgow says:

    Spinning brings such peace and a feeling of harmony with nature. The rhythm, the whirring of the wheel, and the feel of the fiber between your fingers. It’s contagious…and addictive. Plus you have a unique yarn to knit up whatever you desire.

  2. Theresa Raker says:

    I agree, never say never! I think you said that you were about to give away your weaving supplies too? Glad you didn’t We touch each other’s lives. Glad S_____ showed you the spinning way. She is a great spinner☺

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      I am grateful for all the ways I am inspired by our tribe of fiber enthusiasts! Weaving from you, Spinning from Sandy, etc. Such a wonderful community we have! Hope you are having time to knit/crochet/batik/spin/weave this weekend!

  3. Jill Ruskamp says:

    Haha! Fun post! I said “I will never marry a Doctor or a Farmer.” (For different reasons.) First I married a Doctor. Then after Jim passed away, I married a farmer. And neither could have been or could be more wonderful!
    I don’t get my comments into my email any more so can’t reply back but I wanted to say how fun would it be to sit and watch you sketch my tank garden!! Oh dear, we could talk all beautiful things about faith and creating!

    • Jennifer Edwards says:

      I read your message long before my delayed reply. I have relished the idea you posed of sitting with you in your tank garden sketching together and talking of beautiful things and the Beautiful One. Thank you for your comments here! -Jennifer

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