Why do I spin yarn?

You're a fiber artist. What the heck does that even mean? So, do you, like, knit hats or whatever?

Well, yes... and...

A fiber artist can be many things.

I pride myself in being able to take my craft from fleece to finished product and be able to start from any place in the process. Sometime I make my own tools: spindles, nostepinnes, hackles, and distaves. Sometimes I use commercial yarn. Each project is unique and requires a different starting point.

On one level, I explore what yarn can be.

When you buy yarn from a big-box store, you are limited to what yarn has been manufactured. Much of it is acrylic. Don't get me wrong, acrylics have come a long way in the last 20 years. There are many beautiful acrylics and there are many types of projects that benefit from them. But an acrylic is still limited in qualities.

Making your own yarn gives you freedom to create a yarn with all the specific qualities that you want for your project. Do you need a drapey, yellow to pink gradient yarn with 220 yards? Good luck finding that! Or how about a green and white barber-poled yarn with different colored locks hanging out of it?

Spinning is relaxing to do and relaxing to watch. At this point in my fiber career, I take more pleasure in spinning than in any other part of the craft. There is something cathartic about the texture of the fiber running between your fingers, the static motion of the treadle, the repetition of pushing fiber into the wheel's orifice.

At the end of the day, I am a spinner for the joy of creation. I create something unique. I take joy in the process and in learning about the skillset. I turn animal hair and plants into something amazing and I am an expert at it. And I have the ability to share my knowledge and my art.

I spin, because spinning is a celebration of humanity, love, survival, and ingenuity.

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All photos and text property of @luthvarian