Fall Farmer's Market and interview with two spinning artists

 We went to the local  farmer's market on Saturday to get a few more pumpkins. What a display of beautiful and somewhat unusual pumpkins! It was visually exciting to see all that orange, as well as the exotic ones.
We got enough small ones to go on the porch's flower boxes for the fall. Then we looked at the bounty of fresh vegetables and decided on some zucchini. So beautifully displayed!
Had to show you the odd but real variety here...

 We also bought two loaves of bread, cranberry pecan and Cinnamon Raisin. So moist and fresh we have eaten half of it already!! Save us from ourselves!

 Among the vendors and crafts people were these two women spinning hand dyed wool. I did a short interview with them both and thought you might enjoy learning a little bit about spinning.
Lori Beard of just lori creations  was using a treadle spinning wheel to make yarn for socks and other projects. She was spinning a mix of wool and silk in lovely bright colors. She was sure a few sessions of spinning and a person would get the feel of the process. I asked why she was attracted to wool and spinning as a textile. She loves the feel of it and it's something she can do in the evenings while being with her family.  It is a soothing meditative process

An important point she made was that there is a lot of tactile learning, or learning by doing. A person can be taught a skill but they really learn by doing it. She tries different patterns with different wools and learns from each item she makes. I am like that as well. She is inspired by the Md Sheep and Wool Festival each year, and folks if you haven't been, it's a dream come true of fiber love!

As for wool and yarn organization, and she said she has a lovely IKEA shelving unit full of colorful roving and yarn she has spun. Sounds much more contained than my stash of supplies!

I asked how her family accepts her spinning, and she said they really like to get hand knitted items, so they accept her wool love! I asked both women if they also wet-felt and they do, Lori sells felted soap bars as well as other items in her etsy shop.

BTW, She can't use the spinning wheel with shoes on, and I can't use the sewing machine foot pedal unless barefoot. Fiber people are tactile sorts!!

Her companion this day was Marseille Bunk who also loves  vintage dolls. She was using the drop spindle, a quite small tool that spins around to create the yarn from roving. (Roving is carded wool) Both women prefer to buy dyed wool instead of dying it themselves. Marseille's family loves getting her hand made items, and she loves the feel of wool running thru her fingers as it's soothing at the end of a long business day.
She just bought this unusual tool for weaving thin items like belts. Cool isn't it??
I'm reminded again that artists are more similar than we realize.
 Tune in tomorrow for pictures of our Fall decorations using said pumpkins. LeeAnna
Want to see more interviews with artists? click here!