If you have ever attended our Spin-Off Autumn Retreat (SOAR), you know the sweet anticipation that precedes the release of the Spring 2010 issue of Spin-Off and the announcement of the workshops and mentors. Of course, now that we have a website, those announcements don't have to wait for the Spring...
I decided to get a little bit experimental with my spinning this past weekend and try my hand at art yarn. I really like the way art yarn looks, and I love the spontaneity that goes into making it, but I've been focused on getting my fundamentals down and haven't tried to make any myself yet...
I taught myself to spin in 1971. I didn't have a book. I'm not sure I'd ever even watched anybody spin on a wheel. I did have a 15-minute tutorial on using a drop spindle (emphasis on "drop"). My wheel was an old upright Swiss table wheel loaned to me by a friend. It still bore...
There's something wonderful about how a craft as basic and transcendental as spinning flourishes in this age of iPads, Blackberries, and Netbooks—and, in fact, is sometimes enhanced by the technology that often seems the antithesis of spinning. Stefanie Berganini, Spin-Off' s assistant...
I find myself saying this over and over, and you'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I can't believe how fast time goes! I'm still getting used to 2009 and suddenly I'm struggling to remember to put a "10" instead of "09" on my checks. Although it crept up on...
I did my first spinning on a handspindle. Like many spinners, after I got my feet wet I moved up to a wheel, and there I remained for a long time. I felt that while the spindle was a fun first step, it was just a stepping stone on the way to wheel spinning. After a couple years of spinning, and especially...
I can hardly believe it’s been four months since I was there. But I’ve had that trip on my mind a lot, and for good reason. Spin-Off is planning to publish a wall calendar for 2010, photography is happening today, and a beautiful supported spindle with handspun natural brown cotton on it...
Spinners have waited for years (or longer) for one of his custom wheels. Spinners have cheered, cursed, marveled, or thrown up their hands at his vast knowledge and challenging teaching style. He has mentored one Spin-Off editor (Lee Raven) and many stellar contributors through the years. His Big Book...