Now for the people

Whew, it took a few days longer to get back to the blog than I expected! So, a few days behind, let's dive straight in to the next thing that made the week of the Golden Gate Fiber Institute Summer Intensive just plain awesome. People!


Yes, people. Or perhaps I should say, crazy fiber people. Crazy, troublemaking, rabblerousing, I-want-to-be-them-when-I-grow-up fiber people. I didn't know hardly a soul going in to this event, and now I've got three new sisters that I can't wait to see again, some instructors I'd gladly quit my day job and apprentice myself to if I could, and a few women that make me think getting old won't be all that bad.

First and foremost, Room 9 people, Anne, Pam, and Kristine:In case you are fooled by her innocent demeanor, that is NOT a halo over Anne's head. She'd like you to think so, however. She's sneaky. I admire that in a person. And Pam is a midwife - how cool is that? If you meet her, make sure you see some of her lace knitting. I don't know how she does it, but it's beautiful stuff.

Kristine of Curious Creek fame (what, you haven't seen her stuff? GO! GO LOOK! She's a great dyer with awesome fibers and yarns) also looks sweet and innocent, doesn't she?
Well, room with her for a week, and you'll meet the real Kristine. You'll see. She's got the biggest heart of anyone I know, but I would never classify her as innocent. I say this with a huge grin on my face, too.

The instructors could not have been better. Darlene Hayes was my natural dyeing instructor, and Judith Mackenzie McCuin my spinning and weaving instructor. I learned about the phenomenal awesome power of color, and the magic of using my own handspun to weave with. I also learned that Darlene has quite a nice singing voice, as she serenaded Judith on our group photo day.

Jeane deCoster taught clothing design, and it turns out she is a dyer as well. She came over to chat with Darlene and Sheila, one of my fellow students who could have been an instructor if she wanted to be. Ask her about a spinning wheel. Any spinning wheel. I swear, she has one of everything at home, plus all sorts of fiber animals, the ability to design and knit a sock from scratch in 3 days or less, and she can dye, too. Cool.

And speaking of classmates, here's a candid from indigo dyeing day.
This event simply wouldn't happen without the love and energy of Morgaine Wilder of Carolina Homespun. She is doing so much to promote the fiber arts, from driving her Yarn-V to all the major fiber events around the U.S. to creating the Golden Gate Fiber Institute.
She managed to coordinate the event, warp a loom, sit in on classes, and do occasional runs in to the city to get us stuff from her store. Now that's energy and dedication!

As I've said, it was a great event, and goodness knows I have more pictures. Next year, I'm bringing the tripod 'cause taking pictures inside of the events was hard! With people moving, wheels turning, loom shuttles flying, there wasn't enough light to take the high speed photos I needed to capture the event.

So, thank you, everyone who went and participated and taught, whether or not you were an actual instructor or just someone with experience to help a newbie. Y'all rock.