On Facebook I belong to the “Central Ohio Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild” group. I also belong to the “Addicted to Knitting”, “8-Shaft Weaving”, “Macomber Loom Owners” and “Kromski Fun” (spinning wheel) groups. So I get my share of posts about what is going on in weaving, spinning, and knitting. Facebook is a good resource for meeting up with people who share similar interests. I belong to four or five RV groups and several National Parks groups.
Recently the Central Ohio Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild posted an invitation for people to come to their first in-person meeting since the pandemic started. The invitation was open to Guild members as well as people who were interested in finding out more about the Guild. The meeting was in a shelter at Sharon Woods, a metro park in Westerville. Not only was I free that day, but it was also only seven miles from the house. I figured that was as close as I was going to get if I wanted to try out a meeting.
The meeting was an all day event, with a stash-buster sale in the morning and a show-and-tell in the afternoon. I decided to go after lunch for the show-and-tell.
I got to the shelter just as people were starting to eat their lunches, so I sat at the table with them and got acquainted with a few of the women around me. The members of the Central Ohio Weaving and Fibers Arts Guild have a mix of interests. A few of the women brought table looms for weaving during the meeting. Several more had spinning wheels or drop spindles. Quite a few brought their knitting. All of the members wore name tags which was helpful.
I asked about the purpose of the Guild and about their activities. They meet for support and education. Members demonstrate fiber arts in the sheep barn at the Ohio State Fair. They also do demonstrations at Slate Run Historical Farm and the Stratford Ecological Center. Those demonstrations were on hold during the pandemic, but the group is hoping to start them again this summer.
After lunch there was a short business meeting led by Guild President Sue Burney. The Membership Secretary reminded everyone to pay their dues which are $35 per year. She also let us know that if we paid that day, the membership was good for 2022 and 2023. What a deal! I decided I could afford $35 to see if this was a group I would enjoy.
The show-and-tell portion of the meeting was interesting as people shared what they had been working on. One woman talked about the sheep on her farm and some fleeces she had brought to sell. Each of her sheep had a name and she talked about the quality of each fleece. She had scoured each fleece so they were ready for carding and spinning. Another woman talked about her experiments in hand-painted dyeing. She wove some of the skeins she dyed and showed those to us. Several women had beautiful, intricately knitted shawls made with yarn they spun themselves. I took along my overshot table runner and mug rugs. I enjoyed hearing everyone talk about what they are excited about and what they are working on.
When the show-and-tell was over I checked out some of the stash-buster tables. One woman had recently downsized into a senior community and she was trying to clean out her storage unit. She had some wool that she had tried dying with indigo but she said was a failure. I liked the white wool with bits of blue and decided it was a good spinning yarn for Fort Frederica. I was only going to take 8 oz of it but she insisted I take all of it – about 2 pounds – for $20.
My first meeting of the Central Ohio Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild was enjoyable. I hope to demonstrate with them one day at the upcoming Ohio State Fair. They seem like an interesting group and I think I can learn something from them.