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Portrait of a Fiber Rebel

Contributed by: Cozy Swickard on 10/12/2006

Anita Deen has been weaving for 30 years but about 15 years ago she learned to spin yarn using dog hair and a borrowed spinning wheel. "I really wanted to learn to spin," says Deen, "but the technical terms I'd read about in the instruction books - crimp size (3-D waviness along the fiber) and counting twists-per-inch - really intimidated me. I was afraid of all those rules and I was a little overwhelmed by the mysteries of the spinning wheel."

When Deen traveled to the Taos Wool Market, she saw the variety of spinners using wheels, all kinds of hand spindles and everything in between. She realized that in times past spinning was done by candle light using finger-sensitivity, not metric rulers, to govern the thickness and feel of the finished yarns. "Understanding that spinning has been done by people in every society for many thousands of years really freed me," says Deen. "I borrowed a wheel from the Guild (Denver's Rocky Mountain Weavers Guild), began spinning yarn that felt good to me and never looked back. Now, after spinning for almost 12 years, I only have two yarn criteria; does it hang together, and do you like it? I just never seem to tire watching fluffy bits of fiber turn into yarn."

Deen began to teach spinning in 1992, and taught at Arapahoe Community College's Adult Education program until funding cuts eliminated that part of the curriculum. She offers handspinning lessons privately and also offers spinning workshops through local guilds, such as the Rocky Mountain Weaving Guild, throughout its September thru June meeting year. Deen also provides teaches and provides spinning advice every year at the Estes Park Wool Market's Children's Tent. "Last year a woman in her 30's came up to me saying she'd tried to learn to spin for years but couldn't get the hang of it. In 10 minutes, she was spinning away like crazy. She made my day!," Deen says.

Spinning is a relaxing, meditative process where fibers from a shorn fleece (wool yarns come from sheep, alpaca fibers from alpaca, mohair from goats or rabbits, dog hair from your favorite Fido's hair brush) or a cellulose bundle (i.e. cotton or flax) are twisted, either by being drawn through a rotating flyer on a foot-treadled spinning wheel or by the force of gravity using a simple hand spindle (also known as a 'drop spindle.') It is the twist that gives fibers their strength; when wrapped together the twisted 'ply's' become yarns that can be knitted into sweaters or woven into textiles.

"I like to spin fine yarns," says Deen, "and I like using a hand spindle because it's a sort of underdog to the spinning wheel - can you tell I'm just a fiber rebel? Light weight drop spindles produce a fine yarn called 'lace weight' that knits up into delicate shawls and sweaters that are just luscious." The drop spindle is used today among different cultures around the world, such as the Andean spinners, just as it has been for the last 6,000 years. The lightweight tool can be carried along with the spinner providing mobility without reducing productivity. Deen makes her own version of hand spindles from sticks inserted into the centers of old CD's, materials that just about anybody can find at almost no cost. "In ancient times, slaves spun on hand spindles day in and day out, producing the finest silk and flax filaments, an incredible level of craftsmanship," Deen says. "Can you imagine how much skill they developed over a lifetime?"

In her lifetime Deen has immersed herself in weaving, spinning and teaching others to spin. Like so many other fiber artists' houses, spinning wheels occupy every room along with pounds of handspun yarn hanks. At the recent biennial textile conference held in Denver, Convergence '04, Deen taught a mini-workshop in hand spinning where she told her 24 students, "You can do this! We have two hours. You'll be spinning when you leave and you will leave happy!" Deen's infectious enthusiasm leaves no doubt that she can teach anyone to spin. A CD, a dowel and a bit of fiber is all it takes. "Can you imagine what adding a little silk would do to this alpaca fleece?" Deen asks while winding a single ply alpaca yarn onto her hand spindle staff. "Or how about plying it with another color? Wow, that would make it pop!"

Anita Deen lives in Littleton, CO and can be reached at deenfamily@msn.com. She is an active member of Rocky Mountain Weavers Guild and her work can be seen at the annual RMWG Sale held at the Englewood Civic Center October 25 - 28, 2006. For more information about RMWG and its annual sale go to www.rmweaversguild.org.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Cozy Swickard

Castle Rock , CO

Cozy Swickard has posted 14 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/21/2006. Cozy Swickard 's average story rating is 5.
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