Spinners set to gather for weekend fiber arts retreat

April 19, 2005

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman staff

Myler Almandinger spins her time away.

"I can just sit there at my wheel and pedal away and make something with my time like yarn. The end result is satisfying," she said.

The spinning enthusiast from Palmer also enjoys wheel-hopping because she likes to try out a new wheel or test out another spindle. She'll be able to wheel-hop this weekend, when about 50 spinners set up their equipment at the Spring Fiber Arts Retreat, which will be held at Meier Lake Conference Center, off Wasilla-Fishhook Road.

Almandinger's been dying alpaca yarn in vibrant spring hues for the past two weeks in preparation for the biannual event, which begins around 5 p.m. Friday.

Some participants may choose to spend the night in surrounding cabins, while other fiber artists may needle their way to the retreat and not feel hemmed into staying all weekend. There will be a potluck on Saturday. The get-together, sponsored by the Valley Fiber Arts Guild, winds down at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"Our retreats are very informal. It's a chance for people to escape their families, chat and weave," said Guild President Amy Durgeloh, adding that residents may still register for the event right up until the day it starts.

Registration forms for the retreat are located on the guild's Web site, homegci.net/vfa-guild.

Fiber artists have the advantage of being able to access many natural materials produced locally.

Every year, area farmers bring sheep fleeces, alpaca fleeces, buffalo underdown and qiviut for artists to purchase. Qiviut, the soft underdown of musk oxen, regularly sheds and is combed out by musk ox caretakers. Since the farmers are familiar with their products, they can provide helpful hints for artists.

Almandinger, who's been attending these retreats for a decade, said she doesn't dye the underdown of the buffalo.

"It's dark brown. So, I spin it down and then ply it with a pretty-colored silk. In fact, I'm going to make socks that will cost $100 because the fiber is very expensive," she said. However, she's been dying the yarn she's spun into myriad colors. Bright blue, red, chartreuse, orange, purple and magenta are among some she listed.

"It's so fun with all the colors. Right now, I am into socks. I make hats, shawls, scarves and mittens. But don't forget the socks. I love to make socks," she said.

Most of the people who usually attend the retreat are spinners. The layout of the conference center allows spinning wheels to be in used, Durgeloh said. "The downstairs sitting area becomes a circle of spinners," she said.

Artists also bring table looms. Some women knit or crochet, while a few sew.

"We do a lot of dying. It can be very colorful," Durgeloh said.

The Valley Fiber Arts Guild, which was created in 1984, will hold another retreat this autumn. Then, the group will do its first sale of

its creations sometime around

the first week of November, Almandinger said.