The year was 2013 and I had just moved from Oshawa to Hamilton, Ontario, full of hope for a successful retirement from my library career. One of the main factors that cinched the move was a yarn shop opening about a ten-minute walk away from my new condo.
Yes—a yarn shop!
I inquired whether they needed any knitting teachers and when the owners found out that I owned two spinning wheels, they asked if I would like to teach spinning. And so began a new adventure, one that included teaching people how to spin, and becoming part of a group of close friends.
That group will soon be celebrating its tenth anniversary. We talk every day through an Instagram group chat called “Fibre Friends Road Trip,” and since the pandemic, we’ve held a regular meet-up every Friday on Zoom. We also have a monthly “spin-in” at Handknit Yarn Studio in Hamilton, where we gather to laugh, support each other, and talk about fibre.
What’s in a name?
The group’s name, “Fibre Friends Road Trip,” came about when they were planning a group outing from Hamilton to a fibreshed event in Toronto.
Photo credits Cathy Thomson
