Sylvia Idom, volunteer interpreter at Red Clay State Historic Area, cards raw wool to get it ready for spinning.
Staff Photo by Randall Higgins/Chattanooga Times Free PressCLEVELAND, Tenn. - Spinning may be older than fairy tales, but it is also as new as right now.
That's how a group of women who meet at Red Clay State Historic Area each month see it. They turn raw wool into things both practical and artistic.
Sylvia Idom, a volunteer history interpreter, advertised for anyone interested in spinning to contact her for a Sunday afternoon session at Red Clay.
"Quite a few people responded," she said.
It's an informal group, getting together about 10 a.m. on the third Tuesday of the month and staying as long as they feel like it.
"I want the art of spinning not to die out," Idom said. "And part of the joy is just getting together."
If there is enough interest, Idom said, a weekend group may be formed.
Some people use big spinning wheels like those prominent in pictures of pioneer life. Others take a modern approach.
Katja Bruellis brought her spinning wheel Tuesday. It's so compact it fits into a backpack-type case. She zips it open, unfolds the parts and she's ready for the wool.
Bruellis already was an expert spinner in Germany before she moved here with her husband, who works with Volkswagen.
She will be a vendor at the Chattanooga Sunday Market in May with artwork from the wool she has spun.
"She is our most skilled spinner, and she was looking for a group to join," Idom said.
Shea Yeager uses a drop spindle for her spinning. It's the oldest known method using a weighted disc, or whorl, and a wooden spindle.
Yeager's long-range plan includes owning some sheep. She would like to shear the wool and spin it into thread, then weave fabric or knit a sweater. Or, as she calls it, from sheep's back to her back.
There are not as many spinners in the area as other textile artists such as knitters or quilters. But many area yarn shops are offering spinning items on the Internet.
"There is a revival of interest in spinning," Idom said.
"It's very therapeutic," Yeager said. "A lot of our ancestors would probably think we are crazy. They considered it work. I think this will lower your blood pressure, like knitting does."