On most Thursdays if you were to wander into the Lobby of the Shelburne Inn, you would find a group of women sitting at their spinning wheels spinning an array of fibers. As a general rule they meet here every Thursday from about 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. They are all members of the local Clatsop Weavers and Spinners Guild, which started in Oregon in the early 1950’s. Membership in the guild stretches from Gearhart, Oregon to Grays River, Washington. There are currently 24 members and they meet monthly at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco. A variety of fibers are used by the spinners, including sheep’s wool, bamboo, cord, silk, llama, angora, cashmere, alpaca and even poodle. Once spun, the yarns are used either for a knitting or weaving project, some for personal use and some which will be sold. If you are a guest of the inn or restaurant and would like to watch the spinning process and learn about it, these women are a wealth of information and they give it freely! Between the four women who were here this Thursday, they have a combined 60 years of spinning experience. If you’ve never spun and are curious or would like to try it, please come by for a free lesson on Thursday evenings. To encourage you, Rose Power taught her 75 year-old mother to spin in one day. Rita Smith taught herself. Cheri Diehl has been spinning for 20 years. Here are some photos of the spinners and some yarn and knitted items from Rose Power.
Spinners in Lobby
