| Having
retired to Ilfracombe in 1980 and then spending a most enjoyable year
settling in and getting to know the area, I was ready to take up my
hobby of spinning again. Spinning
is a sociable hobby with company to stimulate new ideas and better ways
of doing things. The nearest Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
is in Exeter and I thought that was too far to travel regularly.
I found a Craft Market in Barnstaple, which in those days was in
Paternoster Row, next to the old Alms Houses by the Church. It was
set up and managed by Joan Homewood.
She is a spinner and weaver and had always wanted to start a
local spinning group but never found the time. So together we arranged a
meeting in the Craft Market after putting a little notice in the local
paper and other suitable places to see if there was any interest.
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Seven new people turned
up and today there are still four founder members,
Kathy Arscott, Jess Fubini, Wendy Eccles and myself. We have been
going for just on 20 years, have around 15-20 members and meet twice a
month. We are an informal
group happy to help and teach novices and practise all the allied crafts
such as felting, weaving and dyeing, etc.
We have occasional workshops and exhibitions and a Natural Plants
Dyeing Day once a year.
Yvonne
Drinkwater |
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