Published in the Worcester County Times
BERLIN -- Knitting might have already made the move into mainstream society, as everyone from college students in lecture halls to mothers in waiting rooms can be seen with a ball of yarn and needles, but what's next?
Or should we be asking what was first?
While it has not caught on quite as quickly as knitting, spinning, the art of spinning wool into yarn, has been gaining popularity. Locally, Lisa and Monika Lilley have officially begun sharing their knowledge of the ancient art with others with the recent opening of their Upper Room Studio.
"It's an amazing process," Monika Lilley said. "Fiber arts have exploded and there are a lot of people interested."
Lilley, 20, first learned to spin at a class she and her mother Lisa attended ten years ago. Neither of them knew how to knit at the time, but were simply intrigued by the process of turning wool into yarn.
"It's very relaxing," Lilley said as she sat at a wheel, "just sitting here feeling it go through my hands. This is what everybody used to have to go through to keep their families warm."
Of course once she knew how to spin, Lilley naturally became interested in the related arts of knitting and working a loom.
"So many of the fiber arts follow each other," she said.
Now, the Lilleys spin, knit and even create felt figures from wool, and have decided to go one step further and open a studio to offer classes and provide local crafters with a place to get supplies. The "spin-ins" and "sit and knits" hosted at the studio on Thursdays remind crafters of entertainment from a previous age.
"It's a good hobby," Lisa Lilley said. "The knitting circle used to be great socialization."
And for the children, there is felting. The felt, or wool that isn't quite fit to be spun, can be used to shape figures that the children can create and play with, the elder Lilley said.
"It's fool-proof," she said. "It's like sculpting with wool. You're only limited by your imagination."
The Lilleys sell felting kits, along with hard-to-come by items like Russian knitting needles, Mongolian camel yarn and a variety of spinning wheels in their studio on Logtown Road in Berlin. While she admits it might seem crazy to sell spinning wheels or exotic yarn in the current economy, Lisa Lilley says she has things for every budget.
"We have everything from the cheapest to the high end," she said.
And although most of what they sell can be purchased on the Internet these days, Lilley said that something as expensive as a wheel, which can cost anywhere from $300 to $5,000 should be tried out first.
"It's like a car," she said. "You must test drive it. They're all different and they all have different personalities."
Her daughter agreed. Monika Lilley said that while she preferred the authentic wooden wheel, it was her mother's least favorite.
"It's what feels right to you," she said.
With the homespun yarn, the Lilleys have made everything from shawls to socks.
"It's so much more special and more personal than store-bought," Monika Lilley said.
She added that with all of the new patterns available these days, she was able to knit things that were in style.
"These aren't your grandma's patterns," she said.
The Lilleys hope area residents will continue to take an interest in the fiber arts, especially since their studio will makes it a bit easier to find supplies and like-minded crafters. Although they have only just opened the Upper Room Studio, they are hoping the space will only be temporary, as they plan to eventually move to a section of a larger building on the property that would enable them to open a community art center, complete with their arts as well as others such as pottery and woodworking. The studio Web site is http://www.upperroomstudio.blogspot.com/.
"It's an amazing process," Monika Lilley said. "Fiber arts have exploded and there are a lot of people interested."
Lilley, 20, first learned to spin at a class she and her mother Lisa attended ten years ago. Neither of them knew how to knit at the time, but were simply intrigued by the process of turning wool into yarn.
"It's very relaxing," Lilley said as she sat at a wheel, "just sitting here feeling it go through my hands. This is what everybody used to have to go through to keep their families warm."
Of course once she knew how to spin, Lilley naturally became interested in the related arts of knitting and working a loom.
"So many of the fiber arts follow each other," she said.
Now, the Lilleys spin, knit and even create felt figures from wool, and have decided to go one step further and open a studio to offer classes and provide local crafters with a place to get supplies. The "spin-ins" and "sit and knits" hosted at the studio on Thursdays remind crafters of entertainment from a previous age.
"It's a good hobby," Lisa Lilley said. "The knitting circle used to be great socialization."
And for the children, there is felting. The felt, or wool that isn't quite fit to be spun, can be used to shape figures that the children can create and play with, the elder Lilley said.
"It's fool-proof," she said. "It's like sculpting with wool. You're only limited by your imagination."
The Lilleys sell felting kits, along with hard-to-come by items like Russian knitting needles, Mongolian camel yarn and a variety of spinning wheels in their studio on Logtown Road in Berlin. While she admits it might seem crazy to sell spinning wheels or exotic yarn in the current economy, Lisa Lilley says she has things for every budget.
"We have everything from the cheapest to the high end," she said.
And although most of what they sell can be purchased on the Internet these days, Lilley said that something as expensive as a wheel, which can cost anywhere from $300 to $5,000 should be tried out first.
"It's like a car," she said. "You must test drive it. They're all different and they all have different personalities."
Her daughter agreed. Monika Lilley said that while she preferred the authentic wooden wheel, it was her mother's least favorite.
"It's what feels right to you," she said.
With the homespun yarn, the Lilleys have made everything from shawls to socks.
"It's so much more special and more personal than store-bought," Monika Lilley said.
She added that with all of the new patterns available these days, she was able to knit things that were in style.
"These aren't your grandma's patterns," she said.
The Lilleys hope area residents will continue to take an interest in the fiber arts, especially since their studio will makes it a bit easier to find supplies and like-minded crafters. Although they have only just opened the Upper Room Studio, they are hoping the space will only be temporary, as they plan to eventually move to a section of a larger building on the property that would enable them to open a community art center, complete with their arts as well as others such as pottery and woodworking. The studio Web site is http://www.upperroomstudio.blogspot.com/.
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