FABRIC OF HER LIFE; SIMI WEAVER GETS BACK TO BASICS.Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer Gayle Pinkston loves the gossamer texture of cotton tufts as they are pulled through her hand by a spinning wheel spinning wheel Early machine for turning textile fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are unclear. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the Middle Ages. . And the fuzzy feel of silk cocoons, splayed into a square of finely meshed threads. ``This is one of those hobbies to keep you sane - or maybe it's insane,'' she said. ``I love that feeling of fiber.'' Pinkston, 42, of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. chairs the Ventura County Handweavers and Spinners Guild, which is displaying its craft for the second time at a booth in the Ventura County Fair's agriculture building. The booth features a wooden loom and two spinning wheels, along with nubby woolens, a fluffy angora sweater, felt elf boots and raw handfuls of wool, silk and cotton. It's a cozy nook amid the bustle of fair preparations. While carnies set up thrill rides and farmers carted goods ranging from giant sunflowers to exotic pumpkins, Pinkston explained the timeless art of spinning and weaving. Although the equipment has been updated slightly over the centuries, the technique is essentially unchanged. ``Before the Industrial Revolution, this was how your clothes were made,'' she said. A home economics major in college, Pinkston went on to become a third-grade teacher at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School Lincoln Elementary School is the name of numerous schools, with most of them in the U.S. named after President Abraham Lincoln, including:
``I joined the guild in order to take my sewing that much further - instead of just purchasing fabric, actually making fabric,'' Pinkston said. She became a member 11 years ago, devotedly attending the guild's monthly Saturday meetings. Although she taught herself from an instruction book how to assemble and use a loom, she relied on the guild to learn more intricate weaving patterns. And she took lessons to learn the instinctive feel required to spin fiber fluff into smooth threads. Some members of the guild raise sheep, angora rabbits or even alpacas for wool, she said. A few go so far as to spin their dog's hair into yarn. Demonstrations throughout the fair's run will show how sheep and alpacas are shorn shorn v. A past participle of shear. shorn Verb a past participle of shear Adj. 1. for wool. Pinkston, however, limits her animal husbandry animal husbandry, aspect of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of domestic animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, and horses. Domestication of wild animal species was a crucial achievement in the prehistoric transition of human civilization from to raising silkworms. A sheath of shimmering shim·mer intr.v. shim·mered, shim·mer·ing, shim·mers 1. To shine with a subdued flickering light. See Synonyms at flash. 2. , greenish-beige fabric sits on display at the booth, the fruit of her latest weaving effort. Recently she has taken that hobby to school with her, engaging her students in raising the worms, then spinning and weaving the silk into bracelets. As Pinkston explained the art of textile creation, two children wandered by and began twirling Twirling is any of several artforms, hobbies, or sport and recreational activities accomplished by spinning or rotating the twirled object either for exercise, or in a rhythmic, or otherwise artful manner. the spinning wheels. ``That's a big one, like a Ferris wheel Ferris wheel, amusement park ride. It consists of a power-operated wheel that is about 50 ft (15 m) in diameter. It has two rims that are parallel to and equidistant from the shaft about which the wheel rotates. ,'' said 3-year-old Alyse Alford of Oak View, investigating the equipment while clutching a blanket under her arm. Grabbing a handful of cotton, she proclaimed through her pacifier, ``Feels soft.'' VENTURA COUNTY FAIR The Ventura County Fair will open at 11 a.m. today at Seaside Park, Harbor Boulevard Harbor Boulevard is a major divided street in central Orange County. It runs from Costa Mesa through Santa Ana, Anaheim and La Habra before it ends at Fullerton Road in Rowland Heights just over the Los Angeles County border. and Figueroa Street Figueroa Street is a street in Los Angeles County, California. It runs in a north/south direction for a length of more than 30 miles (48 km) between the Los Angeles communities of Eagle Rock and Wilmington. in Ventura. Tickets are $6 for adults, and $3 for juniors (6-12) and seniors (55 and older); children 5 and under are admitted free. For schedules or other information, call (805) 642-1591 or (800) 438-1112. HANDWEAVING AND SPINNING EVENTS: Thursday: Felting demonstration, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., agriculture building. Friday: ``Sheep to Shawl'' shearing, spinning and weaving demonstration, all day, agriculture building. Saturday: Spinning demonstration, all day, in creative living building and agriculture buildings. Live alpaca alpaca (ălpăk`ə), partially domesticated South American mammal, Lama pacos, of the camel family. Genetic studies show that it is a descendant of the vicuña. display: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., agriculture building. Spinning competition and alpaca shearing: 7:30 p.m., Clark Building. Tuesday: Basket-weaving demonstration, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., agriculture building. Aug. 24: Fiber-dyeing demonstration, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., agriculture building. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (color) Gayle Pinkston of Simi Valley displays her spinning wheel, which is on exhibit in the agriculture building at the Ventura County Fair. Tina Gerson/Daily News BOX: VENTURA COUNTY FAIR (see text) |
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