Spinner/Weaver Profile: Melissa Ludden Hankens

November 15, 2014

Greetings from Salem, Massachusetts, where Halloween is in full swing! I represented Team Schacht Spindle in Spinzilla 2014 out here on the East Coast, and I was thrilled to have an excuse to spin, spin, spin for a whole week. The warp on my Baby Wolf was feeling a bit neglected, but it agreed to sit tight for a week.

I love using local fibers, so the week before Spinzilla was spent carding up batts using a fleece I purchased at the Common Ground Fair Fleece Tent from Rivercroft Farm in Starks, Maine. I’ve been spinning up fleece from both Maine and Massachusetts (my two home states) for a couple of years now. The going is slow as most of my free time is spent chasing after an active and inquisitive four-year-old little boy and restoring our c.1750 saltbox, but eventually I plan to turn my pile of local yarn into a fabulous weaving project. It’s my own mini Fibershed project.

I am not a technical spinner at this stage of my life. I will buy a fleece only if it can be drum carded, and I launch right into spinning once the fiber is cleaned and prepped. I don’t project-plan and then spin. I spin and then plan a project around my resulting yarn. Whatever comes out is what it was meant to be for me. While you may scoff at my slacker approach, I can assure you that I adore spinning because I can just spin and quiet my mind. Of course who knows what the future will bring. My Matchless and I are ready for anything!

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