Well, not exactly, but as Blood, Sweat, and Tears once sang, “What goes up, must come down,” and “Spinnin’ wheel, got ta go round” which I, too, discovered this morning at the San Mateo Marriot where I encountered Beverly, who spent much of this morning on the patio, happily spinning wool into yarn on her traveling spinning wheel. I haven’t seen anyone spinning wool since I, myself, was a spinner and natural dyer in the early 1970’s during my quasi “Earth Mother” days and I have never seen a traveling spinning wheel and I have certainly never seen anyone spinning on a hotel patio. I was fascinated to watch Beverly as she quickly spun the long fibers into yarn. She told me that the dye she used to color her wool was Kool-Aid. I forgot to ask what flavor! I gave up spinning after I took a couple of classes at Santa Rosa JC but I loved the experience of working with wool fibers and playing with colors made from natural sources like walnut husks, marigolds, and onion skins; I never tried Kool-Aid. And, spinning on a hotel patio can be considered no stranger than my propensity to ask total strangers if I can photograph them.
