Sisterhood of the travelling spinners
Nova Scotia woman finishes her Tour de Fleece in Charlottetown
Faith Drinnan caught wool fever young, when her grandmother introduced her to knitting.
Now, almost 60 years later, her first run in the Tour de Fleece - an international wool-spinning event coinciding with the Tour de France - is ending in the city where she first learned to spin.
With over 10,000 participants this year, the tour continues to attract more spinners worldwide and is meant to unite people across the world who love to spin wool.
About 10 years ago, Faith, then-owner of a marketing agency, and her husband were walking in downtown Charlottetown when she noticed a woman spinning inside Comic Hunter.
Curious, she entered and struck up a conversation. “Comic Book Sue,” as Drinnan referred to her, explained the process.
The next day, armed with her own spinning wheel she picked up on Kijiji and with Comic Book Sue’s help, Drinnan spun the day away.
Now, Drinnan, having sold her agency, runs Sisterhood Fibres in Tatamagouche, N.S. where she teaches others.
That's also what she did at the Downtown Farmer’s Market on Sunday.
Drinnan made a point on her own tour, which also took her through parts of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, to talk with 63 different people about spinning and have them sign a book, which still needed a little over 10 more signatures as of Sunday afternoon, she said.
“I want to show people spinning is old, but still very much alive.”
And show she did. She answered questions and talked about a shared love of all things fibres with anyone who approached, old or young.
Within an hour she finished her book. For her, it’s what spinning is about; a community and a family, binding people together across countries and cultures, which is why she decided to participate in the Tour.
“I wanted to feel like I was spinning with my sisters worldwide.”
Drinnan also organizes her own events to promote the community she’s a part of.
From Aug. 17 to 24, Sisterhood Fibres is putting on its second annual Woolstock in Tatamagouche, which ends with a market of over 40 vendors with music and plenty of opportunities to learn more about the wooly world of fibres.