Fiber Frolic gatherings foster creativity and community
The atmosphere at the monthly gathering of the Sterling Heights Fiber Frolic crafters is that of an old fashioned quilting bee.
Crafters come with their projects and trade information about techniques and patterns while socializing with others. Knitting, crocheting, embroidery, weaving, quilting, sewing and spinning wool into yarn are all projects that can be found in progress at a Fiber Frolic meeting.
The group meets at the Sterling Heights Public Library on the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. — 1 p.m.
“Any crafting involving fiber is welcome,” said Jenn Towianski. “Paper is considered fiber so if someone wants to come and work on paper craft, they can be part of the group, too.”
Towianski is spinning soft, gray lambs’ wool into yarn that she plans to use to make a skirt.
“I don’t actually own any sheep, only because I live in Sterling Heights and it is not allowed, but this is real wool,” said Towianski. “You can even see there are pieces of hay and things in it.”
Towianski pedals and works the wool through her spinning wheel and watches as it becomes yarn.
Many of the crafters first learned their art as children, but there are just as many who picked
up crocheting or other fiber crafting during the COVID pandemic lockdown.
“I learned to sew as a child because I’ve always been short and needed to learn how to hem my school uniforms,” said Ann Smith. “But I didn’t really get into crocheting until the pandemic.
“I made an afghan for my son in college and I thought it came out pretty good until I went to fold it up and realized it was a foot bigger at one end than the other.”
Smith’s son loved the afghan anyway and said it would keep
him warm regardless of being slightly off kilter. Since that first project, Smith has completed several more while honing her craft, including several beanie hats for cancer patients. During Saturday’s Fiber Frolic meeting she was crocheting a forest green beautifully textured hat for herself because she found a pattern she thought was pretty.
Nia King also started crocheting during the COVID pandemic.
“I had never done any kind of fiber crafts before, but these crocheting videos kept popping up on my YouTube feed,” King said. “I told my mom I wanted to try it and I went out and bought some yarn and some hooks and just taught myself.”
King is currently working on a “temperature blanket” using the half double crochet stitch and a different color to represent a daily temperature range. Each row represents one day and each month is separated by a row of white yarn.
For Carrie Gilchrist, crocheting is a relaxation technique, although on Saturday she admitted her skein of super bulky gray yarn she was using to make a wrap was causing some stress.
“I feel like this is my therapy,” said Gilchrist. “When I need a break from work, I will do some crocheting and I find it just puts me in a different frame of mind.”
While Gilchrist wrestles with her yarn, her mother sits beside her hand sewing plush dog toys. Across the table from her, Sandy Stefanek crochets a cardigan sweater she brought so she could ask her friend Towianski for a little help deciphering the pattern.
Amy Romanoski is an administrator of the Macomb Area Yarn Addicts group that meets at the Clinton Township Public Library twice a month and is into crocheting, knitting and Tunisian crochet, which is a combination of crochet, knit and weaving.
The colorful shawl on which she is working appears the result of a very complicated stitch pattern, but Romanoski reveals the entire piece is made from a simple single crochet stitch and a technique called “crocheting between the lines.” Like many participants, Romanoski is there as much for the camaraderie as for the crocheting.
“It is about building a community, meeting new people and keeping the crafts going,” Romanoski said.
Cate Foltin is a regular at the Fiber Frolic gatherings, but her friend Jen Okony is a firsttime attendee. The two sat side by side Saturday, Okony working on a delicate purple and turquoise shawl and Foltin crocheting a thick beige and rose-colored blanket using the feather stitch.
“I was at Joann with my friend who was shopping for fabric and I saw this yarn and ended up buying every skein they had of it,” Foltin said. “I didn’t know what I was going to make with it when I bought it, but I was very inspired by this yarn and knew I would find the right thing.”
Okony, who has been crocheting for about two years, said she appreciates the help she gets from other Fiber Frolic crafters but really comes for the friendships.
“It is so relaxing to come here and be with other people of like minds,” said Okony. “You can always do your crafting alone, but it is so much nicer to have a group around you.”
To learn more, visit Sterling Heights Fiber Frolic on Facebook.