About
Spindles & Flyers Spinning Guild is a local group for people who spin yarn. We also weave, knit, crochet, felt, tat, sprang, make baskets, dye, learn, teach, share, and love all types of textiles.
Spinning, like any craft, takes time to master and can be very satisfying. We can help get you started and hope you enjoy spinning as much as we do. We can answer your questions, help you find equipment and supplies, and connect with other spinners. We seek opportunities to demonstrate spinning and teach others to spin using spindles with repurposed CDs as whorls.
We welcome interested people to our monthly meetings, September through June, most often on the fourth Sunday of the month but with occasional changes for conflicts. Sometimes we request a non-member fee at certain meetings.
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The guild was founded around 1955 in Berkeley with wheel-maker Anthony Cardarelle and weaver/dyer Frances Siminoff. They moved their studio to Richmond when BART was built through Berkeley.
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Our group belongs to CNCH, the Conference for Northern California Hand Weavers, Spinners, Dyers and Basketmakers, a regional organization dedicated to fiber arts that hosts a conference each spring.
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Susan Maynard, a long-time member, wrote about our 60th anniversary in an article for CNCH.
Our Mission
Learning Together
Our monthly meetings are centered around programmed content. We invite speakers of handspining, fiber arts, and other textile arts to share their work and insights.
We also have a guild library including equipment.
Part of the Community
We participate in fiber-related events and are connected to other topics of interest, such as museum exhibits and equipment for sale from the wider community in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Sharing Our Work
We regularly showcase our work and learn from each other, by bringing ongoing and finished projects for show and tell, sharing topics and skills in a meeting program, and discussing projects in additional ad hoc gatherings and on Ravelry.
Teaching and Outreach
We demonstrate handspinning, teach the public how to spin on CD spindles, and spread awareness about the fiber arts and where clothes come from at various demonstrations and events, including farms, parks, museums, and classrooms.
Officers for the 2025-2026 Program Year
President, Jeanne Estes
Programs, Lisa Scandrette
Treasurer, Bev Fleming
Secretary and Newsletter, Heather Rose
CNCH Liaison, Carol Gray
Librarian and Historian, Kathy Schwarz
Hospitality, Cookie Shuman
Media, Sharon Kresge
Outreach, Laura Chinn-Smoot