ABOUT SPINDLES & FLYERS SPINNING GUILD
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 compact discs (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. Occasionally we request a non-member fee at certain meetings.
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.
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.
We try to be welcoming to all, so please be aware that guild gatherings are fragrance free. Check your soaps, laundry products and cosmetics for fragrance.
A typical guild meeting begins at 11:00 am on, usually on the fourth Sunday of the month with a business meeting. (Please see the Calendar page for meeting dates.)
The business portion of the meeting consists of greeting of visitors and new members, announcements, listing of upcoming events, and oooing & ahhing over show-and-tell items.
Lunch runs from approximately noon to 12:30. Most people bring a sack lunch to have before the program begins there are no commercial food establishments nearby.
The program portion of the meeting starts between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. and runs for about 2 hours. The program is either a guest lecturer or a workshop-type of activity. People generally wander home no later than 3pm.
Membership dues are $30 per year per person or $45 per household, payable each September. Membership includes monthly newsletter with calendar of fiber events, access to our library (including a drum carder and an inkle loom) and registration at member rates to CNCH conference each spring. If joining between February and June, individual membership is reduced to $15.
Please complete the membership form (on the Home page) with full name, street, city, ZIP, home phone, cell phone, email, and family member if paying family rate. Request USPS mailing address from our guild treasurer. Request the format of your newsletter, either an emailed PDF or a hard copy mailed via USPS.