CAZENOVIA — The Cherry Valley Country Spinners and Fiber Artists (CVCSFA) guild is a collaborative group that shares common interests in all aspects of fiber arts, with an emphasis on spinning.
Later this month, in celebration of Distaff Day (also called Roc Day or Rock Day) on Jan. 7, the fiber arts guild will be gathering for a potluck luncheon and working to raise awareness of its work.
“In times of old, women would put their wheels and looms away to tend to the 12 days of Christmas,” wrote CVCSFA President Kirsten Weyter in a Jan. 4 press release. “Distaff or Roc Day marked the end of festivities and the return to work. . . Roc Day falls on [the] day after the feast of the Epiphany. The saying ‘To tow on one’s roc’ means to have business to attend to.”
A distaff, or roc, is a tool used in spinning to hold fibers (usually flax but sometimes wool) before spinning them onto a spindle. The design keeps the fibers untangled, thus easing the spinning process.
“Using a distaff for spinning was an efficient means of turning flax into thread for weaving cloth or wool into yarn for knitting,” Weyter explained. “Women of all classes would spend evenings at their spinning wheels.”
Roc Day celebrates the distaff and what it symbolized during medieval times, specifically the work of women in textile.
In modern times, many local handspinning guilds host festivals around Jan. 7 in celebration of Roc Day.
The CVCSFA’s Roc Day Potluck Luncheon will be held on Jan. 13 at Springside Farm in Fabius.
Founded in 1974 and named after the Cherry Valley Turnpike (Route 20), the local fiber arts guild aims “to preserve and perpetuate the art of hand spinning and fiber arts; to promote interest in spinning and fiber arts by educating the public through demonstrations, lectures, displays, and news/social media; and to provide instruction and social life in spinning and fiber arts for its members.”
The guild meets on the second Thursday of each month. Coffee is served at 10 a.m. with the business meeting starting at 10:30 a.m. and the program ending at 1 p.m.
Prior to the pandemic, the guild met in the Cazenovia Public Library Community Room.
“We have since found an alternative location at a rural farm with much larger spaces to safely gather,” said Weyter.
The group’s gatherings are open to anyone interested in handspinning, weaving, knitting, felting, or any other type of fiber art. Guests and prospective new members are always welcome.
Annual membership dues are $20.
Membership benefits include workshops on spinning, weaving, felting, dyeing, knitting, crocheting, and more. Guild members are also permitted to borrow spinning wheels, crafting equipment, and books from the guild library.
According to CVCSFA Vice President Marguerite Hickernell, who has been a member since the mid 1980s, the guild once had over 70 members. Today, the count is about 20 active members.
“We meet on Thursday mornings, which tends to restrict participation,” she noted.
Hickernell said the tradition of fiber arts is not only an important historical skill that was once as essential as farming or woodworking, but also a lot of fun.
“Imagine the surprised look when you tell someone you are able to start with a fleece shorn right off the sheep and end up with a sweater, blanket or woven fabric,” she said. “By using the raw material from sheep, goats, alpacas and rabbits we are also supporting and spotlighting the farmers who produce these animals, especially smaller farms of which there are many in CNY.”
For CVCSFA meeting locations and additional information, visit cherryvalleycountryspinners.org.
