Columbia Fibre Guild
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Nancy R. Skakel, living in The Dalles, Oregon, has been involved with fiber arts for about 40 years. Raising Romney sheep, angora rabbits, alpacas, and a silky Maltese dog all led to the lifelong question, “What do I do with all of this fur?” I tried weaving, which I enjoyed but sadly, I have no room for a loom at this point in my life. I taught myself to knit, which again I enjoy even though I know I will never be really good at it. Yarn was expensive and I had those sheep, so I learned to spin – absolutely mesmerizing. But then, one day, a friend introduced me to felting and I found my passion. Needle felting, wet felting, nuno – anything to turn fiber into objets d’art. I have added ecoprinting, natural dyeing, and some batik work to my list of things “I do not have as much time as I wish I could spend doing,” so I volunteered to take on producing the newsletter for ANWG. I am a retired (in theory) RN, a volunteer at our community Art Center, and a member of an artists’ co-operative store front. I am the past president and vice president of the Columbia Fibres Guild here in the beautiful Columbia Gorge, and am now the ANWG representative for our guild.