Kaylin McLiverty (Diné) of Fruitland, New Mexico, is a statistics graduate student and the president and founder of the Lumberjack Fiber Craft Club. On Love Yarn Day, October 14, she shares how she fell in love with yarn and one of her favorite fall crafts.
The day I fell in love with yarn, I sat and watched my shimasani (grandmother in Navajo) spin wool on a spindle. Her hands moved back and forth with precision, and the wool fibers began to resemble yarn. I was young at the time, and although I had tried spinning wool, the movements felt foreign to me, and my work was haphazard compared to hers.
I learned how to weave and all the processes that go into this wonderful art of weaving. Although I was not a master at spinning wool, I could help comb the wool and untangle the fibers. In addition to learning how to spin balls of yarn from the wool of our sheep, I also learned about the various weaving tools. Once I was familiar with all the preparatory steps, my mother, aunt, and grandmother took turns showing me how to weave a rug from start to finish.
My first rug was beautiful. I picked out all the colors I liked and tried to make the stripes even and symmetrical. I was so proud of it that I told everyone about it, including my Navajo teachers. She inspired me to share what I learned at Shiprock Expo. So I started making posters, labeling all my knitting tools, and writing down reflections on my experience.
Overall, I love the cultural significance of yarn in Navajo culture, from our connection to herding sheep, to the process of making skeins of wool, to the beautiful rugs we weave, to the rope games we play in the winter. When the Shiprock Bazaar started, I was so excited to wear traditional clothing and pose for photos next to the rugs. I love reminiscing about those days and keeping those warm memories in my heart.
My love for yarn didn’t end there. In fact, I’ve become a yarn addict. My goal is to master all types of yarn crafts. Start with crochet and create adorable stuffed animals, scarves, blankets, and anything else you want. After crocheting, I took up weaving and Tunisian crochet. Knitting gives me joy because I can recognize all the stitches on a hat or sweater from the store. Tunisian crochet is great because it combines all the benefits of crocheting but looks like knitting needles. Have you ever seen a long hook? That’s the hook used for Tunisian crochet!
I originally learned to crochet from my mentor and crochet master. Every Sunday we meet as a group for a few hours to work on our individual projects. These classes help me stay committed to my craft. It has also been a great time to sit, chat with other people, and make crafts.
I love this sense of community so much that I organize weekly events in my home. In high school, my best friend and I started a crochet club. Later, in college, I planned beginner crochet events with the Office of Indigenous Student Success. Now, I’ve started a new club on the UNAT campus! It’s called the Lumberjack Fiber Weavers Club and it aims to strengthen the sense of community among all fiber weavers.
Find out how McLiverty combined her love of weaving and mathematics in her project exploring fractal Navajo looms.
Attending Lumberjack Fiber Craft Club meetings helped me continue to develop my passion for yarn crafting. Meeting new artists, seeing all of the amazing projects, and watching this small community grow on campus helped me understand and appreciate yarn better.
One of my personal traditions that I’d like to share is crocheting or knitting pumpkins in October. This tradition started when my 11th grade math teacher showed me a pumpkin she was crocheting! Since then, I’ve made and given away many pumpkins. I once crocheted a bunch of pumpkins and donated them to the nursing home where my mom worked as holiday decorations. I hope you’ll join in this tradition this Love Yarn Day, even if you’ve never picked up a knitting needle or crochet hook before! Luckily, pumpkins are a great project for beginners!
NOTE: For the crochet pattern, you will need to sew the first and last rows together. For the knit patterns, you will need to sew the edges of each row together.