Most Sidwell Upper School students are aware of the array of clubs offered, but probably aren’t aware that some teachers have their own. One of these, known as the “Fiber Arts Club,” meets every Friday during lunch in the library board room, offering teachers the chance to knit, crochet or practice needlepointing.
On top of creating art, many of the faculty members within the club “use it as a time to decompress and socialize,” Upper School History Teacher Laura Jordan said.
The club was first introduced in 2014, but it looked very different from what it is today.
“It was just me, Ms. Jordan and a former librarian,” Upper School Science Teacher Emily Boyer said, which is very different from the current club that encompasses many teachers across departments.
The club was first started when three teachers noticed their shared interest in knitting.
“I’ve been knitting for almost 20 years, since I was in grad school, and I knew one of the former Upper School librarians and [Boyer] liked to knit too, so we got together to knit,” Jordan said.
Boyer said that this knitting group taught her a lot about what she knows about knitting now.
“It was very inspiring to see the work that [Jordan and the former Upper School Librarian] were doing, because I didn’t consider myself at that high of a level at the time,” she said.
Due to COVID-19, the small knitting group had to take a pause for a while. As students and faculty slowly began returning to campus in the following years, thoughts circulated among the teachers about restarting their club.
“After COVID-19, about two and a half years ago, Boyer and I started talking about revising the club,” Jordan said.
Now that the original three-person group has turned into a larger club with more participants, many new things have come along with it.
“There are definitely more people involved now, which is great. It was originally just knitting, but now it includes crocheting and some embroidery, which is why it is called Fiber Arts,” Boyer said.
Apart from just being a space for Sidwell faculty to create, the Fiber Arts Club has adapted its own traditions over the years. One of these traditions is their annual yarn swap. Upper School Science Teacher Cecilia Laguarda mentioned that it is held during a meeting right before everyone goes on winter break, and members of the club can bring yarn to trade with one another.
A fun memory Jordan has from this tradition was when Upper School Chorus Teacher Sarah Markovits “brought a beautiful silk yarn which [I] got to take and then use.”
Later, Jordan explained how she made a scarf out of the yarn and was able to gift it back to Markovits to bring the yarn swap full circle.
Another tradition to emerge from the club is Jordan and Lagurada teaching a knitting class during the Upper School’s Life Skills Day. Jordan says that it is fun because Laguarda and her get to teach students about their own hobbies, and have the opportunity to work with students from all levels of knitting.
Another exciting activity from the Fiber Arts Club is Jordan and Boyer’s annual trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, the second largest fiber festival in the country. Jordan explained that this festival features all things fiber arts, and is an exciting place to be, even for those less experienced in the field.
Some of the entertainment offered at the festival includes a sheep herding demonstration, where visitors can experience herding dogs gathering the sheep, she added. Another amusement is the festival’s sheep shearing competition, where participants compete to see how fast they can shear sheep.
Jordan said that the club is “kind of like a social group” on top of a place to create fiber arts and serves as an additional community that faculty member can be a part of. Members of the Fiber Arts Club say it is a great place to spend time with others in the community.
“We can connect across all divisions,” Boyer said. “Now I know I have a common interest with people across departments.”
