Handspun Yarns and Handwoven Items

Jacqueline Vaughan (Lansing, Michigan)
Like many other traditional artists, Jacqueline Vaughan was exposed to her art form within her family. At the age of 8 1/2 years, her mother presented her with her first loom and spinning wheel and taught her the arts of knitting and crocheting. However, it was not until Jacqueline finished college that she truly began to develop her spinning and weaving skills. Wool, fleece, silk, cotton, and alpaca are just a few of the materials she uses. She prepares the fibers, dyes them, and designs original patterns for the many fiber arts in which she is skilled.

Although Jacqueline is particularly interested in the connection between West African textiles and African-American textiles through pattern, color, and function, she believes that textile traditions link and identify all cultures. She is the program director of the Mid-Michigan Knitters Guild, has been featured in Spin-Off magazine, and is involved in the public presentation of this art form and related historical and cultural aspects to public schools, guilds, and art centers throughout the Great Lakes region.