Spinning a Yarn
Faith Salyer (OD’91) has been in practice in the Troy, Ohio area for more than 25 years and has been with Procare Vision Center since 2005. One of her passions outside of the office includes all things fiber (wool, alpaca, cotton, etc.), knitting, and spinning her own yarn. I had the privilege of working in Dr. Salyer’s office for a few months and was fascinated by her craft.
Dr. Salyer’s life began in Lubbock, Texas, but her childhood was shaped by her father’s career in the U.S. Air Force. The family moved frequently, from Amarillo and Enid, Oklahoma, to a formative chapter in England, where Dr. Salyer spent nearly five years.
“It was during those years in England that I developed my interest in knitting,” she recalls. “My aunt and my mom’s stepmother were my first teachers.”
Knitting was part of the cultural fabric in England, woven into everyday life. “Women would knit on the bus, while watching their children. It was everywhere. I even took my first knitting ‘class’ as a third-grade elective.”
Though she set knitting aside during high school, the interest rekindled in adulthood, especially after her sister gave her a pair of hand-knit socks. That thoughtful gesture reignited Dr. Salyer’s creativity and brought her back into the fold around 2010.
Dr. Salyer has knit everything from blankets and ponchos to mittens, shawls, and even cardigans. One particularly creative project was a scarf chronicling the 2016 Ohio State Buckeye football season. Each point scored was represented by a round in the scarf, with red for the Buckeyes, gray for their opponents, and white to separate the games. The team’s high-scoring season resulted in a massive eight-foot scarf, which she eventually turned into an infinity loop.
Her fascination with fiber eventually led her to spinning, which involves transforming raw wool into yarn. It all began at the Wool Gathering, an annual event held at Young’s Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her kids were intrigued by a simple DIY spindle demonstration using a dowel rod, a CD, and some fiber.
“I remember thinking, ‘Why spin your own yarn when it’s already available?’” she says.
But year after year, she returned to the event, her curiosity growing. Encouraged by her sister and guided by online tutorials, she mastered the drop spindle and began creating her own yarn. For her 50th birthday, her husband gave her a spinning wheel, which allowed her to produce yarn faster and more efficiently. Since then, she’s expanded to using electric spinners and even brings them along on trips.
Of all her creations, a few stand out for their complexity and sentiment. “I’m proud of a cabled sweater I recently finished. It took two tries to figure out the construction. And making something large from yarn I spun myself is always incredibly satisfying.”
A recent project near and dear to her heart was a pullover for her husband, made entirely from hand-spun yarn.
During the pandemic, Dr. Salyer also explored dyeing yarn with food-safe dyes. One of her experiments even resulted in a colorway that coincidentally resembled the packaging of a contact lens brand she dispenses—Precision 1.
Over the years, Dr. Salyer has passed on her knowledge to others, including her daughters. While they haven’t developed the same deep passion, she continues to enjoy teaching when the opportunity arises. She credits her academic journey from John Brown University to The Ohio State University College of Optometry for helping her build a well-balanced life of science, care, and creativity.
“I’m very grateful for my time at Ohio State. It taught me how to think critically,” she says. “So much has changed in our profession over the years, and while I’ve had to learn many things on the fly, I was well prepared to adapt.”
With nearly 35 years in optometry and a lifelong love of fiber arts, Dr. Salyer’s vision extends far beyond the exam room.
