Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Spindle Tuition

Eeeek! Last night I gave my very first pupil a lesson in spindle spinning.

A new lady who's been coming to the Guild meetings was interested in getting into making her own yarn, and a spindle was the space-saving, portable option that attracted her.

Needless to say, I had teething problems with the rather coarse prepared fleece she'd acquired, and the fleece slipped from the leader on my first attempt to wind-on. After a few false starts we were underway, and she managed to spin a few metres by the end of the evening.

Spindle spinning can be frustrating when you're a beginner - the broken yarn - the tangles - but if you can persevere through this stage it gets to be quite a relaxing and therapeutic activity. Just the thing to do when you're looking at the TV and don't really need to pay too much attention to the programme, or chatting with friends.

All I need to do now is get on with plying the spindles I've filled with merino and get something knitted up. I may even do something with my stash of Kool Aid - a bit of rainbow dyeing perhaps?




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1 comment:

Artis-Anne said...

I was totally useless when I first tried to use a drop spindle and then I changed to a bottom whorl and bingo I got it. I find it useful when I want a small amount spun and quicker than threading/changing a bobbin on the wheel. I had my first experience with Kool Aid the other day as I was given some ; still can't get my head around the fact its a DRINK !! Do people really drink it, if that's what it does to wool? mind I did dye with turmeric too the other day and I cook with that .