Spinning lessons make happy smiles as well as sumptuous yarn as this photo of my happy pupil shows. She is holding her first spinning which turned out much better than she expected – as I find it always does! First spinning is very important as it is the benchmark upon which to assess progress. Lesson […]
Spinning wheels – do they find people? I begin to think that some might have their own agenda. The wheel being used here is a flax wheel, they are not very popular with modern spinners as the orifice is so small that only very fine yarn can be spun on them. They are great for […]
Spinning flax is a craft not often seen, and I have never taught it until Dani asked if she could learn last week. It was a painful experience. Nothing to do with the pupil – the teacher trapped her forefinger between the crank and the wheel hub- How to look a chump in one easy lesson! […]
Long draw spinning – is this a world’s first? Not the world’s first long draw spinner of course – there are probably fewer living today than there were in the medieval times. Question: is this the world’s first ‘Long draw spinner, Spinning on a Wheel made by her Grandfather’? It is certainly the first time […]
Beginner’s spinning ‘First spinning is very special – it is the measure of future improvement – but it is difficult to imagine a more satisfying outcome of your first spinning than this lovely hat in blue faced Leicester fleece in its natural colours. It is only a few weeks since Angie inherited her spinning wheel from […]
Dye workshop in my studio came up with a whole range of fibres in toning colours to be spun into yarn for a Shetland Hap. My pupil dyed all these colours in the studio workshop – a one to one learning zone where mistakes are not failure or wrong, simply part of the learning experience. […]
Spin long draw in one lesson is achievable as this young lady recently demonstrated. Long Draw technique is the hallmark of accomplishment in handspinning. This rosette, the second one to be awarded this month, came as a great surprise to Melanie at only her second spinning lesson. It is always a great pleasure to see […]