Spinning


Yesterday was my first spinning lesson.  Boy, was it fun!  Donna at the Weaver at Indian Meridian gave us a little tour of her delightful shop and studio and then we got straight to work.  First she gave me a skirting lesson. This was very helpful since I was completely confused about what was good and what was not in the area of raw fleeces.  Hands on instruction is just so much better than online videos!

Jared went along since Dad and big brothers were busy.  He was really glad he did.  He got a lesson in spinning with a spindle.  This was very unexpected but completely wonderful!


You could tell Donna was a retired teacher and loved children.  She was so patient and encouraging.


Jared ended up doing pretty good!  Better than me actually.  She said he handled the fiber naturally.



I think I may have a spinning partner now.

Once he was good and going, we got to work on the wheel.  We used an Ashford Joy double treadle.  First she demonstrated and made it look super easy.



I thought to myself, "This is going to be a breeze."  Not!  It is really much harder to do than it looks.  Keeping both feet and both hands busy doing different things is quite a trick.



By the end, I was doing pretty good.


It was encouraging for her to show me her first attempt from years ago.

One of you said I had "fallen down a rabbit hole".  You were right.  But I'm thinking I'm gonna like this hole I have found myself in.  I am very excited about having my hands in the whole process from sheep to yarn! 

And now I 've got to get back to skirting those fleeces. I'm finding watching Pride and Prejudice while working the fleece helps keeps me going.  I've watched one already today and am going to start another version of P&P this afternoon and I'm still on the first fleece.   It may be a long Jane Austen week!

My next lesson will be to card and spin my own fiber from our own sheep! 

Comments

  1. Wow! That is impressive. And so cool that Jared went along and learned about spinning, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful oppurtunity you had to learn yesterday. And how exciting to be on a new journey within your new journey.

    I'm afraid I might get a bit sidetracked watching Mr. Darcy and flub up the whole spinning thing myself .. LOL !

    Spinning seams very peaceful ..I think I should enjoy doing it.

    Enjoy your day !

    ReplyDelete
  3. I could handle just about anything while watching P+P! I'm glad you found an instructor. I'll be waiting in line for your start to finish sweater giveaway! :):):)

    ReplyDelete
  4. BTW- They actually have what they call a "Sheep to Shawl" contest at a fair. They start with the fleece and end with a shawl. It's a team project that runs several hours. Their finished products are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm pretty sure your Traveler is actually a Joy...and probably my favorite spinning wheel. Great choice! Wheee - have fun :-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well done, but I think I'd go very, very wrong with the 'white shirt out of the lake' scene.... Dearie me!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks so fun. I have always wanted to spin but never been brave enough to try. I will be excited to watch your progress.

    ReplyDelete
  8. O my goodness. I have always wanted to learn to spin my own fleece into yarn! I love to crochet and thought it would be awesome to spin my own yarn. my biggest problem is that I am allergic to wool.

    Im having a giveaway over at my blog come on over and check it out. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think it is awsome your son went and was getting into it. I bet that will be helpful if you get stuck. I think that it is so cool that you are going through the whole process from start to finish. What a sense of accomplishment. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Do you know how to knit? This is so awesome and I can't wait to see the end products! I would love to buy some yarn from you someday! And I so love P&P. I like all the versions, but I adore the actor Colin Firth...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Please let us know when you learn to card the fleece. I've always wanted to know how to make my own wool batting for my quilts. : )

    ReplyDelete
  12. that would be really incredible to learn how to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This sounds like great fun. I'm starting my 2012 adventure tomorrow!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That's something I always wanted to try! I think it's wonderful that your son enjoyed his lesson and was good at spinning...I hope he keeps it up. That was quite the pile of wool that came off your sheep...who'd have thought they carried that much of it! Enjoy your sheep and your spinning and I look forward to seeing what you make from your wool one day.
    Maura :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. It will be fun to follow this new adventure

    ReplyDelete
  16. What great fun! I would so love to be able to spin my own yarn from my own animals. One day, Lord willing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

So what do you think of that?