Spinning Lesson!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a year or so will know that I have been an enthusiastic, although not always accomplished, spinner since I bought a load of fleece from Mudchute City Farm. The story starts here.

My main achievements have been actually teaching myself how to spin from a book, and producing these two yarns, both from Cheviot fleece, one dyed and one natural.

I'm in love with this. Sherbert Yarn.
I’m in love with this. Sherbert Yarn.
Resolution Yarn, spun for my March Resolutions.
Resolution Yarn, spun for my March Resolutions.
Cheviot Ram
Cheviot Ram

However, having moved back to London and living literally opposite the Handweaver’s Studio, I decided to book myself in for a spinning lesson…which happened on Sunday.

Spinning Lesson at the Handweaver’s Studio

First things first, I pretended I had no experience spinning…although I did take my wheel along. Why?! I was in a class with 6 others, none of whom had ever tried spinning before, and I wanted to go along at the same pace as them. Additionally, I had a real confidence issue because I was self-taught, so I’ve never felt 100% like I know what I was doing, so I wanted a real back-to-basics lesson.

On my way to my spinning lesson.
On my way to my spinning lesson.

Was it worth it? I think it’s probably the best money I’ve ever spent. Our teacher was Brenda Gibson, and she went through the whole process – from understanding what fibre actually is, how it is put together and how you can spin it, to plying off a spinning wheel right at the end.

My purchases for the weekend - new drop-spindle, a comb and a new hat!
My purchases for the weekend – new drop-spindle, a comb and a new hat!

We spent the morning on drop spindles, which I loved because I’ve always found drop spindling really tough, and I bought one of the spindles we were using because it was so much better than the one I was using all summer at festivals. We also did some carding, and I finally learnt the difference between woolen and worsted spinning.

Blue Faced Leicester yarn done on a drop-spindle.
Blue Faced Leicester yarn done on a drop-spindle.
Blue-faced Leicester Sheep
Blue-faced Leicester Sheep

The afternoon was spent on the wheels. Brenda helped me out with some of the issues my wheel was having – it needed an extra row of hooks and was also really squeaky. I spun a good amount of yarn, using natural Blue-Faced Leicester and some green and purple merino fibres.

Getting enthusiastic once I got home.
Getting enthusiastic once I got home.

I will be joining the London Guild of Weaver’s, Spinners and Dyers (I have already downloaded the form, keen bean) and I have also been invited to do an ‘advanced’ lesson because although I hadn’t told Brenda I had spun before, she knew. Sigh, I thought I could fool her..!

Anyway that’s it from me for now. If you have ever wanted to try spinning, or wanted to take a lesson, I can’t recommend this lesson more!

Much love,

Corrie xx

PS I will be away in Brazil from the 2nd to 8th of October, and am looking for any yarn shops in Sao Paolo I can visit. Anyone? Crafts from the Cwtch spinning.

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6 Responses to Spinning Lesson!

  1. Magdalena says:

    ooh, lucky you! being able to both teach yourself and learning from others sounds wonderful, keep enjoying yourself :)

  2. Alicia says:

    Wow, that sounds like it was a seriously worthwhile lesson! I joined my local guild, too, and it is really amazing to learn from experienced spinners in person. Good luck!

  3. I would love to have proper spinning lessons. Mine all revolve around books and YouTube! I can’t wait to see what your next skeins of yarn look like.

  4. That looks like a great day and I am thinking of asking for a wheel and a proper lesson for Christmas as I think it would be so much fun to learn, although I do really love spindling. (Autocorrect attempted to make that into ‘swindling’!!!! )

    Looking forward to reading about your progress after the class.

    Thanks for linking up this week – sorry it took so long to come back and add the comment! X

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