Spinning Around

I have wanted to learn to spin for a while now, and was in a craft group (part of the permaculture group I was in in Sydney) where others learnt to spin but at the time I was working on some weaving. So when I recently moved back to the South Coast (of NSW) I thought I might look into it some more.

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A friend at work told me she learnt to spin at a day course half an hour up the coast, but when I called them they are no longer running the courses. I tried to contact spinners and weavers locally but couldn't get onto one group and another met during the week which was impossible for me due to work commitments.

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Then the other day I went to the new exhibition at the local art gallery, and it was an exhibition of works by the spinners and weavers. I met some of the members and found out that the local group meets on a Saturday and the next meeting was the coming Saturday. I went along and met a great bunch of women, a couple of men too, although they weren't spinners. They showed me how to comb a fleece and how to spin and offered to lend me a wheel to practice on until I buy one.

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One lady had just had her sheep shorn and sold me a fleece to get started on and off I went to pick it up, however on the way there was a garage sale, and I found an ashford spinning wheel very similar to the one in the photo, (my camera won't hook up properly at the moment) This one only had a single treadle, but is very simple and compact to fit in my small hatchback. I had a go at spinning on it and it was fine so I ended up with my own spinning wheel. I could only justify it because I had learnt to spin that morning and I had told myself I wouldn't buy a wheel until I could spin.

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I am really enjoying spinning, either watching the television or talking with friends and it really is quite meditative, and satisfying as you see the bobbin fill with wool. It's a lovely sound as well and the lanolin on the fleece is beautiful and soft on your hands. Next time I go I am going to learn how to ply....and then make something.....more then.