Spinning - how hard can it be?!

In my case, very hard!

I had several goes at learning to spin over a period of 20 years, all of which suggested this was not for me. I just didn’t get it, whether drop spindle or on a spinning wheel.

But when we got our flock of rare breed Leicester Longwool sheep and my husband acquired a spinning from a friend for £20 which turned out to be an Ashford traditional, I was always being asked – so do you spin? My husband decided to have a go at spinning because he likes to work out how things work, and turned out to be something of a natural. Great!

We have a family motto – how hard can it be – which over the years has led us to do all sorts of mad things, like buying a smallholding and then some sheep! So in the autumn of 2023 I decided the time had come to have another go. And with lots of “help” from my husband, I at least started to get a yarn that held together, albeit with enough twist to mimic a corkscrew. But I still found the coordination of foot and hands beyond me. I tried an e-spinner which helped in some ways but I still produced truly horrible yarn.

I reached the point of total despair and decided to see if I could find someone to teach me or give up. Enter Theresa who, in response to cry for help, told me it was totally normal to produce twisty yarn at this stage and she could help! So I booked up for a weekend of spinning tuition and I learnt to connect my hands with my feet and start to get the hang of it.

My lovely Kromski Fantasia

I started to improve even over that weekend. And finding that a double treadle wheel suited me better, I found myself not only improving but actually enjoying it. Having spent so long not being able to spin, I’m still amazed when I sit down at a wheel and actually produce yarn, often as I intend it. And even more surprisingly I find it really relaxing. There's something about the rhythm of the treadling and all the focus on the drawing of wool that I lose myself totally in the spinning. It has very much become my personal me-time and I spin for the pleasure of making yarn.