Recap: Spindling Learning Party

Truth is I’m kind of craft phobic. But I can justify time spent at a learning party anytime and this one kind of got me on a few fronts: history (how did they make yarn/thread 20 000 years ago?), literary (Sleeping Beauty) and of course, as yet another way to prepare for the apocalypse (if nothing else, you’ve got to keep those fingers nimble). Plus it was Organizer Laura’s debut learning party!

I did manage to avoid doing any spinning for most of the learning party (so many cool people to chat to!) but my fellow student Meredith, gently led me through the initial steps again (and then again) until I too was spinning my very own, very lumpy yarn. Everyone else in the room was much, much better at it. This was not the teacher’s fault. You should have seen what my apple doll looked like compared to the other kids’ at Brownie camp.

To make a drop spindle you need a chopstick, a hook and a tinker-toy part to play the part of the whorl  (you can buy random toy parts that will work at Yokoyaya, the Japanese dollar store in Tinseltown.)  Stick the hook in the top of the chopstick, fix the toy part to the chopstick with some glue, find yourself some fibre and voilà you’ve got yarn.

A demo, courtesy of the interwebs, to give you a clue. There are many more instructional ones on youtube; I kind of liked the argument going on in the background of this one. 20 000 years of spinning and arguing with mom!

Our teachers for the day were:

Anthea is a flamenco dancing archivist who spins on a wheel and weaves, however, she spends the most time spindling. You may have seen her spindling on the bus, at bus stops, in coffee shops. Ask her to show you the face cloths she makes out of spindled cotton balls - that’s right! These things don’t have to be used once then thrown away!

Billy is a long time spindler and prolific sock knitter, and the most technically talented (ask him to show you how to ‘ply on the fly’). He, Anthea and Penny met at the Gibsons Fibre Festival in 2007, when they saw each other spindling at the bus stop.

Penny is a retired science teacher who has been weaving, spinning, basket making, dyeing, felting and spindling for decades.  She has a spindle, wool and knitting needles in her bike bag for long traffic light changes!

Thanks to Penny for the photos!

Look out for Anthea, Penny and Billy at the opera! They are part of the Twisted Spinsters who meet at Rhizome Cafe every 3rd Wednesday of the month. All are welcome to attend!