![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
My first experience teaching spinning...
Mar. 30th, 2013 09:30 pmA friend came over today when I was spinning*. She, like many people I know, was entranced by the movement of the spindle and the way the yarn got created.
I asked if she wanted to try, and she said yes but she was sure it wasn't as easy as I made it look. I said I'd just had practice, and that 5 year olds can learn. So she gave it a whirl. It went well, and is actually easier to teach than I expected. At least, this time.
I didn't get a photo of her yarn, but she made 10 feet of very gorgeous teal and purple yarn. I think her giddiness at fulling it (that's the part with making it wet and thwacking it to set the spin) was my favorite part of the whole experience. I don't think I made a lifelong spinner out of her, as she doesn't really have the time to knit. However, it did give her a greater appreciation of fiber and fiber things...because her basic reaction was, "This is how yarn gets made?"
And it made me realize (yet again) how separated many people have become from textiles, which used to be an intricate part of daily life for everyone. You /had/ to spin to make enough clothes so you could stay warm, etc. You had one, maybe two, sets of clothes. I don't think I'd choose to go back to then, but it sucks that the reason why clothes are so readily available (in "developed" countries) today is because of sweatshop labor and the devaluation of textiles.
If everyone paid for the real labor value of their clothes, you can better believe we would be a lot more selective about what we buy...and we'd probably be back to one or two outfits.
This was going to be a post about teaching spinning, but clearly it turned into something nearing a rant. Sorry about that. I think I'll leave it, though, because it keeps popping into my head every time someone tells me I should sell my yarn/knitting/etc.
I do it for love. Only the lovelies get it. <3 (And for that I am /incredibly/ privileged.)
*I may or may not have left spindles out on purpose when she came over, and had some roving available in her favorite colors.
I asked if she wanted to try, and she said yes but she was sure it wasn't as easy as I made it look. I said I'd just had practice, and that 5 year olds can learn. So she gave it a whirl. It went well, and is actually easier to teach than I expected. At least, this time.
I didn't get a photo of her yarn, but she made 10 feet of very gorgeous teal and purple yarn. I think her giddiness at fulling it (that's the part with making it wet and thwacking it to set the spin) was my favorite part of the whole experience. I don't think I made a lifelong spinner out of her, as she doesn't really have the time to knit. However, it did give her a greater appreciation of fiber and fiber things...because her basic reaction was, "This is how yarn gets made?"
And it made me realize (yet again) how separated many people have become from textiles, which used to be an intricate part of daily life for everyone. You /had/ to spin to make enough clothes so you could stay warm, etc. You had one, maybe two, sets of clothes. I don't think I'd choose to go back to then, but it sucks that the reason why clothes are so readily available (in "developed" countries) today is because of sweatshop labor and the devaluation of textiles.
If everyone paid for the real labor value of their clothes, you can better believe we would be a lot more selective about what we buy...and we'd probably be back to one or two outfits.
This was going to be a post about teaching spinning, but clearly it turned into something nearing a rant. Sorry about that. I think I'll leave it, though, because it keeps popping into my head every time someone tells me I should sell my yarn/knitting/etc.
I do it for love. Only the lovelies get it. <3 (And for that I am /incredibly/ privileged.)
*I may or may not have left spindles out on purpose when she came over, and had some roving available in her favorite colors.
