Spinning COE
After a knitting Saturday, a spinning Sunday. I can't remember the last time I was out two days in a row and it had been over a year since my last attempt at spinning. I should say attempt, because on Sunday I resurrected my Majacraft Rose and actually did some spinning on a wheel. For those of you who haven't known me for long, I've always been a die-hard spindle spinner and my wheel has been gathering dust since the day I brought it home with me.
The LAF guild has now two study groups, one of which is for spinners interested in the Certificate of Excellence and this group met for the second time this past Sunday at Pamela's house. So off I went with my fun ride, Anne again, and had a great time.
Our gracious host, Pamela
Anne
Not that I am really interested in getting a COE in spinning; I went mostly for the company. The plan for the day was to discuss the mechanics of spinning wheels, but we didn't quite get there. Put together eight women, seven spinning wheels, a bunch of spindles, some knitting on the side for good measure, a large tray of cheese rolls from my favorite Cuban bakery (thanks Elena!), a steaming pot of Lapsang Suchong tea and you are almost guaranteed that the conversation will take many bends and turns. We talked about spindles, the grim and gruesome original endings of fairy tales pre-Disney sanitization, languages, 16th century England and its brothels (did you know prostitute by law were not allowed to spin, weave or sew?) and more. Needless to say, a good time was had by all, other than Pamela's Bearded Collies who were relegated to the outdoors and cut out from all the entertainment. Poor babies.
Myrna and Karen
Cathy's spindle wheel
Elena's Turkish spindle
We'll get to the mechanics of spinning wheels next time and until then, I'm back to knitting.
Comments
I've always been curious about spinning...if only for its connection to Sleeping Beauty. I've been off-line for a week, but your 20 sts to 2 inch sweater is maybe the bravest thing I've ever seen.
Posted by: Sway Knits | October 16, 2007 4:50 PM
looks like such a lovely and edifying day. did you get in some spinning? will we get to see it?
could i ask how Cathy went about changing from the spinning angle to the winding angle on her spindle wheel? did she stop the wheel and reverse? or do some sort of flicking motion with the wheel going? i've been practicing on my lendrum quill head, therefore curious about how people work on treadle-powered spindle-driven wheels. :)
Posted by: meowgirl | October 16, 2007 9:58 PM
When the spinning COE was new, we met up at Alden and Steph's to talk about it. The requirements were terribly skew, so only a few continued with the program, others were involved in making it a little more sensible, and some of us chose to do serious independent study instead. I've heard it's better, now, but haven't seen the requirements in at least a decade. What do you think???
Didn't know that about prostitutes back then. I learn something new every day...
Posted by: Sylvia | October 17, 2007 1:33 AM
I wanna know why prostitutes weren't legally permitted to spin and sew. You'd think they'd be strongly encouraged to take up those sorts of activities instead of their usual...
Posted by: Beth S. | October 23, 2007 10:45 AM