Hallamshire Guild of WSD - Long draw woollen spinning workshop

Excellent day teaching at Hallamshire Guild yesterday. Mark was a sweetie and drove me there and back, and was looked after beautifully before he took the pupz off the the day and plied with coffee and biscuits.

I wasn't on top form, this cough I'm suffering under is improving but I was not entirely sure my voice would last the day. But this was a special Guild meeting just for my workshop, so I didn't have to speak over any chattering people in corners.

This is also my original workshop, which I enjoy teaching the most, and also the best one for watching people suddenly 'get it'. So satisfying.

It was also the first teaching outing for my new to me reversed Haldane Lewis wheel, which performed in an exemplary fashion. And it took until well into the afternoon before someone looked at it properly and realised it was set up with the flyer on the right.

So we looked at yarn samples and some of my shawls and a sweater or too, discussed the different between worsted and woollen spinning and the yarns they produce, and hand-carded rolags until lunchtime, using a nice down-type fleece I'd brought.

In the afternoon we spun our rolags and then tried other fibres and preparations, and ended up with a nice session of people throwing me fibres and saying 'how would we/you spin this'.

And Mark turned out to have taken the pupz to Bakewell for the day. He turned up (in time for more coffee and biscuits, of course) having stocked up on various flours from Caudwell Mill and a pudding from the Bakewell Pudding Shop.

The voice survived, though I spent the evening coughing. Oh well, I'll recover. And it was a splendid day's teaching.

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