I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but I've been rather preoccupied with other things - and now, nearly two months have passed since this photo was taken. Anyway, this is me, spinning in an increasingly muddy field at Talybont show. I was there to represent the Ceredigion Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, and I was a bit nervous about spinning in public as I'd only been doing it for two months at this point. I needn't have worried though; I seemed to have a near-constant audience all day, everyone interested in the process of spinning and how a sliver could become a length of yarn so easily. Surprisingly (for me), the best part was talking to the children that stopped by, because they were asking really interesting, probing questions; I let every one of them have a go, and if I've inspired just one of them to think about wool in a different way, then my job is done.
The hardest part though was spinning in my shoes. I'm one of those people that likes to spin barefoot because I can really feel the treadles moving beneath my feet. Having shoes on obstructs that process, and made me feel totally disconnected from the spinning, and that showed in the yarn that I produced. It's a salutory lesson. Your gut instinct never lies.
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