Learn to Spin & Much More
- Maggie Casey

August 6 - 10
Learn to Spin or Refresh Your Skills (M, T, W) - $300

Rumplestiltskin spun straw into gold and Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on her spindle and fell into a deep sleep. History and fable are full of tales of spinning and its effect on the people who do it. If you have always wanted to spin, have taught yourself a little, or haven’t spun for awhile, this workshop will be just what you need to gain confidence and skill. We will start with a beautiful fleece, learn to card, spin, ply and set the twist. Then we will spin woolen and worsted yarns, some commercially prepared fibers and discuss wheel maintenance. Spinning straw into gold may be beyond our reach, but beautiful yarn is not!

Day 1

How to choose a fleece
How to wash a fleece (demo)
Teasing and carding wool
Getting used to the wheel
Spinning

Day 2
Wheel maintenance
Long draw
Plying and setting twist
Spinning
Different types of wool
Using a drum carder

Day 3
Carded fibers and combed fibers
Worsted spinning
Over the fold
Consistency

Days 4 and 5: Break Out of Your Spinning Rut and Plying, Hints & Tricks (Th, F) - $200

BREAK OUT OF YOUR SPINNING RUT
Do you want to spin yarns of different sizes, from fine and lacey to big and lofty? How about yarns that are smooth and strong or light and fluffy. You can--it just takes a little practice, some wheel tweaking and the appropriate fiber preparation! Then we will create our own “handpainted” skeins from solid colored roving. We don’t need a dyepot, just different spinning and plying techniques to create the colorful yarn of your dreams. Beginning spinning skills required.

PLYING, HINTS AND TRICKS
How do you finish your yarn after you’ve spun the singles? Two ply, three ply, four ply, cabled yarns, Navajo ply—so many choices. How much twist do you need? Is it necessary to have a balanced yarn? We will ply them all and you can decide for yourself. Beginning spinning skills required.

DMaggie Casey is co-owner of Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins in Boulder, Colorado. She has been addicted to spinning for more than 30 years. Some people have wine cellars, she has a fleece basement. She holds Part 1 of HGA’s COE in Handspinning. Maggie teaches spinning at Shuttles, SOAR, the Estes Park Wool Market and local guild programs. She has been a Skein judge at the Taos Wool Festival, Estes Park Wool Market, Colorado State Fair and Convergence 2004. She is the author of START SPINNING, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE GREAT YARN an Interweave Press book. Her DVDs include: START SPINNING, GETTING STARTED ON A DROP SPINDLE and BIG AND LOFTY YARNS.