The Sassy Spinner

I am a sixty something wheelchair spinner. I got interested in spinning and weaving when researching my PhD which is looking into the silk industry in the south-west of England from c 1688 to 1901. Silk was thrown, how different is that to spinning, throwing puts a twist into the silk so it is very like spinning. I found that very little had changed in the silk industry except that the source of power has changed from horse jinnys to electric.

In February I got a loom for my birthday from the Spinning Weal in Clevedon, while there Sarah showed me silk rovings and spinning - so I booked on to one of her Spinning Classes in June for the day and was hooked. I got my pride and joy (pun intended) a Ashford Single treadle Joy and haven't looked back. Recently I took a four week spinning course to hone my skills - spinning, silk, cotton and everything in between.

I now have so many wips, the most pressing is the scarf for Xmas, but I also really need the Francis revisited I am making for myself from 'Posh Sylvia' in Kelpie. I always have a pair of socks on the go and the current pair are the 4th plinth yarn I won in the Knitting Goddess raffle in August.