A weekend retreat with Judith Mackenzie McCuin - shaman spinner. Refined my worsted spinning and working on my woolen. Like anything else that I approach, I like to learn the basics first and perfect that technique, before moving on to the next step.
It will be very important for me to keep a journal with pictures and progress, so this is the start of that journey.
Goal 1: Review Judith's DVD - which fibers are good only for woolen and which are good for worsted. Start with easy fibers first. Then move on to the Bison and more difficult fibers.
Goal 2: Be able to consistently spin a very fine fiber AND a very thick fiber. It's about control.
Goal 3: Start with worsted technique. Be consistent. Spin fine, to medium, to heavy and back down again.
Goal 4: Work on woolen technique, same as above. Feel the rhythm, let it become a part of my body.
Take notes from the DVDs, keep a journal, take pictures and/or make drawings. It is very critical that I measure my progress. Stay fresh, don't try difficult tasks when I'm fatigued.
Most of all breathe. Fibers need air to have loft and to move - humans need air to be fresh and to move. Fibers are living things with a soul of their own. They have their own memory, their own way of moving. Humans have their own soul and their own journey. Wheels, too, have a soul - each is unique, even if it is mass produced. When we touch fiber, we change it - when we put it through the spinner we change it again. Each touch changes the fiber, yet it still wants to return to it's original state.
So this is the start of my fiber journey. Namaste.
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