Spinning at the Huntington

Every year, my spinning guild joins a few other archaic craft enthusiasts (e.g. weavers, dyers, etc.) for a demonstration at the Huntington Library's herb garden. You'd probably be surprised at how many hundreds of people spin as a hobby in this state alone, to say nothing of the rest of the country. Today even I was amazed at the number of people who asked where they could go to learn to spin.

Here's yours truly with my wheel. I was hoping to turn that pink wool into a scarf for Joy, but I don't think I have enough. Maybe some mittens instead?

Other demonstrators included Michelle with her little drop spindle (which is how people made yarn and thread for millennia until the spinning wheel was invented in the Middle Ages) . . .

. . . and this woman with her Canadian production wheel. She's spinning lace-weight yarn (essentially thread) to make a wedding veil for a friend. A very, very, very good friend. If you add up all the hours she'll spend on this project, it will require weeks of work. Spinning really is a labor of love.