Splendid Spinning: Learn to Spin on a Spindle
Sat, 08 Mar
|Hotel Realm
Learn the basics of spinning on a drop spindle. You'll come away with your own skein of yarn and the knowledge you need to keep exploring. This is the perfect workshop for anyone looking to learn to spin, or wanting to brush up on the basics.
Time & Location
08 Mar 2025, 9:30 am – 11:30 am AEDT
Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600, Australia
About the event
Do you love fibre crafts, yarn and all things fluffy? Spinning might just be calling to you! With just one simple tool - the spindle - and the desire to create, you can become part of this most ancient of crafts.
In this workshop, you'll learn the basics of spinning on a drop spindle, with experienced and enthusiastic spinner Francie Goudie. You'll come away with your own skein of yarn and the knowledge you need to keep exploring. This is the perfect workshop for anyone looking to learn to spin or wanting to brush up on the basics.
This workshop is for beginners.
What you will learn
The basics of spinning on a drop spindle
Materials and tools
Provided by us:
50 g Ashford Corriedale fibre
To bring:
Your own spindle
Pre-requisite skills
There are no pre-requisite skills for this workshop. This workshop is for beginners.
What's included
2 hours of expert instruction from local workshop facilitator Francie Goudie in a class of a maximum of ten participants
Fibre for spinning
A printed handout, with accompanying digital material
A skein of yarn to take home at the conclusion of the workshop
Morning tea including a light snack and tea and coffee
VIP 2-day pass to the Australian Yarn Show from March 8th to 9th at Hotel Realm including:
Australian Yarn Show 2025 Show bag
One coffee voucher per day (Saturday and Sunday) for barista coffee cart
One digital access pass to all the talks on the main stage
Please note that the digital access pass will not be activated until a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the Show.
About the facilitator
Francie started spinning in 2014 and quickly developed a passion for exploring colour and fibre while spinning with Turkish-style spindles. She has consistently challenged the assumption that spindles aren't a viable tool for spinning significant quantities of yarn. In 2023 she expanded her practice to weaving, developing a distinctive style that maintains an emphasis on letting her handspun yarn shine.
With a background in science, she approaches her craft with an analytical mind and an appreciation for the history and knowledge upon which we build. However, she is also a great believer in the importance of free-flowing creative expression and embracing the hand in handmade. In a world where mass-produced "perfection" is commonplace, we have so much to gain from interacting directly with unformed material, using our hands, eyes and mind to create genuine expressions of our perfectly imperfect self.
As an educator, Francie is enthusiastic, approachable and knowledgeable. She never stops learning and is always working to integrate her understanding into an accessible framework - giving students the skills they need to explore on their own and continue their creative journey.