Frisian Frillies

Whenever I tell people that one of my hobbies is spinning, I often have to clarify that this does NOT involve a gym, or a bike. Last weekend, no explanation and clarification was necessary, because we were here. Tadaaa... See, chair on the left, that's mine... Als ik mensen vertel dat spinnen een van mijn hobby's is, moet ik vaak uitleggen dat ik daar NIET voor naar de sportschool hoef en dat ik ook niet op een fiets zit. Afgelopen weekend hoefde ik niets uit te leggen, want we waren hier. Tadaaa. Zie, die stoel helemaal links? Die's van mij. With four amazing women, I'm on the board of the National Spinning Group. We spin, spin and spin some more. We chat, laugh, shed a tear and share everything from apple pie recipes to life stories. It's amazing. Not just with the board, though. I have my own spinning groupies in Fryslan, and in October there will be over 200 of us in one room again. Can't wait! Met nog vier fantastische vrouwen zit ik in het bestuur v...

The last few months have been hectic. The ease of use of Facebook and Twitter almost made me forget there was something called a blog, so both the craft and family blog were grossly neglected. I could recap about everything I have done, made, experienced and been through, but that would take me forever. So, instead, a glance back over my shoulder at last weekend. We were in Orvelte, where we enjoyed a sunbaked day among the sheep and other crafty folk. With great music and a great atmosphere. Lovely people and lovely yarn, wool and other things. Me and the Mermaid suffered from bad sleep deprivation (it was the morning after the night before - World Cup quarter finals, with a penalty shoot-out way way way past our bedtime), and I was glad that I had been so smart to sort everything out for the fair on the Friday and loaded the car up on the Saturday afternoon. Me and Mermaid picked up Judith on the way. She had a bag full of fleece to card, so she spent a lot of time demonstrating ...

A while ago, I joined a club. They members had one thing in common: a love for turning fibre into yarn. All the people who are members of that club (almost 500 at the moment) know: once you start, you can't stop. Ever. Worse, you turn into an evangelist, and want to let everybody you know join in the beauty that wool, fibre, yarn and everything related has to offer. Once in a while, we meet up. We now have 2 annual meetings: one small one, which was attended by around 100 spinners last March, and one big one, always held in the first weekend of October. This year, over 230 spinners enthusiastically rsvp'ed when the first invitations were sent out. Around 100 of these spinners actually booked the entire weekend at Mennorode, in Elspeet, where we hold the annual Fall meeting. It was our 15th, so enough reasons for a big party! As I was too busy running from here to there and back again all weekend, I got very little spinning done, and managed to only take a few pictures. We h...

Bliss went with us on tour last Sunday. With 4 wheels in the car and a roller girl in tow, I set off for Westerlee, for the Alpaca Show. And even though we knew we were heading for an alpaca farm, the sight of a field full of alpacas is always a suprise... The Alpaca Show was all about shearing... ... judging... ... and, in our case, spinning alpaca! Bliss enjoyed her first outing! And quite a few people got to try her out. The reviews were mixed. The spinning was lauded by everyone.  Like me, people found the spinning smooth, comfortable and light. But the type of wheel just doesn't appeal to everyone. People who prefer the old-style, romantic wheels, just won't go for a modern, light wheel in laminated wood like Bliss as quickly... But why were we there? Mainly to promote the Landelijke Spingroep. It was great fun showing people that yes, we still spin, and no, it's not silly or old-fashioned or dreary, but a useful skill. We sold...