A modest proposal
Please everyone can’t we all just get along? I’m begging now, this yarn snob thing is going too far when people are being told that they can’t learn to spin unless they learn on wool.
Don’t get me wrong. I love wool too, and I’m a little sad when someone for moral, geographical, or physical reasons can’t touch the stuff. But that doesn’t mean that they will never be a proper spinner– it just means that they need to find a suitable fiber for them. One of the ladies that I consider a local spinning guru told me how her kids (forbidden from touching her one sheep wool stash) taught themselves to spin using polyfill. Polyfill!
Of course there are better things to learn with than polyfill (it’s nice to know one has the option if stranded on a deserted island with only quilting supplies and a drop spindle for an extended period of time) there’s an abundance of vegetable, animal and man made fibers to spin on, and I refuse to believe that only wool has training wheels on it.
Instead of discouraging people, let’s try being supportive and informative. There are so many good beautiful fiber options that we don’t need to force our preferences on others.
Well said. I’ve known spinners who have learned on cotton. So it really can be done.