Home Spinning

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 66, 27 September 1940, Page 39

Home Spinning

There has been a great revival of interest in home spinning, since the war made necessary the knitting of woollen comforts for the troops. Auckland is busy in this way; and one lady in Wellington, who spins her own yarn, dyes it, and makes it into garments for her family, and even frocks for herself, has undertaken to teach spinning to the members of the Blind Social Club; as well as helping to teach the pupils of the Thorndon Model Rural School. Here is one of her interesting letters on the subject. Dear Aunt Daisy, On Wednesday (July 24) I took down my spinning wheel, etc., to the Blind Social Club-and with an uneven heartbeat began my first spinning lesson to the blind, I need not have been uneasy -what a happy community, so humorous and kindly! One of the men had spent many years in the woollen mills before losing his sight, and of course knew his subject. It was easy for him to get the hand-spinner’s angle, and in no time, a good yarn was spinning on to the bobbin. Several have made experiments with the wheel with quite encouraging results. They are excellent at carding, having the patience and lightness of touch so necessary. Last night, we tried the spindle spinning, and with good and happy results; and so, Aunt Daisy, a new interest has been created, and I may say here that I am learning more from them than I could ever try to teach. They are so kind and protective to each other that I’m wondering if there is more in the saying "the blind leading the blind" than our own blind senses have realised. It seems to me as I watch them, that they have more "light" than we have who can see. I have no social gifts, but sitting with them accepted by them, is a real jewel to possess; and watching their unobtrusive kindnesses to each other, makes the love of one’s neighbour something real. Now for the children’s spinning. On July 25, Mrs. Hutchinson of Rissington, the well-known authority on vegetable dyes, paid a visit to our school. She expressed her admiration for the children’s careful and useful work. The sea-boot stockings are veritable dreadnoughts — positively unsinkable!-good wool and good knitting. Mrs. Hutchinson told the children how the Great War and the need for wool was what started her spinning. She described a trip to the Shetland Isles; and then like a modern Goddess Ceres, she dived into a modern Cornucopia in the shape of a bag woven from hand-spun dog’s hair — her own dog, a beautiful Samoyed. From this Horn of Plenty she brought, not the fruits of the harvest and the flowers, but beautiful soft pom-poms of coloured wools. These were the fruits of her research, and left us breathless. Here was the deep purple of grape, the wine red of pomegranate, the keen orange red of carrot, the green of forest twilight — lavender, wistaria, clover, peach, apricot, yellows dull, yellows keen, and yellows regal-like the gold of a Mandarin’s robe; brown of the newlyploughed furrow and nut brown; buffs and putty — a marvellous feast! — "E.M.R." (Wadestown), |