Three Ladies, Three Skeins

The Sanday Spinners now offer a beginners' spinning course, in conjunction with Ayre's Rock.

The first offering of the course was in February 2008 and these three ladies were very happy to take home their first skeins of yarn - made from Sanday sourced Jacob fleece.

The course runs over two half days and includes:

• an introduction to fleece: choosing a good fleece and sorting the fibre
• preparation of fibre
• reasons for and principles of drafting and spinning
• drop spindling
• introduction to the spinning wheel
• hands on spinning with a wheel
• plying
• skeining with a niddy noddy
• excellent refreshments by Julie Allan at Ayre's Rock

The Sanday Spinners are following a long line of Orcadian and Sanday tradition; spinning selected natural fleeces with care. Raw fleece is handspun on spinning wheels and the resulting yarns are crafted into attractive and useful items, through knitting, weaving, and felting.

The Census of 1841 records that eight Sanday women gave their industry as "Spinner." Today's Sanday Spinners collective also numbers eight women, each of whom will in time have a shop window here.

The Sanday Spinners started from modest beginnings, when one spinner passed on her skills to a novice. This nucleus quickly attracted further experienced and new spinners. The group now meets weekly for sharing knowledge, fleece, laughter - and cake. There is usually a "show and tell" of the work produced during the intervening week and plans for future projects are shared.

The group is developing from this small start to a commercial enterprise, and you may now own a share in this continuity of traditional crafting.

The Sanday Spinners work from home, in traditional cottage industry style within sight of the sea, and in rhythm with the tides and the seasons. Each skein of wool is crafted with love, tradition - and just a little sea air.