A little diversion this week. While not technically about weaving, the points at the bottom are directly transferable to learning to weave (or anything else).

My first day with my own wheel…concentrating hard!

I attended my first 2 spinning classes this past weekend. I’ve been spinning for about 2 years and, like everything else, I’m self-taught. The first class was a beginner class. I didn’t really need it, but hoped to learn some things I didn’t already know (which I did). It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room full of people who are all learning something for the first time and it was a reminder to me.

Watching the group learn to spin I got to see a wide range of reactions to challenge. Deep looks of concentration, fumbling hands, whitening of knuckles, muttering (some positive some not so much), exclamations of delight or startled surprise.

Friday I watched other people struggle to learn, Saturday it was my turn. Spinning art yarn so it looks good is hard! My hands were clumsy, my feet forgot to treadle, or treadled too fast. I was the one talking to myself, sometimes so deep in concentration that I couldn’t hear what the instructor was saying. I spun a few mini skeins; they look surprisingly like the first few skeins I spun when I just learned to spin!

I learned a lot this weekend:

A cup of tea soothes the frazzled nerves

Learning means making mistakes. Except they aren’t really mistakes, it’s just learning how not to do something. Learning how not to do something is just as important as learning how to do something
Learning is gradual so we need to go easy on ourselves. Cheer when the fingers get it right even if the feet don’t. Cheer when the yarn is so twisted it can’t feed onto the bobbin. Over twisted yarn means you are getting twist!
Learning continues to happen when we take breaks. When the tension was high our instructors suggested we take a break, have a cup of tea or coffee and a treat. While we were resting our bodies, our brains were free to process what we had learned and to file some muscle memory. And it worked! Coming back to our wheels after even a brief break the anxiety in the room was lower and real yarn began to fill bobbins.
Learning takes a lot of energy. We can’t focus on everything all at once. It’s ok to go back to an easier step. It’s ok that we can’t listen and do at the same time or that we mess up every time we try to talk. And if you are a teacher, this is especially important to remember!

I’d love to hear about your learning experiences. What helps? How do you keep a positive outlook?

My 2nd and 3rd skeins plied and knit. Plying hides a multitude of sins!!