Was it really June 2015 that I tried to spin yarn for the first time? Two and a half years?! It does not feel that long ago. Especially, since I did not pursue spinning yarn at all after that.

Until last fall. When visiting one of my favorite local yarn stores, the Wollnerin told me that every now and then there are spinning classes at her store. At home, I meant to tease my man when offering to sign him up – after all it was him who got stuck on that spinning wheel back in 2015 (and who managed to spin so much better than me).

However – and much to my surprise – he would react quite differently from what I had expected: “If you like to sign us up – go ahead. It would be fun to do that together.”

Ooops …

Hence, I booked the last two seats in a spinning course for beginners in early December.

What can I say? It was wonderful! Bettina Gelbe, our teacher, together with Tina, another pro when it comes to spinning, had brought several spinning wheels, even more dropspindles and – of course – plenty of wool for us to try. After a short talk (who takes part in class and why) and a long introduction (from fibers to carding, spinning and twisting) everyone chose a wheel or spindle to practice and learn.

Not an easy task! Not at all. I would definitely have to spend more time to actually learn it, but to get an idea of the whole process, how wool turns into yarn, it was perfect. I was much more successful with the spindle though than with the spinning wheel. Maybe because the spindle had pink flowers and glitter – or because a spindle does not turn as incessantly as a spinning wheel.

If you have not (yet) tried it – go for it!

Bettina regularly offers beginner courses in Berlin. The next is scheduled for March 3^rd. And she teaches just as professional as she spins on every device: with an angelic patience, great humor and so much love for wool – I can’t think of a better teacher. If that’s not enough of a personal description for you (and for those of you who understand German), I recommend a short coverage on Inforadio “Die Sehnsucht nach dem Echten” (starting 11 min 30 sec).

After class, we were given plenty of documentation to read and remember when home. Plus, we could take with us what we had accomplished. My skein (ha!) is still sitting here. It might become a sweater …