Exploring spinning has been quite an adventure for me, and I look forward to continuing my adventures in the years to come. This last weekend was quite a milestone - being the presenter for the Whidbey Spin-In meant lecturing (eeek) one day and then running a workshop for 100+ people the second day. Yep, one teacher (me), 100+ participants ... it's a very interesting environment to teach in, and makes a normal class of 15-20 seem that much less intimidating.
In the past year I've been exploring weaving as well. I'm still very much a student there, though I've contributed a few book reviews to WeaveZine and posted some of my findings on my blog. I'm sure it will be a continuing area of study for me, since I find it so fascinating.
As you, my regular (and new) readers know, I like to share what I know. It's been a challenge to balance teaching, retail sales, product development, shows, and writing. If you keep a close eye on the webstore, you know that product selection has been decreasing in some areas, and also that recently I've made e-booklets available, the written form of my workshops. I like being up-front and clear about where Ask The Bellwether is heading. You are likely to see fewer hard products and more e-booklets as I polish the workshop handouts. I am likely to offer kits after having a workshop if extra materials are available -- including fiber, spindles, dyes or other materials and tools. I expect to continue being SpinOlution's Washington state dealer as well, as I enjoy their wheels and their product plans are very exciting!
And yes, as several people asked at the Whidbey Spin-In, I do plan to write more books on spinning - I've no firm plans for the next book yet, but have some favorite topics in mind.
Why the shift in direction? I'm taking a leaf from the writings of Wake Up Cloud, and following my bliss. This direction feels right; I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.
© April 15, 2010 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.com/blog
