SPINNING AUSTRALIA

HAND SPINNERS AND WEAVERS

GUILD Of NSW INC.

205 Burwood Rd Burwood NSW 2134

Ph: 02 9745 1603 www.nsweave.org.au

HANDWEAVERS AND SP INNERS

GUILD Of VICTORIA INC.

655 Nicholson Rd

Carlton North Vic 3054

Ph: 03 9387 9222 www.vicnet.net.au/~ handspin/

CANBERRA SPINNERS AND WEAVERS

Majura Oval, corner of Angas and Sherbrooke Streets, Ains lie, Canberra.

Ph: 02 6247 1048 www.csw.org.au

QUEENSLAND WEAVERS, SPINNERS AND FIBRE ART ISTS

Fibrecraft House, 12 Payne Street

Auchenflower, Brisbane

Ph: 07 3371 0009 www.q ldspinners.org.au

HANDSPINNERS AND WEAVERS GUILD Of SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC

196 South Road Mile End

Adelaide

South Austra lia 5031

Ph: 08 8352 4843 www.handspinweavesa

The spinning w heel or die 'cbarkhcl carries a special reverence for Indians. It was the symbol of the lndian Independence movement and originaUy held pride of place on the ruuiorutl Aag, before being replaced by the Ashoka wheel. Bur with the advancement iu technology, die faithful spinning wh eel is facing extinction. All is not lost though, as Indian Link discovered diehard aficionados striving to keep d1e art of spinning and weaving on the wheel, alive in Australia.

1 caught up ,vith two such devotees, Jennifer Hopper and Valerie Walker, born accomplished spinners and weavers doing their bir co keep di e wheel mming

Jennifer Marjorje Hopper lives in Diamond Beach on the east coast of S\XI, and reaches spinning and weaving at the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW (HWSG-NSWI).

Jeruufer developed an interest in spinning at school. "i\lfy father was involved in wool production in the country," s he reveals. "At Hornsby Girl s High Schoo~ I chose Textiles as one of my su bjects for the Intermediate School Certificate. I enjoyed it and chose it for the Leaving Certificate. At the end of high schoo l, 1 chose to train as a lugh school Textiles & Design teacher".

She continues, " Both sides of my famil y included teachers for many years, so I was familiar with die role of tea.clung. I trained for two years at d1e Sydney Teachers College and was first employed by the NS\XI Department of Schools as a full time qualified high schoo l Textiles teacher at Bmwood Girls High School in Sydney, and later at Sydney Girls High Sch ool. Wlille living in Sydney I attended evening TAFE courses at Brookvale with Eve Rashley, die 'guru' of spinning. Over tioie, I ran wo rkshops teaching spinning an d weaving, using wool. This expanded into d1e use of wool for felting, 1:nain.ly because of d1e standard quality of Australian wool. I have taught many wo rkshops in various parts

"Two of my great great grandfad1ers were weavers; diey came to Australia from England in the early 1800s as convicts. Also, my mother was always knitting an d I wan ted to learn where the yarn came from;' she says She learnt the craft in Canberra in 1974. Shedding light on die CSWValerie reveals, " The CSW was formed in 1966 by a group of ladies doing dus craft. Today there are 140 membe rs and we meet every week. Member's in terests include felting, weavin g, knitting, spinning, rag rugging, dyeing and tapestry weaving Apart from workshops and group activities, CSW also o rganises an exlubition and sale of members work every year".

Vale rie adds, "The organisation crea ted an International Scarf Exch ange in 1994. A different A u stralian guild conducts tlus activity each year, and we have entrants from d1e USA and NZ t hi s year. Mem berslup of CSW grew to 180 about 4 years ago, but is now going down due tO rising fees and members ageing"

The actual part of sitting, spinning and seeing the Aeece being turned i mo yam is what inspires Valerie about spinning on me wheel.

" It is ver y calming, l enjoy seeing m y fou s hed bobbin of yarn," she states

Describing the basic steps and techniques of spin ning Valerie explains, ' 'It involves deciding what the fleece is good for, preparing the fleece: combing, washing etc. Th en spinrung, o nce bobbins are spun they are plied and then maybe dyed, and finally used i n knitting or weaving One bobbin of spinning 100gms takes about tbree hoursyou need two bobbi ns to make one skein of yarn. There ate different techniques like the long draw, short draw, d1e wooUen med1od , worsted mediod , fine and mick My personal favourite i s the fine lace spinning".

Asked what she sees as the fumre of spinning and weaving in Australia, Valarie was honest in voicing her opi.tuon, ''It will still be as now, a small am ount of professional spinning, but mostl y a hobby craft''. She also does not beJjeve diere is enough interest in spinning on me wheel amongst youngsters.

' '\Ve are always tryi ng to recruit younger people - knitting has upsurged in the last four years, though. The CSW is always out demonstrating to schools, fairs and markets, prom oting diese skills We hope other guilds a:rorn1d Australia are doing d1e same," she says.

Both Valerie and Jennifer tbjnk m o re can be d one to promote and preserve this cra ft. In the meantime, exp erts like di em all over the coll.lltry are trying to keep the wheel spinning by passing their skills on to die next gen eration of weavers

• General Skilled Migration (onshore & offshore)

• State Sponsored Visas

• Employer Nom inated Visas

• Partner & Family Migration

• Business Migration

• Student Visas

• Advice on various pathways for permanent residency to onshore graduates.

• Adv i ce & Assist ance with Professional Year Program.

• MRT App lication for Review

• Ad vic e & fac ilitate proce du res fo r Student Visas

• Guidance and assistance in selecting appropriate professional cou r ses based on education and background

• Change of Course, University and Education Provider

• Assistance with credit transfers

• Immigration & Visa Advice

• Student Visa and Appea l Matters

• Admission and Visa Assistance for other countries including Canada and New Zealand.

Ou r Assoc iates : Robert (Bob) Fenwick - IVisala w New Zealand

Katerina Kn ize - Law offices of Katerina Kn ize, Montreal Canada