Another leadership idea... for me

Between the yard, the house, my family, my friends, the pets, the guilds, etc., I feel a bit overwhelmed these days. So when someone suggested the spinning guild needs a study group in fiber prep and spinning techniques, I nearly collapsed. However, later I thought that instead of a separate group, we (and by "we" I mean the Old Guard) could teach these skills in a series of programs... NEXT YEAR. The guild has a lot of younger members these days who are not very adept at skills like flick carding, hand carding, plying techniques, spinning techniques, etc. so there is a need. If we old(er) spinners don't share our knowledge, it may be lost at the local level.

Dyeing: I zoomed in on a talk about dyeing with invasives, presented by a member of the Austin fiber guild, which got me looking up local invasives I could dye with. Dame's rocket is on the list, and guess what? I have a volunteer patch of that in my yard. Not much online about using this pretty biannual as a dye source, but I went ahead and plucked the flower heads, which are soaking in tap water (and getting a bit stinky).
Knitting: During a spin-in this past week, I managed to get to the heel turn on both socks. People think I knit a lot of socks (and maybe I do, compared to others), but it's my portable project.
Spinning: I finished spindling and plying the remainder of the fiber from the class I attended. I'm amazed at how balanced the yarn is.
Weaving: The houndstooth towels are off the loom, laundered, and awaiting hemming.

One technique I am not very adept at is pre-drafting and drafting. One of my fiber friends is considered the best spinner among us, as her yarn is very consistant. Her trick is careful pre-drafting. The other night, I watched our resident spindling expert as she spun, and she is very careful with her drafting, so her yarn is very consistant as well. At spin-ins, I need to park myself next to these experts and learn from the best.