thank you for the spinning post. I emailed my local group. they're actually not too far away.
I have a couple of questions if that's alright. what's your local guild where you demonstrate a thing for tourists? please don't answer if it doxes you. or please feel free to answer in the vaguest possible way. I think it sounds cool, I'm not here for your personal information.
second question. my local spinning group seems to average about 70. which is fine. but I am a tiny bit worried about popping up as a usually visibly queer person. although maybe that's less obvious to older people. have you been alright in that regard? again, I'm not trying to ask for personal information, this can be a yes/no question.
not a question. I have both wool that came with my spindle and stuff from a felting kit. good to know I can use both :) thanks for including that in your information post
Hey, I'm glad it was useful to you!
With regards to your first question, my guild has a working relationship with the local heritage groups, so they provide spaces for us to demonstrate at some of the historical sites in the area during the tourist season; I'll generally be using drop spindles for portability reasons but some people bring wheels or small looms down, and we'll work on whatever we've got and talk to people about what we're doing and the local and global historical context. Unfortunately the reenactment-ish setting means that a lot of people assume that it's not a living craft but it's easy enough to correct that once you start talking to people lol. Mostly I just enjoy having a captive audience and getting to show people that this is something they can pick up themselves if they wanted!
As for question 2, unfortunately I think it's really going to depend on your guild and your area. I'm the youngest in my guild by probably at least 20 years but most of the older folks are honestly pretty chill, occasionally I'll hear some comments that make me wince but it's usually people not knowing up to date language or not being particularly educated in social justice topics, not outright maliciousness, and you can have a conversation with them about it. They all do assume I'm a girl but to be honest I don't consider it worth the effort to explain, maybe they'll get it eventually but I'm comfortable enough in myself not to pay it too much mind lmao, it's just a little annoying. In my experience they're really just happy that a younger person is taking an interest; a lot of my guildmates joke that I'm their best advertisement because people are often a lot more curious about why I'm doing this as someone who looks young and alternative than they are about the older women they expect it from. And that's fine! If my being there and notably queer helps bring more people over that's a great thing imo, and someone has to be first. Hopefully other people my age will join eventually so that in 30 years it won't just be me running things by myself lmao but I don't mind being the group baby in the meantime, it's kind of like having a bunch of pseudo-aunties. One of my friends there gave me some strawberry seedlings this year that've been doing great, and soon I'll have delicious strawberries :)
All that to say, you'll probably have to feel the group out and see what they're like, I know of other guilds that can be very cliquey and gatekeepy but mine's not like that at all and I get along with most of the people there really well, though you're never gonna click with everyone, same as any group or club. I hope the one near you is similar! If not, I still have a great time just spinning by myself when I'm watching tv, you don't need to be in a guild to spin, it's just nice to have the equipment access and social element. Good luck with it either way!
