Ashley Martineau interview: “Spinning is like second nature to me”

When did you learn to knit?
I learnt to knit when I was ten. An elderly lady named Eulah from church invited me to her house every week to watch a Disney movie and learn knitting. I started with self-striping, squeaky acrylic yarn and 5mm needles. I remember my hands sweating while I fought each stitch, and getting goose bumps from the yarn squeaking on the needles. I made a garter stitch rectangle that I used as a shawl for my favourite stuffed rabbit and that was the only thing I completed until I was 20. Newly married, I saw my mother-in-law knitting a scarf. I asked her to reteach me to knit. She handed me a pair of neon green plastic 12mm needles that her mother had given her, and I realised I had found my calling in the world of bulky yarn. I haven’t knit anything on less than a 6.5mm needle ever since.

What made you want to spin you own yarn?
One day while I was looking for bulky yarn on the cheap, I came across Lexi Boeger’s website, Pluckyfluff, and her yarns took my breath away. I was hooked and knew I needed to begin spinning my own art yarns for knitting on my giant needles. I didn’t want to create perfectly even, traditional yarns because that’s not what I wanted to knit. I wanted to create with art yarn.

How did you get started?
I made friends with a dealer of Louet spinning wheels and purchased a single treadle S17 kit wheel from her that summer. She sent me a bunch of fibres to play with to get myself started. On a hot day in the summer, in my tiny apartment without air conditioning, I assembled my wheel and decided I was going to spin cotton because cotton yarns are summer yarns. Anyone who has ever spun cotton before would have laughed watching me try to draft this stapleless fibre for the first time. I tried spinning that fibre until I wanted to burn the wheel. I tried looking online for tutorials and there was nothing available. I decided in that moment that once I knew how to spin, I was going to put lots of videos on YouTube and write online tutorials for spinners who wanted to teach themselves. (Fast forward ten years and my YouTube channel has over 3,600 subscribers!)

I came back to the wheel a couple of hours later, ripped the cotton from the leader thread and grabbed some wool roving. As if by magic, things started making sense. My fibre drafted, twisted, spun, pulled on to the bobbin, and looked like yarn! I had observed so many people spinning that I knew what my hands and the fibre should be doing. With a little practice and a long stapled wool fibre, it worked! I quickly filled up that bobbin and made another. Then, I grabbed some feathers and string and plied it into the yarn. I went through my entire house looking for items to spin into yarn. I was inspired! I took my yarns to a knitting group and they all sold. Once I learnt to spin, my giant knitting needles were put aside. I was having too much fun spinning to bother knitting – and the proceeds from my yarns helped me build up a stash of fibres. 

Do you still spin the same way as when you started?
I wish I did! There is something raw and magical about the first yarns you spin. They have a fresh, free-spirited quality that fades with experience and practice. When I go to sheep and wool festivals now, I look for beginner spinners and kids that are spinning. There is nothing like a yarn spun by someone fresh to the wheel. My favourite emails are from brand new spinners who have found one of my tutorials or purchased my book, and are in that ‘running around the house looking for things to put into yarn’ stage. I love how I help inspire that in people. 

Now that I’ve had time and experience at the wheel, spinning is like second nature to me. My wheel is the space I go to when I need to think about something. It keeps my hands and feet busy so my mind can problem solve, and prioritise and organise stress. I don’t focus on the yarn anymore, my head digs deep and the yarn just happens. Even though I have experience spinning, I never call myself an “expert”.  I don’t want to be an expert, because that means I’ve learnt everything I need to know and that makes me sad. I like to experiment with different techniques and try to challenge myself. A couple of months ago I figured out how to ply yarn with wire to create a loopy bouclé. The yarn looks amazing! It has no practical purpose, but I hang it on an antique mirror in my living room. It reminds me to continue to try new things and challenge myself. I enjoy the challenge because it brings back some of that fresh, raw, new-to-the-wheel thrill I had when I first started spinning.

Is it difficult to teach other people to do something that you now find quite easy?
I remember being a child and having adults talk to me like I was half my age – and I found that annoying. I promised myself that when I grew up, I’d never forget what it felt like to be a kid. I feel the same way about teaching spinning. I never want to forget what it felt like to be a beginner. I’m nervous everytime I teach a class because I’m afraid someone will drill me on technical terms and I won’t know what they are talking about! I don’t always use technical terms when teaching and beginners have told me that my teaching style is very approachable, easy to understand and relaxing.

I have intentionally avoided becoming an expert at all things spinning, because I feel like it takes me farther and farther away from the joy of being a beginner. I took my first yarn spinning class from Lexi Boeger five years after I started spinning. Technically, I didn’t need to be taught but still the class was incredible. Anyone who has the opportunity to take a Lexi Boeger class definitely should. It opened my eyes to new techniques and gave me a million fresh ideas. It’s when I feel fresh-at-the-wheel that I do my best work. 

Can anyone spin yarn?
Anyone can spin yarn. People have been spinning yarn for thousands of years. A few hundred years ago, spinning yarn was a childhood chore. Personally, I find a wheel easier than a drop spindle, but wheels haven’t been around as long. It depends on what you’re used to. I prefer a wheel because I spin quickly and can make more yarn in a shorter time. I also can use both hands to add embellishments or techniques. Spinning is like writing. Drop spindling is like writing long hand, whereas spinning on a wheel is more like typing on a keyboard. You can write the same words, but the experience of writing that story is different.

Do you have any advice for knitting with and looking after handspun yarns?
Knitting with traditional handspun yarn is just as easy as knitting with commercial yarn. Knitting with art yarn, where the gauge varies, the skein is one of a kind, the yardage is limited, requires a beginner point of view to knitting that I am currently trying to explore. Knitting with art yarn relies more on dimensions than stitch count. You may need to randomly add increases and decreases into your pattern to maintain the dimension of what you are knitting.

What’s next for you and Neauveau Fiber Arts?
I am currently working on a class on this topic for Madison Wool in Connecticut.  Right now I’m at the pattern building stage, but hopefully I’d like to teach this freeform knitting class later this year. I’m also working on patterns for art yarns, and am using other spinners’ handmade yarns to write these patterns. Spinners around the world have donated yarns to me to turn into patterns, in exchange for me marketing their products in my patterns. I’m hoping that this will bring more business to other handspinners. Beyond that I’d like to have more kids.  My son Sam will be one year old in April. I am richly blessed and I’m so thankful to have a hobby business I can do from home so I can enjoy every moment of my son’s childhood. Being a kid is awesome!

Go online at www.handspunartyarn.com to see Ashley’s yarns, read her blog and check out her fabulous tutorials! Get your hands on Ashley’s latest book Spinning & Dyeing Yarn (£25, Jacqui Small) at www.amazon.co.uk