Electric Sheep: Exploring E-spinners
About Electric Sheep: Exploring E-spinners
Tempted by spinning but not sure a regular wheel’s for you? Intrigued by the idea of making just the yarn you want but not sure where you’d put a wheel if you had one? Feet/knees not doing what you want as painlessly as they used to, making the whole treadling part of wheel spinning look less than fun? Take some e-spinners for, well, a spin! In the first half of this experiential, process-oriented class designed for folks starting their spinning journey, you’ll take a guided tour of at least ten different e-spinners, learning how they resemble and differ from both one another and their acoustic brethren. In the second half, you’ll be exposed to and practice some fundamental spinning skills as you actively try out multiple e-spinners, getting a sense of what does and doesn’t work for you. Electric wheels are tabletop-friendly, juiced up, and ready to go. Who knows–you might discover one that’s just right for your spinning spirit!
What will students learn:
Students will be exposed to and practice some bedrock spinning skills while trying out multiple different e-spinners. By the end of the class, new spinners should have a sense of whether spinning on an e-spinner is for them and know a bit more about how various e-spinners work and how they compare with one another as well as with analog wheels.
Materials, Equipment, and Supplies the Student Must Bring to Class
No participant-provided materials required: instructor will provide all tools and materials. Students just need to bring their curiosity and willingness to learn–and their patience with the process and with themselves.
Materials Kit and Kit Description
Your class registration fee includes a materials kit with a value of $65 which includes:
Shared use of instructor’s herd of e-spinners–including models by Ashford, Daedalus, Dreaming Robots, Hansen, SpinOlution, and more–plus use of various types of undyed and dyed fiber (mostly wool and wool-blend) for use in exploring the herd.
Pre-class Homework
None
Age Range
Minimum age requirement for workshop: 12
Skill Level
Beginner (no experience)
What skills or knowledge do students need to take this workshop?
No prerequisite skills required; this class is specifically designed for people just starting their spinning journey who want to explore e-spinning. Folks who already know how to spin are welcome to sign up as long as they're good with a class focused on fundamental knowledge rather than advanced techniques. Class is process-oriented, rather than product-oriented. Students must have enough manual dexterity to hold and draft wool roving and must be able to to focus for the duration of the class.
Contact the Teacher
Send a direct message from the teacher's profile page with any questions you might have about the class.
When
Single 6-hour live in-person seminar.
Class Location
Classroom 1
How It Works
Register and enroll above. Enrollment is not complete until payment is made on the next page, by credit card or Paypal via our secure platform. Enrolled students will receive an immediate email confirmation of enrollment..
Refund Policy: To cancel an enrollment or request a refund, contact [email protected]. For 30+ days before, we refund 95%. Between 30 and 5 days, receive a 75% refund. No refunds within 5 days of class start date.
Liza Q. Wirtz
Liza Q. Wirtz, better known as Q (aka the Chief Feline), runs multifaceted fiber-arts business The Foldout Cat from her home studio in Alabama with the frequent and welcome assistance of partners Fiber J and Maker J and the help of a fluctuating number of cats.
Back to Carolina FiberFestAbout Lessonface, PBC & the Carolina FiberFest
Lessonface's mission is to help students achieve their goals while treating teachers equitably. Since 2012, we've hosted more than 30,000 students and 2,000 teachers for over 500,000 music, language, and arts lessons and classes online. The 20th annual Carolina FiberFest is March 13-14, 2026 at the NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh NC. Workshops will be held Thurs. March 12 - Sat. March 14, 2026.