Teaching and Workshops
Francie is an enthusiastic and talented teacher - approachable, knowledgeable and passionate about sharing her love of fibre crafts. She never stops learning, and is always working to integrate her understanding into an accessible framework - giving students the skills they need to explore on their own and continue their creative journey.
Upcoming Workshops:
Weaving with Francie - Free 8 week course, starting 9 Nov - Scroll down for details
River Yarn Fibre Festival – 5 & 6 April 2025 in Carcoar, NSW
Learn to Spin on a Spindle – Saturday, 5 April, 10:30 am to 12:00 noon
Spinning on a Turkish Spindle – Sunday, 6 April, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Colour Handling in Spinning – Sunday, 6 April, 1:30 am to 3:30 pm
Find Out More and Book
See below for information on the Workshops Francie currently teaches. Join the mailing list or get in contact to learn more about upcoming workshops.
Weaving with Francie
A free 8 week course - come along and learn to weave in a welcoming, relaxed social setting.
November dates: 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
December dates: 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
Bookings are essential - Register here or call 4787 7770
Facilitated by the Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre and funded by the NSW Government Connecting Seniors Grant
Workshops
Learn to Spin on a Spindle
Do you love fibre crafts, yarn and all things fluffy? Spinning might just be calling to you! With just one simple tool - the spindle - and the desire to create, you can become part of this most ancient of crafts.
In this workshop you'll learn the basics of spinning on a drop spindle, with experienced and enthusiastic spinner Francie Goudie. You'll come away with your own skein of yarn and the knowledge you need to keep exploring. This is the perfect workshop for anyone looking to learn to spin, or wanting to brush up on the basics.
Spinning on a Turkish Spindle
Turkish Spindles - cross-armed bottom-whorl spindles with a removable shaft - are an ancient tool that is uniquely suited to modern spinning. Convenient, portable and quite frankly adorable, there's so much to love about the Turkish Spindle. And with the right tips and techniques, it can become a truly productive tool.
In this workshop, experienced spindle-spinner Francie will teach you her approach to spinning on Turkish Spindles. With an emphasis on ergonomics and productivity, you will learn how spinning on a Turkish Spindle can become an enjoyable, peaceful and even meditative experience! Whether you're a new spinner, you've been spinning on a wheel for years, or you've tried spindles but never gotten the hang of them, this workshop will get you started on your Turkish Spindle journey, and guide you on your next steps.
Colour Handling in Spinning
As spinners, we have so many options when it comes to colour - all of the beautiful bright fibre available to us! But it's easy to get overwhelmed, and it can be challenging to keep on track as we move from fibre to yarn to eventual project.
This workshop will provide you with knowledge and skills to navigate the colour journey - starting with developing an understanding the colour possibilities in fibre - then planning the yarn you want to spin, with or without a project in mind - and finally exploring the techniques that allow you to spin that yarn, including chain plying, fractal spinning, gradient spinning, variegate spinning, matching plies and more.
You will explore a wide range of samples to discover how many possibilities exist in a single colourway, as well as having the chance to spin your own. You will also be invited to bring fibre from your own stash that might be posing a colour challenge - to discuss with the group and brainstorm an approach!
“Under Construction” - the fundamentals of yarn
Whether you want to aim to become a technical spinner, or you prefer to spin with the flow, there’s so much to gained from understanding how yarn takes shape as we spin. This isn’t a workshop seeped in technical jargon, or focused on the minutiae of measurement. Rather, we will strip yarn down to the basics - to the fundamentals of yarn construction - giving you the tools you need to spin the yarn you want, and to understand the yarn you spin.
This workshop will cover a range of topics, from the importance of fibre choice, the impact of fibre preparation, different drafting styles, the woollen to worsted continuum, levels of twist, plying, finishing, and more. You will see how all of these factors interact, and how you can pick and choose what works for you and your yarn. You will leave with hands-on experience in drafting and plying, as well as detailed supplementary material.