Some time ago someone asked me how I got into spinning. I said (like many people before me) that I couldn't find a yarn I liked and that, after really thinking hard about it, the only way I could produce the yarn I wanted and the colours I wanted was to dye the wool and then spin it in a particular way.
So I jumped head first and ordered my wheel. This was not an easy decision, spending my hard earned money on an expensive piece of equipment I never used before for a craft I knew nearly nothing about. And there weren't many shops around that I could get a loan of it to try if I like it. So I just did it.
The first spin was awful, the wool snapped all the time, pulling at my hands constantly, bringing me nearly to tears. "I can't do it", I told Andy, by better half, "I just shelled sh..t load of money for something I can't do". He just looked at me and said to try again tomorrow and not to worry (as always). So I tried the next day, with much less enhusiasm and much more hesitation, and slowly a wonky yarn came out onto the bobbin.
I haven't looked back since.
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