By Judy Barnet
What do you do when you have four children under five?
The answer surprised me – Learn to spin of course.
I met Judy Donelly a few years ago sitting on a street corner on a freezing cold morning in Warwick
as I recall – it was Jumpers and Jazz in July and I had taken a few wooly jumpers (Sheep) to help this
wonderful community event and do a bit of promotion for the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia at the
same time.
Judy had her spinning wheel, I had the sheep and a local character who knew a thing or
two about sheep offered to demonstrate his shearing technique and so we started a sheep to
jumper demonstration right there on the street corner in front of Sir Thomas Byrnes Statue .
In fact, you can see us do it all again in a few weeks at the 2023 event.
I met up with Judy again a few weeks ago at a local church fete, she was spinning and had a display
of beautiful needle felted wooly jumpers, and me, I had the real thing.
I looked at Judy’s collection of minature sheep, and one larger one which I recognised as a purebred English Leicester.
The sheep were incredibly lifelike.
There were other needle felted animals I recall, an elephant and maybe a giraffe, but being a farmer the sheep really took my fancy.
I asked Judy about her life, when and why she started spinning and her answer surprised me – Judy’s
Mother-in-law suggested she take up knitting when her four under-five children had gone to bed.
After moving with her family to Gympie, she decided it was a natural progression to spin her own wool for her knitting and on a visit to the local butcher, she enquired if he knew anyone that might supply
wool for her to learn on.
The butcher, knowing the local farmers of course pointed Judy in the right direction and from there she discovered a local spinners group.
“It’s an addiction” she says, “once you start it’s hard to stop.
“I have on occasion though had the odd break for up to a year”
Judy enters needle felting in the show every year. It takes her two full days to make her sheep.
“I am a perfectionist,” she tells me.
Her fleeces are mostly given to her and Rose City Wools have also been a great source of wool.
I ask Judy what advice she would give people wanting to start needle felting.
I am interested to hear her answer as several years ago I purchased a needle felting kit of a beautiful beagle.
What I have half completed, bore no resemblance to a Beagle at all. I got discouraged and gave up, although who knows, I might go back to it one day.
Judy says it is best if you can have someone show you – and immediately offers her services (I think maybe I should take her up on that one day.)
There are plenty of videos on youtube she says, but it is just not the same as being shown and have someone there to watch and advise you.
“Oh,” she adds – “and don’t try to do this watching TV – the needle is
very sharp with a barb on the end to prevent the wool being dragged out.”
