Survey results: Keeping records

Two weeks ago I sent out a survey about record keeping in spinning, and today I share some interesting results.

I am currently writing a chapter about keeping records in my upcoming book Listen to the wool. I created the survey to include other perspectives on record keeping than just my own.

263 of you answered the survey and I thank you all very much for contributing to the book with thoughtful reflections about different aspects of record keeping. This was the first ever survey I have made and I have loved reading your replies. They were very valuable for my book, but I will also share some results and thoughts here.

Written and physical documentation

First of all, I was curious about what the respondents document and when. Many of them kept written records of things like tools, techniques, breed, sheep owner, and different calculations like weight and length of the yarn, and fleece to yarn yield.

When it came to physical documentation fewer people documented, but the most common type of physical documentation was by far yarn samples. The most common time for documentation was at wool preparation, spinning and after finishing the yarn. Many sheep owners also kept records at the time of shearing.

A flora of record keeping systems

I also asked the respondents to comment on their written and physical record keeping and whether they document in the same way and the same things. It turned out that there is a wide variety of ways people document and. Some respondents expressed their curiosity about other spinners’ ways of keeping records. One respondent even offered to show me their system for documentation, and I’m meeting them this weekend.

Systematic record keeping

Some seem to document very systematically with samples of staples, yarns and swatches in different techniques in books and binders, transparent plastic pockets or in a card index. Many of these respondents seemed to document the same way and the same things through all their projects. At this point I really regretted not asking for pictures of their documentation, people seemed to have so many interesting systems.

Small scale documentation

Some kept their records to a minimum, perhaps just a sample by the spinning wheel or a label on the finished skein. “I’ll spin and swatch, make a decision and plunge forward”. Some saved swatches with inventive ideas as memory aids:

“I especially love to save swatches knitted at different gauges and in different patterns. This type of documentation is useful to me. I tie knots in the yarn tail to tell me what needle size I used.”

Others developed their record keeping through the years, perhaps starting in a small scale and working up a system as they learned. Or the other way around – starting big, with lots of details documented, and making it smaller as they learned. One respondent expressed their system like this:

“I tend to document the things I find interesting and the details that I think will help me make best use of the finished yarn.”

16 per cent of the respondents didn’t do any written documentation at all and 25 per cent didn’t do any physical documentation. However, I know some people said didn’t answer the survey at all because they don’t do any documentation.

Storage issues and solution

Some respondents mentioned storage as an issue, after many years of spinning there simply wasn’t enough space to keep all the records. Some had inventive solutions for keeping and storing records: “Sample cards are great references, I keep in my mom’s old wooden recipe file box. I can easily get out a card with information about spinning a particular breed or using a specific technique to help with a future project.”

What do you use your documentation for?

There were lots of interesting answers to this question. Many respondents kept their records for their own education,

“it isn’t just about keeping a record so I can spin the same yarn at a later date, it is about a growth in my crafting.”

Some keep records to remember what they had done, especially if they knew there would be periods when they wouldn’t spin. Some kept their records for consistency and for matching yarns with other yarns. Yet some did it for nostalgic reasons.

“I always tell myself that it’s a good idea to have records. So far, they haven’t changed my life much—I’ve never really gone back and tried to re-create a yarn I made a long time ago. But it’s nice to have a record.”

I especially love this quote:

“Some times I just like to page through my records for inspiration or to see my own progress, like a photo album but for my yarn children.”

A few respondents kept their records for a combination of reasons. Here is one example:

“I use the documentation to develop my learning of handling of the wool and the creativity, but also to just allow the senses to dominate as I have my hands in the wool or the swatch, letting my thoughts rest, come and go.”

(my translation from Swedish)

“Because I should be doing it”

Some respondents expressed that they were unsure of why they were keeping records and whether they were doing it enough or the “right” way.

“I haven’t started documenting yet. I suppose I should in order to be more consistent in my spinning. Being self taught, I’m not always sure what to document for better spinning”

In this context some seem to feel a pressure to keep records, from both the spinning community and from spinning teachers. Here are a couple of examples:

“Mostly to assuage guilt that I should be doing it! (As in, this is what good spinners do, right??)”

and

“people seem to think you have to, so there’s always conversation about it”.

As a spinning teacher I take this seriously. I need to find ways to talk about why I keep records of my spinning process and encourage my students to play with their wool without feeling obligated to keep records for the sake of keeping records. What can we as a spinning community do to make people feel comfortable documenting just for themselves or not at all?

Spin for pleasure or spin for numbers?

One interesting reflection made by quite a few respondents were about a feeling of a dichotomy between keeping records and spinning for the process – that keeping records somehow stood in the way of the spinning experience and joy.

“The pleasure of spinning is the most important reason I do it. Keeping documentation is not pleasant for me. I keep minimal written information on my ravelry page for handspun.”

One respondent took the dichotomy to a deeper level in their reflections:

”I have a divided feeling towards documentation. I can enjoy pretty labels and love to be organized. But I also struggle against the feeling of what isn’t documented isn’t worth anything. So I can wish that I documented more and that I documented less? I like to document, but perhaps I wish I didn’t? I wish that not everything needed to be a documented experience to fall back on but just something pleasant that I engaged in for a while and that later was allowed to be forgotten.”

(my translation from Swedish)

For me, record keeping is no hindrance for enjoying the spinning process. Record keeping and enjoying the process coexist in my spinning and are mutually beneficial. Can it be that a feeling of record keeping as a must stands in the way of the joy of the process? Perhaps we need to reflect more over why we keep records rather than assume everybody does it because they should.

Again, thank you all who participated in the survey. The results really helped me sharpen the structure and content. I have now almost finished the 9th chapter of the book. After the next chapter I’m half way through the manuscript!

Happy spinning!

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