All you need to spin your dreams
We have a new addition to our Majacraft range of spinning wheels! The Luna is an innovative new wheel, designed to be so smooth it makes spinning a breeze. The extra stability of the inline design and our drive system combine to provide a lovely …
Vote now! This year we will again be creating a limited edition bobbin in a new colour to add to your collection, and we would like to invite you to help us choose which one! Our ‘bobbin colour of the year’ is always popular, and …
Yes thats right! TWO camps coming up for 2026! First in Australia and then in New Zealand! Read on for all the details and our tutor features. Scroll to the end of the page to find the registration links.
We have some fabulous tutors and classes, and in this post we have an overview for you of all the fun fibre learning we have lined up.
Tutors for Camp Australia are: Debbie Held (USA), Sue Macniven (UK), Pat Old (NZ) and Janet Day (Australia).
In New Zealand also have Debbie, Sue, Pat, and for this Camp we have Suzy Brown (NZ).
Debbie Held is a freelance writer and international fibre arts educator who almost always has a spindle in hand. She’s a recurring contributor to Spin Off magazine, PLY, Schacht Spindle Company, and more, and she’s the writer behind the Interweave column, Her Handspun Habit. A truly contented spinster, Debbie lives on an urban farm in Atlanta, Georgia where she enjoys watching the spinner’s flock of Shetland sheep living in the yard below the windows. You can find Debbie online at www.debbieheld.com.
Debbie joins us at Camp to share her great depth of knowledge gained over her years of hands-on fibre arts, expanded even further during the development of her book ; The Spinner’s Blending Board Bible: ‘From Woollen to (Nearly!) Worsted and Everything in Between.’ This is an excellent book that covers everything about blending boards, from their construction, the materials used in them and the differences between them, and all the ways you can use a blending board to prepare fibre for spinning. Her approach is inspirational, and includes step by step tutorials, blending board best practices, and troubleshooting. This is a book for spinners from beginner to advanced.
Debbie’s classes for Camp in both Australia and New Zealand will explore unexpected ways to utilise your blending board to its fullest potential. This class is based on Debbie’s book, and will show you some of the innovative ways you can use your blending boards and inspire you to make this one of your most favourite fibre prep tools!
Sue has been spinning since first learning in 1985 at an evening class. In 1990 Sue completed the Open College Of Art “A Creative Approach to Textiles” Course, and in 1999 she broke the World Record “longest Thread” in Tasmania – then again in 2001.
Sue taught hand spinning and dyeing at Berkshire college of Agriculture for 5 years, has also provided workshops and given talks and demonstrations to many guilds in England, Scotland, Ireland and Majacraft Camp in New Zealand and Australia. Sue has also have exhibited in local and National exhibitions run by the Association of Guilds.
Sue lives in Scotland and has set up a workshop in at her home in Twynholm where she offers 1,2, and 4 day workshops in all aspects of hand spinning, as well continuing to run classes for many guilds around the UK . Specialising in exotic fibres and fine spinning, Sues design inspiration also comes from colour, with the characteristics of a fibre dictating how it should be spun and what the finished product could be.
Sue has developed her own way of spinning and teaching which allows students to spin quality yarns from the start, avoiding lumps and uneven twist and thickness. She loves the technical aspects of fibre preparation for long draw and worsted yarns. Her classes at Camp Australia and New Zealand 2026 will bring you simple but effective spinning techniques to even out your singles and create beautifully balanced, plied yarns. You will love your results from this class!
You can find Sue on Ravelry and Youtube under the name ‘chicksinrubber’ and her website is www.handspun-exotics.co.uk
Pat is well known throughout New Zealand as one of our most knowledgable and experienced spinners and teachers – a self-confessed, slightly obsessive “yarn nerd”! She tutored the Creative Fibre NZ Hand spinners Certificate, and has authored the book ‘In A Spin’, a very comprehensive must-have book for spinners, that takes from fleece to finished with an in depth explanation of each step.
At camp Australia and New Zealand Pat will pass on her thoughts on yarn design and construction, from analysing your own hand spun skein (grist, wraps, twist and more!) to deconstructing a commercial yarn in such a way that you can reconstruct it using your own unique interpretation ideas.
There is so much to be learned from this kind of detailed investigation into yarn construction!
We are sure you will thoroughly enjoy this class and be excited about applying what you learn to your spinning. There is nothing more satisfying than creating exactly the yarn you need!
Always one of our favourite Camp teachers, Janet brings joy and innovation to all her classes. She is a well known on both sides of the Tasman, and has taught internationally and locally for many years. Janet has a fantastic eye for colour and a very wide range of spinning skills to share. This year Janet will be teaching her ’Stupendous Singles’ class, at Australia Camp.
Commercial yarn producers are embracing single-spun yarns in new and unexpected ways, from airy low-twist strands to intriguing tubular constructions that mimic miniature knitted cords. This class is an opportunity to explore what makes these yarns feel soft, drape beautifully, or hold up to wear—and why some commercial singles lack the energy and resilience of handspun. During the class you will investigate twist, balance, loft, and durability, and learn how to spin singles that have these qualities: softness, strength, and long-lasting performance. Whether you’re a devoted singles spinner or simply curious, this session will expand the creative possibilities of your hand spun yarn.
Suzy is the Publisher of tinyStudio magazine, an international publication that showcases fibre artists around the world. She also has many years of teaching experience both online and offline, in NZ and internationally, and also tutors the Creative Fibre NZ ‘Designer Yarns’ Certificate. Her passion is for colour and texture, and the use of fibre preparation tools and techniques to make the most of them! Following this passion she has co-authored the Big Book of Fibery Colour’ which contains everything you need to know for working with multi-coloured fibres, and also wrote ‘Fun With Spikes: How to Use a Hackle to Design Unique Yarns’.
For Camp this year Suzy’s class has both prep and spinning as she will be bringing a class set of her mini carding tool, the ‘Baby Dragon Board’ which we will use to create a whole ‘Chocolate Box’ of mini fibre preps, playing with colours and effect fibres. The ‘candies’ are so much fun to make and collect, but rather than create a dragon hoard, we will add them in to a big lofty bulky yarn for a fast and fun spin, learning techniques along the way to make your super-sized yarn airy light.
Go to: www.virginiafarmwoolworks.com.au
Or for further enquiries, email or call:
Wendy Campbell +61 0448 866 789
camp@virginiafarmwoolworks.com.au
Fill in the Registration form here: https://forms.gle/Az6c5kZdMqgF4Nxr5
or email or call support@majacraft.co.nz
ph Ph: +64 07 543-3618
As the end of 2025 nears, we have a very special event to announce. We are pleased to collaborate with the very talented Suzy Brown (of Fiberygoodness tinyStudio magazine) to present four hand-painted Limited Edition Luna wheels. Each wheel is a one-of-a-kind piece, uniquely themed …
Votes are counted! It was a close race, but as time went on it became clear that the favourite colour for Majacraft Bobbin Colour of the Year is…………… BELIEVE FROSTY!!! It was a good race, and Belladonna solid took an early lead, but by the …
Once again, this year we will be creating one limited edition bobbin colour to add to your collection, and we would like you to help us choose which one! Our ‘bobbin colour of the year’ is always popular, and is a fun addition to your bobbin stash, you can even colour coordinate with your yarns, or colour code your singles. Whichever one is chosen will be available during 2025, and if there are any left after our final production run we will continue sales into the following year!
Our plastic bobbin range is custom made by injection molding, which is very sturdy and reliable. It gives us some extra options in colour choices too. This year we are again offering additional options to vote for, with a choice between the ‘tinted’ semi-translucent bobbins (frosty) and the ‘solid’ colour versions.
If you didn’t get in yet for your 2024 ‘Seafoam’ frosty, check with your nearest dealer to see if there are any left in stock.
Please select your favourite colour out of the six options below, leave a comment on this post only, to tell us the ONE colour you want to vote for – and on the 12th of August we will tally up and find our winner!
To make our counting easier, please give your chosen colour first in your comment, and be sure to specify if your choice is for Solid or Frosty! (you will not see your comment come up immediately as we currently have post approval on, but please only submit once).
As with previous Bobbin Colour of the Year, these bobbins will be produced in our standard bobbin size, which fits all of our wheels.
Please share this post with all your Majacraft spinning friends and ask them to vote too!
Please keep in mind that colours may differ slightly from images as shown on your screen.
The colour names are currently the Resene paint colour names, we will be creating our own special Majacraft name for the final chosen colour once applied to the bobbins!
BELLADONNA – Magenta Solid
BELLADONNA – Magenta Frosty
ADRENALIN – Orange solid
ADRENALIN – Orange frosty
BELIEVE – Dark blue/purple solid
BELIEVE – Dark blue/purple frosty
GRASS STAIN – green solid
GRASS STAIN – green frosty
Yes! We have been plotting and planning, and in 2024 we are bringing you TWO Majacraft Camps! One will be at our usual venue at Papamoa Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the other will be a return to our wonderful Australian Venue at Lake Dewar! …
Recently Suzy posted a picture of me (Andrew) on Facebook taking part in a health check of a Kiwi which quite a few people were interested in. I thought I would share a little more about this and show something I have recently been working …
This week marks the end of an era here at Majacraft. One of our longest standing team members, Lance Hemingway, is leaving us for an exciting new opportunity in Tauranga and we wanted to acknowledge the impact he has had on both Majacraft and the people who work here.
Lance joined us over fourteen years ago for what he originally intended was to be a yearlong stay! Thankfully it did not play out that way and he has been sharing his knowledge and skills with us ever since. Spinners using Majacraft wheels benefit from his meticulous eye for detail and clever ideas, both in the products and the processes that have been integrated into our factory over the years.
Lance is an excellent teacher and has always helped young people starting at the workshop learn new skills and develop the ability to operate independently. He has a fierce loyalty that we have been fortunate to benefit from while he has been at Majacraft. As an example, early in 2023 I had a heart health issue and spent a couple of weeks in hospital. I didn’t know at the time, but Lance had been offered this new opportunity and was preparing to sign the contract but actually turned it down, so he did not leave Majacraft in a difficult position! It was a huge sacrifice to make and yet he did it without any recognition or fanfare at the time. Fortunately, the opportunity has come up again and he was able to accept it.
Lance has an excellent work ethic and his expertise with our machinery, maintaining them and ideas on how to fix any issues that come up will be sorely missed. Lance has always dived into any activity going on as well, from trucking heavy machinery around to impromptu logging operations. He was noticeable every summer when he would ride in on his immaculate yellow 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa which was likely the fastest vehicle on Oropi Road. He always has time to share a funny story or interesting chat – or comment on the shocking traffic in the city!
Thank you so much Lance, you will leave a huge hole in our Majacraft family as you move on and while Majacraft will be sad to see you leave, we are very happy that you are moving on to a new and exciting opportunity. Good luck for the future and we can’t wait to hear of your new adventures.
Andrew and the Majacraft team
A photographic look at the weekend! Each year our Majacraft Camp fills with the presence of wonderful spinners and fantastic teachers, all willing to share knowledge, ideas, and our passion for fibre art in every form. 2023 has been no exception! This year we welcomed …