Most important, be ready for the children with less than optimal impulse control and their slow reacting parents. I have a traditional Ashford spinning wheel, and to little ones, my spinning wheel looks like a ship's steering wheel and car gas pedal rolled into one. Some children would LOVE to get their hands and feet involved in every way they can. Unfortunately, they can...and sometimes do...break something in a short amount of time, usually the connecting leather between the foot pedal and rod that makes the wheel spin. I always carry a screw driver to festivals so I can make the repair needed to keep on spinning.
However...prevention is the best method. To head these children off at the pass, I always set up a nice little display of if projects I have knitted, felted, and woven from wool...and I put these items right in front of the wheel, on a nice piece of red plaid. This makes an effective barrier that few few children will walk over to touch my wheel.
Most children are fine, however. They are fascinated by the spinning process. Women enjoy watching me spin and looking at the things I have made. Men are most interested in understanding the mechanics behind the spinning wheel.
I spin in demos so people can see a spinning wheel in action. I am not sure how many people...even elderly folks...have come up to me and said "I have never seen anyone use a spinning wheel before!" Hearing that makes me happy, but a little sad too, and it gives me reason to continue spinning.
I get some great questions. My favorite came from a little girl who was looking intently at the wool in my bag. I had told her it had come from a sheep, and she quietly looked for a little while before finally asking me "But where is the sheep's head?"
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