Comment by inglor_cz

Spinning yarn was a stereotypical female activity from the Stone Age until the 18th century. It took a long time and a lot of patience to produce reasonable amount of yarn, and there was literally no other way to do it. The total hour count spent on spinning was probably higher than the total hour count spent on childrearing, at least for women who lived to their middle age.

But the 18th century is far enough for us that we already forgot this.