The Joy of Handspinning
March 1, 2006
I have been entertaining the idea of learning how to spin. Unfortunatly I don’t have the space for a spinning wheel, but I could use a drop spindle. Of course this takes a lot of time, but it would be a lot of fun. I’m also hoping that it will be slightly more economical. I found this website that explains the different types of spinning and instructions on different types of spinning as well as different fibers. Anybody done any spinning? Is it worth the time and effort, or is it better to just buy the yarn?
Link: The Joy of Handspinning
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Strings and Yarn 
Go ahead and learn to spin with a drop spindle. It’s great fun! You will make yarn very slowly at first, but you will learn so much about what good yarn looks like, feels like, etc, that it will improve your shopping too. Just like with knitting, you’ll get faster with practice.
Look for the Northwest Regional Spinners Guild group in your area – Eugene has a big group, they should be easy to find. There you will find lessons, encouragement, and people to spin with.
Black Sheep Gathering is held in June at the fairgrounds. It’s a fabulous place to learn, to shop, to meet more spinners.
You live in a super place to learn to spin.
Have fun!
Eva
Thanks for the way cool link! I’ll be passing this on to my wife and my sister, the knitters of the family…
–ryan
Keep your eyes open for “The Black Sheep Festival” (or some simlar name). It’s a weekend event that’s held in the area – somewhere just outside Eugene I think – that is devoted to sheep, shearing, carding, spinning, looming, knitting, and so on. There are free drop spindle lessons there, as well as seemingly endless resources for yarn enthusists. Ant can look at the sheep and pretend he is in Scotland – so he won’t be bored either.
Spinning’s wonderful–you just shut your mind down and let the fiber turn into yarn. Sorta like magic. Except I suck at the drop spindle. I learned on a support spindle & a month later got sucked right into getting a wheel. I’ve had one for about 11-12 years & wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I still buy yarn, but spin luxury fibers for small stuff, accent yarns, & gifts.
Wow, I guess I have no choice now. Spinning is going to have to be something that I will look into. Probably not very seriously until this summer, but I’ll be right in time for the Black Sheep Festival. Thanks for the input.
The “Black Sheep” Festival? Man, Ging, you ought to come up here and join us – this is still one for “us”!
If there’s anything sheep related, I’m bringing some hemp thread, a bottle of single-malt, and a haggis recipe.
I’d like to see you running around threating to make all the sheep into haggis. It would be pretty funny to see all the knitters shocked faces. :)
Hmm, sounds intriguing…
We are black sheep, afterall, with only a slight penchant for whiskey ;)
Black sheep, Black sheep have you any whiskey?