I know what I used to think of it. “No time for that.  Barely enough time to knit, so definitely no time to add spinning in to my life.” My, how things change. :-) I went on a little knitting weekend last fall with four really great pushers enablers spinners who were determined to get Janice and I spinning by the end of the weekend.  That’s pretty much all it took, and now I’m hooked. (I did do another post, telling them just what I thought of their attempt to sneak spinning into my life.)  I was right, though. I don’t have enough time for knitting and now I don’t have enough time for spinning, but oh well.  It just means that there is always something relaxing to do! And honestly – aren’t there some days/nights where your eyes are too tired to pay attention or your brain is too tired to concentrate on knitting? No?  Hmm.  Maybe it’s just me. But there are some times when sitting and spinning is just the perfect activity.  Of course once you get the hang of it, then you see some roving and can’t wait to see “how that spins up”.  It is definitely an occupational hazard to have all of this pretty roving on the shelves at Loopy, because I see a lot that I would like to try out.  I have these two all balled up and ready to knit into something. I’m not sure what.  Any ideas?  The top cake is some Tempted Roving, and the bottom cake is Creatively Dyed.  I have no idea how many yards of each are in there.  I ought to pay attention to those things.

Here’s a skein of Lorna’s Laces that I finished up over the weekend. I love how it turned out. I have about decided that I should be spinning more than 4 oz. of a colorway because it gives you so many more knitting options. I was also thinking that when you buy roving, you really extend the entertainment value of your dollar. You get several hours of spinning before you even spend several hours knitting it up. You can’t beat that. (See how my brain works in justifying these things?)

So I have some questions for you spinners and non-spinners.  Answer one of the questions (or as many as you’d like) in your comment post by September 12th and we’ll randomly draw a winner for a Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate! Here are the questions you can choose from:

1.  Are you a spinner? If so, what prompted you to learn to spin?  If not, what has held you back?
2.  If you’re a spinner, did you learn on a drop spindle first? And do you recommend that to beginners before moving to a wheel? (Note – we have drop spindles going up on the website next week and more on the way.  Note #2 – I was a dismal failure on drop spindles, but I know there are a lot of you who like them.)
3.  Spinners – do you like spinning 4 oz. braids, or do you generally like to spin up more of a certain colorway? (Do you have in mind what you will knit with it before you spin it?)
4.  What are some things that you have made from your handspun (or handspun that you have purchased)?

Thanks for participating in the contest.  As a newbie spinner, I am looking forward to your thoughts on all of this!

Sheri it’sacloudydaytodayandit’sgoingtoraintherestoftheweek.Yay!(Iknow,I’mweird.)