My fiance got my mom's old spinning wheel from the late 70s, some carders, and a bunch of local raw wool. Needless to say she was totally stoked and hasn't stopped spinning since. I think she's spun 4 or five skeins so far.

In other news, I am knitting my third hat out of Noro. It's pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Oooh, yeah, that Noro is gorgeous, if pricey. My mum's got a spinning wheel, and now I am envious of both her and your fiance.

I don't know how to spin, but I can weave on one of these.

I need to learn how to weave, at least. I have all sorts of mohair now that doesn't crochet up really very well.

I had wondered how a drop spindle worked. Nifty!

I tried to learn how to spin, but it never took :/

I do knit, however, and today I'm going to start on this cardigan for myself.

cool! Drop spindles are cool because one can make them with a dowel and CDs.

I love watching people spin with drop spindles, but dipping_sauce, it never took with me.

LOVE Noro, it's my current guilty pleasure.

Arwen is a beautiful pattern, dipping_sauce, I've considered doing it myself. Post pictures when you are done, what color are you going to do?

I don't know how to spin, but I can weave on one of these.

That is so cool. I think I've found how we can make extra money, Specklet: I'll spin, you weave, and in 10 years (at the rate it'll take me to make enough yarn) we'll have a tapestry of a big pink bunny on a hillside, which we then sell for ten billion dollars. It's foolproof! I'll start now.

Drop spindles are cool because one can make them with a dowel and CDs.

Yep. Mine appears to be made of a dowel, a wooden toy wheel, and a cup hook. Mum bought me the kit: $15 for the spindle and 100g of the stuff to make the yarn out of...um...wool fibre.

I, too, want to know more about the cardigan.

It's a plan, elizard!

I know how to spin. My grandmother convinced me it was a toy and I could do it all day. I just saw one in a shop the other day and was *this close* showing Perle how to do it but then I remembered that she won't get stuck hanging out with grandma in the woods up north in Sweden every school break like I did (there were no other kids around for miles)

This is the yarn I'm using for the cardigan:

≡ Click to see image ≡

(Yes, there are sixteen balls of yarn there. I am tall and I have long arms; that eats up a lot of yarn.)

I hope to have it done by St. Patrick's Day.

i was fascinated by the drop spin thing, but i can't see this being very practical for me as a hobby. i wouldn't know where to find raw materials and i have to be honest in that i am only able to crochet scarves and blankets... and just the very basic stuff. it's amazing to me that so many of you know how to spin. it seems like a very magical process even with all the youtube videos.

I spin with an Ashford wheel.

I have about 5 sacks of alpaca which I need to clean and card, so if there's anyone who wants to learn a new skill... carding is great fun! Anyone? Anyone??

Strangely, I never got the hang of a drop spindle.

dipping_sauce, that yarn looks lovely. Am I seeing the colour right--sort of a pale silvery green? What is it?

And no, it's probably not very practical. If I keep with it, I'll have to order the supplies online (though at least it costs a lot less than knitting), and without a wheel I'll probably only be spinning enough for socks. It's a neat skill, though, and I'm looking forward to getting better at it, and being able to play with gauge and texture.

Speaking of which: Specklet, the first 15g is spun. I'll just ply it and send it off, and you can set your first warp thread, or part of it. (Did I get that right?)