Any spinners?

I spin as well as knit, and I'm just wondering if anyone else out there is similarly inclined.

I tried high whorling (always make sure you don't make a typo and leave out the "l" if you do)--had a notion of having my carpenter husband make custom drop spindles and decorate them for sale at the state fiber festival, while I did clever demonstrations of the process in a dirndl skirt and birkenstocks.

But I couldn't get the hang of it.

Just as well, because once you're into spinning, then you want to produce your own rovings, and pretty soon you've got a bunch of sheep in your back yard, the neighbors are complaining about the noise and smell, you're up to your armpits in sheep dip and vet bills, and you've run out of recipes for lambchops.

Though you'd never have to fertilize or cut the grass again.

*laughs*

Yes, I spin, using the high whorl spindle, in fact. I find it good for those times when I want a soothing, meditative activity that requires focus. The knitting is either too mindless, or it requires so much attention that it's aggravating.

Mostly I've been working off this bag of llama roving balls a friend gave to me aeons ago, but every now and thing I succumb to the temptation of pretty pretty fiber! at fiber shows.

I spin on a wheel and what I like about it is that I can do it easily without looking, which is great for watching baseball games, foreign movies with subtitles, etc. Mostly when I knit, I'm doing something complicated that requires me to pay attention.

I spin, have a Louet S10, a Sleeping Beauty wheel (from New Zealand in the 70s) and a great wheel that doesn't work. There are also several drop spindles and one support spindle around the house. I like the support for laceweight yarn.

Yes, it is another way to calm myself. I like to use the support spindle in the car. I used to knit while DH drove, recently I'm spinning. Doesn't take up much space, and it is amazing how much I can spin in a drive.

I got a wheel last year but plan to do more with it this winter. I'm getting the knack of it slowly.

I'm a spinner, too. I have an Ashford traditional that's almost 30 years old!

I got into some kind of brown fleece fetish a few years ago, and I still have yet to spin it all. For some reason, I was on a quest to find the perfect brown. I did, eventually, find the perfect brown in a Salish cross lamb, which spun a very springy three ply for knitting.

I've also got some alpaca roving and some mulberry silk to work on.

I'm a spinner who never gets to spin these days. Spinning on my wheel is hands-down (feet-down, actually) my all time favorite activity. I find it absolutely relaxing and mesmerizing. Well, when all goes well and my wheel is well-oiled, that is.

Right now I'm slowly working my way through 8 oz of a mix of wool, silks of various texture, tencel, and other fibers in a mix of browns, white, and black; it'll be plied with some chocolate corriedale eventually and made into a sweater. Of course, at my pace, this may take years.

I'm *primarily* a Spinner, but occasionally I entertain thoughts of learning to knitting with all the yarn I spin.

I also primarily spin on a drop spindle, even though I have a treadle wheel (custom/hand-made by a friend) and a great wheel (replica built). I prefer bottom whorl suspended spinning, and fibers like wool, alpaca, silk, or soy silk. But I've also worked a little with bamboo, linen (flax strick), dog hair (down or under-fur), angora bunny, etc. I've also been thinking about branching into supported spindle work, and possibly learning to spin very short length staples like cotton.

Oh, and I started http://www.librarything.com/groups/fiberarts because I'm much more of a spinner than knitter. :)

Hi, I love to use drop spindles and have started a collection of lovely ones. I just got my first spinning wheel. A majacraft Suzie Pro. I call it the Big Green Wheel. I just bought Creative Spinning by Alison Daykin and Jane Deane. Wonderful book!