spinning: definitely not a phase

Goldenbaer taught me to spin a few years ago at a 4th of July party. I had never touched a spindle before, and he was extremely kind about sacrificing what he was working on to teach me. It was all kind of hilarious, because we weren't really used to being in the same place yet, and we kept getting holy shit, are they going kill each other, wtf? looks. Shortly thereafter, he gifted me with a Very Solemn Sheep spindle (tm Badcat, technically a Louet wooden spindle) and a gigantic ziploc full of 3 kinds of nice roving. Every now and then I'd pull it out and futz with it, but I had forgotten almost everything.

Fast foward to the first weekend of April 2008, the DFW FiberFest. Both Waterlylly and Badcat bought spindles and roving. I was tempted, but decided against it because a) it was a total impulse, b) I had already blown the back out of my budget at the show, and c) I don't knit as much as I want to as it is, and a new hobby is just going to make that worse. Good reasons, yes? Well, the following Thursday, Lyl brought her new spindle over and spun while I knit and watched her like a cobra watching a mongoose. It was positively hypnotic. She showed me what she was doing and put her spindle in my hand and that. was. it. After she left, I dug out the supplies from Goldenbaer.

That was on April 10th. Since then, I've spun every day, good or bad. I've spun regular wool, superwash merino, sw merino/tencel, and bamboo on a modest variety of spindles. I (obviously) haven't settled down to One Big Spinning Project, because I'm me, but I have plied test yarn and verified that I'm actually making something I can use. (Woo!) I'm no more capable of fiber monogamy than any other kind, and I'm really enjoying playing with different fibers and figuring out what I like. I'm almost ready to settle down a bit and start working on my technique with each fiber.

My mom is wildly curious as to what this "spinning" entails. I can't wait to show her, I think it will blow her mind.