Sooooo pretty, I love it! I've missed your Tuesday spinning updates!

Gorgeous fiber and very pretty as yarn too. What will you make with it? or will you just skein it up and admire it?

Beautiful roving, can't wait to see what it looks like all spun up and plied. I'm resisting the urge to start spinning. I've only been knitting for about two years now and somehow I just think my loved ones would not tolerate another piece of crafty machinery and a whole other subsection of the stash.

Oh, What lovely roving! And your yarn is spinning up so nicely, cant't wait to see the finished yarn!

I, too, had a day that I'm suppose to spin, for me its Sunday. And I fell off the wagon on that sometime in February. Though, in my defense, the wheel is located in a cold room so I was waiting for things to warm up . . . not that I've started again but you've inspired me so this Sunday I'm going to drag the wheel outside and spin! Thanks!

Oh the colours are beautiful! I read about spinning, I look at your pictures and I have yet to hear that siren call. That's OK though, because I have a yarn stash that really needs to be culled - working on that - giving some to friends who make afghans for the cancer centre in Hamilton, and some to my sister's knitting friends who make baby items for preemies. Just got to clean out some space and get some real knitting done! I'm not a "K" knitter yet, but I'm plodding along learning as much as I can. Boy oh boy - work and family and laundry, etc., etc., sure get in the way of quality knitting. When I feel more like a "K" knitter, then perhaps I'll hear the call of the wheel. On my 6th pair of socks now since January - seduced by the recipe in Knitting rules and loving it! Thanks for being an inspiration and I'm sure hoping to make it to the Toronto Represent!

Beautiful! Can hardly wait to see what you make with this newly spun wool. Isn't it great to "get back on track?"

That depends on what you mean by "help"...
I'd love to see the floor of "that room"!

But DUDE, beads are so tiny - a little stash would barely take up any room and all, and they're so versatile...

Stash begets stash -- unto the seventeenth generation. . . bead stash is probably smaller and easier to hide -- umm, store, though.

The yarn is looking amazing as you spin it! Mmmm!

And I meant to say yesterday, that that FLOOR (also known as the Star Wars field of battle) is gorgeous! Look at that finish!

I'm too newly reborn of a knitter to hear the call of the spinning wheel but that yarn you spun made me have to wipe my mouth before I drooled on my shirt. How does one get something like that without bringing in a whole new piece of furniture that (hypothetically speaking) one's husband (only just now beginning to look at stash without swearing) might use as evidence in the competency hearing? Is my only recourse to buy the fiber and bribe--er--beg someone who knows what he/she is doing to spin it? Can spinners be trusted with that sort of beauty to give it back? What are you going to make with it, Steph?

--Barb (not sure she can even SPELL competency)

Now, ya see, I'm the other way around. I prefer spinning to knitting, so unless I'm away from home a lot I end up spinning all the time. Even when I'm not home, I've been known to spindle in the doctor's office.

I love that roving, the color is beautiful. And your spinning is really improving! Keep on keepin' on. Once you really get into the groove you won't have to remind yourself to spin anymore ;)

Spinning Tuesday's are back!!! Yeah!

What beautiful colors. Take my advice. Beads are highly addictive. Insanely addictive. I should know. My daughter caught me beading in the bathtub. Those bathtrays make great workstations!

Spinning on Tuesdays, yes!

I am very new to spinning and it is so inspiring to see what the beautiful fibers you are working with turn into on the wheel. I may have to take the Tuesday vow myself...

Oh, you have to actually practice to improve at spinning. I get it now. My wheel looks so lonely in the corner.

I thought maybe the missing "Tuesdays are for spinning" was due to my (lack of a) memory. Glad to see that's been resolved (it will save me a loads in therapy bills).

Gorgeous, happy yarn. Enjoy your spinning!

I tried putting the wheel where I would trip over it (see it) all the time and that hasn't worked for me. But, your inspiration of Tuesdays for spinning is a good one. Hubby is gone tonight and the house is mine (mu-ha-ha-ha-ha).

Thanks, as always,
Dianne

Like the comment from Barb, above, I wonder where those of us who are spin-challenged might get our greedy paws on such beautiful yarn?

Glad to hear that spinning Tuesdays are back. For me Thursdays are for spinning. I belong to a small spinning group and we meet at each others houses and spin. The roving you are spinning is beautiful. Thanks (I think) for giving me information on a new source for fiber. And I say go for the beads. They are very small and one container costs very little and they are so much fun. I know this because I have had to create a place in my house for the many containers of beads I have purchased in the past year. Now I have to figure out which day of the week is for beading. Enjoy your spinning.

Luv luv luv the colours!! Oooo so pretty! Yay for spinning Tuesdays... serves as a good reminder for myself... it's an accountability thing. Thanks for the inspiration.

I think that the siren call of spinning may get to me very soon. I was inspired by all the spinners I saw at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend, and am starting to feel the pull.... If you keep up this Tuesday Spinning thing, I may just go over the edge!

I'm not a spinner, so I can't critique your spinning, but it looks perfect to me! The roving is gorgeous, the "after" is lovely ... what will it want to be knit into, I wonder?

I'm thinking......new wheel needs to spin to

and thinking......it's a travel wheel... it's getting warm outside.

I'm maybe doing a little more thinking.......tuesdays are for "out door" spinning.

Hey I'm going to start going to Riverdale Market on Tuesdays.

I should stop thinking now.

Lovely fiber. What are you planning on making with it? I have just started spinning, and love to see what people do with their beautiful handspun yarns.

"Tuesdays are for spinning" is a great code to follow! And such beautiful roving! I love spinnning so much, even though I'm brand-new at it, so lately it's been more like "every spare moment is for spinning", but I know that this will pass (I mean, I've got to knit what I'm spinning sometime, right?).

I don't think I would have the time to spin on top of the time that I don't have to knit - darn that family life and work! I don't know if would have the patience for spinning since I would probably start spinning then remember I have to turn the heel on my sock, go do that then forget I was spinning and go to bed and wake up to cats wrapped in my fibre and then start back on the Jaeger sweater - can you tell I have too much going on?. Ya, I won't spin. I'll let you spin, Stephanie. Oh, love your venture into modelling!

I had forgotten you had finished the gansey. (And a very nice one it was too!) Silly me was wondering "Is she really going to spin those colours into yarn for the grey gansey? That's going to be a strange combination."
Sorry for doubting.

I've missed you Tuesdays of spinning. I'm a vicarious spinner. I can't dare even pick up a drop spindle else it would never let go and they would never stop teasing me about the stash (it's modular carpet, I say!). Anyhow, it's lovely. Glad you're back. Spin on!

I love love love that yarn! Usually, I think we'd make good yarn-crawl buddies, because your colourways are totally different from any I'd choose. We'd never compete for the last skein of anything... But seriously! If I knew where you lived, I'd ply you with brownies until you lost consciousness, and then swipe that newly-spun yarn.

Oh, Steph!

THOSE are my colors!!! And it's spinning up so nicely!

I'd trade my husband for that yarn...he's a good help around the house, he'd do all the equipment lugging/set up Joe needs, and he's (quite) used to yarn all over the house. Let me know if you and I can arrange a swap. :-)

So glad to see you spinning again...especially since I've gotten "bit by the bug" since your last "Tuesdays are for spinning", I've acquired three drop spindles and one wheel. Good thing the hubby has a love of antiques (or atleast antique looking!).

Love the result! So, whatcha gonna do with the handspun?

Those colors are great! Off to check out spindle and wheel.

I love that yarn!!! I have become very interested in spinning myself. Thank you for the link to that on-line mag! It will be a great resource! Any thoughts about what you might knit with this yarn?

Tuesdays are for spinning! Ah, so that must explain why I have done no work today, have a largeish amount (for me) of yarn on my spindle and have developed an unhealthy interest in the spinning section of Ebay. I too wonder how I could conceal a wheel about the house - I DO need one, especially now I see your lovely yarn there! - from my ever patient other half...

Way to get back on track! I'm sure you'll do well with sticking to the code, and if not, most of us probably won't give you any grief. ;) Beautiful colors - I can't wait to see if/how you ply them, but I'm sure it will be swell! :)

VAGUE thump? I think the foundation is cracked and will cost a bazillion dollars to fix. (Perhaps yarn will do the trick.)

For those of us who aren't spinners yet, Tuesdays can be "reading about spinning," "thinking about spinning," or "taking the CD spindle back from the children" days. I just ordered a book about handspinning, does that count?

Why is that colorway called Quilt, I wonder?

Beautiful yarn! And thanks so much for the link to Spindle and Wheel. It looks like it could be a very interesting and useful 'zine.

Those are just some amazing colours. I'm sure the yarn will be beautiful.

I'm dabbling in the bead stash, too. Very dangerous. They're so tiny and pretty and just a few more won't hurt. And there's a great little bead shop just around the corner from me in Port Credit. I think it's called 'Purple and Pink'. Now if only I did anything with them, I might be able to justify buying even more beads...

Oh, yes. Other hobbies. I just spent more money than I was comfortable admitting on rubber stamps and card making supplies. Knitted gifts need cards, right? Except now all I can think of is HOW MUCH YARN I could have bought w/that money!

It's great to see you spinning again! Since I started spinning I've been hoping you'd write more about it. I have become addicted to my wheel! Is that an Ashford Traditional in the photo?
Love the fibre!

Thursdays are for finishing Joe's gansey...

You are very right, starting up a whole new stash is a BAD idea! I actually started with bead and jewelry stuff and then got addicted to knitting and spinning. Now my bead stash sits in my closet abandoned and forlorn...There's just not enough time to do it all.

Now I was holding off on doing the whole spinning thing. Hm, but I already HAVE a bead stash. Perfect motivation - spinning, here I come! How can you resist spinning with that lovely stuff around????

Oooh, pretty!!! So if you feed the stash does it reproduce just like tribbles? I'd love a self replicating stash....would do wonders for my wallet!

Love the colors! Beautiful! You're inspiring me to learn how to spin. Just as you have experienced, though, I'm sure I'd have difficulty actually getting anything spun (of course you have actually gotten things spun).

Oh, and that reminds me that I haven't gotten into MY beads for quite a while.....

Gorgeous yarn!

i love that yarn!!!
it's like rainbow sherbert.

I love it.. Thursdays are for working on Joe's Gansey.. after all.. summer doesn't last long in these parts

S'alright. I'm ok. I was already sitting down so the fall wasn't too bad. I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a bruise though.

So. A VOW to hold you to. Excellent. (please know that 'excellent' was said in the long, drawn out manner evil geniuses are partial to)

I just got notice from Spinderella's that they're nearly done with the three GINORMOUS Romney fleeces I sent them, so I think I'm going to need to add a code for myself too. And the fiber is gorgeous.

Thank you for this post, which I am calling, just inside my own head, hope you don't mind, Self-Help for Lapsed Spinners. The lapsed one I have in mind is of course moi, as I haven't spun since, yikes, St. Distaff Day, which was back in February, I think. And, the fiber-accumulation thing... uh, yeah.

Tuesdays aren't ideal for me, because I work (when I'm not commenting on blogs, ahem), but perhaps Fridays, when the cleaning lady comes: I can't pick up the house, I have to spin!

Thanks for this nice reminder about setting aside a day every week for a special purpose. I'm supposed to be making a drawing every Friday, and I've let it slide. Yay for your spinning!

Yumyum - that color is exquisite. I like the idea of spinning; our county fair had wonderful spinners with wheels and drop spindles and I was mesmerized. In my closet, in a BIG black plastic bag is an entire fleece that is browns, greys, charcoal and just fine wooley colored. (I forget the name of the type of sheep.) Now that it is warm (for drying outside) I'm going to attempt to do what is necessary to make yarn -LOL I don't even know all the words yet! But, I will manage it, your renewed Spinning Tuesdays inspire me.

I remembered the sheep name (for the fleece);it is from a Romney. It isn't a BIG black plastic bag, it is actually HUGE.

Usually my Tuesdays are for rug hooking, but today was all about spinning. One of our local artists gave a demonstration at the same place the rug hookers meet. I got to fondle fiber and handspun yarns and see some actual spinning -- mesmerizing. I didn't think spinning was something I'd be interested in but I'm rather excited about giving it a try now :) I"ve got some roving around here somewhere...

Yes, but this stash is much smaller and won't take up nearly as much room and it's easier to hide...

...the vicious enabler rubbed her hands and laughed maniacally.

Heh, I've tried to start living vicariously and instituting "Tuesdays are for Spinning" at my house, too! Which reminds me, tonight I need to spin.

That BFL is incredibly beautiful . . . will not click the link . . . will not click the link . . . will not . . .oh, crap.

When I read Rachel H's comment, I immediately pictured Mr. Burns...
I've thought abuut spinning (I even own lovely roving), but have never taken the step. I finally decided I wasn't going to. Now you're making me want to spin...

The roving really is just beautiful.

Three words for you:

Beads and Cats!

There is a reason I keep all my beading stuff at work in my office. LOL Plus this let's me while away lunchtime making stitch markers for myself and my friends.

That's gorgeous roving. I don't spin, but for some reason my sister gave me roving - plain sheep not dyed, and a gorgeous dyed merino roving - with a drop spindle for my wedding/birthday four years ago. And I have NO idea what to do with any of it, but I want that merino spun up into something.

Sigh.

THUD.

Rachel H. spoke too soon -- she's under me, assessing damage. Ironically, I'm predrafting Bluefaced Leicester, too -- white, boring, necessary BFL roving.

Tease.

[Bracing for Presbytera -- but the company down here's good.]

The roving is gorgeous (and beautiful as spun also).

Thanks for the great series of links today--I have a small stash of beads (small compared to the stash of yarn, for example)and spinning them into yarn actually looks easier than threading them onto already-made yarn--which was my original plan for them.

THUD.

Rachel H. spoke too soon -- she's under me, assessing damage. Ironically, I'm predrafting Bluefaced Leicester, too -- white, boring, necessary BFL roving.

Tease.

[Bracing for Presbytera -- but the company down here's good.]

About a month ago, I found myself in over my head with all the things I was doing and decided to make a schedule, allotting me knitting time, spinning time, reading-for-classes time, writing time, even cooking time.

Well, the day that schedule was supposed to begin, I overslept. The schedule has yet to be implemented. But it's a very noble idea.

Tuesdays, however, will be for spinning. I love those colours (so not brown!), I love BFL (so easy!) and I'm totally picked up the spindle right now. I swear.

Gorgeous roving. I covet. *sigh* I'm new to spinning (as in, two weeks new...), but my understanding is there's no law that says you have to pull from one color at a time. The possibilities are endless with what you have there! Thanks so much for these spinning updates, even if not everyone spins. Most knitters are really spinners who just don't know it yet, anyway ;) You've inspired me to set a specific day aside for spinning. Definitely the way to go.

I think that Tuesdays for spinning is a fantastic idea; and one I wish I could observe in my own house. I'm not sure I can resist the siren song of the wheel much longer...

There's a reason why the bead stalls at the Frolic did so well, ya know. Mmm hmmm. Sssssssiren sssssssssssong ....... you know ya wanna .......

Love the colors!
Is it cheaper to spin your own yarn? I was just curious. If it was I could so sell my husband on the idea of a spinning wheel!

As long as you can make space for it, why not build one more stash?!

I've used stashed scrapbooking paper to wrap last-minute gifts, for which scraps of yarn and leftover beads turn into bows. (Even the gifts have been known to stem from the stashes.)

I give my leftover fabric scraps to my kids to encourage their interest in arts/crafts. It has the added benefit of thinning that stash.

And, with a stash, you always have a supply when you want/need to create something and don't have much money.

If you want to try something new, don't let the idea of a new stash stop you. Just keep in mind that those around you also have to live with it, and handle it appropriately!

"more of a guideline"
We seem to use that line around here a lot. Comes in handy quite often . . .

What beautiful spinning!

I'd just been thinking about how I need to set aside a day specifically for spinning as I remembered you had before. This post seals my pact!

I'm trying rather desperately not to take up spinning, but the beautiful handspun on blogs such as yours are testing my resolve. I have toyed with the idea that I could take up spinning if I only allowed myself to knit what I had spun and never bought yarn again... but something tells me this wouldn't work.

I just purchased another spindle at maryland sheep & wool, and am going to try, try, try to spin with it. Cross your fingers for me! I also have borrowed a friend's wheel and am having the darndest time with it. (sigh)

Yes yes.. but.. am I missing something.. how is Joe's sweater/spinning for his sweater.. or am I just falling prey to my migraine and hallucinating that you havn't got it done?

Yay for spinning! Does this mean that your life has fallen out of warp speed and has resumed its normal velocity? (I get so tired just watching you zoom from city to city!)

"herky squirky" is my new favorite phrase. Thanks for the link!

You know, I forgot that rule of yours. I just started spinning in March (and yes, already have a wheel - his name is Paulie Walnuts) and finally just produced my first spun and plied pretty hank! It's on my blog today. =)

Tribbles? Oh then that explains the increase in roving in my back room.

Having one day a week to do something that otherwise gets ignored is good. I need to start that with spinning. I did start it with "Tuesday is Nag Day". All those little things that build up-- the people who says "Yes, I'll get it done by Friday" or the salespeople who don't call back, or my husband, who has managed to make "cleaning the garage" into a life long ambition, never to be accomplished. Instead of making myself crazy every day, I note them all down on a piece of paper. And I followup, remind, nag, whine-- whatever is required... on Tuesday.

It's amazing how many things get done Monday afternoon so I don't call on Tuesday morning.

Absolutely gorgeous roving there.

Hey COOL! Thanks for the link to Spindle and Wheel - I just got my first wheel and I'm doing pretty well but I'm happy to have all the help I can get.

Your roving is bee-yoo-tiful; as is the spinning.

Love that roving - beautiful!

Gorgeous! One of my goals for the summer is to start spinning regularly...

I hear you on the bead thing-I have a huge stash of beads in all colors, shapes, sizes, you name it. The funnest part is sorting them out into nice neat containers (OCD)
Mary

Congratulations on getting back on that Tuesday horse! Given that it was not the horse that threw you but you who wandered away from the horse, I am doubly impressed. It takes a special constitution to turn that kind of thing around. Here's to us all reclaiming good ways of living! (Sorry it meant your dear friends had to take such a tumble.)

Is this another attempt to get me to spin? Cause that is pretty roving . . . and no, another stash does not help! I have two - one of yarn, which I weeded out quite determinedly when I couldn't find the bed one night, and another of floss and fabric for tapestry. Two stashes only serve to distract you, and then you never get /anything/ done.

Ahh vows. One of many things in life guaranteed to come back and bite you in the ass. Insurance being the number one thing.

Clever. I found that when I put the wheel by the computer, I ended up forgetting what I was looking for online and just spinning, waiting for the dial-up connections.

I've started up a new routine lately of an hour before work in the morning. It has been great therapy for my tired ankles and stressed mind. I love that magazine. Thank you for that and the link to Abby's site the other day.

I have thus far resisted the urge to spin. I do not think I can any longer........................

I'd like to try a spinning wheel sometime. I took a drop spindle class, and apparently my current niche is "novelty yarn". The instructor said that she found it relaxing, but I hated to have to stop all of the time (usually just when I was starting to get the feel for how far apart my hands should be) to get the spindle twirling again. I started trying to imagine ways to keep the spindle going constantly so that I could concentrate on what my hand were doing, and then realized that someone already came up with an invention for that called a spinning wheel.

I love the colors. spinning is the next thing on my want to do list. :)

OUCH! Rachel H. Just fell on me, and made me spill my bead stash, which I wanted to show you. It fits in a small tackle box. Needles and everything.

First, let me oooohh and aaaahh over your completed sweater. Just stunning, and a more discreet decolletage, which suits you so much better. Second, compliments to Hank both on his aspiring career as a fashion photographer and his selection of flowers for his Mum.

And for being adorable.

I'm thrilled at the prospect of the return of spinning Tuesdays. I spin, too, and love reading about it almost as much as I love doing it. However, you've inspired me to dedicate a specific time slot ... so now spinning time is while "Enterprise" is on TV.

You do realize that spinning, while compacting the size of your fleece stash, will do nothing to diminish the size of your purchased yarn stash? Yarn, once purchased and allowed to remain undisturbed for any amount of time, breeds uncontrollably.

See my July 28, 2006 blog post for "Fiberology 101" and an abstract on this theory.

wow! that is some stunningly beautiful yarn.

Go for the beads! I have enough beads to start my own bead store, but I can always find a few more that I have to have! In some ways, bead stashes are harder to store than yarn--they generally don't squish down when you have them in boxes and cans and jars. On the other hand, you can put them in bags and you can get a LOT of bags in even one shoe box!

I found that having a really fabulous wheel exponentially raised my motivation to spin. Maybe with the next birthday or something, you deserve to treat yourself?

I found that having a really fabulous wheel exponentially raised my motivation to spin. Maybe with the next birthday or something, you deserve to treat yourself?

Oh man, that is gorgeous roving. And yarn. Yum! (Yeah, whoever compared it to sherbet got it. [g] Or maybe Hawaiian shave ice.)

And the beads... Hooboy. Watch it. You think it's going to innocently stick to small vials of seed beads, or maybe a hank or so here and there, especially if you haven't the patience to get into needle-weaving or looming... Then half the time you take a sudden segue into ethnic or semi-precious or lampwork or dichroic beads, or worse yet silver (let's not even think of vermeil or gold), and wups - you're a goner. Just ask the umpteen drawers of the three hardware cabinets I've appropriated to bead storage!

Great. Thanks. Like I NEED a new hobby...

For 3 years, I have resisted the wheels. For 3 years, I've simply handed Mom the fiber and told her what I want done with it. For 3 years, I have rolled my eyes at The Spinning Cult as it has grown around me.

Now I'm sitting down to try out some of the wheels here (we own a yarn shop). All your fault, you make it look like such fun.

My husband may cry when he sees a stash of fiber start. Hmmm, maybe this could be fun after all :)

It's only for your own good that we remind you, dearest. We exist to look after your best interests.

Hmm? What's that, you say? The unholy glee and non-stop entertainment we get? Just a bonus.

(And I'd rather not think about falling down today, even figuratively...I just got back from ER, watching my youngest get a bunch of stitches.)

Well, thank goodness. You were part of my inspiration to start spinning, and I haven't seen much of it around the blog lately... not that you've had anything else going on.
Looks right purty!
Oh and thanks for the links, you enabler, you.

So how do you find the BFL? I have some but am afraid to spin it. Yours is fabulous BTW. I LOVE the color. I just received a spindle from Gemini Fibers in a box that was originally filled with Cast Off books. I view this as a good omen!!! Happy Spinning!

Barb wrote: "How does one get something like that without bringing in a whole new piece of furniture that (hypothetically speaking) one's husband (only just now beginning to look at stash without swearing) might use as evidence in the competency hearing?"

Barb and Fi (and others): Does hubby have a hobby? If so, just point to it. If not, he needs one. My wife is up to 3 spinning wheels (including a great wheel) and 4 looms. But I came with 5 cats and 12 motorcycles, so I get it. (Not to mention my collections of car models, and games, and Harry Potter Lego sets, and comic books, and real books, and antique medical equipment, and old typewriters, and guns, and art, and LPs, and 78s, and fossils, and wine, and my new forays into tapestry and knotted pile rug weaving, and ...). Guys can do the multiple stash thing, too.

Mary Peed wrote: "And I followup, remind, nag, whine-- whatever is required... on Tuesday.
It's amazing how many things get done Monday afternoon so I don't call on Tuesday morning."

That's totally *brilliant*! Genius! I'm going to institute that myself.

PhilB

Now see, I kind of appreciated you NOT spinning, because it makes it easier for me to resist the temptation if I don't see the results. Every time I see your beautiful rovings and spun up yarns, I want to learn to spin. Then I have to force myself to mentally step away from the spindle.

I had no interest in knitting socks for the longest time. Now I've finished my third pair and just on Sunday ordered 13 pairs worth of yarn and five books on sock knitting. I give myself about two and a half years on the spinning.

That may give me enough time to get up to speed on the jewelry making, as I already have the tools, some stash, and a couple courses under my belt. I'll warn you, if you go beyond beads in your yarn you end up with five different kinds of pliers, seven or eight spools of wire, multiple kinds of thread and filaments, plus lots of little divided boxes of beads and findings -- to start. And I don't even bead my knitting.

Just had to tell you what happened on the way to see the opthamologist yesterday. Upon entering the waiting room , to my absolute horror, there must have been 35-40 people sitting there waiting. it was a "clinic." WHaoooo" I said, " Are ALL you people here with appointments?" ( thinking that SOME of them may be realatives that came along with a patient) To my dismay they said yes . In that case I said "I guess I'm lucky to have brought my knitting with me" four other people were knitting and 2 others were crocheting !!!!! We had a grand time with a Stitch& Bitch right there and then. The non participants seemed to enjoy it too. At one point we didn't really care if we got called in or not we were having way too much fun for an early Monday morning. What a great ""sport" we all play. these people were from out of town and I told them about you and your books blog site and endless humour. Also found out that two of the people were spinners so they are probably reading this posting today and drooling over that yummy roving and your spinning Thank you Stephanie for this blog and your humour

Dude. Tribbles. Now that's a happy memory....

Do we get to tell you off if you don't spin on Tuesdays? I think that would get your spinning mojo umm spinning?! I can see it now, the Harlot being told off by thousands of knitters from across the globe. (Now that would be harsh! Maybe just a little reminder that you were meant to be spinning would be more appropriate!)

Tribbles!!!! Been a long time since I've heard that word. Thanks for the giggle!

So what is the yarnish equivalent of quadrotriticale?

A question -- though not meant to put you off pursuance of the Tuesdays are for Spinning Code-- how will you get a spindle through Customs when travelling?

It's stuff like this that makes me want to spin.

It's stuff like what actually happened when I tried to spin that makes me wonder how that's all going to work out.

I'm pretty sure I need a spinning wheel to make it all happen. Yeah. Tools make it all better.

Speaking as someone who was a beader before she was a knitter, you *will* amass a huge bead stash if you let yourself. On the other hand, it doesn't take up *nearly* as much room as yarn stash. Or so I'm discovering . . .

I say go for it. You can never have enough beads!

( ^ this was Jen NOT HELPING :)

Being a Very New spinner, I'm all for Tuesdays are for spinning. Granted, I think I've spun a little most days since the wheel came to live with me but still. I have a nephew to be born in a few months and may need a reminder to stop with the baby knitting and get with the spinning.

Beautiful roving/yarn BTW!

Far be it from me to lead you astray, dearest, but it's occurred to me that collecting beads to use in spinning would give you the perfect reason to buy those sets of small round tins at Lee Valley you covet so...

Does your wheel 'shame' you when you ignore it, or am I the only one? I thought your idea was so grand, I started my own day (Sunday) - but promptly fell off the wagon. If you are willing to do it again...this may mean I should be so disciplined.....I'm gonna need coffee to think about that.

So, how is Joe's Gansey coming along?

What, you thought you could mention that in a post and that no one would ask you about it?

You, my dear, are a natural spinner, but your making yarn world would be infinitely more pleasant and fast if you had a woolee winder for your wheel. http://www.thewooleewinder.com/
(No affiliation. I bought one for my Louet and it changed my life better than Oprah could.) They're not cheap, you have to buy extra bobbins because of course you need more than one but they are so worth it.

So, I've noticed most of the things you spin are very colorful. I raise naturally colored Shetland sheep whose colors range from white to myriad browns, greys, blacks and mixes thereof. I won't dye anything other than the white wool and mohair (we have Angora goats as well) because I love the crunchy earth mother feeling of it and the heathery results. (I have blended in leftover store bought wool to make Donegal tweed; I'm not totally averse to mixing it up a bit.) You seem crunchy earth mother so I was wondering if you had a color philosophy.

Awesome. That's spinning up so prettily. I've taken to bringing my wheel to my knitting night- seems to be the only time I get to spin right now, so I know what you mean!

So...
if one of your knitting friends occasionally gets a spinning urge, but has been resisting it, what would you say to her?
Continue to resist or get a spindle or go all the way with a wheel?
Do you have a suggestion of book(s) to research spindles/wheels? What wheel for starters? Is a used wheel a good idea or a bad idea? Where would one find a used wheel anyway?

The questions are addressed to the harlot but input from other commenters is welcome also.

www.soapquiltknit.blogspot.com

The rovings are so lovely, and I am always amazed at how different the real colour turns out than what I see in the roving. Its a mysterious miracle, I am sure.

I also wanted to tell the whole world about my adventures today.

I have known how to knit since Brownies. I taught myself everything else I knew project by project. I'm comfortable enough to do cables but I have always veered away from lacey patterns. My dirty little secret was that I did not understand the ssk, and psso, or what the instructions meant by working through the back of the loop. Though I have read a thousand times how to do it, when it was on the needles, it looked just like what I got by knitting 2 together. It was a mental dark hole where all my intelligence was sucked into every time I tried to understand. It made me feel stupid that I could never seem to get the results everyone else did and I was a little ashamed by it all.

A few hints from books written by the talented blogger, made me think I was not incapable, just that I was doing something different. I felt less oddball, and with a little internet searching, and finally, I am proud to say that I can do an ssk my way, and I understand a psso. All these years I never saw anyone knit like I do, and I never caught what single small thing I do differently. Till today when a sluggish internet connection stopped with the knitter going through a stitch with her needle. Looking at that still picture waiting for the next chunk of data, made me see what I'd never noticed before. I do all my stitches from the back of the loop versus the more often used methods. I am a Combined knitter. Instantly I knew how to do it.

I'll never knit heavy yarns and probably won't knit worsted weight sweaters. Those things will remain done in crochet. Knitted, they are just too heavy on my wrists, but lighter things, even socks, shawls I will finally be able to do. A mere 40 years after first learning how to knit, I have a whole new world to conquer. Gotta go. I have yarn waiting.

I must learn to spin.

That looks so lovely!! I am just a beginner spinner, but I still manage to squeeze in an hour or so during nap time. Um, my kids' nap time, not my own. lol

i am intrigued by this mysterious process and all of its paraphenalia. just how and where does one learn this task??? i mean, is there a secret group of spinners functioning underground in every neighbourhood? how does one break the code and hence gain access to this sorority? is there a secret "high" sign? a password? let me in!!

i am intrigued by this mysterious process and all of its paraphenalia. just how and where does one learn this task??? i mean, is there a secret group of spinners functioning underground in every neighbourhood? how does one break the code and hence gain access to this sorority? is there a secret "high" sign? a password? let me in!!

The roving looks amazing and the Spindle and Wheel site is amusing...to say the least!

Ohh, I've done the spinning beaded yarn. It is fun and addictive. I found it helpful to pre-space the beads (several yards apart -- wind it on an empty tp roll) on the thread; it's like "pre-drafting" your beads, and just like pre-drafting makes the spinning go much smoother.

"Starting up with a whole other kind of stash will not help." That's exactly what I tell myself to NOT take up spinning. And to reinforce it, I have not let myself even HOLD a spindle, touch a wheel or pet any roving.

Thank the fiber gods I live in Florida and wouldn't use wool yarn at all (except for Dulaan-type donations, and there's Lion Brand and Elann.com for that fix).

Wish me strength, harlot, and I'll wish some right back atcha!

OHHH pretty!

Woohoo! I can't tell you how happy this makes me! One, because it's beautiful, two, because I bought my first wheel (A Lendrum DT) at Maryland Sheep and Wool and am now completely fixated on the spinning. To the point where it aggravated a foot problem I've been having because I walk too much. Whoops. Who knew you could hurt yourself sitting down at a wheel?

Thankyou thankyou thankyou for pointing me in the direction of Spindle and Wheel as well. As a total newbie to the spinning, I am trying to absorb as much written spinning goodness as possible. This is very good spinning goodness. :)

I'm so glad you like it! And you're making such beautiful yarn out of it! So this is why I've been getting deluged with orders today! Hugs!

Anyone who tried to order from outside the US discovered a little problem -- the USPS raised our shipping rates yesterday, which was straightforward enough, but they also changed international shipping types. Yeah, that screwed things up. I'm a little miffed because I asked them weeks ago if I needed to do anything, and they said no. They were wrong. I found the directions to fix the file, but it's going to take some concentration. Give me a day or two.

I used to have a major bead stash. Beads are more compact (not so fluffy), but they're just as addictive, can be way expensive, and can be a lot messier if you drop them. They're not as fun to pet as yarn. Just sayin'.

LOVE the colourway!

ye gods that's gorgeous--you know, I keep thinking that since I named my daughter Bryar Rose, when she's 16, I should buy her a spinning wheel...by that time, her youngest sister will be just old enough to not be maimed by it before Bryar pricks her finger on the spindle and falls into a boyfriend coma... yeah, yeah, you're right...probably a bad idea...

I just love it when you take the step by step photos of your spinning. It is always cool to see where the yarn began and what it becomes in the end. I LOVE Tuesdays are for spinning :-)

Marly
knitthing.blogspot.com
knitthing.mypodcast.com
yarnthing.blogspot.com

Wowie. Those colors are sooo good, no surprise if Riin made them. I remember a vest she knit once from her handspun. She used the Lucy Neatby Equilateral Vest pattern, in so many colors you'd think it wouldn't work. And it instead was magnificent.

That vest is a great pattern, by the way, for multicolored handspun... my own version of the vest is almost done but I cheated and used Noro yarn rather than spinning my own. Yes, I have a wheel. No, I don't have enough of any yarn I've spun to make all of a vest. Dabble is my middle name.

Rae and I are hoping to drive to your Toronto event the 25th, from Lansing... crossing fingers there. We both have the night off, so the first step is handled... now to figure out where we can afford to stay if we come.

I love Toronto SO much but it's been so long since I stayed there that my fave affordable hotel is no longer. One step at a time, we still have a week and a half to figure out all details... crossing fingers again.

Oh, I am so glad you are back on the horse! I recently got a drum carder, and now that I am finally out of school I have been carding (mostly wool, myself occasionally) and spinning a good bit. I look forward to the return of Tuesdays are for Spinning.

Astabeth

Do you know what you're going to do with the blue faced Leicester? In my first enthusiasm as a novice spinner I spun a lot of Lincoln and Corriedale and some mystery sheep fur. None of these feel good next to my skin I discovered, so now I'm all about superwash roving. Shouldn't trouble you with a question, I know you're busy (!) but I'm still a novice and have no shame.

The results of your spinning are gorgeous. And it's good to see the Hankster again!!

Having a different type of stash is fine- you just need better places to hide it. Not too bad really... have you considered making yarn skeins into chains and putting them on windows like curtains? Everyone loves yarn and everyone loves curtains. There we go, that could work. Or those magical giant bags where you put blankets that aren't in use? Put the special stuff in there and use a vacuum to suck out the air and it's airtight and all compressed and stuff. You can stack them on top of each other in the corner of a room.

Beautiful colors, and what a cool idea, spinning with beads (they really don't take up much stash room)! I will get there one day, have a new spinning wheel in my living room and several fleeces, just need to make time. Your Tuesday rule is a good one, thanks for sharing it, and the URL for Spindle and Wheel.

Beads? STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY!

Fair Harlot, them thur beads are very, very dangerous. They are cute, sparkling, come in many colors-shapes-sizes-types, and they are very dangerous.

You will find yourself trying to learn to make beaded bracelets with the rationalization that your nieces will like them. You will buy a special carrying case for the beads (So you can take them on a trip? I haven't rationalized that one yet.) You will have 4 shades of blue beads and buy 2 more because they aren't the "right" shade. And you still don't have the blue you need.

Not that any of this happened to me.

Anyhow, this is for your own good. Don't go there!

And if you do, keep an eye out for medium blue beads, will you? In size 11/0. Not turquoise, sky blue, navy, blue with pink sparkles, or blue with gold lining. Just medium blue....

I am sending this post to my husband, who is thinking of taking up spinning. I am really hoping he does, because he does not knit, so someone else (ahem) will have to use all his pretty yarn.

I'm still laughing about tribbles... My kids (14 and 12) haven't seen that episode!

Well, this time you've done it. You've nailed it. The situation I'm in, too, I mean. Except that I haven't been able to spend the rest of my week knitting or doing any of the other enlightening and enjoyable things I like to do, but I did hope to get spinning practice in at least once a week -- it sure wasn't a problem after I got the wheel! -- and the days seem to slip away by the fortnight. Alas! Back to tasks...

I too have begun spinning on Tuesdays. I'm working right now (as in it's sitting in front of me) on some lovely silver bamboo.
I also have a great many pounds of wool that I'm attempting to spin for an enormous weaving project. My goal is a length of fabric 5' wide by 10' long. A friend of mine is building me a warp-weighted loom so that I can get the width I need. The warp is spindle spun and the weft is wheel spun and the thread is upwards of 22wpi. I plan on using this number as the number of threads per inch on the warp. Before you pass out from the fineness of it, keep in mind that 5000 year old linen fragments from Egypt have been measured at 24 warp threads per cm.
This is going to take a long time, I can tell.

Beware the bead stash! It is a dangerous and seductive foe. They look so small, surely another 5 or 6 or 20 packages of beads won't hurt. But then they begin to pile up and you knock them over when you're late for work and spend ten minutes scraping tiny seed beads out of deep pile carpet with your fingernails.

Beware the bead stash. Beware!

OOOOH that is so beautiful, spinning is an obsession that I am obsessed with learning.....Iwant so badly to learn to spin but have yet to find a willing teacher. I have had several offers to borrow wheels.....lotta good that will do without someone to teach me......I will continue to obsess and lament over others home spun!!!!

I have tried spinning with a drop spindle. Let's just say....ummm...I'm NOT gifted. I'm in awe of those that do it with such ease. Will try again later. But for now....I'll stick to my needles...

Beautimous roving!

So pretty! Maybe you will motivate me into setting aside some regular spinning time. The fiber sure is piling up around here. I've been swamped with other more urgent things-but I really want to spin! My current sweater(from handspun)tells me that I need to learn a little thing called "consistency".

You've been tagged!

Hey! Thanks for posting that website...what a neat resource. I went there this morning and there was a count of 4,121 visitors since January. Twelve hours later...5206. WOW.

That's right.. I vaguely remember tuesdays are for spinning when I first started reading your blog! And now that I'm actually ordering a new wheel for myself, I think I'll join you on this whole 'tuesdays are for spinning' thing. I love love love that barber poleing you got by the way!

Okay...so I read your blog. I've read your books. I am a knitter. Thus, (like the clever use of the word thus?) I know that no amount of "Tuesdays are for spinning" are going to decrease the amount of fibre. It's a crazy thing. Sorry but it just won't work. It will however help you be a better spinner and maybe curb the guilt just for a moment.

Oh, your yarn is just lovely (and even more droolworthy when plied :) ) I hope you spin up that green desert inspired Bursage batt one day! As for the beaded yarn....I've done beaded, sequined and both beaded and sequined much to the delight of my cats - I've decided that I ought not to do it again in order to keep my sanity - can you imagine, the lure of yarn and thread and loads of sparkly beads for a pair of kitties?! :) Hope your daughters wrap the school year smoothly without driving you to too much distraction!

'Starting up with a whole other kind of stash will not help'

Oh, but it is so enticing...

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