[wsfii-discuss] to a very wsfii 2006!

[Jo Walsh]

recently, my mother-in-law taught me how to hand-spin yarn 
with a drop spindle, just like this one: 

http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/make-dropspin.html

i find many things satisfying in spinning. the simple physics of it are
wonderful - the pendulum action of the spindle, the twist travelling
up the fibre as it becomes yarn. unlike most hand-busying activities,
it is very mobile; one can do it while walking around, or dancing
about one's front room listening to "rock the casbah".

i like the spinoff (groan) culture around it; people in semi-rural
situations, who are into hand-knitting or weaving but can't afford to
buy natural-fibre yarn from larger suppliers. they buy a few goats
or llamas, or angora rabbits if they are in an urban situation, and
sell their surplus on ebay, or via the catalogue culture around
hand-spinning (how large does an interest grouping have to be before 
someone will start a catalogue to sell accessories to it?) 

optimistic about 2006, and to the spinning of many yarns,


-jo