Does anyone here Spin?

[Supertheory]

I am very interested in learning how to spin and dye my own yarn. I know somewhere I can get 100% alpaca fibre for incredibly cheap, but I have no idea where to begin. Someone suggested I make a drop spindle, but I'm really not sure how I would do this.

So, if you know how to spin using a drop spindle, is there any advice you would give to a beginner? Anything I really need to pay attention too?  

[DecemberFlower]

Weeeeelll....

There's these instructions from Interweave. They came with my spindle kit from Hello Yarn when I started 2 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!). By that point I'd already done plenty of Googling to find other resources, so I didn't really need them.

YouTube seems to be a really great resource. People love making tutorial videos. A quick search brings up this video, which seems pretty thorough. It's nice and clear, so you can see what she's doing. It looks like she also has some other spinning tutorials, so those might be worth a look also. The only thing I see is that she's spinning the spindle off her thigh, which may work for some people, but that doesn't work for me. So if that doesn't work for you, you can just flick the spindle with your fingers. However you get the spindle spinning is fine. smile

I'll try to check back with this guild more often. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll try to answer as best as I can. I love talking about spinning. It's my favorite hobby. 3nodding

Oh, also, if you haven't checked out Ravelry, you might want to. There are a bunch of spinning groups there, with people who are much, much more knowledgeable than I am. It's also just a great site for ideas, inspiration, sharing, and cataloging your stuff.