spindizzy - uk suppliers and instructors
spinning fiber lj community
icanspin - videos!
rare breed wool info from interweave
spin off magazine again from interweave, some articles available in pdf format
joy of handspinning more videos, including wheel spinning
spindle hook tuning
spinning basics
spinning forums at knitters review
class notes on purlwise
hjs studios tutorials some really detailed info here

not that i’m seriously thinking about spinning or anything. really…

tsk i was going to be sooo good and wait until i’d finished at least one of my 3 current WIPs (not to mention WNYIP that i need to get finished in the next week or so).

but nooooo the caribea lure was too strong. so i did just a teensy bit of the shawl to start out, to see whether it’s worth pursuing…

the yarn is gorgeous and really easy to work, it’s quite springy but not scratchy so i think it should work okay, should be very warm for the weight. obviously it would be ideal to have a super soft drapey yarn, but budget meant i couldn’t have my pick of the merinos and i can’t think of a better use to put this one to. it’s a good design for the weight i think and it shows off the colours beautifully (which are sooo much lovelier irl than in pics).

it took me a while to get the hang of the pattern and i unnecessarily confused myself more than once by reading the instructions for the wrong row. i’ve looked really hard at the pics and i’m pretty sure i am following the pattern correctly but it isn’t doing the batwing thing at the top. my hunch is it’s because the yarn’s so sproingy. not sure whether i should live with it or try to amend the pattern accordingly. have put in plea for help at crochetville so fingers crossed.