A New Obsession?

While we were in Pennsylvania visiting Grace, we attended a local event called the Hay Creek Festival. It was a lovely local fair that featured crafts, antique car parades, glass blowing, and knitting, spinning and natural dying. Needless to say I was drawn to the fiber crafts. There were a few local women there who were spinning wool and bunny fuzz (I will never get over how cool it is that you can hold an angora rabbit in your lap and pluck their fuzz while spinning,) and a very cool gentleman who was teaching people how yarn was dyed in the "olden days". He was using local berries, leaves, plants, and bark and the colors were wonderfully rich and vibrant. It was very cool to see large cauldrons of yarn simmering over an open fire. In addition to all of the yarn and the dye, there was a lot of roving available.
I have always wanted to learn to spin...but was intimidated by the concept of learning from a book or TV show. To me, spinning, like knitting, is a tactile craft that is easier learned when taught by human hands. Fortunately for me, there was a lovely woman selling drop spindles (that were made by her husband) as well as yarn, roving and knitted hats, scarves and mittens (knit by her granddaughter.) She was not only willing to show me how to use the spindle, but she threw in some roving so that I could learn. It's lovely Shetland in a chocolate brown, which I assume is natural. I don't have any photos of the day, but I do have a photo of my spindle at home with the chocolate roving spun and the white roving I bought from another vendor. It's been very fun so far.
And, once I get home I'll post the web site of the lovely lady who took the time out at the fair to show me how to spin...I really enjoyed it!