Island Pond Spinners and great friends...

First, I would like to acknowledge some wonderful things I have received from blog friends. Maureen over at Batty for Yarn sent me these incredible coasters. They were a thank you gift . These are so beautiful.... I am not sure I can set a drink on them. Check out her blog, it is always a fun read. The lovely Anne, from How the West was Spun sent me the gorgeous roving in the picture. She also sent some lighter brown roving. I have used that to practice with my spindle. Thank you Anne for feeding into my new obsession. I have met the most wonderful people online. They always go out of their way to answer a question or offer advice. Which brings me to my next thank you. Caroline over at Fiber Arts and Furry Critters invited me to attend the Island Pond Spinners. The meeting was last night in Hampstead, New Hampshire. I would say it is about an hour and fifteen minutes from house. I had such a great time!!!! The evening just flew by. Caroline makes the wheel spoke spindles like the one in the picture. I bought one of them from her and it spins wonderfully. She is a wonderful and patient teacher. She spent quite a bit of time helping me work on my technique. I actually was making something that resembled yarn. The women in this group were warm and friendly. One of the ladies let me try her Ashford Traveler. It was pretty comical to watch me with the double treadle. Several of the women had Ashford Joys. I did not try out that wheel. Then Caroline brought in her wheel , which is a Kromski Minstrel. It was the first time I have ever touched a spinning wheel. I was having such a great time, I hated for the evening to end. They meet every Friday at 7:30. I am sure I will become a regular. Of course, I was all fired up after trying the wheels. I drove to the Elegant Ewe today. I tried out a few wheels while I was there. I decided I really need to know more about them before buying one. It is a huge investment and I want to take my time picking the right one. Well....I guess that is about it for today. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends.