Oh I keep looking at my drop spindle thinking about it. I've never used it, but my husband has, he spun enough yarn for me to make a 1 inch square swatch. ONe of these days I'm going to learn to spin, and I just found out in a town about 6 miles from me there is an Alpaca farm and the lady teaches spinning. So obviously I have no suggestions on what kind you should look at.

Your wish is my command. Keep an eye on the post, one will be winging its way to you shortly!

Uh, what's a drop spindle? Sorry, can't help you on that one. I do not even want to go there with spinning right now. Too much going on! How do you fit it all in?

I found you from Rebekah's blog. I would recommend a Bosworth spindle, or a Jim Greer. I adore my Jim Greer spindles (I have 3) and my Bosworth. Good luck!

I haven't been able to buy a Bosworth yet - they're beautiful (and no doubt wonderful tools) but a bit pricey.

A word on spindles. They come in top or bottom whorl which means that the weight that keeps the spindle going 'round is set an inch or so from the top of the dowel (or shaft) or the bottom. It's a personal preference thing that you'll have to discover for yourself.

You can make a spindle from a dowel and a toy wheel that you purchase at Michaels or another craft store. It won't be the best spinner but it could give you an idea of whether you want to sink money into this relaxing and zen-like craft. (can you tell I'm a spinner?)

I teach people to spin on CD spindles. It takes a dowel, a cd, an electrician's grommet (like a doughnut made of black rubber) and sometimes a bit of tape depending on the dowel/grommet connection. Usually 80 cents for the grommets and a buck for the dowel and an old AOL CD for the whorl. OH, you can use a cup hook in the end of the dowel for a hook to twist the yarn on. $4 or so would give you a number of spindles so you could make some top whorl and some bottom whorl.

One can find, online, a louet spindle that has sheep stamped on the whorl. When I bought my first one of those, at MD Sheep & Wool, they were $5.00 now, I think they're $10 or so. They're made of plywood. Yeah, I know, not hardwood, not beautifully polished, just plywood. They're good spinners, though, cheap, and they come in top or bottom whorl.

There are other "student" spindles that are inexpensive.

I don't want to give you the impression that you shouldn't get a good, well balanced spindle that's a delight to hold. If you look online for the Spanish Peacock, this fellow makes absolutely magnificent wooden tools for spinners, weavers, and other fiber crafters. And as said earlier, Jonathan Bosworth's work is wonderful as are many others.

I have, but after my hard drive crash last week have to find, a handout from a class I teach for beginning spinners. I'll be glad to email it to you if you like (once I find it again).

(There are paragraph breaks here, I promise, but they don't seem to show up. Sorry if it's hard to read)

I'm one of the newly infected spinners, with a Bosworth top whorl drop spindle (May 28th) and a wheel on order now. Spend the $42. You would spend more than that on yarn, right? It's a good tool, probably eBayable if you hate it, or sellable on your blog sidebar. It's a well balanced tool, beautiful, and top whorl seemed to me to be the easiest to learn. Pleasure in your tools is as important as pleasure in the activity! Have fun. It is a wonderful endeavor.