Great news!! A group of spinners on Ravelry have decided on a date for Worldwide Spin in Public Day! We will ensure to post all of the different events organized here on the site but you can also check it out in the WWSIP Ravelry Group where there is a Ravelry events calendar.

Yesterday Spin in Public ventured out to Port Hope, Ontario to the Farmer’s Market and our local spinning shop, The Black Lamb. Port Hope is a really beautiful, small city with a lot of lakefront and a small-town feel. The Farmer’s Market is a great place to pick up handmade crafts, local artwork, fresh baked goods and produce, plants and even listen to some lovely music! There was a choir singing great songs such as the ‘Log Driver’s Waltz’ and a lot of people walking around having a lovely day in the beautiful Spring weather.

It was not long until we encountered a spinner! This is Marion, an employee of The Black Lamb and a very talented, young spinner who also dyes her own yarn and sells them at the market. If you should ever be in Port Hope on a Saturday in season, stop by and see her. She will always have a smile ready, some great conversation and of course, beautiful yarns to offer.

While you are in town, stop by The Black Lamb and be dazzled by all of the incredible hand-dyed fibers, yarns and spinning, knitting and weaving equipment.

A new Spinterview was posted today with Tabitha, from the Netherlands. It is a very personal and fun interview with adorable pictures. Check it out here. Leave us a comment! We would love to hear from you.

On August 2nd, 2009 there will be a spin in public event in Warwick, Rhode Island

Spinning at the Shore in RI

A Baltimore spinner (Nancy Newman) wrote us on Ravelry to let us know she has started a summer long spinning project in Patterson Park in Southeast Baltimore.

Also, this is for a wonderful cause!

“Join Maxx (her dog)! & help support the Friends of Patterson Park!
Shedding season is upon us. Please donate your dog’s “locks” to be spun into “chiengora” – i.e. dog hair yarn. The yarn will be knit and/or crocheted into items designed by local artists. The creations will be auctioned off at the end of the summer to support the Friends of Patterson Park! Your dog’s photo and identifying information will be collected to accompany the project. Nancy Newman will be collecting dog hair and spinning this Sunday @ the Pagoda, starting at noon.”

So, I thought it might be kind of fun to show you a few of the pictures that were taken as I was trying to get imagery to put this website together. I was not blessed with nice weather when this all came to me. It was the end of a bitter winter and the grass had suffered mightily from the cold, snow and blustery winds. Here are a few shots that were done that didn’t really make the cut.

Roving hanging in a tree…not exactly sure what I was thinking there…

Fiber and nature in a sweet embrace….I guess I thought this was a literal way to look at spinning in public.

By this time, my wheel was not feeling as photogenic anymore.

But, it all came together in the end. Hope you are all having a great day with lots of spinning!

Today we feature a lovely man from  Leh, Ladakh, India. This man sits in the marketplace all day, selling dried fruit and cheese, and spins yak hair on his drop spindle.  This glimpse into his spinning life and photo was sent to us by Tracy in Doha, Qatar. She is a traveller, spinner, photographer, writer and all around wonderful person. You can check her out here: http://einesaite.blogspot.com/

We are happy to announce that Spin in Public is now live with all of the features active. As we previously mentioned, each week we will be posting a SPINterview (you can find the link to this page on the left hand Features panel). The first of these interviews have been posted – a lovely essay written by Laura Mayotte. Check it out! Also, you can find a video that she made of herself spinning toward the bottom of this page. If you have any comments, questions, submissions or anything you wish to send us at all – contact us at editor@spininpublic.com.

Hi Everyone,

This is the first entry of Spin in Public – a site that I have just created to celebrate the wonderful art of yarn handspinning. This website is still under construction but should be going live in the next couple of weeks. Some of the things that you will find here are:

• SPINterviews – a weekly essay or interview with a handspinner. These are in the works and we have many exciting spinners working away on introspectives into their spinning lives.
• Interesting articles and finds related to handspinning.
• Sightings of people spinning in public.
• The planning of spin in public events and an events calendar
• Swag and advertising space
• A resource for spinners to get to know one another through content submissions, and so much mor

For now I will share with you a photo of a lovely Peruvian woman handspinning on a spindle from the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival 2009.

More to come! If you are interested in contributing an interview or content, or if you have any ideas – feel free to contact us at editor@spininpublic.com.