I know how anxiety can be, I've suffered with it my whole life. It took me a while to get the meds right and it is so worth it. I'm happier than I've ever been, my life has changed. Stick with it and email me if you ever need to talk.

Take care of yourself!! We'll be here...

Good luck kicking ass. And remember TC is totally off the mark.

Tom Cruise is a horse's ass. But, about that spindle. Some top whorl spindles can be converted to low or bottom whorl fairly easily. I had much better luck with the bottom than with the top...took a class at Maryland and suddenly "got" it. Some say the top whorl is faster, but it's not about speed!

I just got a spindle myself (knobby thing on the top) after watching the store owner effortlessly spin yards of pretty yarn.

I'm really good at making a thread that varies from super-chunky to so-thin-it-breaks within the space of a couple inches. Can't seem to get the drafting thing right.

Let me know the secret when you get it!

I can't offer advice on spinning but I can tell you that you've got lots of friends who care about you. We're with you 100% on kicking ass!

Good luck. Take care of yourself. Kick some ass!

Here's to feeling better and TOTALLY kicking some butt!!

Best of luck to you. You can do it!

I'm on a combination of Prozac and Xanax - I'm starting to wean off the Prozac because of serious memory problems. Not to mention creativity problems. But I'm reading books I've read before and I have NO MEMORY of them. It's extremely disturbing and the last straw for me. The psych profession is at around the leech stage, as far as I'm concerned.

I know ---- let's go kick Tom Cruise's ass! He is such a fucktard - I refuse to go and see War of the Worlds he has pissed me off so royally.

you take care of yourself and if you need help with the ass kicking, drop me a line (I've got big feet)!

Go grrl! Sounds like the weekend was rough (even if it was good)and that can put one on edge. We're rooting for you!!

Hang in there...and be strong...you can do it.

Best of luck to you, C. Take care~

You go right ahead an kick some ass. Best wishes, hope you're feeling better soon.

I hate medication changes!!! Hang in there. I remember that quite a while back I tried Concerta and... oh boy... I got tremors, and hot flashes, and I talked a mile a minute... Needless to say I'm not on that anymore! I hope it all works out for you.

1. Tie on a medium length piece of wool yarn to the shaft (coarse, scratchy wool is best). Wind it around the shaft a couple of times to secure it and thread the yarn through the hook. If there is a groove on the spindle use it to lead the yarn to the hook. Hang the spindle from the yarn using your right hand to hold the yarn/spindle combo up. There should be 8 inches or so of yarn between the hook and your right hand.

2. Sit down on a chair with no armrests. Put the shaft of the spindle next to your outer left thigh. Put your left hand on the shaft and with a flat palm, roll the shaft forward off of your thigh so that the spindle zooms out in front of you, spinning like a mofo.

3. Catch the spindle with your left hand and clamp it (or "park" it) in between your knees. Note how the yarn between the hook and your right hand has a whole lotta twist in it now.

Release your right hand and let the extra twist go. Grab some fiber -- we are ready for spin-off.

Now, spinning in the "park and draft" mode consists of the steps 2 & 3 above PLUS holding a bit of nice fiber in your right hand against the end of the leader yarn. The fiber supply (draft it out a bit before you do this) will "catch" onto the leader yarn if you overlap it a couple of inches worth.

Now.

Repeat steps 2 & 3.

4. Note how the leader yarn between the hook and your right hand has a whole lotta twist in it now. Grab the fiber with your left hand right below your right Hand. Take your left thumb and forefingers and pinch off the twist -- relieving your right hand of its duty. ie., no way-no how is that twist going willy-nilly up into your fiber supply.

5. With your right hand, pull on the fiber between your left and right hands until it is a thickness that pleases you (this is called drafting) -- fat is fine. Pinch the fiber firmly with your right thumb and forefingers to avoid the twist going into your fiber supply, and release your left hand. The twist that your left hand was holding back is going right up the fiber and stopping at your right hand. WOO HOO! Yarn, baby.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until there is no more twist, or your arms are too short. Wind your newly born yarn onto the spindle shaft. Thread the new yarn through the hook leaving at least 6 inches above the hook.

Start over with step 2 and repeat to infinity.

If you screw up a little and the twist gets into your fiber supply making a "tornado" (a triangular shape that you can't draft out), simply untwist the tornado until you can draft again.

If your yarn breaks, remember "fuzzy to fuzzy". Untwist the broken ends so that they are both fuzzy. Overlap the fuzzy bits, hold them together and add twist. Voila. Fixed.

Don't worry, you can't really screw this up bad. And if you "ruin" fiber, sheep grow more.

Good luck. Yell if you have a question.

Spinning helps ass kicking.

;-)

You go girl! I completely agree--if you don't like something, change it! Sometimes it takes time and it's hard, but how many times have you regretted TAKING a risk, as opposed to regretting not taking one, huh?

As for spinning, bravo to Claudia for great instructions. You can also check out videos on icanspin.com . Seeing it in action helps me.

Finally, remember that the early part of spinning is HARD. I always say that the learning curve is VERY steep initially, but once you get past what Laurie calls the "throw it out the window phase," you are making something usable and it's quite enjoyable. It's that window phase that can be rough. Keep at it, though, you just have to remind your body how to do something it already knows.

Oooh . . . spindle, spindle, spindle! Glad it arrived and you WILL get the hang of it. (Blame it on the meds.) I taught myself in December, with the help of the internet and some groups (like the Yahoo Spindlers, or the Knitter's Review board) that very patiently answered stupid questions. The trick is to not give up--everything else works itself out in time. (Really!)

ooh - spinning, I've got to keep working on the knitting before I even dream of a spindle.
Good luck with the ass kicking.

May the force be with you, ma'am. With the spinning and with the ass-kicking.

Perhaps undertaking a new, challenging thing is not a good thing when feeling a bit edgy in a Tom Cruise way! :)
Hope you feel better!
Soon!

Oh dear...I hear you...Claudia's instructions are great and the online stuff that Cate mentioned is also wonderful. Just remember that perfection is not the goal. And best of luck getting everything adjusted. I know it's tough, and I'm sending you all the positive energy I can...the calming kind, not the IDrinkTooMuchCoffee kind...

Big hugs, sweetiepie. :-)

First, thanks for getting that free spinning lesson out of Claudia! (Have you seen My Paper Crane's "Spin Spin" zine? WELL worth the $4. Not that I'm spinning. Oh no. Just ...Research.)

I agree with those who think it would be very effective anti-anxiety therapy for all, to kick Tom Cruise's ass. No wonder his people wouldn't let him talk for all those years. Wish he'd hire them back. xox Kay

Okay, I have the tendency to go on and on about this topic, so for brevity's sake. Been there, really really been there. I am medication free at this time (for three years after a good seven on the stuff) and can tell you that anxiety can be beaten. It was NOT easy to get off the meds, and it took a long time. Look for a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy program in your area. Mine was at Boston University and I think you might have better luck checking universities and colleges or searchng the web for local programs. Mine was 12 sessions over 14 weeks. Do I still have unexplained anxiety? Sometimes, but it rarely if ever keeps me down, thanks to the CBT and a change in my feelings about the anxiety. Do I wish it would go away. Always. Do I think Tom Cruise is an ass on wheels? Yep. Do I think some of what he says is right? Well, yes I do. His delivery and the people that he attacks is ludicrous. I had to get off meds. They have permanantly changed my ability to remember almost anything (though I do feel my brain heals a bit every week), stifled my creativity and took away my emotions. It wasn't good for me. And I slept. All.The.Time. Not good when driving a car. If you want to hear a little more about my experience, let me know. Claudia can support the spinning. I can support the *mental-weirdness*. hee hee

Hang in there. I know how you feel, although my feelings are usually the opposite. You will get through this.

Best wishes and good luck! Perhaps you should take a weekend spinning retreat of your own?

You can do it, girl. YOU ARE BOSS! And you will Kick Ass. Seriously. And the crazy knitters have your back. (that's all of us.) I'm thinking about you!

Here's to you showing anxiety who's boss! You are much stronger than you realize, draw on that strength to make it over the speed bumps! I admire your action.

I am sorry that you are having a crappy time at the moment. You show that anxiety who's boss - you've got a whole cheer squad here on the sidelines!