Yarn Along: beginnings and endings

I'm still knitting away on these vanilla socks, plus I cast on for these nerdy socks.  It was exceptionally cold and rainy this week, which is a knitter's favorite forecast, so I snuck in the beginnings of a thrummed mitten in May.

Pete graduated and became a deacon this weekend, so everyone came to visit, including the spinning wheel my friend Dorothy gave me.  As soon as I had a moment, I used Murphy's Oil Soap to wipe it down, buffed it with a dry cloth, and put a little vaseline on the metal bits.  After drying it in the sun, I adjusted things here and there until it finally started spinning (quietly) in earnest.  I'm spinning up 8oz of Riverstone Merino from Abi's Web that I got ages ago for $17 at Rhinebeck.

Even though I've just begun, spinning has permeated me somehow, so that while I lie in bed at night, my right foot keeps treadling.  It reminds me of sleeping on dry land after sailing for a while, and how your bed feels like it's being rocked by the waves.

I've been reading The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs by Sarah Anderson, even though it's a little beyond me at this point.  It doesn't teach how to spin, so I'm cobbling things together a bit.  Does anyone know of a good resource?

I also just started reading Victoria's Daughters, a loan from another friend, which is fascinating so far.