Freshness, closure, and something totally new....

Our first garden bounty. It made for a nice fresh salad for dinner last night. This morning I picked a big bowl of spinach. BG gets fresh spinach for lunch (yes, he actually likes spinach or at least he did the Gerber kind) and we will have spinach stuffed chicken breasts for dinner tonight.
And the deed is done! Totally anticlimactic, actually. I hand sewed my reinforcement stitches (first a running stitch, piercing the yarn strands and then a back stitch) 3 rows away from the cutting line. Then I started snipping. It was pretty painless. Not to be feared...AT ALL! So, for those of you that have never done it before, please don't be fearful, or avoid designs where cutting steeks would be necessary. I am already thinking of how the technique can be used for colorwork in the round.......
In this particular sweater design, the cut edge is enclosed in the front band. This photo shows the inside of the sweater. This KAL is ongoing, so if anyone would be interested in knitting this sweater, the pattern is free, and the encouragement, support and guidance is abundant. It's on the Knitpicks Community page - at their website. I chose to make the sweater exactly as the pattern is written (with the omission of waistline shaping), but many people have changed a few things - different cast on methods, and knitting the hems down instead of sewing them after all knitting is done. A matter of preference. Somehow, I always feel driven to knit "as written" the first time, and make any changes on my second go around. Funny - somehow I just feel that I owe that much to the designer. Crazy, I know.....???? So I have a few changes noted for next time -- I truly believe there will be another. This one still needs a bath and a blocking. I am sure it will be even nicer afterwards.

And, I must ask those of you that spin (or anyone else, actually)..... Please give me feedback. I have been thinking about trying my hand at spinning for quite some time. Sue, a fairly new gal at TNKG (Thursday Night Knit Group), has just ordered a wheel, and is jumping in with both feet. I have turned several shades of green....... And, DH must have noticed, as during a discussion this weekend, he has suggested that he purchase a spinning wheel for me as an anniversary gift. Yes....he's a generous man! This will be our 39th anniversary, and even after all these years, he is still a big supporter of my "habits". LOL.

So.... suggestions? Thoughts? Single treadle vs double? Brand preference? Or am I just plain crazy????