My First Handspun Yarn

This is probably 3.5oz of the 4oz I purchased of the white colonial from Uncommon Threads. It took me days to spin it all on the spindle but I finished it and set the twist too. In this craptacular picture, you can see how it looks drying. I've learned many things spinning this roving:

1. Drafting and prepping are important
2. knowing your fiber length is also handy
3. You cannot draft if you grip your fiber like a vice
4. I should have taken the book more seriously when it said that joining fibers is
skill you must master...my yarn came undone no less than three times while I was winding it into a skein.
5. Relax and do your best. Its not going to look perfect the first time!

Despite the wisdom of lesson number five, I was bummed out when I saw my finished yarn. Its not too bad, but I wish it looked better. I definitely need more practice. I realized that instead of taking my right hand and drafting the fiber down, I was pinching off the twist with my right hand and drafting up, with my left hand that was holding the fiber. ??? Whats up with that? Is it a valid technique? probably not seeing as I was parking and drafting the whole time. There were only a couple of instances where I was able to spin and draft simultaneously. Sigh.....
On the bright side only like seven to eight more days till my wheel gets here. If there were any ink in my printer I would be carrying around a picture of it wherever I went. Part of me is freaking out wondering if I can't use a drop spindle, how the hell am I going to use a spinning wheel and the other part of me doesn't care if sticks come flying out of the wheel.....I'm gonna try spinning my own yarn on an actual wheel! Yeeehaww!