Need another quick and easy idea for something to do with a perfect skein of handspun -- whether yours or someone else's? Try this cute little handspun bag, which is perfect for toting a small knitting project, storing treasures or carrying around anything else small that needs a pretty home.

Handspun bag, (c) Sarah E. White.

Mine was knit with a skein from Midnight & Lulu that was just shy of 130 yards. If you have more or less yarn you can easily alter the design by casting on more or fewer stitches, making the bag a little shorter or a little longer, or omitting the knit cord in favor of a ribbon or a different kind of closure.

No matter, you'll have a gorgeous little bag that you'll love to look at and use in no time at all and a great way to showcase your own handspun or a great skein you picked up on Etsy or elsewhere.

Spinning your own yarn is a lot of fun, but sometimes it can be difficult to decide exactly what to do with it once you've made it. Most knitting patterns are written with a particular yarn in mind; they don't take into account the vagaries and inconsistencies inherent in making your own yarn.

All New Homespun Handknit by Amy Clarke Moore. Interweave Press.

But if you'd like to knit up a pattern made especially for handspun, check out Amy Clarke Moore's All New Homespun Handknit. This book features 25 patterns made with handspun yarn, and each gives a ton of information aobut how the yarn was made so you're sure to be able to recreate it (or something like it) to get great results from your own knitting of the projects.

These are mostly small projects -- hats, mittens, kids' clothes, shawls -- but they feature great details like stranded knitting, lace, cables, entrelac and more. And of course you could knit them with someone else's handspun, or even with a purchased mass-produced yarn, if you like. The projects are so cute you're sure to want to try some even if you're not a spinner, but this book might just inspire you to give spinning a try if you haven't already (though admittedly some of the spinning skills involved are pretty advanced).

As I mentioned at the top of this week, I don't really have the skills or the right website setup to devote a lot of resources to sharing information about spinning yarn, but because there are so many knitters who are interested in learning more about spinning I thought I'd put together a little resource roundup of websites and publications you might want to check out if you're already a spinner or if you'd like to learn more.

The world of spinning can be a bit confusing for knitters, and a big reason for that is words like worsted and woolen that mean one thing for knitters mean something completely different for spinners. So I whipped up a brief spinning glossary to provide a little more insight into the vagaries of definitions that should make it a little easier to understand what spinners are talking about.

Do you know of other good resources for people learning how to spin? Please share!

I don't own a spinning wheel, but I know from my limited experience with spindle spinning that I have a "just dive in there and see what happens" kind of technique. I don't know much about which sorts of fibers do best with different techniques, or even if there are different techniques for spinning with a spindle.

The Intentional Spinner by Judith MacKenzie McCuin. Interweave Press.

When it comes to spinning on a wheel, things get much more complicated much more quickly. How the fiber was prepared and what sort of fiber you're working with can greatly influence the technique you use to spin the fiber before you even consider the thickness or yarn you're looking for, what you might want to use it for and if you want to make anything other than a straightforward smooth singles yarn.

Spinners who need help making their yarn in a more thoughtful way should turn to Judith MacKenzie McCuin's The Intentional Spinner. This book is bursting with information about how different fibers are produced, how to spin them, various effects you can produce through spinning and plying and how to design your own yarns. It's an almost overwhelming amount of information that is sure to be an education and an inspiration for intermediate spinners (and to show less experienced spinners what they can aspire to).