u/Head_in_the_Sand_usa

Edit: Wow, thanks for all the helpful tips and encouragement! I probably won't be able to respond to everyone but I appreciate you all. 😍

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Hi everyone! I've been an avid knitter for nearly 30 years but never had the slightest interest in learning to spin. (Even when I worked for a year in a LYS that taught spinning classes!) Last fall I watched someone spinning at a fiber festival (which I've done many times before) and since then I've been increasingly interested in trying it out. I wonder why my interest suddenly increased. Anyway, I ordered a drop spindle (top whirl) and a small package of gorgeous purple Corriedale fiber, and they are now on my table. I'm finding myself a little bit nervous to start trying, but not because of how hard it will be to learn. I'm actually afraid that I'll like it so much that I'll devote less time to actually knitting! Have any of you experienced stress from how to divide your time between spinning and knitting, and if so, how did you figure out a balance? (I'm aware that I may be jumping the gun here, because it's entirely possible it'll be too frustrating and I'll give it up, but this is where my head is at the moment...so excited but also nervous.)

EDIT: Thanks to everyone for the moral support and suggestions. I needed the different perspectives you provided. I'm trying to reply to every comment but may have missed a few. Thanks to each of you for lifting me up on a bad day and reminding me that I can still be proud of the work I've done on this garden.

ORIGINAL POST: Nothing is blooming now but still sharing some embarrassing photos so you'll see what I'm talking about. I started my native garden in 2017 and have loved the heck out of it since then. I enjoy taking photos of the bugs in my garden and I keep track of them on iNaturalist. I won a native garden award from my local Wild Ones last year. I love my native plants! So what's the problem? I didn't want to use any chemicals on my lawn and over the years it has become overrun with weeds to the point that I have less grass than weeds. I'm too embarrassed to let anyone come into my back yard now.

And I know it's a good goal to replace most of the lawn, but I can't replace all of it and I like to have at least some paths through the garden. I'm so demoralized because I feel like I might be getting too old to manage this on my own. I'm female and 64 and live alone. I feel like giving up and paying for sod.

So what do I want from you? Mostly some moral support, and also ideas for how to make it more manageable. I'm considering grass seeding the worst spots, but don't have much confidence that I can get grass to grow, even after watching a bunch of YouTubers tell me it's easy.

Knitter suddenly wanting to spin but...

Need ideas and moral support - lawn areas of garden are ALL weeds and I can't cope!