The Anarchists' Craftbook is a book in progress with a focus on subversion, action and the politics of craft.  Fiber artist Pippikneesocks is the creative mind behind the project.  She'd love it if y'all visited her livejournal and filled out the poll she has listed here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/pippikneesocks/63715.html

While she is busy writing, Pippi is also working on a craftivist website that will be out soon.  She writes:
i hope to have the website up soon, with lots of free content, projects & podcasts
i am looking for those of you who:
~use your craft to express your political opinions
(in any way, shape or form)
~essays describing the politics of craft
~essays and stories about demonstrations
~projects & photos of projects
~projects & photos of demonstrations
~craft projects useful in demonstrations/black bloc
~political things that inspire you to craft
~are willing to be interviewed (we can always come up with alias,. if you prefer.)

*the more subversive the better!

Filling out her poll would be a great help- I am not sure if you need to be a livejournal member or not to do so, but it is free to register.

i have space issues too.  it doesn't bother me so much, but my husband loses patience from time to time, living in a house overrun by fiber.
the thing that tries my patience the most is having my almost 4 yr old "help" with the spinning.  i know that it actually very cute, etc, but when i am in a really good groove, and she decides that she wants to get involved, it really pushes my buttons.  i have been finding ways for her to help- she loves to squeeze water out of the ends of roving as they dry, sometimes she helps treadle, and she always has her own bits of roving, which she generally on the heads of her stuffed animals as funky colored wigs.

my favorite part has to be the relaxation stuff.  it's more than that for me, it's a total endorphin boost.

i feel like spinning thicker definitely requires a real switching of gears inside my brain.  i think my best bulky yarns happen when i stop overthinking the spinning and just go with feeling it.  unfortunately, i can't explain it any better than that and i sound just as hippy dippy as you, misshawklet! 

Is there a unit of measurement for the thickness of yarn?

there is!
most spinners use wraps per inch (you might see it as wpi) as a universal guideline to determine yarn weight (to see if it is lace, dk, sport, worsted, bulky or very bulky).
to calculate wpi, you take a ruler and your yarn and wrap the yarn evenly around it.  without smooshing the strands together so that there is any overlap, but still making sure that there is no empty space, and w/out pulling the yarn really super tightly, you see how many times your yarn wraps w/in an inch.  for some of the thick and thin yarn especially, it is a good idea to get an average by wrapping the yarn around a few inches.
i hope that explaination makes sense.

this chart gives you yardage per weight.  http://www.interweave.com/spin/resources/Yarn_chart.asp
now, it is sort of early in the morning, and i am only a few sips into my coffee, so i am thinking that maybe there is something i am missing as far as using that as a guide for buying roving, such as, for instance, different fibers having different weights, but it is a good starting point!

i think it looks purty!

you can do it either way!
experiment with what works best for you and have fun with it.
there is no right or wrong way to create colorways.

your hats are adorable, misshawklet!!

totally normal!

i do my spinning at home, and my knitting in public, be it at the playground with my daughter, or in the car when someone else is driving (for the most part ) or at meetings or whatever.
i definitely spend more time spinning than knitting, but for now that is a-ok with me.