#spindle spinning

[allonsybadwolf]

look at how beautiful this spindle is 🐑🌈✨

(spindle is by Woodland Handcrafts and fiber is South American wool and viscose in "Taste the Rainbow" from World of Wool)

[belennui]

me: let's stay reasonable, okay?

the silk: t h i n

[ferncrafts]

My spindles and a spindle in progress. All are whittled and clay formed by me - except for the whorl on the first one.

More info under the cut!

Left to right:

1. Whittled from a piece of firewood, presumably some sort of pine. I bought the whorl from a reenactor and whittled the shaft to fit. Didn’t take the wood shrinking as it dried into account, so now the whorl is loose on the shaft, and I’ve had to wind some waxed linen thread underneath it to make sure it stays in place. Lesson learned!

2. Not sure what wood it is, found a big branch loose on the ground near my apartment and grabbed it. Notice the notch “faces” to the left. Normally I spin counterclockwise, so this is the one I use for plying.

3. This one is from limewood, which I don’t especially recommend. Very lightweight but also fairly soft. I did break it some weeks ago when I partied a little too hard. No I’m not joking about that. Unwound all the thread on it and superglued it back together.

4. Still a work in progress, but this one is from beech wood. Beautiful, beautiful wood, smells wonderful when working with it. It’s a bit crooked but I’ll figure it out.

As for the notches, I vastly prefer something in this style, as opposed to some of the metal hooks I’ve seen on a lot of modern spindles, or a lack of hook/notch that requires you to tie a half hitch to attach it. It was a bit difficult to execute with the pine, as the notch really wanted to split right off due to the grain on the wood.

[lightsandfire]

Between (still) recovering from surgery and generally being tired, I haven't posted a single tour de fleece update, oops

But! Behold my new (and only) supported spindle:

It is a +-20grams walnut spindle, an applewood ringdistaff and a spinning bowl on a little cushion (don't remember the wood type, oak maybe?) from Regenbogenwolle.

It spins better and better the more fiber you put on it! This is +-20 grams of Texel, and it could definitely take more. Gonna take this off, ply it with itself and then start some merino/silk on this spindle (the rainbow one I'm also spinning on my turkish spindle).

Bonus, the size of the cob in perspective:

Other than spinning away at this I have been spinning some more advent mini's from last year (3× 20grams on my electric wheel), carded some Texel fleece to start a sweather spin (did a second test spin today, still have to ply, about 700grams total of white and dark Texel), and made a little progress on my Zwartbles vest spin (about 400gr to handcard and spin left) and a random merino/alpaca blend I found in the box my carder was in (300grams to go).

Enough projects, not enough wrists!

[briarofthewoods]

Finished chain plying the first of two sister braids.

I know there's not any white, but for some reason the color makes me think of blue jays.

[kaysoncoffee]

Tour de fleece day 2!

Today vs yesterday’s spinning

[thread-goblin]

Fighting off the perfectionism imps by posting something - anything.

I did some spinning yesterday! It was unremarkable but fun as always

[batbetbitbotbut]

Twisty stick / spinning yarn on a hooked stick

(Photo by Linda Olofsson - if you read Swedish, she wrote about the spinnkrok here.)

Drop spindles and supported spindles not working for you? Need something you can do at any speed and any angle, including lying down flat? Interested in ancient textile crafts on zero budget? Try Hooked Stick Spinning Today!

Get a stick or sturdy wire of any material (wood, plastic, metal, ?). Cut or bend or attach some kind of hook at one end, or get lucky with a branch that grew that way. Tent pegs work well, crochet hooks can be a little fiddly. Hook it your fibre onto it and start twisting the stick with one hand, drawing out your fibre with the other. When you've reached a comfortable length, unhook the fibre and wind it onto the spindle, then hook it in the top and start again. To speed up, roll the spindle against your thigh not just between your fingers.

And... that's it! Once you get the hang of it I think it could be one of the most accessible methods of spinning for doing anytime, anyhow, with lower finger strength requirements than many styles (you can roll it with the flat of your hand, pinching motions rarely needed?) and less need for vertical space / lifting your arms compared to a typical drop spindle or supported spindle. I believe it would also be suited to spinning entirely by feel, eyes closed - you don't fully let go and you are always in close control of all aspects of the yarn.

More detailed tutorials from people actually good at it:

^ Online written and photo tutorial by Susie at Knit Natural

^ Celia Quinn in A Handspindle Treasury by SpinOff magazine

^ Alden Amos in The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning (photos via @trueishcolours who is hosting my book collection)

^ 1 minute full speed demonstration video by Eira Elwing. Explanatory text on screen, no voiceover or spinning audio (just background music).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCNK0gBe2AI9toBrQjXoMacV6K1FJx3wj

^ Collection of hooked stick spinning tutorials and demos, most of which I have not watched, all under 15 minutes.