• I can’t believe I haven’t posted about Black Sheep. I have so many pictures of sheep, goats and spindles. I picked up a Jenkins Lark.

    Jenkins Lark spindle

    I have not been a fan of Turkish spindles.All the ones I’ve tried have been bulky and wobbly. This is a most elegant spindle, lightweight and fast. It’s perfectly balanced. I looked at the kuchulus, which are even tinier. I will get one of those at some point, but they are in high demand. And I’d like an Aegean spindle as well. And another Lark in light colored wood. That should be enough!

    Lon has been taking wood turning lessons. He plans to learn how to make spindles, which will help with my addiction. His first attempt is a copy of one of my Russian spindles:

    Maple Russian spindle

    It’s a good start. I’d like to have a thinner shaft, so we’ll try that on the next one. He’s working with some Eastern maple right now, but we do have a few exotic woods to play with. His instructor is finding this interesting. He made me a set of three support spindle bowls out of maple burl.

    Support spindle bowls

    And, it’s Tour De Fleece, which I’m doing for the first time. I’m spinning cotton on my Akhas for the Support Spindlers group. I had to trade off with a few other projects over the holiday weekend.

    Tour De Fleece progress

    And, for no reason at all, a Loretta picture!
    Loretta

  • This should have gone on my other blog, but I have all the pictures loaded here. To open the CD tray on a Mac, you press the F12 key. There’s no button up by the actual tray. And Fanny did not like it at all!

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  • This is a Spindlewood Akha. It’s maple with Paduak rings. I got it at Woodland Woolworks several years ago, marked down because the whorl is on backwards. It spins just fine. I have an authentic Akha that I don’t use often because its fragile. This one is not.

    The yarn is natural brown cotton. When Jeffrey was sick, I grabbed the bag with this spindle and the bag with my sock knitting. I didn’t do much spinning. Cotton is an easy spin when you have your “cotton mojo”. If you don’t have it, there’s no point in fighting it. This is a very restful way to spin cotton and easier on my shoulder than Takli spinning.

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  • Spindles 30.05.2013 No Comments

    I’ve tried some merino/tussah silk fiber and also some BFL from Mountain Colors. The merino blend is tricky, when you get to the end of the fibers and have all those little short pieces left. I tend to let it draft down too fine, but I think I’m getting over that. It’s a hangover from spinning cotton. The wool does draft differently.

    I’ve been using the spindle with the hook. I did try it without it at first and it works fine that way. I’ve gotten the hang of using the spiral. I am able to spin this supported on my leg without a bowl. I’ve used my standard wooden bowl and also a small silver plated salt cellar. It seems to work well no matter how I use it. I’ve not really tried holding it in hand and twiddling it with my fingers. It seems way too slow. I’ll play around with that at some point, just to make sure I know how to do it.

    It’s different from using a high whorl, but it’s fun. I was thinking about how nice it is to be a spinner these days. Lots of gorgeous spindles to use, lots of glitzy fiber to spin. It’s a big contrast from my last spindle purchase, the old Bulgarian spindle. The tools do the same job. We spin for pleasure, not necessity.

  • Spindles 29.05.2013 No Comments

    I’ve been admiring Lisa Chan’s spindles for a few months now. They seem very elegant. Of course my order happened to hit right before the holiday! But it arrived today and I’ve been trying to get to know my new cocobolo Rose. It’s a lot like spinning cotton on a Takli. I’m having better luck spinning this merino/tussah blend on the fold. At bit more practice, and I’ll have the hang of it. So far I really like it!

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  • Projects 25.05.2013 No Comments

    This is some potluck roving. I bought this at a fiber store in Newburg, OR on a trip to the coast. I’m getting about an ounce of plied yarn off my spindles. I’m using a David Reed Smith spindle that has 3 shafts. Two are for spinning and one for plying. I have about an ounce left to do.

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  • Spindles 14.05.2013 No Comments

    I have ordered a few things from an Ebay seller in Bulgaria. Today I got my original order, which seems to have been delayed in customs. I have another, older distaff and I’ll try and take pictures of that tomorrow. But I find this to be a very interesting spindle. It’s supposed to be from the 1800s. It’s heavy compared to modern spindles, but it’s comfortable to use. Obviously, someone wanted to keep this spindle going as long as possible.

    full view

    top view

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    another side view

    side view

  • Projects 12.05.2013 No Comments

    This is my first attempt at using my Bulgarian distaff. I am using some uncarded Shetland fleece. This is not a special fleece and a little bit coarse. I am posting this picture so that no one will ever feel bad about how their distaff looks!

    Loaded distaff

    This is what it looks like on the spindle.

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    So far I’m enjoying this. My shoulder muscles are really out of shape for any prolonged spinning. Gotta get back in shape!

  • Projects 09.05.2013 No Comments

    Cascade spindle with Corriedale/Romney cross. I got this at Black Sheep several years ago. I think it was a third place winner.

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    I think this is a Tabacheck spindle, with silk/alpaca blend.

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    One of my new spindle whorls, spinning colored cotton.

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    Hatchtown with that rayon stuff from Scrap.

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    Another one of the new whorls, with dyed cotton.

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  • Spindles 26.04.2013 No Comments

    I’ve picked up some Bulgarian spindles and a distaff. Haven’t had a chance to try them yet.

    Bulgarian spindles

    Comparison with a Russian spindle:

    Russian and Bulgarian spindle

    And here’s the distaff:

    Bulgarian distaff

    The other end:

    Bulgarian distaff 2