Spindles

I learned to spin on a wheel first, and until last year drop spindles mystified me. Once I changed to top whorl spindles, I was no longer mystified in a bad way but in a good way.

Whenever I pick up one of my drop spindles to play with it, I am reminded that if I had been born 200, 500, 2,000 years ago, this would have been a part of my life as intrinsic as cooking dinner, or sleeping. Each thread we would be wearing would have been spun by hand.

What is even more cool, is that each area, had their own drop spindles, with a different look and purpose, depending on what fibers they used.

Here is a link to a blog with pictures of Egyptian spindles.

And here is a link to a small collection of spindles from around the world.

Introducing Rosebud

You know that thing about not getting to take Rosie. The spinning wheel I bought specifically to take with me to Seattle. My angst over what to do.. And what to take. And whether I could just leave the suitcase of clothes home and fit her in anyway..? (really, I still think that people could have just dressed in layers). Well, I did it.

I bought another spin- dle! On Saturday we snuck over to Detta's Spindle where she showed me some lovely drop spindles made by a man in Bloomington MN. Dragonfly spindles. They're lovely, beautiful wood, and after a quick lesson from Detta, I could even kind of make yarn.

So, Rosebud came home. Isn't she pretty? She's 1.1 oz and made out of spalted pin oak and red oak. I spent that day spindling around the Mall of America, and by the end of the day, I was doing ok.


Of course Rosebud would be lonely being an only spindle, others may mysteriously appear, but I feel fairly smug. The fact I couldn't drop spindle secretly bothered me.

And there is no WAY she won't fit in the van for the trip!

Only I'd do this..

.. Spend a large amount of money on a spinning wheel specifically to travel with and then realize that fitting 5 people, 2 dogs, a waffle iron, and clothing in a mini van may not actually leave space for the wheel. Note, I do love my Rose though, by far an amazing wheel and now my constant spinner.

But I have a vision of spinning at the ocean. What to do? Well, watch the Princess Bride while spinning lovely Falkland fiber and ignoring all the packing to do is the first step.

Trying to figure out whether I have time and money to buy and ship a Roadbug wheel out to my sister's house is another step.

The last, is looking at drop spindles. I have only spindled once, on a heavy bottom whorl spindle. Could I actually spin on one? I don't know. I have 2 weeks to figure it out. I have no coordination to speak of, I can barely managed to knit. I am not sure that I have the capabilities to use something that according to it's name drops. And then there is the problem of which one to get. There are a zillion of them, and it's ultra confusing. Touring Etsy stores leaves me befuddled and torn between which is best. But, they're all cheaper than the Roadbug, though the Roadbug is incredibly adorable and little. I don't know.





Still spinning for the TDF though, and still watching - GO ANDY!!!