An afternoon's work.From the top: Spanish Peacock, Grippingyarn, Spanish Peacock
So, back in January, I spun my first yarn on my Turkish Spindle from the Spanish Peacock that I bought last year and hardly ever used, because I'd decided I really didn't have time to learn how to spin. Using it--finally--was my 'use it or sell it' decision, and I used it, and realized that what I hadn't figured out last year was pretty simple this year. I guess it was my time to learn how to spin.
My original assumption was that I would spin to make doll hair so I could make dolls again. That has both happened and didn't happen--I haven't made any more dolls, but I can make hair for them now. I've also discovered that I like spinning thin as well as thicker. Like, really thin:
This was spun on two of the supported spindles I made.In March, I ordered a Tibetan support spindle and a French Hand spindle from ASpinnerslair on Etsy, because I wasn't having as much fun with the drop spindles as I had been having before. After plying 84 yards of teeny yarn in four hours straight, I think I got a little burned out.
(I also ordered a spinning wheel around this time; I also bought a spinning wheel at an auction. And the spindle/spinning wheel acquisitions began.)
I couldn't spin while sitting at my desk with a drop spindle, not without having to be awkward. I couldn't sit and spin very well, and I wasn't sure about the spinning wheel. It worked great, but I just wasn't sure I needed it, or if I would be spinning in any great quantity.
And then, a couple weeks later, I stumbled across Riverrim's blog post where she talked about supported spindling. And my ears perked. I had a Tibetan spindle and a French hand/support spindle; there were others out there? Different kinds? And I came across the spindles made my Lisa Chan of Grippingyarn, and I was sunk.
I ended up with an Osage Orange Russian style spindle as well as her original design Rose spindle, and a French Spindle, too. All in Osage Orange.
Not long after that, I ordered a Myrtlewood a Russian style spindle from Grizzly Mountain Arts, and then I bought an Olive wood Russian style spindle from The Spanish Peacock. And I use them all. I spin every single day.
Some of my support spindles.
I have begun to make support spindles, too. And I've sold a few from my Etsy shop. I enjoy making them, and I enjoy getting other people interested in supported spinning. I have become an advocate of supported spindling. And I love to support my favorite makers, too.
Other people collect drop spindles; I collect supported spindles. And I use the ones I collect. If I buy one that doesn't feel right to me, then I'll destash it and keep the others (I have one right now I'm waffling on; it's a nice spindle, but it's not speaking to me.) I carry one or two around with me most of the time (usually Grippingyarn's, because they are my favorites) and I spin. And I enjoy it. I have quite a nice basket of finished yarn that I've spun.
As for wheels, I use them too. Agatha, my Great Wheel, is a 'great' wheel to use; I also have charkhas, and Alfred, who isn't quite ready yet. I intend to keep my teeny Gypsy wheels, but I'm going to sell my mutant wheel and the other one I bought to sell. I am looking for a small saxony. But spindles are my first loves, and that will remain, I think. I can get so much spun while spindling. And I love to do it. And it doesn't hurt. That's a big plus for me.
(I also ordered a spinning wheel around this time; I also bought a spinning wheel at an auction. And the spindle/spinning wheel acquisitions began.)
I couldn't spin while sitting at my desk with a drop spindle, not without having to be awkward. I couldn't sit and spin very well, and I wasn't sure about the spinning wheel. It worked great, but I just wasn't sure I needed it, or if I would be spinning in any great quantity.
And then, a couple weeks later, I stumbled across Riverrim's blog post where she talked about supported spindling. And my ears perked. I had a Tibetan spindle and a French hand/support spindle; there were others out there? Different kinds? And I came across the spindles made my Lisa Chan of Grippingyarn, and I was sunk.
I ended up with an Osage Orange Russian style spindle as well as her original design Rose spindle, and a French Spindle, too. All in Osage Orange.
Not long after that, I ordered a Myrtlewood a Russian style spindle from Grizzly Mountain Arts, and then I bought an Olive wood Russian style spindle from The Spanish Peacock. And I use them all. I spin every single day.
Some of my support spindles.I have begun to make support spindles, too. And I've sold a few from my Etsy shop. I enjoy making them, and I enjoy getting other people interested in supported spinning. I have become an advocate of supported spindling. And I love to support my favorite makers, too.
Other people collect drop spindles; I collect supported spindles. And I use the ones I collect. If I buy one that doesn't feel right to me, then I'll destash it and keep the others (I have one right now I'm waffling on; it's a nice spindle, but it's not speaking to me.) I carry one or two around with me most of the time (usually Grippingyarn's, because they are my favorites) and I spin. And I enjoy it. I have quite a nice basket of finished yarn that I've spun.
As for wheels, I use them too. Agatha, my Great Wheel, is a 'great' wheel to use; I also have charkhas, and Alfred, who isn't quite ready yet. I intend to keep my teeny Gypsy wheels, but I'm going to sell my mutant wheel and the other one I bought to sell. I am looking for a small saxony. But spindles are my first loves, and that will remain, I think. I can get so much spun while spindling. And I love to do it. And it doesn't hurt. That's a big plus for me.
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