About me, the 43rd edition ...

By Amelia © November 26, 2009

I was recently asked to describe a little about my skills and background, as a volunteer reviewer for WeaveZine (haven't seen it? go check it out -- it's the "Knitty" for weavers, and then some, with articles, reviews, blog posts, forums, and podcasts!)

And, this is my birth month. So, time to describe the me-now. Stay tuned, I'm a work in progress!

Where to start?

I teach spinning, spindles and wheels, beginner to advanced; fiber prep of all sorts (carding, combing, flicking, drum carding); and dyeing (fiber or yarn). I will actually teach pretty much anything people want to learn. If I don't know it yet (which is rare, in my field), I'll figure it out and figure out how to teach it -- which usually means my children get to learn it from me.

I've studied a wide variety of spinning types -- from perfectionist 2-plies to crazy wild art yarns; and spindles, from Navajo to Akha as well as the more conventional top and bottom whorls. I love it all!

My wheels and spindles: I have a large variety of both. I have had a great wheel, and a traditional Saxony wheel, but right now all my wheels are pretty much castle style due to space. I'm lucky that spindles don't take up much room, though I do try to keep my collection in check, under the century mark. I don't count the teaching supplies -- who, after all, needs 8 pairs of hand cards? A fiber-loving octopus, maybe ...

I recently self-published Productive Spindling (and got it on Amazon! that felt like a major accomplishment!). There are more books in my future -- I did say I was a work in progress -- right now I'm working on a non-fiber writing project, but after this, I will return to a fiber topic.

I'd call myself a beginner-intermediate weaver with the focus to do seemingly complex projects. My first weaving was a four harness undulating twill, for example. We have a local study group here, so I've dived into complex topics: laces, twills, and sewing with handwovens. My favorite structure to weave is twills; my favorite items to weave are tea towels and scarves.

My looms: 3 rigid heddle (Beka, Emilia, and Cricket), usually with multiple heddles though I play with color & weave in plain weave; 8 harness Baby Wolf; two 4 harness table looms; and an AVL 24" 24 harness compudobby that I'm still setting up (yeah, it's a little intimidating). My favorite shuttles are my end-feed shuttles, so far no one maker stands out for me, I have "one of each" syndrome there; though I also love my Bosworth boat shuttles -- sold all the rest, they are a clear favorite. My preferred warping method: back to front, by far. And I'm a big fan of direct warping on my RH looms.

The craziest part of my fiber arts is likely my circular sock machine; but it's also led me to explore color, dyeing sock yarns to get patterns and designs on socks. I enjoy searching for the perfect sock recipe, and also creating non-socks.

The fiber art I've done the longest is likely knitting, closely followed by crochet; actually, I'm not sure which I learned first, at my mother's knee.

I also search out rarer arts such as nalbinding. I've dabbled in felting, needle and wet, but tend to use those as "pick-up" skills on other projects, rather than as an end in themselves.

I operated a boutique fiber processing mill for a few years -- that was exciting! It taught me a great deal about sheep breeds, the rich varieties out there, and how each has their own characteristics for scouring, processing, and spinning.

What does the future hold?  More teaching and writing about spinning and fiber processing, definitely. Hopefully more experimentation with color in dyeing. Exploring more weaving, and progress on some larger knitting projects. And definitely a few more pairs of socks and fingerless gloves on the sock machine!

~~
© 26 November 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

What are lap spindles?

By Amelia © November 22, 2009

There have been several mentions on spindlitis lately of a particular variety of spindle -- a supported spindle that's supported by continuous twisting in the hand. They sound similar to me to what I've read about lap spindles in A Handspindle Treasury which are described there for spinning Icelandic yarn.

But these references are coming up about French spindles (I'm told that quenouille is actually French for distaff ... "spindle" in French is usually fuseau, on blogs I've looked at like this one), Portuguese, and traditional Serbian spindles, with accompanying YouTube videos, and they involve twirling the spindle continuously in the hand, rather than on the leg.

First, the French spindle, demonstrated by sergeantMajorette, who spins on a wide variety of support spindles and happily shares her knowledge and experience with those who ask:


I've seen this type of spindle offered on Etsy (and have one), antiques rather than new manufacture. So I wonder if they are still actively in use there. However, there's a modern Portuguese lady in this video spinning on one, with an assortment on the stool next to her:

Now, hers all look like they may be historical as well, very simple hand-carved spindles, not the polished turned woodwork that is common in modern American-made and Canadian-made spindles.

And finally, showing the global nature of spinning, a group of Serbian spinners re-enact traditional spinning (the spindle spinning starts at 2:40):


Though the traditional Icelandic lap spindles are described as being rolled on the leg, I can't help but wonder how similar in speed, and perhaps style, they might be to these support spindles. Both are uniquely different from the other sorts of support spindles, perhaps most closely similar to the Akha, which is also supported with the body rather than a dish like the Navajo, Takli, Russian, or Tibetan spindles.

I'd welcome any insights readers have on these spindles, as when there is a support spindling follow-on to Productive Spindling, I'd like to include information on these as well. I see some fun spinning explorations of these new-to-me support spindles in my future.

I have in the past pointed people to Connie Delaney's Spindle Spinning: From Novice to Expert as a good discussion of support spindles, covering Navajo spindles and Taklis as well as top and bottom whorl spindles. I'm happy to now also be able to point people to Abby Franquemont's newly released Respect the Spindle, which overviews not only those support spindles, but also Akha and Russian spindles, with wonderful photographs accompanying the overviews.

~~
For an A-to-Z glossary of spindle spinning terms, see the ispindle glossary. ispindle is a great online resource with many helpful tutorials available.
~~

© 22 November 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

When do you set the twist?

By Amelia © November 6, 2009

"When do you set the twist?" comes up in almost every conversation I have with a new spinner. They're curious to know if they need to set the twist in the singles before plying, how to finish their skein once it's plied, or they want their skein of singles to relax and stop being so curly and twisty.

First, let me jump in with: you don't need to set the twist in your singles, or skein them up and wash them before plying. Just take them as they are, and ply them.

What we do as spinners, is not set the twist so much as either strive for balanced twist so the skein won't be curly and twist -- only possible with plied yarns -- or make the twist go dormant, so an over-plied or under-plied skein, or a skein of singles, seems relaxed and calm. (Secretly, however, it's not -- the twist is sleeping, waiting for a tap on the shoulder to wake it up.)

In fact, the moment you start winding yarn onto your spindle or wheel, you are stretching it out taut as you wind it on (right? right!). Winding the yarn under pressure like that will help the twist go dormant. Even after five minutes, the twist has started to get sleepy. After a weekend, it's snoozing; after a month, a moderate twist single is fairly comatose.

So, when you ply those dozy singles, you need a "live" sample to compare to, if your goal is balanced twist. Balanced twist is cool -- like an arch, the twist in the singles leans against the twist in the ply, each balancing the other out so your yarn appears calm and relaxed, behaves calm and relax, despite having all that twist stored in it. That is what makes yarn stronger than fiber -- the twist, holding the strands together, making the whole appear stronger than the sum of its parts (because we discount the 'invisible' force of the twist).

I usually ply a short length as I am first spinning my singles and save that sample to compare to when I ply. If I've forgotten, then I'll break off a length of singles, say 8", fold it in half, knot the ends together, and put it in a sink of warm water. It will writhe and twist on itself (very cool to see!). Once it's done with its water dance, I take it out, run my fingers along it so the twist is evenly distributed, and dry it in a towel. That sample shows how the singles can balance each other in the ply. If I match that when I'm plying, then I will have a balanced yarn.

Another way to test for balance, while plying, is to look at the fibers in the yarn. A balanced yarn has the fibers aligned along the length of the yarn. It takes strong eyes and good light -- and the right fibers -- to see the individual strands in the yarn.

Once you have plied your yarn, putting the skein in a warm bath will wake up any dormant twist and let you see if the skein is balanced or not. If the skein twists on itself more than 2 complete rotations, then it's underplied if it's twisting in the ply direction; or it's overplied, if it's twisting in the direction the singles were spun. If the skein is overplied or underplied, you can alter the amount of twist with another trip through on your spindle or wheel, adding whichever type of twist it needs (more ply twist or less ply twist).

All this warm bath is doing is waking up dormant twist. If you want to permanently alter the characteristics of your yarn, you have to look at methods that change it in irreversible, or hard to reverse, ways.

The primary method available to the handspinner is fulling -- have a sink of hot water and a sink of cold water, and a skein with plenty of figure eight ties on it. Agitate the skein in the hot sink for a few minutes; squeeze it out. Agitate the skein in the cold sink for a few minutes; squeeze it out. Keep going between sinks a few times -- you may see or feel the skein shrinking down as you do this. You are actually felting the yarn. Be careful, because extremely feltable fibers could become a yarn donut rather than a fulled skein -- test for strand separatability as you do this. You'll want to reskein the skein when you are done, carefully tugging apart any strands that have adhered (lightly, I hope!) to their neighbors.

Oh, and -- fulling only works with feltable fibers; superwash wool and cotton won't full, or not much anyway. I have managed to somewhat full superwash skeins such as the one at the top of the page -- an overplied sock yarn (socks below show no bias) Some wools are more feltable than others, as well. So if you plan to do this, try to felt some of the unspun fiber before committing yourself to the full project.

A milder fulling is to take your freshly washed (not agitated) skein, wrap it in a towel, and whack it really hard on a countertop or other hard surface. Do this a few times from both ends of the skein. This shocks the surface fibers and makes them grab onto the strands more. It helps develop a halo in fibers that do that -- yak, angora, mohair, for example.

Now, I won't do either of these more "shocking" things -- fulling or whacking -- until I've verified that my skein is either balanced, or has the amount of twist I want. I do overply my yarn on purpose -- it's a great way to add durability to sock yarns -- and then full the yarn so that it will knit into a straight fabric. I will shock my singles to get them to quiet down just a touch.

I typically only dry my skeins with weights if I intend to weave with them. That is because I need them to be inelastic to behave well as warp on my loom. But, I don't want to lose their elasticity with a permanent change -- the fabric, once removed from the loom, will be fulled, and in the process the yarn will wake up and regain its elasticity (which is then transformed in the fulling process).

If you wet-block a skein -- dry it with weights or while stretched out -- any active twist in the skein is still in it, dormant, similar to the old singles or yarn still on a spindle or bobbin. If you knit with the wet-blocked yarn and then wash the knit fabric, any twist dormant in the yarn will wake up and can cause the fabric or stitches to bias.

How can you know if your fabric will bias? My usual test is to hold up my just-washed-and-squeezed-out skein. If the skein twists on itself more than two complete rotations, then the fabric is likely to bias. If it's less than two full rotations, I might see some biasing in the stitches -- one leg upright, the other at an angle, on the knit-face of the fabric -- but I won't see any in the fabric. There are knitting methods you can use to overcome bias, as well -- garter stitch and seed stitch are less likely to bias. My crochet friend tells me she doesn't see any biasing in her crocheted fabric, often made with her own handspun, moderately high twist singles.

Other finishing techniques include steaming a stretched-out skein, simmering a skein (often done with cotton), and, I suppose, ironing a skein -- though I haven't tried that one. Commercial mills have much higher temperatures and more specialized equipment than the home spinner, I am curious to know how they create the calm singles that are Malabrigo laceweight, for example -- if you try a warm-water folded-back length of that yarn, it barely twists on itself at all. But the fibers are not aligned. I've tried fulling, and kettle steaming, but so far have not managed to produce a similar skein of yarn despite copying fiber and twist amount. The trick is in the finishing -- so there's yet another way to finish a yarn that I have not yet uncovered.

~~

The Bellwether is having holiday sale -- 15% off select items through the end of 2009. Shop early for the best selection, and thanks! for supporting Ask The Bellwether!

~~

Related posts on finishing yarn:
How do you set the twist in handspun cotton?
What makes my handspun yarn bloom?
How do you steam block handspun yarn?
What do I do with my very first full spindle?
Do you set the twist in handspun singles before you ply?
How do I ply set singles?
Is my yarn's twist set when I ply it?
Why do you wash the finished skein in warm or hot water?
How do you set the twist in singles yarn?

~~

© 6 November 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

Yarn Story: Special Singles

By Amelia © October 27, 2009

Many spinners seem to migrate to being plyers, spinning mostly 2-ply yarns. There are a special group who love singles, and spin many of them. There's the instant satisfaction of a single, the fact that you maximize your yardage-per-time. That trades off with the active twist it presents, and the need to control the drafting to get the thickness you want.

Therein lies the rub. Spinners become plyers because we learn to draft, and get very good at drafting -- we draft pretty much every fiber we can get our hands on about as fine as it will let us go. How fine is that? The finer the fiber, the finer our yarn, because what is happening is the feel of the individual fibers on our hands gives us a certain comfort level; fewer fibers, less comfort -- so thicker Romney fibers draft out into a thicker yarn, with the same number of fibers as the finer Merino fibers. Given those fine singles, we ply to get back to the thickness we want. I've a friend who spins the same single every time, and then plies 2, 3, 4, or even 5 strands together to get the thickness she desires in her yarn.

Developing the ability to stay present in your spinning and take control of the drafting will remove the need to make 5-plies from your standard too-fine single. It's tricky, though, if your spinning has become an automatic ability for you -- because you have to bring spinning back into the part of your mind that pays attention to what's going on, that can let you consciously control the drafting as you watch it. For me, this is Intentional Spinning writ large.

Now, some spinners just really can't get to that place. And Judith McCuin's book, The Intentional Spinner, has some great methods for the always-automatic spinner to adopt to alter their resulting singles.

If you want thicker singles on your wheel, try this:

• Move to a larger flyer whorl -- this is a lower ratio, putting less twist in. remember, singles that will remain singles need only enough twist to hang together -- not enough to ply tightly. If you fold your singles over for a ply-back test, they should puff up and ply loosely. If they stay tight, they will be high-twist singles, which is a yarn classification worth study on its own -- see the work of Kathryn Alexander for her amazing use of high-twist singles.
• Increase the tension on your brake band or double-drive band -- this increases the pull of the yarn out of your hands, so that you will let it go onto the bobbin with less twist and less drafting.

There are other changes you can try as well -- a thicker drive band and brake band will tend to make you spin a thicker yarn; a thicker leader on your bobbin helps you start out spinning a thicker yarn.

If you want to change your drafting habits, or develop a thick-single habit, I usually recommend pre-drafting the first time, down to the thickness you need for your singles, and then spinning without drafting. This is very hard for those of us with ingrained drafting habits. But if you can bring your drafting back under your conscious control, then you can alter how much you draft. Zero-out drafting by pre-drafting so you can see just how automatic drafting is for you, and then, unlearn it for a bit. Once you have control of your drafting back, pre-draft just a little, and see if you can draft just a little bit at your wheel. Re-gain control of your drafting with practice, introducing a little bit more at a time until you are in control of the drafting at your wheel.

Remember, how much fiber you draft defines how thick your yarn is. Figure out how much you need to draft for the thickness of the single you desire, and draft that much. No finer, no thicker.

Now that we've covered some ground on spinning singles, what makes these special? I followed all my guidelines above, definitely. They are a nice, low-twist single. But there are two other things about these singles that make them unique in my own spinning history.

First, the fiber: this is Pitt Island Merino. Go ahead, google it, or follow the link. These are cool! Semi-feral Merino on a small New Zealand island.

Second, the preparation: I purchased this from the farmer, who was also the processor of the fiber. They carded raw fiber into roving -- it might have been lightly washed, but there's still some lanolin, some sheepy smell, and some dirt in it. I seldom spin raw fiber, preferring to keep my wheels clean with scoured fibers. But, this was unique. Being lanolin-y, the fiber waited for a warm day so that it would slip controllably in drafting. It was actually a fairly fine roving, and I really wanted to see how it would wash out -- the unscoured roving felt fairly tacky and rough, but it was a Merino, after all. So, I didn't draft it much, and ended up with a 10-12 wpi single. The skein scoured into a nice Merino result -- not superfine, but lovely heathered natural color, and fine enough for a hat or scarf.



This lovely skein is available on my Etsy shop, By Our Hands. Perhaps it will add a special something to your next knitting project. There are 116 yards, 10-12 wraps per inch, in this 3.6 ounce skein.

~~

See prior Yarn Stories for more tales from my wheel.

And for more tips on spinning singles, see Singles Yarn postings.

~~

© 27 October 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

Why spin on an electric wheel?

By Amelia © October 23, 2009

Electric spinning wheels -- are they the poor little sister of the spinning wheel, even more snubbed than the simple spindle? Perhaps. But they have their place.

The decision to have an electric wheel is likely a pretty personal one. Here are a few reasons I've run across...

First, my own: clumsiness. Yes, "grace" is not my middle name. So very often I get horrid bruises on my legs from clocking my ankle against a staircase or doorjamb. Painful as they swell and for a week or two afterwards. At the height of it, this can make treadling a painful proposition. So, I pull out my electric wheel and spin away my troubles.

I have found, too, that the electric wheel is a quick way to fix an underplied skein. You know the one -- you worked hard on it, gorgeous fiber, and then you run it off on your skeiner or niddy. Only to have a visible chunk of it showing underplied-ness. Sigh. Wash it and ignore it? No, can't do that. So, I put my skeiner next to my trusty electric wheel and quicker-than-spit, run it through onto the bobbin, slowing the uptake only on those low-twist sections. It looks so much better! I feel so much better! The electric wheel enjoys helping me like this, I am sure.

But those are my reasons. I know not everyone is as clumsy or as prone to irregular plying as I am!

The RV/boat spinner: they look for a small wheel, one they can travel with. Yes, there are many traditional travel wheels out there, and some adopt them. Some go to their spindles. But others don't want a spindle, and can't spare the floor space for a wheel. So, they go electric. Most electric wheels are table-top style models.

The non-traditionalist: at least one person I know didn't really like the look of a wheel, but wanted to spin. So, she took to an electric wheel, like a fish to water. It suits her desire to spin without making her feel like someone from the pre-industrial age. I am glad that spinning gives us so many options -- yes, I love my wheels and spindles. But I'm happy to see someone spinning in a way that suits them, be it wheel, spindle, charka, or e-spinner.

The production spinner: many production spinners use wheels; but of those, many also look to e-spinners to aid with plying. And some production spinners do most of their work on e-spinners. It simplifies the process, definitely. Less to coordinate, more likely to be consistent, and plying becomes much simpler and potentially faster, too.

The less able spinner: let's face it, we all get older. And parts of us don't work like they used to. Will I want to keep spinning into my golden years? I don't know. But I know I would like to keep spinning as long as my hands can manage it. And I've no idea what I'll do when they give out. The e-spinner is a way for people with foot/ankle issues to be able to spin, no matter what their age. I know mine is a boon to me when I've once again bruised an ankle.

Why the focus on electric wheels? I've definitely owned my share, usually not more than two at a time. I had an older model Spin-It (shown here), then a more modern (same maker) Fricke e-spinner. Then, I purchased a Butterfly, a very nice, quiet e-spinner made in lovely woods (mine is spalted/quilted maple). Very recently, I purchased the even smaller Hansen mini-spinner. Part of that purchase was a visit to their workshop and home, and we got to talking about why people have electric wheels. Kevin Hansen designed the mini-spinner for his wife Beth, to enable her to spin on their boat during their travels. She originally picked up spinning in Tasmania, starting with spindles. The wheel really didn't click for her, and their boat had, of course, limited space -- thus the mini-spinner was created. It's Beth's favorite spinning tool now, and she has fun spinning yarn on it.

The new e-spinner means I will have to let my beautiful Butterfly go, of course. I am working very hard on keeping my life/tools/fiber simplified -- the fiber diet is "mostly" sticking: at Taos, I did gain a pound of Shetland, but mailed my mother 6 pounds of Navajo Churro in exchange for it; and the ounce of raw Cashmere is a tiny thing, despite how much work it will be to dehair.

Here are details on the Butterfly: base is spalted/quilted maple; comes with WooLee Winder and four bobbins, a quilted maple bulky flyer (fits Ashford bulky bobbins), and a foot pedal; machine has been fitted with three rubber feet to run quietly on hard surfaces. Asking $1000 plus postage, the price new of this set would be $1250 plus shipping/handling. Note, as of 25 October 2009, I have a sale pending on the wheel ... will update once it closes ...

Here it is in operation:


And here are several of the lovely skeins-in-progress I have spun on the Butterfly:


If you're interested, please contact me.

And if you have your own reasons to share for spinning on an electric wheel, do post them in the comments -- I enjoy learning why we choose the tools we use.

~~
© 23 October 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

A Bold Twist on Socks: The Enchanted Sole

By Amelia © October 19, 2009

Welcome to the third stop on The Eclectic Sole's blog tour! Janel Laidman's second book of sock patterns takes you on an adventure through fairy tales and legends for your feet. If I were to sum up this book in one word, it is this: bold.

Color knitting, cables, lace, cables-and-lace, beads with cables or lace: it's all packed in here. Toe-up, cuff-down, sideways - yep, all accounted for. The book is well worth its price for Janel's unvented stretchy slipknot cast-on and her clear instructions on two methods for knitting with beads -- both clearly photo-illustrated in the back of the book.

Janel's patterns show off solids, semi-solids, and handpainted yarns wonderfully. Her advice on choosing alternate colors is delightful to this spinner -- it lets me know where in my stash to dive, for a given pattern. Most of the patterns are for 400 yards/3.5 ounces of sock yarns; some take a slightly finer yarn, and some combine two colors in one sock, so may work for your smaller skeins. The Tinker looks to be a great sock for a semi-solid and little bits of leftovers, actually.

I have three handspun skeins waiting for perfect patterns. The one shown with the book above is super-special, being not only handspun sock yarn, and not only an Abby batt, but also completely spindle-spun and plied. It shines from its Romney and silk, and is soft from its Merino and silk. I've been letting it come of age, waiting for the perfect sock pattern to fall into my lap.

And you know, it just may have: when you get this book, and if you are an adventurous sock knitter, you will!, check out Selkie. Why did I choose this pattern? It's perfect for my "semi-solid", its texture will gleam with the luster of my yarn, and if you look closely, you see it puts the knit stitches next to the skin -- a delightful treat for the skin! Try it -- take a handknit sock and put it on inside out. Doesn't that feel nice? Ahhhh.

I'm planning on another read-through; I think the second half of my skein called "Elk" may also have met its pattern here ... Naiad, or Lothlorien, I wonder. What do you think? Naiad is on the left, my skein in the middle, Lothlorien is on the right. Let me know in the comments.


Janel, thank you for these lovely socks. I'm sure they'll be as gorgeous in handspun as in the lovely yarns in the book -- and I'll enjoy the knitting as much as I enjoyed the spinning. And for my readers: if you are itching for your own copy, they are purchasable directly from Janel's Rustling Leaf Press, your local yarn store may have a copy or can order one for you, or add a copy to your next order from Amazon.

Now, I'm off to dig up my size 2's (2.75mm) for some swatching ...

~~
If you'd like tips on spinning yarn for socks, see the posts labeled Sock Spinning.
~~
© 19 October 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

Wrap-up for Productive Spindling: The Treasure Hunt

By Amelia © October 14, 2009

Ummm ... how'd it get to be the 14th, already? That was a blur -- Oregon Flock and Fiber brought September to a roaring end, then I hopped on a plane to Colorado to drive to the Taos Wool Festival with my mum. What a hoot! We had a great time, it's wonderful to be a grownup with your mother at your side. It's been a whirl of wrap-ups since, here at home. But the laundry's done, the email's caught up, the orders are back on track (thanks, customers! you're great!!) and finally I can get to this item on my todo list:

Oct. 1: post answers to Treasure Hunt

So with apologies for the delay and without further ado ...

• How many photographers did the book have?
  22: 19 from ravelry, my two children, and me.
  
  
• On which page does my ravatar (also seen on my facebook...) appear?
  27 (and shown above)
  
  
• What's your favorite section in the book (provide its section heading)?
  Can I say, the whole thing? It was a pleasure to write. The hardest for me was editing the photographs -- without Joanne's (artsyfish) help, that could have easily taken much longer. Spindle Weight is the one I find myself speaking the most often in my booth and classes, and Drafting Singles on Full Spindles was probably the biggest revelation during the writing of the book -- I mostly stop putting fiber on spindles when they get that full. Overall, hunt responders seemed to enjoy Productive Plying the most.
  
  
• Where does the name "Ask The Bellwether" come from? Bonus: why is "The" capitalized?
  Here, clearly -- the blog. "The" is capitalized because "Ask" was added to my nom de plume, "The Bellwether". And because, I like to fly in the face of convention from time to time, just to keep the bars on my cage rattling a bit ;-)
  
  
• Name the maker/brand of each spindle on the front cover.
  Let's start at the top and go clockwise: Tabachek top-whorl spindle, zebrawood whorl; Kundert pinwheel in four woods; Spindlewood bottom-whorl spindle all tulipwood; Mielke Emily, purpleheart on Maple; Bosworth midi in purpleheart; Jenkins Turkish in carob; and Spin-Dizzy Traveller in Goncalo Alves. Of these, the Emily is an Adam Mielke original, early model, smaller than his later ones and a slightly different shape than the Emily spindles now made by his father, I think; and the Spin-Dizzy Traveler is no longer being made. The Bellwether sells Kunderts (in stock), Jenkins (restocking now), and Tabacheks (restocking soon, I hope!); Spindlewood and Bosworth sell theirs directly.
  

  Ah, but what about the items? The blue and purple shawl on the left was spindle-spun in a month for a spindlitis challenge, on a variety of top-whorl spindles probably including that Purpleheart midi; the pink-and-white singles were spun on the Tabachek and the Kundert shown; the brown llama laceweight and knit shawl were spun on the Emily shown; the blue skein in the back and on the right were spun on the Spin-Dizzy and plied on the Jenkins shown; the Brown and white singles were spun on a Peace Fleece "Russian" spindle (it's like a Turkish, actually), and the blue silk singles on the llama knit shawl were spun on a Natalie silk spindle.
  

• Locate the flickr page for a photo that is in the book (hint: most of the ravelry contributors' photos originated on flickr, in color). Provide a link to the flickr page.
  Here is Mary's (marihana) stunning square Spindlewood:
  
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanakoandmari/2846215840/
  
  It was actually the spindle that inspired me to ask for contributions -- so amazing!
  
  
• What's your favorite illustration (photo or drawing) in the book?
  That would be telling, wouldn't it? I am drawn to Sherie's (sherie) silk, it glows even in black and white (p. 11). The one that makes me smile is Tracy's (himalaya) spindling on the beach (p. 43). I had so many fun ones to look at from the contributors, it was hard to pick, and many that I pull up on flickr from time to time just to enjoy them.
  
  
• How many different peoples' hands are in the book?
  Two ... mine, doing most of the demonstrations throughout, and Aija's (sockpr0n), showing sliding a cop from spindle to straw, p. 40.
  
  
• Name at least ten different spindles in the book (maker/model).
  You know, it would be fun to compile a complete list of tool-and-make by photograph. Perhaps a future blog post, eh. In the meantime I'll start at the beginning. You already got the list of those on the cover, so from p. 1: Bosworth, either midi or maxi (I'd guess midi); p. 2, 5, 6, and 7: the drawings are based on the Nikolai spindle, no longer being made; p. 10, Ashford student spindle; p. 11: Golding, solid whorl, brass rim; p. 12, Forrester Dervish top whorl and Jenkins Turkish (upper pair) and Kundert ring/wreath model, Bosworth maxi, Spindlewood square all three top whorls (lower trio); p. 13: upper series is of the same painted/polka-dot toy wheel spindle, middle series is: Bosworth Maxi (same one), Kundert solid wood whorl, Ledbetter, and Natalie silk spindle, lower left is the handmade clock spindle, made from parts for the New Spindle (whorl piece turned upside down), and the drawing is based on the Nikolai. Whew! that puts us at ... 13, not counting the repeating Bosworths and Nikolais.
  
  
• On page 34, what is the spindle made from in the photo by artsyfish?
  I was impressed to learn the whorl is the drain plate from under a flowerpot ... with a hole very carefully drilled in the middle of it, I'm guessing. So, it's terra cotta. Shaft is wood, and it looks like there may be duct tape involved, too ...
  
  
• What's another name for the lark's head knot?
  This is also called a snitch knot, as mentioned in the book. I've heard it called a double-reverse half-hitch as well.
  
  
• How many different peoples' faces are in the book?
  Two ... Diana's (chewiedox) modelling her amazing spindle-spun, dyed, and knit wimple (p. 45) and mine, in the author photo at the back (p. 50)
  
  
• How many niddy-noddies are in the book?
  Two ... a Full Circle one-yard niddy on p. 9 (he's not making this model at present, now Mr. F.C. makes the niddy-pinny, with the middle arm doubling as a nostepinne and WPI gauge) and Lline's on p. 40 - maker unknown, but most likely her, as she made her appealing Turkish spindle (on p. 23).
  
  
• Which spindle (same one) appears in the most photographs?
  That would be my Bosworth Bird's Eye Maple Maxi, it's even in my ravatar :-) It's the top whorl spindle in most of the teaching pictures in the book.
  
  
• How many types of joins are described? Name them.
  The index is an invaluable tool for questions like this ... under joins you find four listed: "felt (when plying) p. 38; textbook pgs. 7, 29, and 30; V p. 31; and worsted p. 31". There was also a second plying join, of simply laying the two ends over one another, described on p. 38, though I didn't give it a formal name -- so it wasn't counted.
  
  
• What time is it on the clock spindle?
  I'd say it's 1:50, since the short arm is close to/on but not past the 2, and the long arm is on the 10. Wouldn't you?
  
  
• How many different peoples' feet are in the book?
  Two ... mine, showing kick spindling on p. 22, and Tracy's (himalaya) on the beach, on p. 43.
  
  
• Which maker's spindles appear in the most photographs (can be different models)?
  Um yeah ... I did a rough count, though I've since lost my notes. But it was striking ... Bosworths won far and away the "spindle count". In part due to my oft-photographed Bird's Eye Maple top whorl. It was a popular model throughout, and Jonathan Bosworth has done amazing engineering in this spindle, making it my favorite tool for showing people Spindle Physics. Bosworth spindles are available directly from them, at http://www.journeywheel.com/.
  
  
• How many types of plying are described? Name them.
  Andean 2-strand ball plying p. 34, Andean 3-strand ball plying p. 34 (some people just mentioned winding the ball, without respect to ply, which I accepted as well), Andean plying bracelet p. 36, Beauty-wave plying bracelet p. 36, Navajo plying (p 39). There's also kick-plying (p. 35) and Peruvian hand-roll plying (p. 35), along with the other spindle twirling methods from spinning singles: finger-flick and thigh roll. But most folks concentrated on the first set listed above.
  
  
• What's your spindle "dream team"? Digital photograph submissions encouraged :-)
  Mine is shown on page 17 -- a Bosworth featherweight in lacewood, a Tabachek compact deluxe in zebrawood, and a Kundert pinwheel in exotic woods. Why those three? Several reasons. I do have a fondness for top-whorl spindles; they were the first type of spindle I learned on, and I've learned most of my spindling on them. This trio covers the weight range I like to have for getting a new spindle-full off on the right thickness. The Tabachek is an early one that I won on the Yahoo spindler's list when I was still learning to spindle -- it and a Mongold resin spindle (no longer being made) were my first turned spindles. I treasure it for two reasons: I seldom win anything, making it a unique item in my life; and it spins like a Tabachek, of course -- just delightful! The Kundert is an amazing combination of four woods on the whorl, filling my love of wood with its rich variety. I still remember opening the box of Kunderts and finding the first one of these (which this is) -- Mr. Kundert made it for me as he knew I loved woods. It was a total surprise, and is treasured to this day. There had to be a Bosworth, and I admit a weakness for Midi's, actually, but the featherweight was chosen to provide a good laceweight spindle and lacewood is a delightful wood with its rice grain, I simply adore it!

I do hope you've enjoyed the Treasure Hunt as much as I have. Thanks for playing!

If you haven't seen Productive Spindling yet, I'm pleased to announce, not only can you purchase it from The Bellwether and many other fine retailers, but your local yarn store may be able to procure it for you through their book distributor (Unicorn Books distributes in the USA and Gemini Fibres in Canada), and it is also now on Amazon! woot! Amazon only orders theirs from me when they have purchases, so far, so if you have a copy, go there and submit an "I own it" note (at the bottom of the product page) and a review, to encourage them to have a few on hand for the next person who'd like a copy. Thank you ever so much!

~~
© 14 October 2009 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/