By Amelia © October 14, 2009Ummm ... 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/
