is for Spindle (of course!) That fabulous spinning tool that let us advance from spinning on our thigh to walking around and spinning. More yarn by the mile, isn't that how the saying goes? If you don't like it, you may not have tried the right spindle yet :)
If you want to find out more about spinning on spindles, I recommend my book Productive Spindling. Spiral bound, black-and-white images inside, 50 pages. It is currently $20 plus postage, and I have some at hand - use the Contact Page to request one. The book's focus is suspended spindles, top and bottom whorl and Turkish. If you want me to turn it into a learn to spin kit with the two basic spindles and some wool roving suitable for learning, let me know. The bundle is $50 plus shipping, just to be clear. I mostly put this out as folks often ask me about the book, and this is a rare occasion when I have spare copies with me available to ship (in late 2026 - if you are reading this in 2027 or later, no guarantees!)
There are many fun types of spindles. The term "grasped spindle" is being used now for those that basically give you one twist per motion - the dealgan, Portuguese spindle, and Icelandic lap spindle fall in this camp. While support spindles are those that you get multiple rotations/twists for the motion: the Akha, Tahkli, Russian, Tibetan, Navajo, Anasazi, and bead/coin styles all fit this camp, though the Akha has a style of rotations different from all the others - it's my favorite support spindle!
My spindle journey has been to learn them all - like Pokemon, haha - so my collection has been significant over the years. I started out saying "top whorl or nothing" but Andean speed-plying and Turkish turtles won me over to enjoying bottom whorl Turkish spindles as well. And the difference of the Akha - used both suspended and supported, with its walking-around supported mode, makes it a favorite as well. For in-the-bowl support spindles, the Tahkli beats all the others for speed, though there are lovely wood Russian, Tibetan, and even a mushroom support spindles in my collection as well.
There are fun makers on etsy reproducing spindles from the historical record as well. I do have a Basque Txoatile, but haven't dived into the others popping up there, yet!
These days with so many choices I will look to a spindle I haven't spun on recently when picking up a fiber. Wool consistently goes to my suspended spindles, while cotton, cashmere, and exotics are likely to cause me to reach for a support spindle. The grasped spindles are fun when I want to slow things down and take my time.
Do you have a favorite spindle/type? what is it?
Other fun S's: spinning wheel, S-twist (see Z), sheep, silk, sliver (a fiber prep), staple length, stash (followed by s.t.a.b.l.e.) - what's your spinning S?
~~~~
© October 29, 2026 by Ask The Bellwether, posted at http://askthebellwether.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. They are moderated to prevent spamming, so it may be up to a day before they appear.