Favorite spindles

Teaist wrote

on Feb 10, 2009 4:08 PM

Although I have many different spindle maker's spindles... for the last couple of years my favorites have been:

Thomas Forrester's spindles -  that I get from Amelia (she's a member here - Hi Amelia!)   www.thebellwether.com

and without a doubt: 

Steve Paulsen's Spindlewood Spindles - www.spindlewoodco.com  

Spindles are such an amazing addiction.  How wonderful to have something work so exceptionally well for it's purpose and yet be such an incredible item of beauty? 

I also own/use/enjoy my other spindles - Kundert, Golding and on and on....

I have so much more control of my drafting and overall yarn quality when I spin on a spindle.  When I'm at my wheel I still, after five years, sometimes 'step on the gas' and act like it's a race.  My spinning quality suffers every time.  I have to concentrate and slow down.   But, with spindle spinning I'm much better paced.  And even so, no matter how fast I get cranking out the yardage... I still manage to have much more control.  I've always done the exact same thing when I'm sewing.... hand sewing = no problem.  Get behind the wheel of my sewing machine... and look out pedestrians!

askthebellwether wrote

on Feb 10, 2009 9:23 PM

Hi Bonnie :) nice to see you here too.  Your observations on wheel vs. spindle are interesting.  For years I felt my  fine spinning was better on a spindle than on a wheel (and, it was).  But also over time I've found my spindle experience helps my wheel experience, and vice-versa.  The tahkli was instrumental in my being able to spin on a charka (and to spin cotton).  Lately I've been spinning very fine yarns on my wheel, and I'm happy with the results so far -- which makes me realize my old mantra (I spin fine better on a spindle than a wheel) has now gone by the wayside.  My fine spindling has improved my fine wheeling ... a very happy place to be!

Phyllis@32 wrote

on Feb 11, 2009 5:45 PM

My favorite drop spindle is a wooden top whorl that I purchased from Wildcraft in the UK.

IngridB@6 wrote

on Feb 12, 2009 10:38 PM

Hi Amelia, that has also been my experience! I'm stil not able to spin a thin nice lace single on my wheel that compares to what I make on a spindle. However I keep on trying :) and the JW helped a lot.

Smiles form Ingrid

StrandedYarns wrote

on Jul 14, 2009 4:53 AM

My favourite spindle, of the quite sizeable collection I now have is this one from IST spindles..

 Oak Bur on Sycamore with Ash shaft. Rim banded / weighted  and it is 28 grm.    I now carry it with me everywhere and am spinning medium weight yarn with it...

http://www.thewoodemporium.co.uk/dropspindles.php

spinkitty wrote

on Aug 12, 2009 8:47 AM

That's a beautiful spindle, StrandedYarns.

I have two favorite spindles right now out of about 10 or so that I own.  The first is a Tom Forrester Orchard spindle.  I don't remember what the wood is, but it is reddish & has neat depth to it.  That's the spindle in my avatar with my cat, Mosaic.  My other favorite is a Golding Tsunami in purpleheart & weighs about 14 g (1/2 oz).  The Tsunami spins for a smoothly & for a long time.  I can spin very, very fine yarn on my Tsunami, think thread.  The Orchard may not spin as nicely, but still spins extremely well.  I spin slightly thicker yarn on it than the Tsunami.  Each has their own purpose & I enjoy spinning on both of them.

GlitterLady wrote

on Oct 2, 2009 10:30 AM

My favorite spindle is one i bought in July/August from Kevin Rhodes http://www.whorldropspindle.co.uk/shop/ it is made from Sumach wood with an Oak  shaft, i use it constantly.  Kevin also custom made a beautiful Ebony spindle with a  purple wood shaft  for me.

Pammi

Lee wrote

on Nov 4, 2009 9:40 AM

My favorite spindle is a Golding 1.5 oz-weight with a cherry whorl and an enamel inlay with a Celtic design.  It's beautiful to look at and spins wonderfully.  I'm waiting for another Golding in the mail, which will be a little heavier.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it will spin.

emilytabitha wrote

on Nov 6, 2009 2:20 PM

This may be odd but my favorite spindle is a turkish spindle that I modified by putting a small cup hook on the bottom and turning it upside down to use as a top whorl spindle. Despite it's size it is very light and I use it mostly for 3 ply sock yarns.

jclay wrote

on Feb 5, 2010 10:12 AM

I have a 0.45 oz. golding spindle pinwheel in purpleheart that I love!!!!!

My next spindle is definitely going to be a bigger golding.

Denise Jackson wrote

on Feb 7, 2010 10:18 AM

My favorite spindle depends on what I'm doing. Right now I'm spinning up Gotland on a 1.25oz Golding. When I teach my favorite becomes a student spindle. When I need some chunky yarn, I have my original spindle that I learned on - a big square one. It's like an old friend who welcomes me back each time.

Be sure the spindle feel right in your hands. Be sure you like the look. After all, what do we plant in our gardens? ugly plants? Things that are pleasing and useful.

As the snow falls, thankfully the plant catalogs are arriving so I can dream of Spring. If in doubt, please read Leo Lionni's Fredrick the Mouse.

dwspins wrote

on Mar 2, 2010 10:56 AM

My favorite spindle is a small Turkish spindle, made by Jenkins Woodworking, called a Turkish Delight.  I have collected several of them and find them perfectly portable.  Without a cop they dissassemble and fit inside a hardshell eyeglass case. Even with a full cop they don't take up much room in my bag.  Averaging 0.8 to 1.2 ounces, they are perfect for spindling fingering  to sport weight yarns.  I use them to spin for hats or socks and sampling colors and fiber blends.  I can always use little one-off skeins for a bit of color in a fair isle patterned hat.  I also find these spindles to be great for getting people wondering what I'm doing - great eye candy for spindle demonstrations.

plummart wrote

on Mar 3, 2010 5:00 PM

Hi everyone, I just joined and decided to jump in on this thread :). Hands-down (or not) my favorite spindle is my golding. When I bought it I didn't understand the relationship between spindle weight and yarn heft. So I bought a 1.25 ouncer with the intention of spinning worsted weight. I had only practiced on a medium sized schacht spindle, and my yarn kept breaking (it was my drafting and technique of course, not the spindle). Once I learned that my golding was meant to spin finer yarns and such, I started spinning fine silk singles and enjoy every moment of it. I can keep the golding spinning for so long that I wish I was taller so that I could drop it further.

Kris Weeks Oliveri wrote

on Mar 12, 2010 7:13 AM

I agree - I have a Golding that my sisters got for me as Christmas present a few years ago.  I spin on it a lot!  I too found out the hard way that I was trying to spin too much weight on it but now I am kind to it and use it as it was intended.  Ah the joy!

Denise Jackson wrote

on Mar 12, 2010 8:55 AM

My challenge is that I spin taller than I stand. Since having kids, I find that as I stand I still rock and sway as I spin. My daughter is 4. Old habits die hard...

Isn't it interesting the amount of pre-planing and consideration that goes into our yarn. Think about it...what kind of yarn? What spindle weight do I need? How much fiber? How long will it take me? How will I draft it? How to ply it, set it, use it? We do this somewhat unconsciously. Aren't we marvelous?