A couple of months ago I went looking for a used single-treadle Schacht Matchless, a wheel that was discontinued some years ago. (Schacht still makes a double-treadle version. I don’t like double. For one thing, the way I sit doesn’t work well for double. For another, I like having a Read more
On the first weekend of every December, historian and weaver Rabbit Goody holds an open house at her workshop, Thistle Hill Weavers. I dropped in this morning, and had a wonderful time! I took pictures, too. Rabbit remembered me, much to my delight. The first thing she said to me Read more
On Saturday, Nov. 1st, I went to the Northeast Handspinners Association‘s yearly event. (They do an Open House on odd years, and a weekend-long event on even years.) The group changes venue every year, as they comprise spinners from New England and New York state. This year it was in Read more
I’m spinning some 100% bamboo top for a vegan friend. Before I get to the spinning tips, a quick explanation: Bamboo fiber and others like it — rose fiber, milk fiber, etc. — are a type of rayon. The simple description is that they mush up the ingredient, add a Read more
A friend with lymphedema got me to make her some woven leg wraps. They’ve worked out so well for her that she’s convinced me to take commissions for other people who might get some relief from them. I normally wouldn’t advertise my paid work on this blog, but my friend Read more
I feel like I’ve written parts of this before, but I can’t find it. So here you go. Again. It started in the early 1980s. When I was about six, I discovered the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’ve mentioned this a few times. To quote a previous Read more
On October 29th, 2025, I’ll be giving a talk over Zoom about the history of fiber arts in the occult. I had researched the subject for a friend’s podcast a few years ago that never got recorded, and I’m going to dig deeper for my talk. My audience is the Read more
I haven’t written a blog post or updated my site in six months. Depression took over in November and didn’t leave until the last few weeks. Winter is always rough, but it seemed worse than usual this year. Maybe because of all the political stuff going on… I can’t use Read more
The essay on spindles in history has been updated, if you’re interested. The cross stitch is halfway done. According to the new cross stitching app I’m using on my Android tablet, the completed project has 67,980 stitches. Mind-blowing. Something else that’s mind-blowing: the fact that most humans have fingers that Read more
A “wristaff” is a great way to hold your fiber while you’re spindle spinning. I know I wrote up a tutorial years ago, but I’ve lost it, so here it is as best I remember it. I’m glad I still have the photos. I went to the craft store and Read more