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…
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…
I made my first instructional video: how to spin in the way I’ve been doing it since I hurt my thumb. I call it “medium draw”, as I know several spinners who use this technique but it doesn’t seem to have a name.
I haven’t spun since February, thanks to a bad case of tendonitis in my right thumb. So I’m giving it a break. Instead I’ve been working on other things, mainly a huge cross-stitch project. It’s The Pointed Fifth from Long Dog Samplers. Here’s what it should look like finished: There’s Read more…
I am, if I may brag a little, a pretty good knitter and spinner. I wanted to show off two things I made recently. First, a sweater for my mom. The pattern is the Perseids Cardigan by Heidi Kirrmaier. I used a thinner yarn than the pattern called for, so Read more…
I had the idea that maybe the bobbins of an existing modern wheel might fit the JOS. My guild friend Jennifer collects wheels, so I thought maybe she’d have something the right size. She hit on the EEW Nano bobbins, which are 3D printed. They fit the JOS well enough, Read more…
I tied the repaired footman on, watched a video on how to put on a drive band for a double drive wheel, et voila! The wheel spins very nicely. I’m working on adjusting the takeup for the sweet spot, as I’ve never used a double drive wheel before. A little Read more…
Updated 9/14/24 after reading the Fall 2024 issue of Spin-Off magazine. There are articles on several historical spinning methods in it, including ancient Greece and medieval Europe. In my last Handspinning Technology post, I talked about spinning wheels. This time, let’s talk about spindles. A lot has been written about Read more…
Links to previous posts in this series: part one and part two. Holy crap it’s so much prettier after a good scrubbing with Murphy’s Oil Soap, followed by a rubdown with tung oil. (Tung is what the makers of the wheel would have used to condition the wood.) Here are Read more…
I’m doing a talk today for my Historical Textiles group, and I wanted to assemble some pictures and info about spinning wheels from different time periods…. The first European spinning wheel was the walking wheel. It was hand-operated, and the yarn went onto a pointy spindle. When the Sleeping Beauty Read more…