Bouquet

Rob came over to give me some emotional back-up yesterday morning. I had the flooring people coming for what I hope will be the last time. I had to act like the "customer from hell" for a few minutes and demand that they check and fill every single gap between the floor-boards. The gaps were several mm wide. That's wide enough to let in water if I spill something--and you know, I'm sure to spill something! The workman who came was good about it and set to work much more willingly and thoroughly than I'd feared, but I didn't feel as though I had it in me to handle it on my own. So I asked Rob to come over.

Rob is the husband of one of my oldest quilting buddies and his mum is the one who introduced me to the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild. That's an impressive pedigree. He has a lathe and does some wood-turning. So when I fell in love with drop-spindling earlier this year and couldn't find any Australian spindles, I asked him for help. He's been working on the challenge on and off. Yesterday he brought a prototype, partly finished, to compare and consult. How's this for a handful of beauties!
The dark one at the front is the one I bought earlier this year. It's made in the US and it's a dream to use--it just doesn't want to stop spinning. The largest spindle at the back is politely referred to as a "student spindle", it came flat packed from New Zealand. I'm afraid it didn't have any aspirations of dreaminess. Rob's prototype is on the right.

After a coffee and a chat, Rob went off to continue development. He asked if I'd like the big spindle "trued". Did I ever! He came back with it: glued and turned and polished. It's now a joy to use. It's graduated from being a "student" to being a "master". He also finished off his prototype: complete with groove and fine hook. It's great. Just what I was hoping for. So there's another member in my drop spindle family--and a smile on my face.

Drop Spindling Progress

Here is my first skein made on the drop spindle. I plied it off yesterday--that's a story in itself! The drop spindle belongs to Joy at the Guild and I've had it on loan for a week, so by now, since I'm hooked, I'm working out how to get hold of one for myself. . . . by the way, the program that runs this blog insisted on placing this picture on it's side. I can't work out why, and after several attempts, I've decided to just leave it as is.

About the drop spindle: like most pieces of remarkably simple technology, it turns out that the drop spindle is more sophisticated than it looks. Yes, it's just a round lump of wood on a shaft with a hook on the end, but the proportions, the balance and weight distribution of that round lump of wood and the shape of the hook all affect the way it spins, and so affect the joy of spinning with it. It turns out this drop spindle I've been happily using is hand-turned by a skilled craftsman. There are various patterns for home-made drop spindles and I've been exploring the possibilities, but I don't expect to achieve the beautiful balance of this one.

The red and white lamp-work bead in the pic is part of my exploration of home-made drop spindle possibilities. I wondered whether I could add a shaft and hook to it and hey presto. Well, maybe, maybe not. Certainly it is round and nicely balanced, but the weight is all at the centre and I don't know how long it would keep spinning for me. So it might just have to go to a piece of jewelry after all.