#supported spindle

look at how beautiful this spindle is 🐑🌈✨

Lot more halo than I wanted though. I think if I was spinning this on a wheel or espinner i could do a worsted spin, but i never did figure out how to spin worsted on a spindle.

Encountering lots of my spinning blindspots right now, thats for sure.

Admittedly this purchase was well thought out. I even borrowed a friend's spindle to see if the tibetan style is better for me than the russian support spindle I struggle so much with.

Bought at the very tail end of June, largely because my rainbow nonsense budget went unused this year - but also because I had my eye on this design for a while now, and so when this one got put up for less than half the usual price for quality control reasons, I couldn't resist. 19€. I mean, c'mon.

(Shop's Spindeleien on etsy, maker of the most stupidly precise supported spindle I own, so I correctly assumed that his "second choice" spindles would still hold up pretty dang well)

The funny thing is that I can get it to run almost perfectly evenly, it's just a tiny bit more finnicky than its brethren that actually passed QC. Doesn't make much of a difference while spinning, tbh.

It's a bit heavier than I usually prefer, weighing in at 39g*, but it works with the whorl shape, and it does less delicate fibers a little more readily, which is what I was hoping for**. I currently have a bit of Portuguese merino on it that my fiber arts friend found too short-stapled to be comfortable on the wheel.

Not the best fiber choice for supported spinning because the fibers are extremely grippy, but if you're not too into perfectly even yarn, it works.

So, yeah! Look out for that one during Tour de Fleece, I guess! I'm sure it'll make appearances here and there.

Yay! After quite some deliberating I ordered a supported spindle and a drop spindle from regenbogenwolle. They look gorgeous. Looking forward to getting to try them out.

I had been missing two of my spindles since, idk, November? I had ransacked the whole living room and all my bags so many times without success. I had looked in all the logical places and all the illogical ones.

Yet today! At last, without even looking! I found them! They were in the spinning fibre stash all along.

Therefore here is my collection as it stands (requested by @degenezijde months ago but at the time I could only find two spindles which didn't feel like enough to share). Left to right:

1) Ashford top whorl drop spindle, 44g. I learnt to spin on this at age 11 or 12. The orange merino yarn was made on it when I relearned at age 22 (taught by @akhuna).

2) Supported spindle made by a friend of mine last year from a chopstick, a plastic bead, and some clay (plus chopstick rest spinning bowl), 30g. I struggle a lot with it and I've had a little more success with a different supported spindle at a workshop (when I couldn't find this one) but I'm not sure it was enough for the technique to stick. Have only spun a few yards on this ever, need more practice.

3) KerrySpindles (Etsy) top whorl drop spindle, 31g. I don't like how this one is balanced - maybe too much weight in the shaft compared to the whorl? - so it's not my usual choice but I spun a bit of flax on it last month.

4) NiddyNoddyUK (Etsy) French spindle, 44g. No whorl but it's thicker at the bottom and grooved at the top. Currently spinning miles and miles of Wensleydale which I will ply on the Ashford spindle or my wheel, as I don't think the groove will play nicely with spinning in the other direction.

5) Probably KerrySpindles top whorl drop spindle, 19g. I've spun and plied whole laceweight projects on this, such as the brown Romeldale in the corner. I use it so much I'm slowly eroding the shaft. This spindle was a gift in my teens so I can't be certain of the maker but @ginneke identified it as a probable KerrySpindles product and the maker agreed it was likely (though after at least a decade she can't be certain).

Spindles I would yet like:

A big one for plying! KerrySpindles sells a "large parasol" plying spindle but I'm undecided on whether I want a third one from her, when (a) of my current spindles from her I adore one and dislike another and (b) other spindle makers exist and the more the merrier. Etsy keeps showing me an enormous Turkish plying spindle but the USA-based shipping is more than the spindle itself...

An itty bitty one to see how small I can go! Like, 10 grams or even less. This just sounds fun and challenging.

Bottom whorl spindles! Ones without the grooved tip, to practice my technique with half hitches/ in hand spinning/ supported spinning.

It's a bit of a learning curve, but going well so far. I think in the long run this will be much easier on my hands and joints.