Amy McCormick

<<I am trying to figure out how to use a drop spindle. A friend and I took our kids to a wool market. Lots of vendors were there with wool, beautiful spinning wheels, etc. I fell in love with the textiles these people were
making right there as we watched. I got a spindle and some fiber.....but so far I have a rather glopulous glop on my hands>>

That is so... cool! I think I'll be on the lookout for something like that around here (the wool market you mention) - We do have local sheep farms... Not sure if I'll be as ambitious as you with your drop spindle, but who knows where these things lead, right? Fascinating that women used to travel, walking or riding horseback, cook, etc., while spinning thread, as it took so much time to do and was so necessary. I'm very interested how long it takes you to "perfect" your technique! Apparently the spinning wheel was 4 times faster than the drop spindle (?) and the drop spindle was a huge technological improvement on its own. Amazing.

All the best,
Amy in St. Albans, VT



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

J. Stauffer

<<<I'm very interested how long it takes you to "perfect" your
technique!>>>>

My friend talked her dad into helping her and by using their 4 hands instead
of her two, she was able to get to "usable" quality within a week. My two
hands can't seem to get coordinated with the timing of the spindle

Julie S.---who is apparently "under-handed" Bwaaahaaahaa


----- Original Message -----
From: "Amy McCormick" <cottagevt@...>
To: "Unschooling Discussion" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 11:12 AM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] Drop spindle/Textiles (formerly Teaching
Ourselves)


> <<I am trying to figure out how to use a drop spindle. A friend and I
took our kids to a wool market. Lots of vendors were there with wool,
beautiful spinning wheels, etc. I fell in love with the textiles these
people were
> making right there as we watched. I got a spindle and some fiber.....but
so far I have a rather glopulous glop on my hands>>
>
> That is so... cool! I think I'll be on the lookout for something like
that around here (the wool market you mention) - We do have local sheep
farms... Not sure if I'll be as ambitious as you with your drop spindle,
but who knows where these things lead, right? Fascinating that women used
to travel, walking or riding horseback, cook, etc., while spinning thread,
as it took so much time to do and was so necessary. Apparently the spinning
wheel was 4 times faster than the drop spindle (?) and the drop spindle was
a huge technological improvement on its own. Amazing.
>
> All the best,
> Amy in St. Albans, VT
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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In a message dated 1/3/2004 12:24:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,
cottagevt@... writes:
>>That is so... cool! I think I'll be on the lookout for something like that
around here (the wool market you mention) - We do have local sheep farms...
Not sure if I'll be as ambitious as you with your drop spindle, but who knows
where these things lead, right?<<
**********************************************************************
Check out what else you can do with wool. These are not my creations, but I
took a class on needle felting and it's a lot of fun, barely uses any supplies
(I only used a couple of 1.00 felting needles and a piece of foam to put
under it so you don't poke yourself or the table) and just go where your
imagination takes you. I made a possum that my mom's friends wouldn't touch, they said
it looked so real! :o)

http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/other_wearables.htm

Nancy B. in WV


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Robyn Coburn

I remember in college the whole textiles class using the center of the big
stairwell to drop their spindles over to more easily get a really long
thread before winding, and the extra weight. It was all about the twisting
and pinch twisting with the fingers.

Robyn L. Coburn



<<I am trying to figure out how to use a drop spindle. A friend and I took
our kids to a wool market. Lots of vendors were there with wool, beautiful
spinning wheels, etc. I fell in love with the textiles these people were
making right there as we watched. I got a spindle and some fiber.....but so
far I have a rather glopulous glop on my hands>>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

pam sorooshian

Those are awesome, Nancy. I sent the pics to my daughter who spins and
knits and crochets and felts things.

-pam

On Jan 3, 2004, at 2:20 PM, CelticFrau@... wrote:

> Check out what else you can do with wool. These are not my creations,
> but I
> took a class on needle felting and it's a lot of fun, barely uses any
> supplies
> (I only used a couple of 1.00 felting needles and a piece of foam to
> put
> under it so you don't poke yourself or the table) and just go where
> your
> imagination takes you. I made a possum that my mom's friends wouldn't
> touch, they said
> it looked so real! :o)
>
> http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/other_wearables.htm
>
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/3/2004 6:35:44 PM Eastern Standard Time,
dezigna@... writes:
>>I remember in college the whole textiles class using the center of the big
stairwell to drop their spindles over to more easily get a really long
thread before winding, and the extra weight.<<
************************************
I sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay last year about this time and bought myself a
spinning wheel. It is so enjoyable, and so addicting. I haven't spun
anything in about 6 months but hope to get back into it when the snow really flies.
We have sheep and angora goats. If you go to Ebay and type in something like
spinning wool or wool fiber there's tons of it for sale on there, every color
of the rainbow imaginable, all ready to spin.

Nancy B. in WV


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

I also just purchased a spinning wheel after spending a few months with a drop spindle. I am still working on my technique with the spinning wheel so the drop spindle get used quite a bit still. I even brought it with me on vacation and worked on spinning in the hotel room.

One of the mothers in our homeschool group taught a class on dyeing and spinning. She made each participant a drop spindle for around $1 using two wooden "wheel" pieces and a dowel with a metal hook at the top. Another of the mothers in our goup then followed up with a knitting class, with homemade wooden knitting needles. It was a fantastic experience and my kids now love to work with wool. We are planning a "sheep to shawl" project where we take a fleece, clean it, dye it, spin it and then knit it into a shawl or sweater. Considering these are new skills for *all* of us, it will be interesting to see how it turns out!

Using a drop spindle is quite easy, it took about an hour or so to master the technique. It is slow going, but portable so you can keep it in the car and work on it at opportune moments (unlike a spinning wheel). Some of the women I know actually prefer a drop spindle because of the portability. I do love working on it, but really enjoy the "zen" of working on a spinning wheel.

My eldest daughter has been lobbying hard to get a table loom. Her interest is in weaving the product. I told her we need to start a little smaller (and cheaper!).

Christine in VA
Hsing Mom to 3 DD's (ages 9, 7 1/2 and almost 4)