Spindle vs the Wheel

I know it’s been awhile. Rapid City has kept me very busy. But I am almost done here and will be heading home next week.

Now I want to talk about spinning..... I know better. But it still seems to me that the drop spindle was invented for times likes these; for spinners like us that can’t take our wheel on the road. It’s hard to believe that such a simple tool that has been around for eons, is still so useful

I have at home a beautiful spinning wheel. It’s a Lennox Irish Castle wheel, “Fiona”. She spins like a dream. Fiona and I learned spinning together and I love it and her.

Picture of Fiona. And No that’s not me. A staged photo for booklet.


Nope, that's not me either. But proof that my type of wheel has been around a long time.

But Fiona is very big, and hard to transport. I always wondered why sister Connie had so many spinning wheels. Now I know. A different wheel for different reasons. Some spin one type of wool better than others, some are easy to put in your car and go, and some are for Historical Interpreters because they are historically correct. Connie has all of the above. But when I got Fiona, I really felt I wouldn’t need any thing else. How wrong I was.

So I had Hubby make a drop spindle for me. I thought I wanted a bottom whorl. Wrong again. OK. Then I bought a top whorl drop spindle and brought it with me to Rapid City. I think I’ll have Hubby fix the one he made for me into a top whorl. Then I’ll have two sizes. And I have enjoyed spinning the small amount of wool I brought with me on that spindle. But I miss the hypnotic feeling you get with the wheel. So now I am thinking, like many other spinners out there, that I do need a second wheel. I need some sort of traveler. Now I will have to start researching the traveling wheels to see what is out there and what I like. It took me a year and a half to get to this point, the realization that I need a second wheel. Some get here quicker. But I’m a stubborn learner. And when or if (no…WHEN) I get my second wheel, I promise Fiona I will not desert her. She will still be my main spin.

My drop spindle with spun wool.

This picture is of the wool I have spun while here in Rapid. The red was spinners web from South Dakota Natural Colored Wool Studio and the yellow blue is the Shalom Hills wool that I showed on the blog earlier. Fun; but not as much fun as my castle wheel. And much harder work for me.

A close up of the Shalom Hills wool. Single ply at this point.

Another thing I have learned along the way is the types of wool. What is good for what project and what I like. It is such a wonderful feeling to have that wool sliding through your fingers and knowing that you made that yarn. I started out spinning anything. But have learned through time what wools I like and wools I don’t like. And every spinner has their favorite. Mine right now are Shetland and Finn. I have some beautiful black Icelandic, but I don’t like spinning it as much as I had hoped. The Shetland I got from Little Red Oak Farms is a dream. Do I like it because of the wool, or because I love little Maple, the ewe it came from? It doesn’t really matter. I just love the feel of it. And I have tried a small amount of Finn and really liked it. I’ll get more later. Then my next trial will be some Rambouillet from 2nd or 3rd or 4th cousin Mark in South Dakota. I have heard wonderful things about that wool and am anxious to try it. I’ll let you know how it goes.

So next week, I’ll be home again. I’ll be able to dye and comb the fleece from Maple. And finish combing the Shalom Hills wool. By then I’ll have more Finn to work with too. And hopefully a short trip back to NE South Dakota for the Rambouillet. I guess Minnesota keeps me busy too.