Creating beauty in your life with handmade spindles.
This Blog is guest written by one of our Staff Jesse Holcombe. She is not only a talented knitter and pattern designer but she also is one of our dye team members. She actually dyed this braid for January herself. This braid was on a Targhee Sheep wool and is from a small USA farm like all of our fiber braids. Please follow her and her very popular instagram account @thedancingpines
I love beautiful things. I also love tools; making, creating, building, reinventing. As you may guess, beautiful tools may be one of my most favorite things. Like the coffee cup you reach for every morning, beautiful tools are practical but spark that creativity you thrive on.
When I first started learning how to spin my own yarn, like many, I started with a drop spindle. It got the job done (well, of you can say that in those early days of more dropping than spinning), but it was plain and uninspiring, and I longed for a beautiful spindle like I saw so many other spinners using.
It was a bit of chance that I stumbled across making these spindles. Spotting the perfect thing at the craft store and feeling that idea click (I'm sure you know these kind of moments well!). The result was a medium weight spindle (around 1.5oz) that was surprisingly easy for my beginner self to use. Not only could I spin singles, but it was heavy enough to ply them as well! Soon, I had my first spindle spun yarn. Having a spindle that was beautiful and versitile landed my new tool at the top of my favorites.
What spindle is your herd favorite? Are you as drawn to beautiful tools as I am? I'll take a bet that you are!
