I have been adding to my collection of support spindles. First came the Rose from Gripping Yarns. It is Lignum Viate.The wood smells like roses. Next I ordered spindles from Malcolm Fielding. I am waiting on their arrival so no photos yet. I ordered a Cocobolo Russian from Enid Ashcroft in the UK. (3)  I found a Texas Jeans  maple spindle (1) while at Lambtown in the Carolina Homespun booth. When I got back home again I had an offer to trade one of my knitting bags for a Spanish Peacock holly spindle.(2) I jumped on that right quick! I also have been making support spindles to see what works. I had some carved disks and with a double point knitting needle and a grommet, they weigh 7 grams each. They spin silk quite well. I am slowly progressing with some silk that I dyed on the holly spindle. I have been spinning for 30 years on wheels and took up drop spindles a few years ago. Just now getting into support spindles and I love them.

Support Spindle Bowls

I have fallen down the rabbit hole. Now I am on the look out for bowls to use with support spindles, of course more support spindles and ways to store them. These fabric bowls were made by a dear friend. They function as bases for wood, glass or ceramic support spindle bowls. Keep the bowls from slipping off your lap or leg. Sometimes I use a lap bowl as the Gin Glass in a previous post and sometimes I use a shallow bowl in my lap or on a table or beside me in a chair.

Spindle with Gin Glass

 

Here we have a work in progress on a support spindle. The lap bowl is working quite well. So glad that Cheryl bought that Gin! :-)  The glass works equally well in the wide bowl and in the base. Sort of a two for one thing. I am really enjoying support spindling. I have some on order from Malcolm Fielding. Cannot wait for them to arrive.

Demalangeni Shawlette

I finished another shawlette. This one is so incredibly soft. It is a blend of silk and wool. The pattern is Demalangeni by Wendy Neal. The shawl is drying now. I plan to add freshwater pearls to each point.

The pearls have been added. I think it looks nice and gives a tiny bit of weight to the shawlette.

Birthday Spindle

I was gifted a lovely support spindle from a dear friend. She made it from a hardwood dowel, a
porcelain drawer pull and a glass donut. The cork came from a bottle of wine. How cute is that with a sheep printed on it?

Afternoon Tea Shawl

I just completed a shawl for a dear friend. She is going through chemo and I hope the shawl will give her some comfort as she walks this path. It is the Afternoon Tea pattern by Helen Stewart. It appears much darker in the fist shot of it in progress. The yarn is wool/mohair from Kid 'N Ewe.

Three Fleeces are dyed

I now have three whole fleeces dyed. 53 dye lots, phew! I will add a few photos here, but if you wish to see everything check out my pages on flickr. www.flickr.com Search for The Lace Shepherdess. The last nine batches are drying. Then they will be photographed and added to my flickr pages. As hot as it is now, it should not take too long.