How to spin on a wheel

Kickspindle

I cant’ take it anymore.  I need to be able to ply, and I don’t feel nervy enough do do that on a drop spindle, although it is possible.  But, I also cannot afford a spinning wheel for a while.  I’ve got my eye on a couple on Etsy, though, and I may just ask for part of the cost for my birthday.

In doing my research on wheels, I came across alternatives like the kickspindle/Mother Marion. Finding out about these was a big slap on the forehead moment.  They’re logical and straightforward, not as intimidating as a full wheel.

Aha!  This is simple enough to DIY.  I’d love to be able to buy and support crafters, but I also want to be able to pay the fair price for their product.  The kickspindles I’ve seen on Etsy range from 50-70 and even that is a pinch.  So, off to the internet I went.  I found these plans on cutoutandkeep.net and variations on the design on google.  I wanted to make it as bare bones as possible, so here we are:

This is the general idea.  I have a fence finial instead of a bun foot or wheel for a weight.  I will be threading the dowel through a hook on that wood block.  The angle may have to change to keep the finial from rubbing on the base and slowing me down, but we’ll see how it spins.  I was going to cut the dowel in half, but honestly….I kind of like the absurd size!  I hope it doesn’t effect the motion – if it does, it’ll be cut down and I’ll make a regular spindle from the excess.

 

 

As of writing this, production has ceased for my drill’s battery to recharge so I can get the dowel into the finial.  I’ll add more later as this unfolds!

Kool aid Dye Test #1

Click here to see how it turned out 🙂

Magpie Yarn

he other day I stumbled onto Stacey Budge-Kamison’s work at Urbangypz.com and I was inspired!  My first project on my finished loom was getting irredeemably frogged, so I busted it down and rewarped with colors – fresh from watching Stacey’s work.

Watching art yarn go from scraps of fibers up to a finished piece was so exciting.  But I don’t have a massive fancy fiber stash.  What I have is a moderate stash of really nice acrylics and blends, as well as a lot of Lily cotton, with some miscellaneous fibers in there (wool, cellulose, and silk).  One thing I learned from watching Stacey’s videos was that one doesn’t need super expensive fibers to make exciting yarn.  A great big old duh moment for me!