I bought my first spindle in 1998 along with a booklet called something generic like "How to Spin" and a pound of wool, half red and half blue. For days I wrestled with that horrible red and blue wool and the unclear instructions in that book, and somehow I managed to produce yarn. Now I have half a dozen different spindles, from a featherweight tahkli support spindle to a custom-made six-ounce drop spindle, but mostly I spin using my beautiful Kromski Symphony spinning wheel. I'm a juried member of Appalachian Arts, and I'm also a member of the Tennessee Valley Handspinners Guild.
Check out my essay in the spring 2007 Spin-Off magazine!
For now I only have a few pieces to display on this site, but I'll be adding more soon along with patterns and tips for using a spindle and spinning wheel. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about anything you see here or if you're interested in commissioning a piece.
A Few Outside Links:
All Fiber Arts
HJS Studio
--has excellent information about washing
and preparing
wool
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| Demonstrating spinning at Appalachian Arts, April 2005. It was about 45-50 degrees that day although it doesn't look it; I kept having to go inside and warm my hands up. | Here's a picture of my Kromski Symphony. It's a Saxony type wheel, double drive although it does have a Scotch tensioning system I can install instead. The drive band is hemp and the footmen are tied to the treadles with leather bands, so while this is a new wheel it does have a traditional look. |
It's only been about a century since the spinning wheel and spindle became decorations rather than everyday items for most people. Indeed, in many cultures spinning is still a required daily activity, needed to produce the yarn and thread to make new garments. It takes a lot of yarn to make one outfit, and to get that yarn a lot of labor is required--shearing the sheep (or other animal), preparing the fiber, and spinning and then plying the yarn. When I spin I feel a connection to spinners today as well as to my own ancestors, mostly women, who spun constantly to keep their families clothed. --Katherine Shaw, 2005
Page updated 30 March 2007.