You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!
Wow! What a discovery! You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! On Monday evening at my spinning group, we were all talking about our purchases and finds at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I had been fascinated by the Navajo woman who was spinning using a Navajo spindle.
I had never tried that type of spinning.....and it looked quite relaxing......less stressful than doing the drop spindle bit (my arm gets tired quickly). Well, my friend Lissa (the hostess of our spinning group) just happened to have a Navajo spindle ....and offered to let me try it. (She didn't like spinning with it and had no use for it - it was just taking up space.)
Well, it didn't take long before I got the hang of it (I'd never "spun off the point" before). I managed to spin several yards of yarn......and it came out nice and thin and even (I was amazed!). The yarn produced was basically sock weight, once plied. So....now I'm the proud new "owner and operator" of a Navajo spindle! Thanks Lissa!
Update: May 12, 2006
As promised to my Secret Pal, here's a picture of the Navajo spindle with the existing "yarn" on it as well as the yarn I spun. The spindle is about 2 feet tall and you roll it against your leg and spin off the point. Once it has enough twist, you wind it around the shaft. (It's much faster to spin with the spinning wheel, but this method is very relaxing and is a bit more portable.) The thin yarn that I spun is at the top of the spindle (on the right side of this picture).
I had never tried that type of spinning.....and it looked quite relaxing......less stressful than doing the drop spindle bit (my arm gets tired quickly). Well, my friend Lissa (the hostess of our spinning group) just happened to have a Navajo spindle ....and offered to let me try it. (She didn't like spinning with it and had no use for it - it was just taking up space.)
Well, it didn't take long before I got the hang of it (I'd never "spun off the point" before). I managed to spin several yards of yarn......and it came out nice and thin and even (I was amazed!). The yarn produced was basically sock weight, once plied. So....now I'm the proud new "owner and operator" of a Navajo spindle! Thanks Lissa!
Update: May 12, 2006
As promised to my Secret Pal, here's a picture of the Navajo spindle with the existing "yarn" on it as well as the yarn I spun. The spindle is about 2 feet tall and you roll it against your leg and spin off the point. Once it has enough twist, you wind it around the shaft. (It's much faster to spin with the spinning wheel, but this method is very relaxing and is a bit more portable.) The thin yarn that I spun is at the top of the spindle (on the right side of this picture).
posted by Jinann @ 3:36 PM
3 Comments:
At 7:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
That sounds so cool! I'm in total awe of crafty people who can **make** their very own yarn :) If you get a chance, could you post a picture?
~sp
At 8:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
I'll try to post a picture tomorrow....it will show the Navajo spindle with some "cigar sized" yarn on it (spun by other people's attempts to spin) and some "thinner" yarn that I spun. I'll try to show part of it "plied" into the sock weight yarn....not sure how well it will show in the picture, but I'll give it a try.
At 12:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
Yes, that crappy, bulky, lumpy, ugly stuff is what I tried to spin when I bought the thing. I'm so glad it's gone to a loving home!
Lissa
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