This box doesn't quite go with me everywhere, but it does go most places. eg. It went to the hospital with me on Friday when I accompanied my husband. ( He went in on time and was out, all completed in 15 mins though so the box didn't get opened!)
The box is a bit like a Tardis. It contains: my two spindles, 3 sorts of fleece, woollen tops, comb for combing the fleece, scissors, talcum powder ( for when I spin in hot weather), leader yarn, pen, labels and 2 kebab stick plus stick for spinning round in case I am called upon to show anyone how to spin just using a stick.
I have two favourite spindles. The first is the 80 mm Turkish one. I love it because the dark wood at the bottom is English Bog Oak approx 3300 BC and I do like how you get little balls of yarn building up. It is from IST Crafts. For those that don't know, the slats at the bottom pull out easily when you have a big enough ball so you have a little ball of yarn ready for plying.
My other favourite, and if I could only have one this would be it. It is a Bosworth and the top is in Canarywood and weighs 17g. I use this one by adding twist to the yarn by rolling it up my leg.
Both are super at spinning very fine yarn, which I so love. Why the Bosworth in preference to the East Anglian bog oak one? Well, I do find it a bit of an effort to add the spun yarn to the cop around the basein the Turkish spindle. I am definitely NOT one who worries about doing things fast, but I do find stopping to do this breaks the flow more than winding the yarn on to the Bosworth.
What am I spinning? It's hand carded rainbow dyed fleece ( acid dyed) from Blue faced Leicester / Swaledale cross. The rainbow dyeing was from an experiment to see whether microwave dyeing or steaming was better for the fleece when dyeing small amounts. The lace weight yarn will be used to knit ear rings. More about that at a later time.
The kebab sticks - why are they in the box? Well the box when empty is my Lazy Kate. The cops of wool each sit on a kebab stick which goes through the sides of the box so I can ply.
So this is the story of my portable spinning box. It was actually a ballet pumps shoe box! A good thing to accompany one on journeys- I recommend it!
What an absolutely brilliant idea to have a spinning box ready to go whenever you are out and about! I love your spindles Janet. And your lazy Kate is very clever. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Edith, you can also use the kebab sticks for a bit of knitting if you need too!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Janet - I'd not looked closely at a Turkish spindle before & didn't realise how the whorl slats come apart to give a ready formed ball. The term"cop" (presumably for a centre pull ball of yarn), is new to me too. Just goes to show that you learn something new every day.
ReplyDeleteSo much for my resolve not to buy more stuff- I think that I NEED a Turkish spindle!
Hi Joy,
ReplyDeleteLook up IST spindles, Isle of Wight- such lovely woods, they are objects of beauty! Then you never need be without the ability to spin ... But that's another story as you really only need a stick or pen..... And of course the fleece or tops.