The Beebas' Bottoms

Its been a while since I posted. I’ve been busy.  It’s summer, which means that my oldest has no school, and having 3 kids home all thw time it’s somehow worse than 2.

Tonight, though, I hsve been weaving. A couple weeks back now, I aqquired a used cricket loom. I hsve been practicing weaving since, and am enjoying it very much.

so much, in fact, thay within a fe days of getting the cricket, I was already deep in negotiations for a second loom, this one a24″ ashford rigid heddle, complete with stand and double heddle kit, plus extra heddles.

I think I am in love.  Not sonce learning to soon hsve I found a craft so meditative. Of course, iy can never replace spinning, which will always be my first craft love, but it is very satisfying.

So, on ti the title topic. Weaving on the road.  Tonight, I an weaving.  Tonight, I am also on a12 hour drive to visit family.

I brought the cricket along with me, anf it sits quite comfortably on my lap

in the passenger seat.

First, I wove up thr end of the scarf on the loom. It was about half done. Now, I an wearing it, since my husband likes it cold when driving at night.

When that was done, I cut iy off the loom (and it worked out perfectly, essentailly no loom waste at all), and restored the loom.

How, yoi might wonder, does one warp a look in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle? Well, definitely dont fo it like I did.

but here it’s what I did.

Step one, turn thr didnt inkle loom that my husband made me on it’s side and clamp it to the table (still st home).  Decide the warp will not be long enough, and add a warp perth that was included with tje loom.

Step two, wrap thw warp, and make a mistake right in tje middle of the warp, and instead of rewinding tje warp, just take the whole thing (preserving the cross) off the caddy org and try to fix it thet way.

Step 3, after realizing that thr warp has a big tangle in iy now, also realize that the kiss hsve been fast to queue for far too long.

Step 4, after checking on thr kids, and finding thay they hsve locked the baby in tje kitchen, clean him up and then return to your up sms chain thr warp, tangle and all… It can be fixed later, right?

Step 5, finally a smart move- pack the warp and the ball of weft yarn neatly in a cash that is easily accessible bot the ride, and which includes all needed tools.

Step 6, finally on thw road, finish thw first scarf, and begin warping thw loom.  Realize that the tangle (thank goodness at the betty least inch of the warp) will need to be cut out.  This it’s at thw cross end, so it slso need to be retied into it’s loops for outing on the back warp beem.

Step 7, noe that the loops are back, begin the warping process, taking time putt to gey drinks and snacks for the kids and tje husband, droppimg thr loom entirely st leat 3 times.

After thr first time tje loom fell, I started tieing the warp threads as I threaded them, in groups of 10 or so ends.

In tje end, thr warp I’d only a coupler inches shorter than it should be, and nice and even and prettier than I thought tje yarn would be.

A picture will hsve to be added in tje morning, since I am on my phone, in thr car, at 230 am.

But this is definitely a productive drive.

Once upon a time, I learned to spin.  Yes, I was a mutant who spun real, usable, even yarn on practically my first try. But, as much as I loved spinning, and loved my spindles, (most of which at the time were homemade by me toy wheel spindles) I quickly put the spindles aside in favor of a wheel.  I felt the wheel was more efficient. Faster.  It spun the yarn I wanted with less teaching to the sky.

For over 2 years, I blissfully spun primarily on my wheel, and then wheels, only picking up the spindles for occasional sampling, our to play.  The had become toys to me. Toys I loved, but they did not get much use.

These spindles were all but one, top whorl spindles of varying weight… A bosworth, a Kundert, plenty of toy wheels.  I still believed, and spouted the common belief that spindles are am excellent way to learn, but most often, I did not choose one for a real project, and if I did, it would get forgotten or put aside soon.

What I had not taken into consideration was that the spindle on which spinning had first clicked for me was not a top whorl, hooked spindle, despite the prevalence of that type of spindle.  It was a little, bottom whorl, hookless spindle that was given to me by a friend.

I didn’t realize till recently, when I became strongly addicted to support spindles,That it was not really true- Wheels are not neccesarily more efficient OR faster than spindles- if you use the right tool for the job, and the right tool for you.

granted, if I am spinning worsted weight yarn, and have the same block of time to spin on either wheel or spindle, I will likely spin more on the wheel.  this is simply a case of not having to stop and wind on.

take another case, though.  example- I want to spin super fine laceweight yarn.  do I choose wheel or spindle?  Spindle, without doubt.  My spindle (in the case of superfine lace, it will be supported of some type) will spin far faster, and a supported spindle can wind on yarn VERY fast.  the fiber becomes yarn at lightening speed, versus on the wheel, which can only spin as fast as its fastest whorl x the speed I treadle at, and while I CAN spin fine fine lace, I will have to either wait for what will for me feel like a VERY long time while I treadle enough twist in, or I will need to treadle like a madwoman.

another different example.  Iwant to spin worsted weight yarn- the yarn that YES, is faster on the wheel.  but my kids WON’T LET ME!  I have 3 kids (if you follow the blog you know this) and they are not always happy to let me sit down at the wheel.  My oldest wants to sit and spin himself, my daughter wants to “help” or wants to go play outside, the littlest is mobile now and wants to crawl/pull up all over the wheel, and has a habit of pulling on things that he should not.  like fiber and freshly spun yarn.  Maybe I have just 5 minutes, maybe I have the length of a walk down the block, maybe I have to go sit outside while the kids play.  cant bring the wheel, but I CAN bring a spindle.  in this case, it will be a nice fast midweight bottom whorl spindle.  WITHOUT a hook.

Seriously, I will always pick a bottom whorl without a hook if I have a choice.  and have been known to alter spindles which come with hooks- in the case of my ashford turkish, I completely renovated it.

Now, I am truly addicted to my spindles again.  they are not just toys, and each of my supported spindles has a well progressing, if in some cases, weight small, project on it.  I say weight small because when I am spinning supported, I am typically spinning for fineness, and it may be as little as an ounce, but that ounce may be 200-300 yards of yarn at the end.

I still don’t think I could ever spin for production on a top whorl spindle, though.  those spindles are for teaching, and for playing.  they are pretty, but they are not production tools.  for ME.

Another spinner may spin exclusively on top whorl spindles, and be very happy with them.  but it’s not me.

I am expirementing with every type of spindle I can get my hands on now.  supported spindles are my current favorite, and I love spinning fine on them.  but there are many kinds of support spindles.  there are russian spindles (which range in weight, and are further seperated by the distinction of being either “true” russian spindles, or “american” russian spindles), french spindles (which are twirled in the hand instead of spun either in a bowl or suspended), tibetan spindles (whihc are spun similarly to russian spindles, but have a distinctive bowl style whorl towards the bottom), Phangs (a type of whorl-less spindle from the ladhak region which is spun supported in a bowl or other surface), taklis (made for spinning cotton, very small, fine shafts, and lightweight), Navaho spindles (very large spindles meant to be spun against the thigh while sitting down), and more.

among suspended spindles, there are the typical top and bottom whorl spindles, then there are more specialty spindles, like the ahka spindle, which is mid whorl, very light, and meant to be first turned in the hand and then dropped for suspended spindling, and there are semi-suspended spindles, like french spindles with brass caps which are twirled in the hand and allowed to free spin suspended for short bursts…

It is my goal to use and own at least one of every basic “type” of spindle.  so far, I have top and bottom whorls, I have turkish, and russian, and takli, and a homemade ahka.  I have a navaho spindle, and thanks to a destash, I have a tibetan and a hybrid french/russian spindle called a rose spindle.  I am working to carve my own phang, and I am drooling over a bulgarian spindle.