You ever get caught in a color jag? I've only recently noticed that I've been in a plum/merlot jag. Why do these things take so long to register? I've been buying variations of the same colors since the beginning of the year. Wine and tobacco-y colors. Plum and mauve-y colors. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;-)
And it's not just fiber. Apparently I'm also in drop spindle aquisition mode. I've been on the hunt for pretty and/or ornate bottom whorl spindles. There are plenty of beautiful top whorl spindles to be had. But bottom whorls seem to have a 'starter' stigma, so they're often heavy and utilitarian. That being said, my spindles range from feather weight to boat anchor, and I haven't scoured the far outer reaches of the Internet yet.
I've been practicing the most on my 1.1 oz Schacht Hi-Lo spindle. Schacht spindles are an excellent choice for newbie spindlers. They are widely available and come in three different weights. They have the versatility of being either top or bottom whorl. At around $17 US, they're affordable for most. The light wood and clear finish gives them a sleek, elegant air, I think. And most importantly, they spin wonderfully well. My only issue with the Schacht spindle is that I've had the whorl shift on the 1 oz version. Most likely the result of me dropping it so many times. The crazy rollercoaster winter hasn't helped either. While the whorl still fits tightly to the shaft, I'm going to secure it with some glue.
I haven't mentioned it in my infrequent posts but I'm still spindling. Park and draft. Not quite ready to freestyle. Something about the handoff from twirl to draft gets me all jacked up. My practice fibers are Blue Faced Leicester and Targhee. Not a blend. Targhee on one spindle, BFL on another. So far, so good.
