Bumps and Bobbles and Whorls

It seems everyone has an opinion about raised bumps on beads. Do you like the feel of them, the fact that they add texture to your beads? Or do you prefer the smooth look and feel of the glass all by itself? Long ago, I was a 'no bumps please' bead maker. But now? Oh give me some texture!
For glass whorl making, bobbles have a purpose beyond looks. They add a little weight to the whorl, which often seems like a good thing. And if they are placed all around the outside, they can also affect the speed and length of the spin. Oh, it's physics, and I am not so good with physics. But it does change how things go around.

To quote Wikipedia:  'Whorl shapes vary greatly and can include ball-shaped, disk-shaped and cross shaped whorls. The shape and mass distribution of the whorl affects the momentum it gives to the spindle while it is spinning. For example a center weighted whorl will spin very fast and short, while a rim-weighted disk-shaped whorl will spin longer and slower.^[9]'

<sup>So, first I make a nice smooth whorl. Then maybe I add some swirls here and there, either evenly all around the bead, or maybe just randomly. Then I wonder if it might need just a little more weight, or if accent bumps would look nice. And then, well, does it need raised bumps around the center to make it spin a bit longer? And, if it happens to be a sea urchin whorl, then bumps and bobbles are a definite part of the design!

Oh, looking through that article, I see spindles are associated with a number of goddesses. Hmmm... going to have to let the brain wheels spin around that for a bit!</sup>

Torch Time Again!

 Good golly, I have not been blogging much! Just popping in now to say my torch is back up and running after being on hiatus for a couple of months. I've started out with some fancy silver-cored fish pendants and glass whorls for spinning yarn.
New curved beads are on the to-do right now list! We'll see how that goes~ they are always a bit of a challenge.

My own spindle sticks

I've been telling myself (and a few other people) that I really need to figure out how to use a lathe and make my own spindle sticks for a while now. I am venturing down that road (with a bit of trepidation). Why bother, you ask? Well I have found precisely one person who can make the sticks I need for a sensible price. Well, for any price, really. And what if Hershey Fibers gets tired of it? Then I will have a pile of stick-less whorls lying about and no one will know what to do with them! So~ away we go!

For starters, using a lathe is a little fun, a little hard on one's body and a little scary. There's a whole lot of shakin' going on! And I am no spring chicken. Secondly, these thin sticks take some finesse. As they thin out, you need a sharp tool to do the work for you, no pushing allowed. I am working at The Hub, and the tools seem a bit over used. So I switch to sand paper near the end. And then I get tired of standing there and just stop and bring it home to finish it. Which is kind of silly as it takes a lot longer to finish by hand!

Anyway, I am fairly pleased with the results. I've paired some whorls up with particular sticks in my etsy shop. How are these sticks different?

• They are a bit thicker than the ones I can buy, which I like~ they feel firmer in my hand. 
• The 'flick area' is thicker. I am working on narrowing that.
• The centers are wider; the shape is not quite what I envisioned, but they're on the way!
• Some of them are shorter, which is also my preference.
• 
  They can be notched for drop spinners more easily.
• They are not all the same. This means that specific whorls work best on specific sticks. I'll be working on getting things a bit standardized in future, though I like that they are not all perzactly the same!
• A little oil & beeswax finish is rubbed on.
  
• Right now I am working with poplar, but Urban Timbers just may be able to provide me with some locally saved wood. I love that idea!
  
  

A Special Whorl Video Showing the 'Wagon Wheel' Effect

 I really expected that this would have a more interesting name than the 'wagon wheel' effect. Anyway~ see how it looks like the whorl is reversing directions while it's spinning around? Not true! It's an optical illusion created by quickly flashing lights and your brain's trying to make sense of what it's seeing! So cool.
This was a special request whorl, which I did not think I would be making. But one day I thought, oh why not give it a try? And hey presto, a whorl with a face on it. And it spins pretty nicely too!

Viking Inspired Whorl Ideas~ New Glass Whorl Styles

It's time to talk about whorls again! For the last several years I have been making handmade glass whorls that are used for Viking style spinning. Slowly but surely, things keep moving along. First there were single whorls, then pairs of whorls that spun together, and now I seem to be in a phase of making longer single whorls. My busy brain is always ready to pursue a new idea; then it seems I abandon old things and move on! 

There are a few different design ideas affecting my whorl making these days. First and foremost are single conical whorls, which are a bit longer and thinner than past styles. The shape simply appeals to me. It seems like the extra weight near the center is making them spin nicely and possibly longer than the shorter, wider whorls. The conical shape also allows extra weight at the outside edge. Some extra added glass 'bobbles' can add yet more weight at the outside, as well as visual interest. 

The next thing is colors and designs~ oh my! This is where I get excited. I've been making a lot of two-tone beads with a line of something or other swirled between. Sometimes there's a touch of frit (wee bits of broken glass) involved, or goldstone, or a glass that changes colors and reacts in the flame. I may even add a little handmade murrini to jazz up the bobbles between the colors. There's often a bit of a 'happy accident' involved (and sometimes an unhappy accident~ ha,ha). The style can seem rather simple, but again, the look just hits me right.

  Finally, there's encased silver foil with frit or murrini or something trapped within or added on the outside. These are not new techniques for me, but not something I've concentrated on much in the world of whorls. An additional part of this idea is something I am calling an accidental whorl, though it has now become an 'accidentally on purpose' whorl. These babies tend towards a round or bicone shape and were originally made to be worn. One day I made one that seemed just a little bit too large to actually wear and still stand upright. I popped it on a spindle and, well, it spun like a top. Because these were originally meant as wearable beads, the holes are straight. 

One more little flight of thought~ one may wonder, why not just make whorls like the wearable beads? Can it be done? Of course it can, however... I often find that a particular type of bead begs a particular shape or design. I could not tell you why! Have I ever made a bead that is similar in shape and design with a tapered hole? Why yes, but it seems it is not something that my brain directs me to do with ease!

Here's that red accidental whorl spinning its little heart out!

Medieval and Viking style glass whorls for hand spinning

Just a wee post to show off some of my handmade glass whorls, because I fear I have made a few too many. And of course I want to make more! These are based on historical whorls found in various areas from Medieval and Viking times. 

I cannot say they are historically accurate, because the designs are pretty modern. To read more about how these were developed for my shop, you can refer to this bit on my blog.

https://isinglassdesign.blogspot.com/2014/03/spin-spider-spin-experiments-with.html

 

 

 

Over time, the style has gone from single whorls, to whorl pairs (for extra weight and flexibility), and now to a longer style meant to be used alone. Because change is good, right?

You can find them in my etsy shop~ https://www.etsy.com/shop/glassbead

Medieval glass bead spindle special tips

The other day, I had the good fortune to meet someone who had been gifted a glass bead spindle from my etsy shop. She had some questions about things that I had never thought about, so here are a few extra special tips to help modern gals learn about going Medieval with their spindle skills. And do remember to see my other spindle blogs, and the missing spindle blog and youtube channel about these for even more information! Each listing in my etsy shop tells about the weight, size and spin-ability of the whorls shown. That's a good place to start making an informed decision. These are all bottom weighted spindles meant to spin thin yarn. I have not tested them as top whorls.




First the oh-so-helpful o-rings and/or clear hair bands that will help keep your whorls from whirling away. Why do I recommend these and send them along with your order? Well, when I first began making these whorls and they were being tested by Lois, she came back and said something like~ 'these are really sturdy, they were rolling all over my concrete floor,' I looked at her and said- 'we've got to stop that!' A little thinking cap time revealed the o-ring solution. If the whorls go skidding across a hard floor too many times, they should not break, but they will get scuffed up. And it's annoying to have to go skittering after them all the time. You should be able to get more o-rings at your local hardware store in the section with all the little boxes of random hardware. I use the two smallest sizes available. The best place I've found for the clear hair bands (if you prefer those) is Sally Beauty Supply. 
(P.S.~ if your whorl does break, please tell me! They are guaranteed not to do that.)

Why are there two whorls? Well, for the weight! Use them both together when you begin, then as the cop grows you can remove the bottom whorl. As it grows even more, remove the top whorl and put the lower whorl back on. When your cop gets really heavy, you may even be able to take both whorls off and keep on spinning! The double whorl system came into being when my design partner (Lois of missingspindle fame) and I were trying to figure out a way to make the glass a bit more weighty. Since I am only able to make relatively round whorls up to a certain size & weight, we thought of adding a smaller whorl below. Et voila! The two whorl system was born. The smaller whorls can also be paired quite nicely to sit below a heavier pottery whorl~ this is mostly done for looks!

Which end of the stick is which? These sticks are tapered at each end and fatter in the center~ but one end is shorter beyond the wide bit than the other. The short end is for the whorls, while the long end is for spinning up your fiber. Please be sure there is no fiber under you whorl and that your cop is not so low that it is pushing on the whorl. It can push it right off the stick if it is.

What's with the tapered holes? My glass whorls are built on a special steel mandrel that is tapered; so the holes in the beads are not straight. Why? So they will fit on the spindle nicely; it also means there is a right and wrong way to place the whorls on the stick. To double check, put the whorl on and look up the stick to the base of the whorl. If there is a lot of 'wobble room', the whorl is likely on upside down. Flip it and check again. A small gap can often be remedied by pushing the o-ring up snugly under, or even partway into, the gap. A wobbly whorl will make for a wobbly spin. When you are checking whorl listings. be sure and read through the whole description~ if the whorls have a little wobble, I'll let you know. If they spin like the proverbial top, I'll tell you that too!

Do all whorls fit on all sticks the same way? Definitely not! Here's why. I make the whorls in my home studio, Caroline makes the sticks in Ohio, the mandrels for building the whorls were made by a glass tool maker in California. Everything is made by hand by the three of us. All my mandrels are not precisely the same size, with the same taper (I've got a couple of faves I normally use now, which helps). All of the sticks are not precisely the same size. This is one advantage to getting an entire set from me~ I have tested the whorls and paired them with the stick they fit and spin on the best! In some cases you may see that a set is only available all together. This is because the whorls have been particularly difficult to pair with a stick. In some cases I have tweaked the stick and sanded it to make sure everything works well. If you are considering buying a pair of whorls, check the photos to see how close together the two ride on the stick shown. This is a good gauge as to whether they will fit on just any old stick. If they are close together, the chances of them fitting on your stick are often a little smaller. You can also ask me if I feel they are tetchy or easy to pair up!

I hope this might answer some of the questions folks might have about all this. If you have questions, please let me know. You can visit my facebook fan page and send me a message, or message me through my etsy shop.

Modern Medievals- Lampwork Glass Beads With a Historical Twist

It's time to introduce a new 'line' of handmade lampwork beads- 'Modern Medievals.' What the heck does that mean, you may ask? This bead grouping is made up of beads that are designed using techniques that have been around for millenniums using basic tools and glass colors. These are not copies of historical finds, but rather somewhat modernized versions of these beads that will encompass some different shapes and color combinations. Here are a few examples:

Stacked dots or 'horned' beads. This style was extremely popular during the warring states period in China. Though first imported there from countries to the west such as Egypt and Mesopotamia, the popularity of these beads encouraged the Chinese to begin making their own. These beads are made up of different colors of glass stacked one on top of the other and melted together. They have a lot of texture, which makes them a bit fun to wear. Most of the historical finds are round. My beads will encompass other shapes, like these conical beads.



'Eye' beads are a close relative of the stacked dots; as a matter of fact, stacked dot beads are also often referred to as eye beads. In the classical version of the eye bead, the dots are melted together. The eyes can be made from just two colored dots melted together, or many. The two beads in this photo could both be considered 'eye beads', though one has raised stacked dots. In some cultures this type of bead is worn to ward off the evil eye. One of these beads has a fine silver foil core, a technique. practiced as far back as the Viking era, or about the 10th century. The other has twisted glass (twistie) decorations, a technique I have observed to be present in many ancient beads, some over 2000 years old.

Beads that have been 'feathered', 'combed' or 'raked' have also been around for a very long time. The three techniques are quite similar, using a tool or point of a glass rod to pull lines of glass laterally across the bead. Some of the beads pictured are cone shaped. These could have been used as whorls on wool spindles, or worn decoratively, or both (as some of my friends do).

The last technique I will mention here is that of folding glass. Tom and Sage Holland re-discovered the methods of making this type of bead after a lot of trial and error. An article explaining how this is done can be read in volume 29, issue 4 of Ornament magazine. I have as yet to make any of these for the 'Modern Medievals' collection, but they will be coming soon.

For more interesting information about ancient glass beads, you can search the collection at the Corning Museum of Glass , or visit the Viking Answer Lady. You can also visit my Pinterest page , Historical Glass Beads.

Double trouble! Two glass whorls on one stick

Things have been moving along in the glass whorl department. I wonder if folks in medieval times had as much fun as we've been having exploring the spinning possibilities. I may have mentioned that my stick maker is somewhat of an expert on medieval spinning techniques. I wonder if those folks ever put more than one whorl on a stick. I'll just bet they did- why not? It's the next logical step when you're playing with whorls that can be moved from stick to stick, or when you need just a bit more weight~ or a bit less~ to keep things whirling around just right.

We've been pairing glass with more glass and with pottery~ the pottery adds a nice weight and the glass adds that little extra 'wow' factor. Since they are all removable, you can start out with two whorls, remove the glass when your yarn starts building up, and then remove the pottery and put the glass back on as things get even weightier! It's a great way to build up your cop ever larger. If one whorl is just a wee bit wonky, the other one can balance it out and make the spin just right~ it's all good!

It's been an interesting journey so far- matching the colors of glass with the pottery glazes can be a challenge. I just read something recently that said not all colors are available in glass~ no joke! So there's mixing and matching and blurring and all the fun things that can go with playing with colors.

And now let's see one of those double whorls in action!

Spindles and removable glass whorls

Well, as some of you may have seen, I am now making glass whorls for spinners to fit on some lovely wooden spindles made by my friend Lois at missingspindle. Lois has been studying ancient spindle and whorl use for a very long time and has recently decided to go public with all of her wonderful knowledge. She has been making some quirky movies and writing some amazing blogs about how and why we are making this type of tool. The whorls I make are just one small part of her mission to educate and slowly take over the spinning world with medieval designed spinning tools.

Everyone should read her hilarious blog about testing out fresh and dried fruits and vegetables as whorls. I humbly believe that glass works a bit better. But then again I may be prejudiced! Her etsy shop is here, and you can watch her videos on the missingspindle channel on youtube.

The newest venture we've been working on is spindles with multiple removable whorls. This example has three whorls- getting ahead of myself a bit as we are only at the double whorl stage as yet. But one of my adventurous customers has already asked me to work out a triple scheme for her. Spinners are such a fun bunch!

Spindles and Whorls~ Medieval Style!

Lights, camera and action! It's finally time for my new glass whorls to enter my etsy shop. These have been paired with lovely hand turned and hand carved recycled wooden spindles for a wonderfully modern Medieval spinning experience. Say What???!!! Well, let me 'splain a bit.

First of all, let me say that, this being a cooperative effort, things will be moving a wee bit more slowly than my usual frantic glass making mania. Right now, I make the whorls, we meet and measure and Lois makes a matching stick. But soon we will have our standards down to make it all go oh so much more smoothly. Added to that is that these glass whorls are big and they take a lot of time and energy to make. Though that's unlikely to change, I'm hoping to adjust to them over time.

The wooden spindle and whorl are not glued together- they are two separate pieces which fit together snugly. A small o-ring or rubber hairband is included to help keep the whorl from falling off and whirling across the floor.

Watch these sweet little youtube videos to see some of these spindles at work and some instructions for use. 

Now, down to brass tacks- how do these things work? A bulleted list will help, I think.
* These glass whorls are best for light or lace weight spinning. For making heavier weight yarn, add a bit more whorl weight. More glass or one of missingspindle's pottery whorls should do it!
* If adding extra weight, be sure the whorls will nest properly. Questions? Just ask the shop owner!
* Because the whorls are handmade, they may be a little unbalanced. They have all been tested with the specific stick they are sold with, but will need to be adjusted on the spindle until the place of best balance is found.
* Make sure the whorl is perpendicular on the spindle. Push up tightly and test spin. Move around slightly on the stick until you find the place of best balance (the 'sweet spot').
* Push the o-ring or hairband up below the whorl to keep it right where you want it.
* Load leader on spindle by using a lark's head knot just above the glass whorl (at the bottom of the belly).
* Wind up and around the spindle several times, with several small winds near the top.
* Top off with one or two half hitches around the indented neck to hold the leader in place.
* Spin yarn!
* When loading spun yarn on the stick, center it over the widened belly, winding up and down in a spiral.

What fun for a little different hand spinning experience! 

Spin, Spider, Spin: Experiments With Whorls, Spindles and Yarn

A spindle experiment with double whorl

Handmade spindles and glass whorls- sometimes it seems things just happen and sometimes you have to make them happen! This little tale is a combination of those two things.

Mmm... pink!

In the beginning of January, I went to the Black Sheep Spinners Guild ROC Day
 celebration. Spinning is such a big deal around here, and it's something I've always wanted to learn more about. While I was there I met a wonderful woman who showed me how to use a drop spindle (OK, it's gonna take a lot of practice to get it right!).

Masked style pattern

One thing led to another and before I left I found out that she was in search of a glass bead maker who could make her some rather large beads in particular shapes to use as whorls with her handmade Viking-style spindles. We had a short chat, I got down some basics, and we agreed to stay in touch.

I really like the design on this one!

I went home thinking- make big beads, make big beads. We met again a couple of weeks later for show and tell- she with spindles, I with some rudimentary whorls. These are smaller than a standard whorl and would be used to make light or lace weight yarns.

Love this shape!

Well, one thing led to another. I made myself a fun little drop spindle with a dowel, a wooden wheel and (of course) a glass bead for a little extra weight and got to practicing. What I do is called 'park and draft', which means I spin the spindle, stop and make the yarn over and over. It's how all the kiddies start out!

We met again, I made more whorls and started looking at all the fun shapes and styles that were traditionally used. And then we went to the monthly spinners guild meeting with our new spindles and whorls. Folks loved them! We're still working on a little bit of standardization and in the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun testing out different designs I might be able to offer.

Drying my first yarn

Stay tuned for- hopefully- some spindles and whorls for sale in my etsy shop soon!