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!

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.

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!