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Cool Tools

2/2/2016

 
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The Hepty: High Whorl Spindle, cherry, 22grams. Henry C. Edwards Plying Stick: Sapele. Alexandra Iosub
and a bit of shameless promotion!
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The Hepty: designed and hand made by Henry C. Edwards; Plying Stick: designed and hand made by Alexandra Iosub
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Palette Box: Western Red Cedar with birch plywood interior trays designed and built by Henry C. Edwards
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The Palette Box:

Its perfection
is clear
even if the photos
are not.


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Removable Trays!
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The lid, upside down.. See the heart?
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 The Hepty

Seven Sided
high whorl spindle

1. It won't roll of the table

2.  It doesn't need a notch  (those facets do the job)
​
3. It is fast-- a quick roll up a leg and then it flies 

4. It goes and goes and goes

5. It is Balanced (straightens with a touch of the knee should it ever wobble).

6. The Shaft is buttery to the touch but with enough friction to really get going.

7. It is sturdy and short enough to spin while sitting in a chair

8. It turns the previous-pair-of-spindles-I-use into a group of three
Picture
A Wooden Boatbuilder by trade, Henry tries out a new paddle
If you are interested in the Hepty, you can contact him at [email protected]
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Oak Whorl; 28 grams by Henry C. Edwards
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Plying Stick --
This simple object might be as self-explanatory as a Palette box,
but I'm going to blather a bit nonetheless because mine, at first, looked more like a fragment of a Ponderosa Pine struck by lightning than an essential and life changing tool.

But first, I have to back up a few steps.
Though a spindle spinner long before I touched a wheel, 
plying was always a pain in the neck:
 two ended balls (or separate balls), endless eyelashes, 
too much to juggle and everything twirling in a different direction.
Then I met Ed Franquemont * and ever after
have followed his simple advice:

wind your singles together into a ball-- parallel but not twisted--
THEN add twist in a second step.
The reasons this works are many but I will spare you my diatribe and say only that doing this one "extra" thing has turned plying frustration and eyelash hell
into another pleasant part of the soul-satisfying process of making yarn with a spindle.

*There are endless wonderful things to say about Ed Franquemont and all he shared with the textile community.  To learn more, google him, spend time with his marvelous daughter Abby Franquemont  and read her book  Respect The Spindle


Back to the stick thing.
Winding the parallel strands of singles into a ball works pretty well for a two ply yarn, but a few years ago I wanted a spin-ply-knit-as-you-go project for some upcoming travel and decided a three strand chain ply yarn would be perfect. The stick (pictured below on the left), onto which I wound the chained (but untwisted) singles turned out to be the answer to an unasked question, and has become my go-to tool for all spindle plying no matter the number of strands.
​Both the winding and the subsequent unwinding, are easier than ever.
Picture
Plucked off the ground in a moment of winding frustration, this plying stick changed my spindle life for good.
PictureAlexandra Iosub's elegant interpretation of my rough plying stick
 


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So that's all it is, actually
a stick for holding yarn while you ply.

Almost silly to say all this stuff about it, except I want to rave about Alexandra Iosub's version
which takes my simple chunk of unburned firewood to a whole new level of plying pleasure. Alex's sticks
-are balanced and lovely to hold while winding
-keep the strands in place 
​(no accidental sliding off one side)
-unroll in the hand with smooth and sensual pleasure as the spindle twirls toward the ground
-are available in her Etsy store!
​

A quick overview of chain plying with a spindle 
Using the singles straight off of your spindle:
1. fold the end of the singles into a loop,
2. pull another loop of singles through that loop
(length can vary -- I like to make my loops 12 - 18 inches long unless I'm adjusting for color)
3. stick a finger through the new loop and hold the 3 strands taught (two strands of loop + the singles going to the spindle) and wind onto the stick.
4. When your finger holding the loop gets close to teh stick, pull another loop through it. 
5. When your spindle is empty and your stick full, start adding twist with the spindle.
Picture
Spun on an 11 g turkish spindle, chained onto a plying stick, then twisted and sound back on the spindle
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Chain plied singles provides a means to turn long stripes into short controlled bursts of color/ value
Do any of you use a plying stick?  Have you seen one? 
I think it must be what Elizabeth Zimmerman called an 'unvention.' 
Picture
Me 'n My Box ©Sarah C. Swett 2016
Oh golly, and one more thing!  The Classes are set for the Palouse Fiber Festival
Descriptions will be up soon, and Registration Opens 1 March.

See you next week!
Angie Simon
2/3/2016 06:41:53 am

Lovely tools! I saw a plying stick in Alexandra's Instagram feed and thought "pretty!" but I just couldn't picture how to use it. She gave me a hint or three and then it seemed so obvious and clever. Thank you for the chain plying walk-through.

Sarah
2/3/2016 12:07:21 pm

Thanks Angie! Simple solutions are so satisfying, aren't they?
Chain on....

Bonnie Klatt link
2/3/2016 04:59:04 pm

Great post! I can tell you are beaming with pride! I was told my package of treasures went sent out today. I feel like a little girl waiting for Christmas to arrive! Thanks for the chaining directions. Much clearer than I have seen elsewhere.

Sarah
2/4/2016 09:01:38 am

Glad you like the Chaining Instructions, Bonnie. And I'm excited about your package too...

Eileen
2/23/2016 10:19:50 pm

Love the palette box!! I have been putting my small balls of yarn in my cedar baskets, but then have to dig for the colors. This is a great invention. I am ordering one soon. I have to say I have ENOUGH spindles, but then, who ever have enough? Aka: spindle addiction. And yes, I spin on almost all of them! Thanks for the info Sarah!

Sarah
2/24/2016 10:31:46 am

So glad Eileen! That's exactly the problem I had with my baskets of yarn -- balls rolling around or buried-- and the Palette Box took care of it. I can see what I have and access the yarn I want. A simple thing, but so satisfying.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


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