A Very Productive Weekend
Last weekend I spent most of Saturday in the work shop playing with the drill press. I center drilled and polished whorls... sadly I even shattered a couple of them and warped a diamond bit.... it was an eventful day! LOL! A good day, but eventful! By the end of the day I had all these whorls prepared and ready to assemble.
So that's how I spent my Saturday this weekend, drilling and assembling spindles. Although it's something I really enjoy doing I think this will be the last batch I make for a while. I have a few other projects on the go and I'd like to get back to painting and working more with fiber. Like most working people I find "spare" time is a precious commodity and there are lots of people and hobbies I try to fit into it.
One spindle I thought I'd show you is one I'm keeping for myself. It is carved jade (stone) and quite hard with a dragon and a phoenix, two very popular creatures from Chinese mythology carved on it. It's the one I warped the bit on. I ended up trying to drill it from both sides because it was too thick to drill from just the front. Of course, wouldn't you know it I missed the pre-drill by about a millimeter and ended up with 2 offset holes. Perhaps it doesn't sound like a big deal but here's what it looks like as a finished spindle:
I know I'm crazy enough to spin with this thing but it would be pretty unrealistic to expect someone else to pay money for it! Fortunately there is always room in my spindle collection for one more plus it's an amusing little keepsake.
Of course no job is finished until the items are posted for sale (groan!). It will likely take me a week to get each one photographed and listed! If only there were two of me....
So here's a sneak peek at the finished spindles!
So that's how I spent my Saturday this weekend, drilling and assembling spindles. Although it's something I really enjoy doing I think this will be the last batch I make for a while. I have a few other projects on the go and I'd like to get back to painting and working more with fiber. Like most working people I find "spare" time is a precious commodity and there are lots of people and hobbies I try to fit into it.
One spindle I thought I'd show you is one I'm keeping for myself. It is carved jade (stone) and quite hard with a dragon and a phoenix, two very popular creatures from Chinese mythology carved on it. It's the one I warped the bit on. I ended up trying to drill it from both sides because it was too thick to drill from just the front. Of course, wouldn't you know it I missed the pre-drill by about a millimeter and ended up with 2 offset holes. Perhaps it doesn't sound like a big deal but here's what it looks like as a finished spindle:
I know I'm crazy enough to spin with this thing but it would be pretty unrealistic to expect someone else to pay money for it! Fortunately there is always room in my spindle collection for one more plus it's an amusing little keepsake.
Of course no job is finished until the items are posted for sale (groan!). It will likely take me a week to get each one photographed and listed! If only there were two of me....
So here's a sneak peek at the finished spindles!
Posted by Gloria Patre at 4/12/2011 6:25 PM 
Categories: Other Projects, Spinning, PhatFiber
Tags: drop spindles
Categories: Other Projects, Spinning, PhatFiber
Tags: drop spindles
Those are beautiful spindles Monica. I am not handy with a drill at all!
We just had the two Gotland rams sheared yesterday and I will have a couple pics up on my blog by next week.
Their fleeces are lustrous and long stapled.
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