What's Laarnie What Too?

Spinning, dyeing and building her own drop spindle.

Senior Laarnie Barcelon is the lone ranger in my Advanced 3-D class this year.

But that's a good thing, she is able to become completely absorbed in her work and go deeply into Right Brain.

As a result she is producing incredible works of art this year.

She started the year off by dyeing raw fleece with food colors.

Then I taught her to spin on a drop spindle and also on the spinning wheel.

She took to the spinning wheel like a duck to water.

Just look at her lovely tail spun yarns here.

All these yarns below were either spun on the drop spindle or the spinning wheel.

Drop Spindle

She was also required to build from scratch her own drop spindle.

It was so beautifully designed and crafted that I had to take several shoots at different angles.

The cross bars are from the leftover molding pieces we used in the barn

 up at the cabin this summer.

She was required to build it from at least two different types of wood.

I believe she used oak. alder and poplar.

I adore how she trailed beads and gemstones around the layers 

so that our eye wraps around the piece.

Lovely work Laarnie.

 I'm so proud to showcase your work!

Karisma Dev and Her Drop Spindle

Drop Spindles are used by most Third World countries to spin their flocks sheep and goat wool into yarn.   And I do teach the 3-D kids here how to spin their own yarns but we mostly use coat hanger wires cut into four pieces to do it with (drop spindles are too expensive to provide for a whole class).  Well about 2 years ago I saw an article in  Spin Off magazine showing how it's done, and I thought what a great 3-D project in wood for my students.

This is only the second time I've done this assignment with my Advanced 3-D class, but it won't be the last.  It's a great project in that it involves tons of critical thinking, physics, craftsmanship and design skills.  

Karisma was required to use two different types of wood for the spindle base; to saw, sand and drill to build her design with so that it would be perfectly balanced.  I love that she went to Home Depot and found the metal piece to put around the woods edge as an accent.

You can also see how she has stained her woods different colors, and added beads tand charms to the spindle base.  Her craftsmanship is impeccable, her design gorgeous. 

And you can see that she is already spinning yarn on the spindle.  

I just love working with Karisma, she is a very special young woman who is headed for greatness.

Drop Spindles & Hand Dyed Rovings

After reading the article in Spin-Off Magazine this summer on building your own drop spindles, I knew I just had to try this as an assignment for my 3rd level 3-d kids. 

But first I knew I had to build one myself...

Oh boy.  But I was so busy getting ready to get back to school and get my classroom set up that I asked my husband Jim to give one a try first (below)

He looked like he was having so much fun with all the sawing, cutting and sanding that I just had to make the time to try one too (below)

I purchased 3 different hardwoods for the kids to choose from, oak, poplar and I forget the name of the other one, it will come to me LOL, and about seven different stain and wax choices.  You can see I'm already spinning yarn on my spindle above.  It actually works well  :)

So anyways, here are the results which I'm so thrilled about, including their hand dyed roving's they will be spinning both on their drop spindles as well as my spinning wheels.  Senior Kelsey Lee designed a lovely floral pattern, ...

and even put in some wood etched designs.  You can also see her different wood choices below.  And aren't her color ways in the roving's beautiful?

Senior Nandi Best also used 3 different woods and stains, wood burned all 3 pieces and then inlaid beads.  Wow!!!  I'm so excited by the results and can't wait to do this project again next year.  Maybe even make a couple more for sale. 

Happy Spinning Girls!

For EXTRA CREDIT tonight, on a piece of brown paper, cut out the shape of a drop spindle, and on the whorl section (the large part at the end) put your name and period on one side and on the other side put the name of the person's drop spindle that you admired the most from the ones shown above.