Twisp of Fate

First of all, I have my new camera and am back in action in the picture-taking department.  It is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7, and as usual I did my research on the Digital Camera Resource Page website.  I have always found his in-depth reviews to be very helpful.  Read the review of my specific camera here (I went with the blue color, not that it makes any difference).

On our way down to Sacramento in early October, we stopped in Chico, CA for lunch.  There was an antique mall where we parked the truck and trailer, so of course we went on in.  Rick spotted a forlorn object in a corner and pointed it out to me – an Indian head spinner!  These are used to spin thick yarns such as those used for Cowichan Indian sweaters.  I inquired about it, but it was on consignment and no agreement could be reached, and we didn’t have room in the truck for it anyway.

Cut to the return trip north.  We stop in Chico again and go back to the antique mall.  Rick checked it over and said it could be fixed up.  It is not a true antique, but he thinks it was handmade (not manufactured) and may be 40-50 years old or more (based on some of the turned wood parts, like large screws).  We found out why it was so dirty.  The antique mall had an arson fire a year ago and a lot of things were covered in soot.  They hadn’t even bothered to clean it off after a year!  Well anyway, I made my offer, we loaded it into the truck and brought it home, and here is a picture before cleaning and restoration work begin, hopefully this winter.  Then I will spin some yarn for a Cowichan sweater.

What’s in the bag?

My new HansenCrafts electronic minispinner!

I ordered it 4 weeks ago from the HansenCrafts website.  Since I was going to be out in Port Townsend last weekend anyway, for my annual knitting-spinning-eating-laughing-walking etc event, and they are made nearby in Chimacum, WA, I arranged for a field trip to pick it up in person from Kevin Hansen.  Since I was without camera, my friend Rebecca took some and has given permission to use some of them:

test spinning at HansenCrafts

Kevin and his wife Beth had just come back from two shows (SOAR – Spin-Off Autumn Retreat – and the New York State Sheep & Wool festival at Rhinebeck, NY) and he had about 30 of these babies to ship out.

Here is Rebecca trying out the walnut and maple minispinner that somehow wound up going home with her and her sister Peggy:

They only started serious production on these in the last year, and have been overwhelmingly successful.  There is even a Ravelry group devoted to the HansenCrafts minispinner (I think you may have to join Ravelry to see this page, but am not sure).

I ordered mine in bubinga, an African hardwood.  No, it won’t spin any better than the standard maple or cherry versions, but I decided to splurge on beauty and uniqueness.  Kevin said the specialty woods are denser and the unit a little heavier, which can give it some extra stability when the bobbin gets full.  I don’t know which I am more in love with, the minispinner itself  or the WooLee Winder.  I haven’t had a WooLee Winder before – you don’t have to keep stopping to move the yarn from hook to hook on the flyer, or slide the thread guide along, depending on the style of your wheel.  This will be especially useful for plying, where both of your hands are full anyway and stopping to slide the yarn along the flyer is a real pain.  On the minispinner, it is a jumbo bobbin and will hold a lot more than the standard WooLee Winder bobbins that you can order for many brands of spinning wheels.

I did get one extra bobbin, and I think that will be enough.  I usually wind off my spun singles onto storage bobbins anyway (the Leclerc plastic ones used for sectional warping on a loom) – a tip from Judith MacKenzie.  And when plying, I will just be winding the plied yarn off onto a niddy-noddy or skeiner.  So one bobbin for whatever singles I am working on, and one bobbin for plying – that’s the theory.

Beautiful bubinga minispinner

It comes in a nice little hemp tote bag with the HansenCrafts logo on it, but I knew I wanted to get something that would protect it better.  On the way home from Port Townsend, we stopped in Port Gamble to visit The Artful Ewe and the new quilting shop there, Quilted Strait.  That’s where I found the green tote bag, just the right size for the little spinner and its accessories, plus room for some spinning fiber on one side of the internal divider.  I can’t fit the extra bobbin in, but that’s OK.