The hand spindle shown above is both attractive and functional. The whorl is Goncalo Alves and the shaft made of Ironwood. It was created by GA woodturner Janet Yost, whom we met a few months after we purchased it. While "hanging by a thread" the spindle is spun (usually by rubbing it against the spinner's thigh) which puts the required number of twists into the thread that is desired by the spinner. Then the thread is unhooked form the hook and wound onto the axle. Wool is played out while the spindle turns and lowered (dropped) and the process continues.

Even before Biblical times, spinners tended their flock and wandered about with their hand spindle at their side. Their hands were never idle. There is much information (and speculation) as to the number of hours required of a spinner to produce enough yarn for their first-born's clothes. Note that only the first born is mentioned because everyone else who came along got hand-me-downs.

Think for a moment about the amount of spinning required to make a shroud or a sail.

Sometimes during the spinning process, insufficient numbers of fibers or twists cause the thread to fail resulting in a dropped spindle--hence the name "drop spindle." We know one spinner who would never allow a fine spindle like the one above to fall on a floor for fear of either blunting the nicely turned finial end or shattering the piece.