Where did it go?

This past week was supposed to be a productive week.  I had Plans for things that I wanted to get done, but in the end I accomplished pretty much Nothing.  If only Good Intentions counted for something.

Considering the date and where I am with planning and actually getting designs down on paper I will have probably only 2 Halloween designs finished before Halloween.  I had more ideas than that, but now I’m not sure what to do with them.  I guess I should jot them down somewhere and save them for next year.  And I should probably start NOW if I’m going to make any Holiday themed ones.

If anyone has any techniques they use to stay focused and motivated in order to get done what they had planned I’d love to hear them.

“The Water Is Too Tepid,” Edith Remarked

After thinking about it for a few weeks, I have signed up for Twitter.  I’m not much into the whole social online interaction thing that sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, among others, were created for.  But since I have not managed to keep this blog updated as often as I had planned to, I realized that the “microblogging” that Twitter has brought to the web could actually be something useful for me.  I can very easily plunk out a 140 character or less update and send it into the ether to let other people know what’s going on.  And since the IM program I like to use had a Twitter plugin, I don’t even have to install any new software, or open the Twitter website.

However, I will be using my Twitter for personal, non-Tilt•A•Whorl related comments as well.  After a little research into the Twitter etiquette, I found out about hashtags.  So whenever there is a Tilt•A•Whorl related tweet, it will be preceded with the #tiltaw hashtag.

I’ve also added a Twitter Update feed to the sidebar over there —>

So if you’re on Twitter, follow me and you can find out what’s going on before I post it anywhere else!

Here We Are Again…

This is NOT what I had in mind when I decided to start this blog.  I had “plans” and “ideas” that sound good in theory but in practice just haven’t come to fruition yet.  One of my weaknesses is that I can often see too many different ways of doing something and I become bogged down by the sheer number of choices possible.

I HAVE been making spindles, however.  They’ve just been commissions for people so I’ve not felt the requirement to post about them here as some of them are just variations of ones I’ve already made.  You can check out Flickr as I’ve posted photos of most of them there.

I still have lots of ideas for new spindles, it’s just a matter of sitting down and doing it.  I have found inspiration in a few items I picked up at our local Dollar Tree.  A couple of them are halloween/gothic themed so those will be next on the assembly table.  After that I have a cool idea inspired by something I ran across on a craft blog sent to me by a online buddy of mine.  It’s for something new to do with the drain strainers I’ve used before, but done in a way I hadn’t thought of yet.  And then THAT lead to a combination of two ideas that I think will make a really cool spindle.  But that’s all I’ll say for the moment, you’ll just have to wait and see.  :)

I’ve also decided that I’m going to open an Etsy store.  I don’t have a date as to when, but as soon as I can get a few spindles made up so I have an inventory then I’ll open it.  I’m shooting for the end of the month.  The current plan is to not only sell spindles, but other handmade things as well.  I have a few ideas for other things already, and I’m sure I will get others.  I figured an Etsy store would be the easiest way to try and sell these things, plus it will streamline the selling of spindles a little bit.

I would like to say that if there is anything about my spindles that you find bothersome or that just doesn’t work for you to please let me know.  Recently I got a comment from a woman about the hooks I use, and how she thought they were too big and heavy, and another had suggested that she thought the shaft was a little too long.  I am going to be making some 9” long shafts one some of my spindles, but I will also still make some with 12” shafts.  Some people like the longer shaft, so that will continue to be available.  I will also be using a few square shafts soon, which will be in 10”, 9”, and 8” lengths.  I realize that seems odd, but it’s the way the math worked out when the square dowel I bought was 36” long.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do about the hooks yet, so if you have any feedback I’d like to hear it.  I’ve not bent my own from wire like most of the other spindle makers do because of the strength issue.  I don’t want my hooks to get bent out of shape if they’re dropped.  Anyway, if something seems off about any spindle I’ve made, please tell me.  I STILL haven’t learned to spin myself, so a lot of things could very easily escape notice.

What I do to test the spin of a finished spindle is to have a 4 foot length of embroidery floss doubled over, I hold it up with both ends in one hand, and hang the spindle by the fold then give it a good flick to see how it spins.  I’ve discovered that a lot of times the worst wobble is introduced in the spin by an off-kilter flick.  Once I get a nice level spin going, then I’ll just let it go until it stops and then backspins, and that will usually show me if there’s a balance issue that will cause wobble.  If the wobble gets bad enough to cause a change in the spin speed, then I try to adjust it.  Otherwise, I call it good, and it gets put up for sale or tagged and shipped if it’s a commission.  I know that by the very nature of what I’m doing that I’ll probably NEVER get a perfect spin.  These spindles aren’t turned on a lathe, and they contain many parts that most likely will not all be identical where they seem to be.  Any one of a hundred or more things could affect the balance of the spindles I make. 

To be honest, I’m surprised they have been turning out as well as they have, and that people have been using them.  As long as people keep buying them and I continue to enjoy making them, then I will do so.  It just takes me longer than a lot of the other spindle makers.  I’ve found a few ways to make things a little bit easier, like when I found the wonderful 1/16” hole paper punch with a 2” reach from McGill.  Without it I could not have done designs like Blanche that contains 320 holes needed for stitching it together.  And it takes time to stitch them together making sure that everything is pulled tight and knotted securely.  It also takes time to plan new designs, and since I very much dislike simply replicating the same thing over and over again, there’s a lot of planning to do because I have done so many different designs.  I have realized that, as WonderMike pointed out, that coming up with brand new designs all the time was like continually reinventing the wheel.  While that’s cool because I can explore a lot of ideas and such, it can also be a pain because each design has it’s own set of problems to solve.  Sometimes I just want to MAKE a spindle, not necessarily have to DESIGN one every single time.  But I can’t stick to just one style or type of spindle either.  I get different ideas that I just have to go with to see where they take me.  And I think people can see that when they look at the variety of spindles I’ve made.

One last thing…

I’ve been considering signing up for Twitter as a way of being able to put out ideas and get feedback much more quickly, and as a way of making announcements like when I have a new spindle finished.  So what do you think of Twitter?  Would it be helpful or a waste of time?

Orange Garnish

Sometimes a little Orange Garnish can be quite refreshing.

A lot of people have a tendency to put a slice or wedge of lemon in their lemonade during the summer. But a slice of orange can really add some refreshment to the same lemonade. Sometimes here at my house we’ll make a gallon pitcher of lemonade, and then quarter an orange and after squeezing the juice into the mix, we drop the wedges right in to add that orangey goodness. You should try it.

This was one of those spontaneous ideas that just popped into my head while working on another spindle. I was working on Uncle Spin and getting ready to cut out the wedge shapes when I noticed they reminded me of a orange or lemon slice. I had already colored the shaft with a fade of yellow to orange, so it just seemed like I HAD to try this design and see how it would go.

All the usual suspects are here… plastic from CD and DVD cases, 8mm dark gray faceted round beads, plastic and glass seed beads, rubber grommets, and a cup hook.

He weighs 2.1 oz and is available for purchase. He’s priced at $40 plus $5 for Priority Mail shipping. SOLD!

Big Long Overdue Update

A few days ago I realized it had been over a month since I posted. Bad blogger. But I have been busy! I had commissions to make, and then I was hit with a couple of cool ideas that just ran off on their own and I finally finished those up yesterday, so now I can blog about them!

First up are two that I made inspired by the upcoming July 4th holiday.

Uncle Spin

Uncle Spin is a variation of another design I’ll talk about later on in this post. He was made from red, white, and blue opaque plastic from DVD cases, black plastic from DVD cases, 4mm frosted clear round glass beads, 6mm “montana blue” round glass beads, and red, white, and blue plastic seed beads. The shaft is 1/4” diameter and approximately 12” long. It was tinted white with “Scuff Cover” shoe polish from Kiwi, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. And of course, the usual rubber grommets and in this case the hook is a commercial cup hook. He weighs 1.1 oz.

Star Spangled

Star Spangled is also a variation of another design I’ll talk about in a minute. Like Uncle Spin he was made from the same red, white, blue, and black plastic, and the same red, white, and blue seed beads. He has 6mm “montana blue” round glass beads, and red, white, and blue star shaped sequins. The shaft is 1/4” diameter and approximately 12” long. It was tinted black with a Sharpie marker, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. And of course, the usual rubber grommets and in this case the hook is a commercial cup hook. He weighs 0.8 oz.

Next is a trio of spindles, all made from the same materials using the same design, but just in different colors.

TriPink, TriWhite, TriGreen

TriPink, TriWhite, and TriGreen came about trying to find a way to use these brass rings and chopsticks I had left. When I originally purchased them, they both came in a package of 10. These rings and chopsticks are what I used on the Twin P’s set of spindles. The size and overall “feel” of the spindles in my hands feels good. I don’t know how else to say it, and it really doesn’t make a lot of sense since I STILL haven’t started spinning yet. The chopsticks are actually bamboo, but the black finish on them makes them feel like some sort of plastic. The pink, gold, white, blue, green, and black plastic is from CD and DVD cases. The brass rings are from American Science & Surplus, and online surplus goods seller. The hooks I cut and bent from large paperclips, and of course, there’s a rubber grommet. Each one weighs 1.2 oz.

One day I was walking our dog Sadee around the yard so she could do her business, and I was watching this whirligig we have in the yard spin in the breeze. It’s one of those inexpensive nylon fabric and black plastic things that is 6 petal shapes each one being one of the 6 colors of the rainbow. And I look at it, and realize that it would make a nice spindle design. When I got back in the house I realize that I actually have the 6 necessary rainbow colors in the translucent plastic. But I only have 1 piece of the bright yellow left. So I work out the design, and find that I can get 5 petal pieces out of each piece of plastic. So here we have 5 Rainbow Whirligig spindles. Each one has a different colored shaft, and uses different beads.

Big Red Rainbow

Big Red Rainbow has a larger shaft than the others in this group at 5/16” diameter and approximately 12” long. It’s been stained with red food coloring, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. The beads are 10mm faceted glass “smoke topaz” glass round beads, and black plastic seed beads. And of course, the usual rubber grommet and in this case the hook is a commercial ceiling hook. He weighs 1.4 oz.

Blue Rainbow

Blue Rainbow has a 1/4” diameter shaft that’s approximately 11” long and was colored with a bright blue Sharpie marker, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. The beads used are 10mm blue cats eye glass beads, and black plastic seed beads. And of course, the usual rubber grommet and in this case the hook is a commercial cup hook. He weighs 1.2 oz.

Berry Rainbow

Berry Rainbow has a 1/4” diameter shaft that’s approximately 12” long and was actually colored with Strawberry Kool-Aid! I was looking for alternatives for coloring/tinting/staining the shafts, and I found an online tutorial for how to dye wood with Kool-Aid. So I tried it, and all things considered it’s works pretty good, you just don’t get the bright colors like you do when you dye yarn with Kool-Aid. This shaft was finished with semi-gloss Polyurethane from MinWax. The beads used were purple faceted bi-cone glass beads and black plastic seed beads. And of course, the usual rubber grommet and in this case the hook is a commercial ceiling hook. He weighs 1.0 oz.

Crystal Rainbow

Crystal Rainbow has a 1/4” diameter shaft approximately 12” long that has been tinted white with “Scuff Cover” shoe polish from Kiwi, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. I used 6mm faceted glass clear round beads and silver-lined clear glass seed beads. And of course, the usual rubber grommet and in this case the hook is a commercial cup hook. He weighs 1.1 oz.

Hemi Rainbow

Hemi Rainbow has a 1/4” diameter shaft that’s approximately 12” long. It was tinted black with a Sharpie marker, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. I used 6mm and 2mm hematite beads, and of course, the usual rubber grommet. In this case the hook is a commercial cup hook and he weighs 1.0 oz.

And finally…

Chili Peppers

Chili Peppers is one of those designs that just kind of hit me out of the blue. It’s not overly complex, but it’s fun and whimsical and extremely adaptable to all sorts of variations through colors, number of wedges, how those wedges are stacked, etc, etc. I’ll probably do several of variations of these in the future. It’s made from red and gold translucent plastic from CD cases and black and white plastic from DVD cases. I used 10mm gray round cats eye beads, 4mm hematite beads, and black plastic seed beads. The shaft is 5/16” in diameter, approximately 12” long, has been tinted a dark forest green with food coloring, then finished with semi-gloss Polycrylic from MinWax. And of course, the usual rubber grommets and in this case the hook is a commercial ceiling hook. He weighs 2.0 oz.

Prices

Uncle Spin	reserved
Star Spangled	SOLD
TriPink	SOLD
TriWhite	SOLD
TriGreen	SOLD
Big Red Rainbow	SOLD
Blue Rainbow	SOLD
Berry Rainbow	SOLD
Crystal Rainbow	SOLD
Hemi Rainbow	SOLD
Chili Peppers	SOLD

Shipping is $5 for Priority Mail. If you order more than one at the same time, shipping for each additional spindle is $2. I prefer PayPal, but if you can’t use PayPal, let me know and we can probably work something out.

Just leave a comment or send me an email letting me know what you’re interested in.

Dolores

Everyone, this here is Dolores.

Dolores is a new design based on the color scheme of Daisy Might and the petal shape of Petula.  The large beads providing the rim weighting are glass smokey “quartz”.  The seeds beads are black plastic and black iridescent plastic.  The shaft is 5/16” wood dowel stained with food coloring.  It is an orangey yellow at the hook end fading to a leaf green at the tip.

I also stitched it together in such a way as to make a nice starburst pattern on the bottom.  I like this detail and whenever I can work it in to a spindle design I’m going to.  Even though the bottom of the whorl won’t be seen that much, I still think it’s worth doing.

Dolores is weighs 1.3 oz and is SOLD! available for purchase.  The price is $45 plus $5 for shipping.

Flutterberries

This is Flutterberries.

Flutterberries is obviously a sister to Flutterbies.  A comment was made by crafty nurse mary asking if I could make a purple one.  I thought it would be a good idea as one of my favorite color combinations is purple and green.  There are just a few differences I made to this spindle from Flutterbies.  Obviously there’s been a color change on the butterflies, the round beads on the lower wings is brown transparent rather than green pearlescent, and the shaft, while still blue, is 5/16” in diameter.

Flutterberries weighs 1.5 oz.  Since I’ve not heard back from crafty nurse mary, I’m just going to go ahead and make Flutterberries available for purchase.  SOLD! The price is $45 plus $5 shipping.