Making a Spindle

First, let me say that I have been on vacation....so of course my fiber blog fodder is piling up... there was the spinning, the photos of lovely spots, the knitting of socks in the car, getting to meet Rhonna...

But first I am going to tell you about how I made a spindle for a handmade spindle swap. There are probably as many ways to make a spindle as there are people in the world... maybe more~ Here's my own little recipe.

One nice wooden knitting needle whose mate broke.
One screw-on plastic lid to a jar of Diamond nuts.
One cup-hook.
One unbleached coffee filter.
One page from an old Mary Engelbreit page-a-day calendar.
Rubber cement.

I skewered the lid through the center with the knitting needle, and slid it up until it reached the carvings. Put the cup hook on the top, and decorated the lid/whorl with the coffee filter and the calendar page.

It spins rather nicely, and is light, though it is not quite as stable as some of my other spindles. Because it made with a screw on lid, there is a slight rim weighted effect that keeps it spinning fairly long. It says "Tranquility" on it. I like it! This is a form of recycling that I can definitely warm to......