Spin Off - Fall 2013

Our Fall 2013 issue has a special focus on the tools we spinners love. Our authors have shared stories of the tools they’ve loved: Elizabeth Fahey tells the tale of wheel maker Norm Hall; Peter Teal delves into his discoveries about wool combs in the 1960s that brought them back into spinning practice; Judith Helton went to great lengths—traveling through time and space—to learn the backstory of the antique wheel she purchased from a thrift store; Debbie Ellis had a chance to spin on Mahatma Gandhi’s charkha; and Marion Wheatland took her wheel to Antarctica for a special project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australian Antarctic Expedition.

There are also tips on how to use your tools better, from how to stop a spindle from wobbling, to how to use a flick carder, to how adjust your wheel so that you can spin fine yarns. And if you are looking for a wheel, this issue includes and updated and expanded Great Wheel Roundup complete with most commercial wheels and their stats.