The Celtic Spindle

I have, unfortunately, a grievous confession to make. St. Patrick was not, in fact, Irish. Eeee! He did, though, to be very fair, spend a great deal of time in Ireland and is considered one of Ireland's patron saints because of his charitable work, and not necessarily for his descent. 

I have, equally unfortunately, another grievous confession: our celtic spindle is not actually celtic. Eeee! ​

Okay, technically it is. The spindle whorl (the blue part) was taken directly from traditional Celtic designs. However, likely ancient cultures used simpler, clay whorls like the ones in this in-depth, very intense Google search. 

This spindle weighs 22 grams. I appreciated this article from SpinOff about drop spindle weights. Basically, a spindle weight matters, especially if you're new to spinning. Oddly, it also doesn't quite matter, at least according to the author. 

The way you use the drop spindles--whether from ancient clay or modern PLA--is exactly the same. Ashlea at Heart Hook Homespun shows a step-by-step process in this post. We're also hoping to put out our own tutorial, once we've updated instructions with the charkha wheel. Stay tuned!