The Three Sisters Lightweight Walnut and Birch Drop Spindles with Pyrography

The Three Sisters Lightweight Walnut and Birch Drop Spindles with Pyrography

The "Three Sisters" are a group of mountains in the Cascade Range that we see every day here in Central Oregon. Dave has crafted his latest trio of lightweight drop spindles, so named for these beautiful mountains, from dark, elegant walnut. Each whorl has been notched and adorned with Dave's signature pyrographic leaf design. The end of each birch shaft has been shaped to accommodate a half hitch and a brass hook has been added to the top.


The sizes of these spindles are:


*Length: 10 inch spindle 
Diameter: 2 3/8 inch whorl
Weight: 1.0 ounces


*Length: 8 inch spindle
Diameter: 2 inch whorl
Weight: 0.75 ounces


*Length: 6 inch spindle
Diameter: 1 1/2 inch whorl
Weight: 0.5 ounces

Five New "Tibetan Lite" Support Spindles

Goncalo Alves, Bocote, Cocobolo, Purpleheart and Rosewood 

We have just added five new "Tibetan Lite" support spindles to our Etsy shop.  This is a smaller version of Dave's popular Tibetan support spindle.

Carved Tagua Nut and Walnut Bead Support Spindle

Carved Tagua Nut and Walnut Bead Support Spindle

This gorgeous carved tagua nut and walnut bead support spindle measures 10 1/4 inches in length overall and weights 1.0 ounces. Dave has carved the tagua nut, which is sometimes referred to as vegetable ivory, with his signature leaf motif.

**Please note that carved tagua nut ivory support spindles will be limited in availability and can only be purchased when they are listed in our Etsy Shop. I cannot take orders for this spindle since finding the right ivory nut for a bead spindle is a random process. Only one nut in many might be good enough for carving a bead whorl. The reliability of being able to make one on demand is not sufficient enough for me to take orders from customers or even predict when the next one will be available. When I make one, I will just post it for sale.**

Cobalt Blue Glass Bead Whorl Spindle

Cobalt Blue Glass Bead Whorl Spindle

Dave has created this bead whorl spindle with a cobalt blue 34mm glass bead from India.  The holes of these large beads are fairly on center but you can expect some slight wobble in these spindles since the glass whorl cannot be shaped for balance on the shaft while turning on the lathe like wooded whorls.


Dave turned the spindle shaft which measures about 10 1/2 inches and weights about 1.9 ounces, from Brazilian Cherry wood.


Bead whorl spindles are designed and widely used to spin fine yarns. They are the most efficient style spindle for cotton and other short staple fibers such as cashmere and camel down.(Ref: Handspindles by Bette Hochberg).

Hard Maple and Bocote Top Whorl Drop Spindle with Pyrography

Hard Maple and Bocote Top Whorl Drop Spindle with Pyrography

Hard maple and bocote are the woods Dave chose for this 1.1 ounce top whorl drop spindle. He has adorned the 2 1/8 inch diameter hard maple whorl with his signature pyrographic rose and leaf motif. The overall length of this beautiful handspinning tool is 8 1/2 inches and a brass hook has been added.

Hard Maple and Purpleheart Top Whorl Drop Spindle with Pyrography

Hard Maple and Purpleheart Top Whorl Drop Spindle with Pyrography

Dave's signature leaf motif has been burn etched around the edges of the notched hard maple whorl of this beautiful drop spindle. The top of the whorl has been adorned with his rose and leaf motif. The overall length of this spindle is 9 inches, and it weights 1.3 ounces. A brass hook has been added to the purpleheart shaft.

Myrtlewood and Walnut Tibetan Support Spindle with Matching Bowl

Myrtlewood and Walnut Tibetan Support Spindle with Matching Bowl

Dave has crafted the whorl of this elegant Tibetan support spindle from myrtlewood burl and the shaft is walnut. He has added oak leaves around the whorl, and they are also on the matching support bowl. The length of this spindle is 11 1/2 inches, and the weight is 50 grams. Our ceramic bowl measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and the gorgeous myrtlewood wood base is 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Cork has been added to the bottom of this bowl to keep the wood from scratching other hard surfaces.

Goncalo Alves Top Whorl Silk Drop Spindle

Goncalo Alves Top Whorl Silk Drop Spindle

This lovely top whorl silk drop spindle was turned from goncalo alves. It weights 1.6 ounces and a brass hook has been added. An additional photo can be found in our GrizzlyMountainArts Etsy shop.

Cherry and Chechen Tibetan Support Spindle

Cherry and Chechen Tibetan Support Spindle

Dave has crafted the whorl of this elegant Tibetan supported spindle from chechen wood. Chechen is also known as Caribbean rosewood. The cherry shaft measures 11 1/2 inches long, and the weight of this beautiful handspinning tool is 50 grams. Additional photos can be found in our Etsy shop.

Honduras Rosewood, Ebony and Fossil Mammoth Ivory Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Honduras Rosewood, Ebony and Fossil Mammoth Ivory Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Dave has crafted this 1.6 ounce top whorl drop spindle from honduras rosewood and ebony. The 2 5/8 inch honduras rosewood whorl has been accented with beautiful fossil mammoth ivory. The shaft was crafted from ebony, and the overall length of this stunning handspinning tool is 10 inches. A brass hook has been added to this drop spindle.

An additional photo can be found in our Etsy shop.

New Wrist Distaffs on Etsy

Bocote, Poplar and Walnut "Bee's Knees" Wrist Distaffs

We have just added the three wrist distaffs above to our Etsy shop. These unique wrist distaffs all feature the "Bee's Knees" carved design. The woods used in these distaffs are bocote, walnut and poplar.

Top or Bottom Whorl Walnut and Birch Drop Spindle with Pyrography

Top or Bottom Whorl Walnut and Birch Drop Spindle with Pyrography

This versatile drop spindle has been notched and slotted on both ends, and can be used as both a top whorl or a bottom whorl spindle. The 2 inch walnut whorl has been adorned with Dave's pyrographed leaf motif, and he has carried the leaf motif to the 10 inch birch shaft. The weight of this spindle is 0.9 ounces.

Walnut "Bee's Knees" Wrist Distaff with WPI Gauges

Walnut "Bee's Knees" Wrist Distaff with WPI Gauges
~Click photo for a larger view~

This "bee's knees" style distaff is very similar to a familiar style of lace bobbin that Dave has made in the past. Bees have segmented legs with joints or "knees" in between, and this is reflected in the design of this 7 inch long walnut distaff. Of course, everyone knows that the expression "the bee's knees" is also a term meaning excellence-the highest quality. This lovely distaff has both a 1 inch WPI and a 1/2 inch WPI on the end. A swivel was added to allow the distaff to rotate or turn as the roving is pulled from it.

Lightweight Walnut Hand Distaff with Carved Checkering

~Click Photo for a Zoom View~
Lightweight Walnut Hand Distaff

This is a new handspinning tool for our Etsy shop! Beautiful carved checkering adorns the top of this walnut hand distaff. Weighting 2.0 ounces, this lightweight distaff would be a lovely addition to your handspinning tool collection.

Walnut, Cherry and Hard Maple Tibetan Support Spindle with Pyrography

Walnut, Cherry and Hard Maple Tibetan Support Spindle with Pyrography

Dave has crafted this 12 inch long Tibetan support spindle from walnut, cherry and hard mahogany. The rim of the walnut whorl has been adorned with a beautiful pyrographed rose and leaf motif. The shaft was crafted from cherry, and the point from hard mahogany. This gorgeous spindle weights 1.8 ounces (50 grams).

Goncalo Alves and Mammoth Ivory Russian Support Spindle

Goncalo Alves and Mammoth Ivory Russian Support Spindle

Dave has crafted this lovely Russian support spindle from Goncalo Alves. He has inlayed the spindle with fossil mammoth ivory accents.

This Russian support spindle measures 11 3/4 inches in length, and weights 40g (1.4 ounces).

"Autumn" Ceramic Support Spinning Bowl

Autumn Ceramic Support Spinning Bowl

This is a new glaze for us called "Autumn". It has gorgeous fall colors of various shades of greens and browns.

Our ceramic spinning bowl measures 3 inches in diameter across the bottom with a recessed well to support the spindle on top.

Honduras Rosewood, Ebony and Maple Burl Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Honduras Rosewood, Ebony and Maple Burl Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Dave has created this 9 1/2 inch long top whorl drop spindle from Honduras Rosewood, Ebony and Maple burl. The 2 1/2 inch diameter notched whorl was crafted from Honduras Rosewood and Maple Burl. The naturally occurring cavities of the Maple burl have been filled with turquoise and brass. The shaft was crafted from Ebony. This gorgeous spindle weights 1.4 ounces. A brass hook has been added.

Padauk and Tiger Maple Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Padauk and Tiger Maple Top Whorl Drop Spindle

Dave has carved distinctive checkering around the beautiful 2 5/8 inch diameter Padauk whorl of this drop spindle. The shaft has been crafted from a gorgeous piece of Tiger Maple and measures 10 1/2 inches overall, 9 inches below the whorl. The weight of this one-of-a-kind handspinning tool is 1.4 ounces. A brass hook has been added and a notch carved into the whorl.

"The Victorian" Oregon Myrtlewood Top Whorl Drop Spindle

"The Victorian" Oregon Myrtlewood Top Whorl Drop Spindle

"The Victorian" is our new signature spindle. Beautifully carved checkering and a lovely Victorian leaf motif adorns the whorl of this Oregon Myrtlewood top whorl drop spindle. This drop spindle measures 9 1/2 inches in length, and has a 2 3/8 inch diameter whorl. The weight of this spindle is 0.8 ounces. A brass hook has been inserted into the top.