Beth of www.thespinningloft.com a loyal reader and my pal for Fiber Frenzy liked the spindles so well, she ordered 15 of them.

A little background on Beth, she is an absolute expert spinner, specializing in lace weight.  I can tell you that she spins very well with a highly technical ability.  Anyhow, I sent her the first batch which you saw in an earlier post.   After testing them out, despite my reservations, and some problems with 2 of the smallest ones, I have a second opionion, and you can read her unbiased opinion.

I got the spindles today and tried them all.  My least favorite are the smallest whorls.  I’m not sure if it needs a smaller shaft or what.  I’ll play with them a little more on Saturday, I only had a minute or two with each today – but they sure are beautiful.  I’ve chosen one for myself – the one with the swirly top next to the hook. That wood near the hook seems to have gotten cracked in transit so I’m going to glue it and see if it helps.
These spindles are just fabulous and I’m sure I’ll have no trouble selling them.

I had been concerned about the whorl size, but it seems that they do just fine, even though the whorls are smaller.  The two smallest ones, were not so good, so we will not be making any THAT small until we can manage to correct that problem.  Here is the rest of Beth’s order, I have done a couple of larger spindles in the 35 – 40 gram size, and also a couple of bottom whorl spindles.

The whorls are horribly difficult to photograph as a group, but they are all really beautiful.  I am very pleased with them.  We shall see what Beth thinks about the modifications made on these.

So, excepting for the smallest ones, and one that had a small crack, they were all a success.  I will have to wrap them in MORE bubble wrap next time, and see if that protects them more.  Of course Beth will be able to get three new spindles, if she wishes, although it would seem that she is attached to them, because thus far, she doesn’t want to exchange them

So now, I am off to the wood store to buy better wood to use, and also to get a few little tools that will help me out a lot.  I am also getting some special finishes and some other fun stuff that should make the next batch even better.