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The Hatchtown Woodshop Shop is back online. Don’t forget to let us know if you want the whorl of your spindle to have a notch. To Notch, or Not To Notch? — there’s no charge for notches. Include a note with your order or send us an email: Notches@Hatchtown.com
I should be re-opening in a few hours — Monday, June 6 11:00 am …but there are not any spindles! I had a batch of Nøstepindes turned, oiled, buffed and ready. There ARE spindle parts: shafts and whorls — but, as they say, “Some assembly required.” I’m bending brass hooks and a box of fresh adhesives has arrived.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie a’la mode …and the mode was homemade vanilla ice cream!
I’ve just “closed” the online shop for “maintenance.” There’s lots to do: I’m finally going to remove all the “SOLD” items that have been showing on the Shop pages since the deepest,darkest winter AND upload a bunch of photos of new and yes, available to buy, spindles. Nøstepindes and Orfooks. The ewes are finally out of the paddock and eating grass as God intended.
This past winter I began using the “Beall Wood Buffing System.” It is a three-step process in which each spindle is buffed against three separate cloth wheels:
The three wheel system mounts on the lathe. I am very much enjoying the new look and feel of all the Hatchtown tools.
Pam and I spent this past weekend “vending” at the annual Maine Fiber Frolic. It is always fun to visit with all our Maine “fiber friends” …many of whom we only see just once a year at the Frolic. Yesterday, during the usual Sunday stretches of inactivity at the Hatchtown booth, I took all the spindles out back of Windsor Fairground Building No. 2 and photographed them. If I really apply myself, by tomorrow sometime, I’d hope to have inventory on display up here on the website.
The past week has been nøstepinde intensive. I’ve been doing a lot of work on the website and had noted that the graphics on the “Nøsting …or…Zen and the Art of Ballwinding with a Nøstepinde” page were looking very old-fashioned. They dated back to the days of yore when computer download speeds were abysmally slow and the web designers primary goal was to make image files as absolutely small as possible. I decided that NOW was the time to “kill two birds.” I am re-jiggering the nøstepinde instructions and will finally set them up as a PDF file which people will be able to download, print out, archive in Evernote or whatever. In the recent months I’ve been doing a lot of research in YouTube on various hobbies I’ve been adopting. So, I was not surprised to find a number of good videos covering the use of the nøstepinde. In the past, when folks asked me how they could learn to use a nøsty I would send them to our “Nøsting” webpage. These days, I have to admit, my first recommendation would be that they check out YouTube. It’s much easier to first learn to do something while listening and watching than by reading. I found Ann Kingstone’s “Nostepinne” especially helpful and complete.  wrapping parallel diagonals But, it was “Using a Kromski Nostepinne” by Tim Horchler of The Woolery/New Voyager Video that really piqued my curiousity!  wrapping figure 8 “crosses” Tim promotes a completely different winding pattern than I had ever run across. Rather than placing all his wraps as parallel diagonals, he crosses his diagonals, making a series of “figure 8’s.” Noting that Tim’s video has been viewed more than 13,000 times I am guessing that a bunch of nøstepinders out there are “figure-eighting”. I’ve set up a “questionnaire” (see below) that, if you’re game, you will fill out and submit. If there are enough submissions I’ll collate the results and post a report here and on the Nosty Luv group that I’ve just discovered on Ravelry. If you still have remaining form-filling energy you might want to jump over to the “Tools” page and get put on the “Woodshop News” mailing list. You’ll receive emailed announcements as fresh inventory is listed in the shop. |
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Hatchtown Farm — Pam & Jim Child — pamjim@hatchtown.com
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