Spindle storage!

Any crafter will go through this at some point or the other.. Yes. That's right. Storage issues! I think almost every crafter is a hoarder in disguise. Not true?? Then, I guess at least, I am a hoarder moonlighting as a crafter. ;-) Living in a 3-bedroom apartment with floor-to-ceiling shelves has its own advantages. I can, for the most part contain my crafty paraphernalia to one room and its shelves. But, I'm always looking for storage solutions that look nice. I collect cute looking boxes and tins in a hope that they'll come in handy some day... So, I had this whiskey tin that I filched form my Dad to hold all my straight knitting needles. When I came across it in my craft room, I had different ideas for it.

I'd been looking for a way to store my drop spindles without getting the shaft warped. That means, hanging the spindles by their hook from somewhere. but, where?! When I saw this tin, I had a light bulb moment.. What if I let the spindle hang inside the tin from its lid?! how about if I put a loop in the lid for the spindle to hang from?! good idea? Absolutely! so, that's what I did. Ta da!!

I punched a hole on the tin's lid and put in a loop with a jewelry finding so that the spindle can hang from the loop. There is foam lining the insides of the tin and it can store great amounts of fluff to give the spindle a safe padding. Here is a closer look at the loop..

Smart, isn't it?! Now, all I need is a few more whiskey tins to store all my spindles. Anyone willing to donate a few whiskey tins for a valid cause?! I guess, I need to find friends who drink and make them drink whiskey that comes in tins! Too bad that we don’t drink. ;-)

 If you are drooling over the spindle in the photos, its a Spinzone spindle which spins like a dream. It feels so right in my hands.. great finish and perfect balance. I didn't like the triangular hook that came with the spindle. So, I tweaked it a bit and now, its perfect for me. I'm spinning my Polwarth fiber on it now.

I have another Spinzone spindle on which I did some spindle surgery. ;-) I removed the hook on the top-whorl entirely and I am using it as a bottom whorl and it spins just as lovely as this one. I'm spinning some Merino fiber on it and I can't seem to put it down. The fiber is from WC Mercantile and it drafts like buttah!

As you can see, I've removed the hook from the spindle. I'm also seeing that I like spinning with the bottom whorl as much as I like a top-whorl spindle.. Here is a picture of the spindle in its entirety. The finish is lovely and the spindle feels heavenly in my hands.

Here is a close-up of the whorl.. I love the wood grain on it... see, the hook is missing.

I think I opened a can of worms when I bought the spindle starter kit 2 months back. I have a total of 8 drop spindles and one Russian support spindle on its way to me, as we speak. :D Remember, I'm a crafter hoarder! I guess I'll join a 12-step program for spindlers now. ;-) So, what's your latest crafty addiction? yarn? fiber? fabric? We can never have enough, can we?!

P.S: Thank you so much for all the bag love for my previous post. My new bag feels very loved and the owner is very proud of it. :-)

-Josie

This post is linked to WIP Wednesday hosted by Tami's Amis.