The Drop Spindle

I truly believe that this is a tool to make the ugliest yarn on earth. ;) While waiting for my spinning wheel to be delivered, I am having to 'practice' on this drop spindle. Yesterday, I succeeded in making what is probably the ugliest yarn ever. But, hey, I figure, I DID make something that at least LOOKS like yarn. I will have to get a few snapshots of the yarn and post them here as well. It's made from my practice bag, generously supplied by my mentor, of orange wool. Let me tell you, when I first sent this thing spinning I was thinking of all those thousands of years that humans had to use this tool...and how fine the work was that they produced. In these modern times there is so much talk of how much time is spent in front of the TV, but I'm sure that this little tool caused many a people to sit with it for HOURS on end trying to get a few yards of thread/yarn to supply the villages. I've had to learn to stop this little do-dad from spinning the life out of my yarn and while each of my hands is doing something on their own accord, my toes have had to get into the action to secure this little bugger while it's 'dropped' and stopped. My first few spindles few of yarn has spots in it that look like Cheetos...the fluffy baked kind!