Funny story. I never realize how “famous” my spindles are until I double check social media posts to see if I can reuse photos or have to take new ones!

The fourth spindle in my supported spindle fashion show is a holly bead with a chakte viga shaft, which has appeared on this blog at least three times! It also made a featured appearance in my YouTube video about fixing blunted spindle tips.

The spindle in question is a vintage Spanish Peacock bead spindle, with a holly whorl and a chakte viga shaft. The whorl features a splotch of bark wood, which color coordinates beautifully with the shaft. The weight is some mysterious number under 28 grams, because that is how much is weighs with the fiber currently on it!

… no, I still haven’t plyed these singles, which I posted about back in February! I’m letting them “rest”, yes, yes that’s it. The singles need to rest. (You believe me, right?) Luckily, the latest iteration of the Spanish Peacock spindle storage stand features a way to store supported spindles even once they have fiber on them!)

This spindle is one of my favorites not just because it’s beautiful, fast, and has the ideal length and weight for how I spin supported. It is also the first spindle I “licked”. I had purchased some fiber at Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival 2015, and when packing up the Spanish Peacock booth on Sunday I spotted this gorgeous bead spindle that hadn’t sold. And it coordinated beautifully with my fiber!

(PSA: no, I do not actually lick the spindles, nor should anyone reading this. Not only does it spread germs, Spanish Peacock spindles are often made with exotic woods which should not be ingested. “Licking” is a metaphor!)

If you want some perspective on just how slowly I spin, it took over a year for me to spin, chain ply, and knit that fiber into a scarf… which was still a week late as a Christmas gift for my mom!

The pattern is the “Party Lace Scarf“, and I chose it to show off the color gradients because the lace design doesn’t upstage the yarn colors. (See, I finish projects occasionally!)

Earlier I described this bead spindle as “vintage.” You can roughly identify the age of a Spanish Peacock bead spindle based on the shape of its spinning tip. The original bead spindles (circa 2013) are perfectly straight until they reach the tip. From 2014 through to early 2016, the tip shape remains relatively simple, like you see in this holly and chakte viga bead. Starting late 2016, the tips transition to the more ornate shapes you see in current Spanish Peacock beads, Tibetans, and ninjas. Occasionally there will be a “throwback” (Wobblyboi, for instance), but this is generally rare. If you buy a destashed Spanish Peacock bead spindle, knowing about the tip shape can help identify the approximate age of the spindle.

Stay tuned for the next “model” in my Supported Spindle Fashion Show – you may be surprised! (OK, maybe not if you watched the video!)