 Tom and Linda
By Janel Laidman
S: When and how did you get interested in spinning?
LD: I purchased my first spinning wheel 21 years ago. I didn't begin to spin, however, until after I had our third boy. Time and energy, or the lack thereof, insisted that I step away from the looms I had worked on my entire life. No longer able to meditate, either, without instantly falling asleep, a friend urged me to take up spinning. Having sold the original wheel, I set about in search of another. Various fiber stores tried to sell me all manner of fancy wheels, but a Louet S-51 won me over with its sheer simplicity. That wheel was incredibly soothing to my harried, new mom soul.
S: Who turns the spindles?
LD: Tom, aka Shaft, designs and turns the spindles. I'm only responsible for the hooks. He had never touched a lathe when, in 2001, I wanted a basic, well functioning spindle that I could paint sheep images on. Tom had given me a lathe for the previous Christmas. I had given him a digital camera. Neither of us used our gifts until suddenly he was using the lathe to turn spindles and I was using the camera to build a website. Without realizing it, we had give one another that which we needed most ourselves.
S: Is Tom also a spinner?
LD: Tom spins wood. When we first started producing the spindles, I told him he would need to learn how to spin if he was going to develop good spindles. He responded "I already know how to spin." "No you don't," I said. "Oh yes, I do," he countered and picked up a spindle I had been working on, grabbed a tuft of wool, hooked it up, and produced a perfect yarn. "I've been watching you," was his response to my awestruck expression.
S: You have a variety of shapes and sizes. I'm particularly fond of the fibership, tell us which ones are your favorites.
LD: Of the drop spindles, my favorite is the Swan. The Swans are elegant, show off the wood wonderfully, and spin a broad range of yarns. The spindles I enjoy using most, however, are the Navajo spindles. The Fiberships are Tom's personal favorite - he loves making those spindles.
S: Which woods do you like best for spindles.
LD: One of my favorite woods is olivewood. I have a Swan made of Vermont cherry burl, however, that I absolutely adore. Cocobolo and Bocote would have to be included in a list of my preferred woods. Oh, and Macassar Ebony. And Pear and Apple woods, too. The Apple and Pear woods tend to be a much plainer wood in terms of appearance, but they have an energy to them that strongly appeals to me.
S: Tell us a bit about the spindle barn, is it tensioned?
LD: A friend who was teaching spinning asked us to develop a reasonably priced tensioned kate for spindles for use in her classes. The Spindlebarn was the result. It has a tension string that can be adjusted, soft surfaces for the spindles to rest in so that they are not scratched or scuffed in the plying process, and storage in the box for a bit of fiber, extra spindles, or tools.
S: Will any spindle fit into it?
LD: Most any but the tiniest of spindle will fit in the Spindlebarn. There are straps to hold spindles in place, which allow for the whorls to rest inside or outside the barn, depending on the construction of the spindles.
S: I like your pointed shaft ends, is there a reason you make them that way?
LD: The speed of a spindle is dependent on the construction of the whorl, but it also relies on how fast or slow the spinner spins the spindle. A tapered shaft allows for a range of spinning speeds based on which portion of the shaft the spinner uses to twirl the spindle, with the zippiest speeds achieved by using the portion of the shaft which is the smallest in diameter. For plying or more contemplative spinning, the spindle can be twirled using the larger portion of the shaft. It's always nice to have options, don't you think?
S: Tell us a bit about where you live.
LD: We live in a small, rustic 200 year old cape in Grafton, Vermont. We have 15 mostly wooded acres, and next door is a 10 acre pasture that our sheep and llamas currently inhabit. Our house had never had a furnace until 2002 when we installed one. The primary source of heat, however, is a 1903 Glenwood stove that has been in this house since, well, 1903. When we bought the place, Tom gutted the house, had it raised 6 inches in the center (the Vermont "sag" is a common element in old houses here), and he has since put it somewhat back together. The house has a long way to go, however, before it can be considered renovated. Most of our neighbors were born in this house, and the rest of our neighbors are related to the people who were born in this house.
The village of Grafton, a mile down the road, is a lovely historic village that is home to Grafton Village Cheese, the Nature Museum, a handful of galleries and shops, and The Old Tavern at Grafton, housed in The Grafton Inn.
S: Where can our readers buy your spindles?
LD: Spindles can be found at a number of the vendors listed on our website, or can be special ordered by contacting us directly. http://www.graftonfibers.com
S: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
LD: Our business has been in a constant state of evolution, often fluctuating wildly as we attempt to navigate the ever-changing roads before us. The fiber community has been extremely supportive of us as we have grown and tolerant of us as we have explored new avenues, and for this we are honored and endeavor to give back to the community as much as we can. As artists, we are thrilled to be pursuing our artistic ideals. As a couple, we are blessed to be working together at something we love with someone we love, continually amazing (and occasionally confounding) one another. As parents, we are doing our best to impart in our children the importance of following one's heart.
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