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Michael and Sheila Ernst are a delightful couple from Drain, Oregon with a "hot" profession - they work in glass. I first met Sheila and Michael at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon. They had a booth full of pretties that one could drool over all day long. One of the specialties of Michael and Sheila are glass buttons. They have buttons with dichroic glass, buttons with organic shapes inside and my favorite - the flowers in glass. But the item that really had me wowed was their glass spindle. One of my dreams has always been to learn to work in glass, and here was my dream married to my passion! I had to find out more about this remarkable item.

In addition to their buttons, the Ernst's also offer a line of glass tools for fiber pursuits. They have glass handled orifice hooks with spirals of color captured inside, Crochet hooks fit for a princess, smooth and beautiful circular needles made of glass, and the enticing glass spindle.

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Their glass spindle is nick-named the "don't-drop spindle" and of course you should take care when spinning with one of these sparklers. However, it is surprisingly durable for a glass item. Sheila and Michael use a pyrex glass in their glasswork which resists breakage (although it is not unbreakable). The spindles have a delicate fluted shape with whimsical knobbys around the rim. In addition to being delightfully decorative, these little glass nubbins serve several useful purposes including adding weight to the rim and forming a stop (similar to the function of a notched rim) for the yarn in progress. The spindles are on the medium to heavy side because of the dense nature of glass.

Michael Ernst got started in glasswork in 1972 when he started making glass pens. Sheila learned glassworking from Michael and began making glass beads. They have shown their glass art at craft shows throughout the United States. The spinning connection occurred when Sheila met Linda Diak at a TKGA conference. Glass and wood exchanged hands and another spinner was born. Although Sheila considers herself to be primarily a glass artist, she is also a keen spinner now and makes all kinds of items from her handspun including socks, scarves, hats, and more. Now Sheila and Michael have married that interest with the glass in the form of their glass spindle. Don't drop it.

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