Spindle and Company

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Gunnedah, NSW
Spindle and Company

Hi I'm Kelly! I'm a fibre artist, spinner and weaver.

Come join me in my online spinning membership 'Flock' or in my studio 'The Wheelhouse' in Gunnedah, Australia to unleash your creativity.

29/12/2021

Questions to ask yourself when you find a fibre you LOVE! ⁠
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What is it *really* made from?⁠
Where is it made?⁠
Who made it?⁠
What kind of impact does it have on the planet?⁠
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Each month I try to give my members a head start in fibre research by answering these questions for them so that they can have the facts that help them make informed decisions about the fibres they use in their work. ⁠
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Sari silk is one fibre I have loved ever since I first saw it in a fibre supply shop, but answering these questions has been so hard. ⁠
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Why do I insist on digging, on finding these things out...because I have come to a point where ignorance is no longer bliss. I find I can't actually fully enjoy a fibre if I don't understand how it was created. ⁠
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So, what's a fibre you love, could be sari silk also, that you'd love to know more about? Let me know in the comments. (Swipe for more stunning sari silk!)

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas🎄 and wishing you all the best for you and your loved ones! ⁠
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Today I'm taking time to go for a walk and be super present with all I have to be grateful for.⁠
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I hope you can find a moment to do the same and know that you are loved, you are enough, you are worthy and you are needed! ⁠
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Thank you so much for being here, and I hope that this holiday season you can find something that lights you up like sari silk does me! Get excited, have fun and if you can, spin something just for the process! ⁠
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Photos of course are just to continue in my celebration of sarees and sari silk fibres we spinners use. I have loved learning so much more about this magical garment with my members this month. xx

21/12/2021

Woven borders..what are they? ⁠
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Yesterday was (I’m late I know, my apologies!) Today I wanted to highlight the detail on some dates.

You will find in many dates that the border of the fabric is very ornate and detailed, making it a stand out feature when you look at the garment as a whole. ⁠
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But did you also know this extra adornment adds weight? If you're a weaver or knitter you may realise that hundreds of thread floats hide on the reverse of the fabric, and all of this extra detail and weight helps the saree fabric to drape more cleanly. ⁠
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Please go and check out these wonderful women I found, all highlighting the beauty of these incredible garments. You'll see them draping, folding, tucking, pinning and measuring stunning sari cloth, and keep an extra eye out for the borders that pull the designs together. ⁠
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⁠jain

17/12/2021

I have a confession...I'm a closet hoarder! ⁠
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Ok maybe not so much closeted but I have this unrelenting urge to collect and keep rocks, bits of broken pottery, pine cones, gum nuts and sea shells. ⁠
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I have always been and still am almost unable to take a walk anywhere and not pick up some little treasure. It's just in me! One time I even convinced my Mum to let me bring a sea sponge home from Sydney with me...6 hrs in the car?!⁠
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I kept it in a blue ice cream container on our stove top for about 3 weeks, fed it salted tap water, and eventually had to let it go when our house smelt so putrid my Mum couldn't stand it any longer. ⁠
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I have however moved on from rotting sea sponges and now like to indulge my bower bird tendencies by collecting precious beads and embellishments and using them in my yarns and weavings. ⁠
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Are you a collector too? I'd love to know what funny thing you always love to keep!

15/12/2021

How is sari silk made?⁠
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I am so lucky to have been gifted some sari silk fabric from my sister many years ago, after she had a business trip to India. 🥻⁠
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For years I've had it folded and stored away like the precious fabric it is, and then this past month I brought it out to study it and take some photos for you all. ⁠(swipe to see some photos of my sari fabric)⁠
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Saree silk cloth can be either machine woven or hand woven, and naturally it's the hand made silk I'm really excited about because of the people involved in the process. (I don't know if mine pictured was hand made or machine made, but either way it is stunning!)⁠
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What fascinates me about hand woven sari silk is that it takes such an incredible amount of time and skill, like mind blowing amounts of skill! There are so many stages, from silk worm to saree, and so many wonderful souls take part in its production that it just feels like pure magic to be holding this fabric in my own hands. ⁠
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If you ever have 10 mins do yourself the biggest favour ever and look on YouTube for saree silk weavers...it will open your eyes to the huge amount of time and skill that goes into every single sari. ⁠
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08/12/2021

Connection...we all want it yet a great many of us spend hours of our lives pseudo connecting. ⁠
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Scrolling, hitting like, texting...these are all ways we feel more connected to others but at the end of the day I sometimes feel worse for doing these things. ⁠
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You know what I never regret though...spending actual real time with those who light me up. You never regret that. ⁠
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Getting to meet Sarah .it irl, getting to eat with her family and see her gorgeous home and dive through her rock stash is a moment in time I think of often. ⁠
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So when I make connections like these, with beautiful multi faceted people who have whole lives and passions and create art...it seems so natural to me to foster that connection. ⁠
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And so, in my latest Well Spun Box I got to feature an exclusive design created just for my subscribers, (pictured here) and you can only imagine how happy that made me. This incredible naturally expired Monarch art piece got shipped out with some stunning pure white Falkland Wool, and you can now shop these suspend its via Sarah's shop too. ⁠
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So go, make some connections and enjoy the cross over of IG and real life. You won't regret it!

05/12/2021

Looking for a way to get the spark back? NOTHING gets me more excited and more motivated to spend more time spinning than discovering a new fibre and a fun way to use it. ⁠
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I mean just look at this folks? Have you ever seen sari silk in such a magical literally lit yarn? I doubt it! ⁠
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If you're looking to reinvigorate your spinning, to get back to that feeling you got your very first time you ever spun...then please come join us! ⁠
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Flock is the place for us to all get insanely excited about fibre again. I always remember my good friend once said to me my studio was like preschool for grown ups. SO many possibilities for joy and delight and play. ⁠
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So let's indulge that sweet inner child, let them be mystified and awed by the magic that is spinning yarn. ⁠
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The Gates close December 10th so please click the link in my bio and let's get creative together.

03/12/2021

Teeswater...have you ever seen such amazing locks before? ⁠
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I'm a kid of the 90's and tbh this yarn is giving me all the Lady Lovely Locks vibes...tell me you remember her too?⁠
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We used to go into our local 'Video Ezy' and borrow video tapes of all our favs. Care Bears, Gummi Bears, Lady Lovely Locks (always one of my choices) and then go home and fight with our VCR player. ⁠
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We grew up in a super old home and the power was so dodgy that we'd be watching a movie and if Mum put the electric kettle on the VCR would spit out our movie! NO JOKE! ⁠
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Swipe for more Teeswater yarns from last months Flock tutorials, and for some priceless nostalgia for my 80s/90s fellows. ⁠
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PS if you want to join us inside Flock the gates are now open and you’ll get instant access to this tutorial plus many others! Link in my bio x

02/12/2021

It's time for another Well Spun surprise! ⁠
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Now that most of the boxes have finally arrived safe and sound I can share the amazing contents with you all! ⁠
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Here you'll see a stunning, hand crafted piece of glass art from my good friend Sarah .it She lovingly turned these naturally expired Monarch butterfly wings into a truly unique screw cover for my subscribers from her home studio in sunny Ca. ⁠
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Alongside this gorgeous piece of art is Falkland Wool. This almost has to be my all time favourite because it's origin story is so wild, literally! ⁠And then of course the meditation is what ties these two elements together.⁠
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Be sure to come along to my live unboxing today!! That's Friday 3rd December at 12pm AEDT. I'll share more of the stories behind the box and maybe even have a surprise for anyone watching live? 🤫

29/11/2021

Want to know where my happy place is?

This sunset picture of me weaving in a field of flowering weeds is pretty much it!

Ok so it was freezing af and I'm pretend weaving for the shot but you know what I mean. Being alone, working with fibre, watching all these magical tiny pieces come together and form something new...that's my happy place.

I have fallen truly and deeply in love with spinning, and I want to help you to do the same. Join me and over 60 other incredibly creative folks already inside Flock if you'd like to fall in love with spinning too!

The gates open tomorrow and I cannot wait to welcome you in!

14/11/2021

Locks!! Who else thinks they're the unicorns of fibre? I just will never get over how amazing these beautiful, curly, soft fibres are? ⁠
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Literally any yarn you make with locks just seems to turn out so stunning, a little wild and whimsical...ugh I just love them! ⁠
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Pictures are the yarns I made for my members this month. Have you watched the video tutorial yet Flockers? I'd love to know what you think!

19/10/2021

Our wedding song was 'Fields of Gold' by Eva Cassidy. When I first chose it I really envisaged fields of golden wheat, but now when I'm looking at these fields of pulled flax this song was the first that came to mind. ⁠⁠
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Flax production is super fascinating, and the field you see here has been pulled and the plants are laying in the field to undergo the retting process. ⁠⁠
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This is where the fibres we want to use are separated from the other layers of the plant stalks by microorganisms and moisture and sunshine. ⁠⁠
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If you swipe to the last photo you can see some flax seeds and flax seed oil, 2 other products you can get from flax aside from flax fibre for textiles. ⁠⁠
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Address

410 Conadilly Street
Gunnedah, NSW
2380

Website

http://www.spindleandcompany.com.au/

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