Weekly Spindle Review ~ Maggie Low Whorl

Sorry I am a day late.  I had everything ready in time except for time itself.  This week I spun a sample on my Maggie Low Whorl



Maker: Magpie Woodworks
Weight: 24 g /  3/4oz
Length: 11" Shaft   2 1/2" Whorl
Style: Low Whorl
Woods: Red Oak

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My sample is wool/alpaca/firestar from The Spinner's Cottage in the colourway "Harlem Renaissance"  I 2 plyed it and got approx 23 yards.

Since I am not used to bottom whorls, the spinning went a little slow for me.  No fault of the spindle though.  Once spinning this spindle hangs completely straight with absolutely no wobble (even when it's slowing down)  The hook on this Maggie is a nice swan neck shape and its perfectly centered.

The shape of the whorl is very smooth.  You can barely tell that the shaft is separate from it.  This spindle is nice and light but spins for a decent length of time because of the rim weighting on the whorl.  The shaft is very smooth and the grain in the wood really adds to its beauty.

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I have another Maggie that is a mid whorl, and I find it easier to flick.  I also had a bit of trouble winding the spun fibre on the shaft and I found the length of the shaft below the whorl was still not much for me to grasp.  What I did was flip the spindle over and wind on the yarn as if it were a top whorl.  But again that is more because I'm not really used to spinning with bottom/low whorl spindles as much.  

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As mentioned before, this spindle is very well balanced.  There is an extra pin to even everything out.  I have noticed this in my other Magpie Woodworks spindles (except one and its the only one that wobbles).  The length under the whorl is 2".


This is a decent sized spindle, it's not huge and heavy but its not so dainty you'd be afraid to break it.  Both ends are nice and smooth so you don't have to worry so much if you spindle drops to the floor.  

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This is a very plain spindle, nothing but the grain to woo you but its worth a spin.  At first it felt awkward to me and I was kind of turned off but since giving it a second try, I have grown to give it a little more appreciation.  I quite like my other Maggie spindles and I am happy to have this one alongside others in my collection.


Spindle rating:
Length of spin: 27.8 seconds (average of three tests)
Fibre storage ability: Good
Looks: Simple
Overall Rating: 8/10