The simplest way of spinning wool or other fibres into a yarn is with a drop spindle.

Drop spindles have been used in many parts of the world for hundreds of years.

Even young children use them to spin yarn for their families.

These Matai spindles are made from timber with an interesting history. The trees were growing in the Pureora Forest on the Central Plateau of the North Island. Back in the 1940's when Rimu was being harvested in great numbers, the unwanted Matai were felled and left lying on the forest floor. Seventy odd years later, the trees are finally being harvested and milled, the timber being used for flooring and furniture making.

The timber is very similar to Rimu in appearance, a little warmer in colour, and quite a bit harder

The large spindles are approximately 11 inches (28cms) long and have a diameter of around three inches (7.5cms) while the smaller ones are approximately 10 inches (25cms) long and have a diameter of about 2.5 inches (6cms). Being individually hand made the sizes do vary slightly.

This auction is for one large top whorl drop spindle & one small bottom whorl spindle made from Matai.