Fall 2019 • Spin Off 87
but to cradle and support your weight for hours of
spinning, Walt has suggestions for support:
You never want your knee above your hip. This is
one way we strain our lower backs. Your knee should
be at or lower than your hips. This position also helps
ensure a heel-to-toe movement of the foot, powered
by the thigh, when treadling. Antique spinning chairs
and stools were designed for the shorter, more petite
spinners of yore, not the average size and frame of
modern spinners. (Tabletops and counter heights
have been inching taller as well to keep up with our
growing frames.)
A padded seat is far easier on the body than a
hard surface, but don’t forget about the front edge—
it shouldn’t press against the backs of your legs. Walt
makes up for this by lowering the frame around the
front of his seats and benches, but you could seek out
an adjustable-height, padded office chair with a lower
scooped front lip, then sit atop an added seat pad to
raise your sit bones.
Walt’s chairs for knitters and spinners have no
arms. Not only can they get in the way of proper form,
but they also make your spinning chair bulkier and less
portable. Walt’s spinning chairs and knitting rockers
are designed with removable seat backs for ease of
transport. As he says, “Knitters and spinners have
places to go.”When deciding between two chairs, opt for the
taller one. This helps decrease the odds of stressing the
muscles in your neck and shoulders.Comfort for Years to Come
Like the rest of us, Walt is not getting younger, though
he has no plans for leaving this work and life he’s
woven for himself. Rather, he has opted to phase out
back-to-back workshops as well as the most labor-
intensive designs in favor of what still works for his
body. Walt is not a fan of the word “retire,” having
seen others react negatively after stopping work.
Walt recommends that individuals near the age of
50 replace the notion of retirement with a daily work
habit they love. “Don’t retire to do what you love;
change your career instead,” he says.
Of all the knowledge gleaned in his life, this positive
outlook and strong daily work ethic may just be Walter
Turpening’s greatest discoveries of all. ●Resources:
Walt Turpening, http://www.facebook.com/WTBSCDeborah Held is both a freelance writer and a full-time,
real-life spinster. She blends wool and words in the hopes
of sharing with others the positive impact that daily
handspinning and her commitment to it have brought to
her life. She lives in an Atlanta-area sun-filled lair, where
her desk and wheels all sit facing a spinner’s flock of sheep.Remove the chair back to use at the loom; remove the Spinner’s seat woven in colorful advancing twill.
entire upper seat (with back) and use as a spinning chair.