Spinning success!

I have been studying variations in methods of using a drop spindle. In addition to examining historical representations of spinners, such as

  I have been watching videos of modern spinners who still drop spin as part of their culture. This includes Navajo spinners, Andean spinners and African spinners. There is so much to learn!

While I do not desire to spin with a long Navajo spindle, from watching these spinners I have learned a trick to join together the thread from two or more spindles before plying or setting the wool, in order to have a longer continuous thread than could otherwise be had from one spindle. This seems very useful for warp thread. Simply take the ends from two spindles, fluff them out and allow them to twist together, The Navajo spinners will sometimes spin the wool twice - re-spinning the thread to give it enough twist for plying. This second spinning also allows them to correct any thick spots, resulting in a very even thread.

Andean spinners do not comb or card the wool. They gently pull and stretch the locks, having fluffed them out first. The wool sticks together, and they give it just a gentle twist to keep it together as roving. When they spin, they seem to use a form of double drafting.

This summer I purchased a small amount of quivet to spin. I expected it to be rather like spinning cashmere. The fibers, however, are extremely short and fine. It felt like trying to spin dryer lint.No matter how finely I spun, I could not make a stable thread. I only had success when I switched to long draw drafting - holding a palm-ful of fluff and letting the twist grab the fibers. By keeping the spindle in my hand after initially adding twist, I could add more twist as needed (frequently in this case) by turning the spindle between my fingers. After the thread reached arms-length, I spun and dropped the spindle to add strength to the thread and to give it enough twist for plying. I cannot spin well this way with combed wool, but I have been successful with spinning from locks and carded wool.

The brown yarn is quivet; the white yarn is BFL which I washed and spun from the locks. While I've had success, I am much slower at it than when I use a short draw method of drafting. But speed comes with practice.

Thoughts: This method of spinning looks very much like the frescoes and illuminations of women spinning flax. If women were spinning wool this way, too (although I have not seen it illustrated), would they have been using carded wool, as seen in this picture?

All of these types of illustrations post-date the Viking Age. Only wool combs (not cards) have been found at Viking sites. So, did Viking women use this method of spinning, or was their spinning more like the Greek and Egyptian illustrations? Or did they spin in another way altogether?