Finallly! The post about the wheel!

I know I promised this ages ago, but I just haven't had a free moment to sit down and blog it properly. I'll try and sneak it in here before the munchkin wakes up.

So, the wheel I got for Christmas is an Ashford traditional, and it came completely unfinished. At first I felt a little out of my league having to both finish AND assemble something. I'm not the handiest person in the world. But I really loved the idea of being able to make it mine and mine alone through all the work and detail put into it.

Of course, that lead to the second problem-- my complete inability to make a decision. I couldn't, for the life of me, decide what sort of stain I wanted to give her. I mean, sure, it can always be stripped and redone, but that's not something I'd want to do any time soon. So I oogled the literal 100's of choices at the hardware store, and finally, taking cue from my SIL, who also received a wheel for Christmas, decided to just leave it natural and apply a coat of natural wax to protect it. Besides, the natural wood is so beautiful, I don't think I'd like it covered up.

Here it is, fresh from the box and awaiting my attention.


And here it is after a bit of sanding and applying the wax- I used a product made from beeswax, carnuba and orange oil, so it was a really pleasant chore. Some of those stains smell so bad I don't know how anyone could stand them!


Next, I set to work on the actual assembly, which wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be, even with J-man assisting. It only took a few hours from start to finish, and that includes multiple breaks for playtime.



I'm only a little jealous that J got to try it out first. I don't know what it is, but there's something about spinning wheels that totally captivates him. I guess maybe it's just that it reminds him of a pirate ship, but I'd like to at least fantasize for a moment that maybe it's some latent genetic call to the fiber crafts or something. I couldn't resist letting him take it for a test drive. If you remember back to when Michele and I went to the Florida Fiber-In a few months ago, the day was completely ruined by some old crotchedy bag that snapped at him when he was still a good 10 feet away from her wheel because he 'looked like he might touch it.' We ended up having to leave because of his meltdown and honest-to-god fear of even being in the same room with her.

Don't worry baby, Mama will let you touch this one. I took an ball of yarn from my stash, tied it onto the bobbin and let him have at it. He spun the entire thing with a fairly consistent rhythm, too. That's my boy.



Isn't she beautiful?


And I post this one only because Jonas insists. He's very proud of his photography skills--meaning he managed to get my head in the picture. :)


Here's the picture of my very first handspun, ummm... yarn. There's a definite learning curve with spinning. Of course, I never expected to sit down and be an immediate pro, so I don't feel bad about this uneven, over- and under-spun mess at all. Of course, I don't think I'll ever find occasion to actually USE it, either. But that's ok.

I've already begun spinning up the few ounces of roving that I picked up at the neeldeworks show, and it is much more consistent. I think it'll make a decent sport weight yarn once plied. I'm thinking perhaps a lace patterned (but certainly not laceweight yarn)scarf might come out of it. I guess it depends on my final yardage. I'm not sure if I even know how to calculate that.

Still on the lookout for books through the library to help me learn more about spinning. I've done some internet searching with limited results, and so I'm going mostly on instinct and what feels right. Anyone know of the knittinghelp.com equivalent for spinners?


I've only had a chance to actually