New Spinning Wheel
Oh! It's so exciting! It started out with a gigantic box:
And here's a photo collage of the unpacking and assembling process:
1. Opening the Box!, 2. The Ladybug Emerges, 3. Little Box of Accessories, 4. Detailed Assembly Instructions, 5. Accessories Unwrapped, 6. Double Treadle All Sunggled in its Blanket, 7. Double Treadle Yin and Yang. Kinda., 8. Getting the Wheel Out of the Box, 9. Getting Ready for Feet, 10. Unwrapping the Mother of All, 11. Am I Missing Pieces?, 12. Attaching the Treadles to the, um, Thingies. Footmen., 13. Attaching the Bobbin and Flyer.
I had so much fun taking each piece out and trying to figure out what it was. The instructions are very detailed and have fantastic pictures to help you figure out what they're talking about. The lingo reminds me of sailor jargon. "Stow the jib in the fo'c'sle, Matey!"
I was a little worried that I was missing some parts, as I matched up what I had with the list, but it turned out that they had already assembled one of the pieces of hardware, which was a relief.
Then I got to spinnin'!
I can't believe how much faster this is. I mean, sure, intellectually I understand the idea of gear ratios, etc. But the wool, nay the YARN flies through my fingers. It's so fast I can hardly see it happening. And I've worked on the long-draw drafting method a bit. It definitely takes a leap of faith from inchworming.
I do want to get a Woolee Winder eventually. The hooks are kinda annoying, but only because I get hypnotized by the spinning and get a giant lump in one place before I remember to switch hooks.
I've since plied the two bobbins of natural gray Swalesdale. I'll post pictures next time. Next up - the dyed roving! The Swalesdale wool is fairly coarse, so I haven't decided what I'll do with it yet. It may make a pretty and sturdy knitting bag...
And here's a photo collage of the unpacking and assembling process:
1. Opening the Box!, 2. The Ladybug Emerges, 3. Little Box of Accessories, 4. Detailed Assembly Instructions, 5. Accessories Unwrapped, 6. Double Treadle All Sunggled in its Blanket, 7. Double Treadle Yin and Yang. Kinda., 8. Getting the Wheel Out of the Box, 9. Getting Ready for Feet, 10. Unwrapping the Mother of All, 11. Am I Missing Pieces?, 12. Attaching the Treadles to the, um, Thingies. Footmen., 13. Attaching the Bobbin and Flyer.
I had so much fun taking each piece out and trying to figure out what it was. The instructions are very detailed and have fantastic pictures to help you figure out what they're talking about. The lingo reminds me of sailor jargon. "Stow the jib in the fo'c'sle, Matey!"
I was a little worried that I was missing some parts, as I matched up what I had with the list, but it turned out that they had already assembled one of the pieces of hardware, which was a relief.
Then I got to spinnin'!
I can't believe how much faster this is. I mean, sure, intellectually I understand the idea of gear ratios, etc. But the wool, nay the YARN flies through my fingers. It's so fast I can hardly see it happening. And I've worked on the long-draw drafting method a bit. It definitely takes a leap of faith from inchworming.
I do want to get a Woolee Winder eventually. The hooks are kinda annoying, but only because I get hypnotized by the spinning and get a giant lump in one place before I remember to switch hooks.
I've since plied the two bobbins of natural gray Swalesdale. I'll post pictures next time. Next up - the dyed roving! The Swalesdale wool is fairly coarse, so I haven't decided what I'll do with it yet. It may make a pretty and sturdy knitting bag...