Spinning While Rome Burns
The spinning wheel arrived today. I can now see why one spinning instructor I read about makes her students use a drop-spindle for a period of time before she sits them down at a wheel. As much as I hate drop spindling (And I do. I hate it.) if I didn't know more or less how to do it, I don't think I would have been able to pick up the wheel so quickly. I made a test run with some southdown wool I had in the closet. That was okay, but quite inconsistent. After practicing with that for a while, I started with a fresh bobbin and more wool, and this time got much cleaner results. The kids wanted to play with the wheel before I put the bobbin on, but strangely neither of them could move the treadle. I used to use a treadle sewing machine periodically. This feels sort of like that. The kids were totally stymied, finally declding that they were simply not strong enough to do it. That's fine, they lost interest and wandered off, so I could mess with it on my own.
This is the wheel with the lazy kate and extra bobbins attached. I took them off and put them in the closet for now.
First messy attempt at something like yarn.
Later, much better looking attempt.
This is the wheel with the lazy kate and extra bobbins attached. I took them off and put them in the closet for now.
First messy attempt at something like yarn.
Later, much better looking attempt.