When I say "Vacation" I don't mean I went anywhere special physically. I was home doing chores that needed to be done which I had no time to do because my sister and I work and commute. I'm not complaining. Things got done so I'm happy. However, I did allow my imagination to go on vacation hence our building materials for raised beds for the garden and my foray into spindle spinning (successful at last). I also looked in on E-Bay at all the spinning wheels. Now I routinely do this but I never buy anything. I mean, I just look. I drool a lot but I never buy. We already have three wheels and a pocket wheel on order for my sister (she's number 36 right now) and we live in a tiny ranch style home so it's not like I need another wheel. The problem is, when I go away somewhere on vacation, I routinely set aside money to buy something nice as a memento of my trip. Just because I didn't go anywhere doesn't mean I didn't give myself permission to buy what I wanted.See above the wheel I got on E-Bay while I was on vacation. Of course, in the picture on the website it was assembled. I used the "Buy It Now" option because I really don't like to bid for stuff if I don't have to. The wheel is a "Little Peggy" wheel and I purchased it from a seller identified as "pippygirl34" on E-Bay. She was great to buy from and the wheel came very quickly from New Zealand. It came as you see it and it came with written instructions but no pictures for assembly. I put it together and found, you guessed it, left over pieces. A few e-mails later I had it assembled correctly and I have to say she spins very nicely, quietly and is a pleasure to use. It's not as fast as a modern wheel but it does spin a nice lace weight single so far. The wood is really beautiful and I didn't know anything about the wheel or who made it when I was buying it so I went to a nice website called "New Zealand spinning wheels and their makers" and got a little information on the wheel I have. I won't bore you with details but it's about 30 years old and made by John Rappard. The design is based on an old Shetland wheel he was given permission to emulate and is made of a local Beech wood. Mine has a fairly dark stain though it looks lighter in the pictures. I love my "new" old wheel. Any dings or scratches are from "honorable wear" from the elderly gentleman who owned it before me. This wheel can be set up for either double drive or as a single drive with Scotch tension. I have pictures of both types of arrangements. I did replace the fishing line that came on the Scotch Tension with black cord instead and I'm using a cotton drive-band. This wheel actually spins lace weight better with the Scotch tension/single drive configuration so that"s what I settled on. I am currently spinning a little Lisa Souza fiber in colorway "Awwtum". Lastly, I did pick up two more spindles. A Cascade spindle "Rainer" made of Rainer flame wood for the whorl and Walnut for the shaft and weighs about an ounce from Carolina Home Spun as well as a Ken Leadbetter spindle off his site. That spindle has a Walnut & Dichroic glass inlay whorl with a Maple shaft (1.94 ounces). The glass is by Andrea Frost of "Rabbits and Rainbows". Good thing it was only a week long vacation or I could have gotten into much more trouble!
20 comments:
I can barely assemble a toothpaste tube/cap, let alone a spinning wheel. Amazing! Glad it spins lace yarn well--you need more lace yarn :)
Dear fleegle,
I have to laugh since I hate to assemble stuff. The instructions just didn't cut it so I assembled it from pictures on the internet to see what the thing was supposed to look like. The pieces that were left over were little plastic tubes that needed to go onto the front and back shaft of the actual wheel so it would stay put instead of jumping out of the slot cut into the wheel to hold it. After that it was smooth sailing. I really don't need more lace weight yarn but I do have a heck of a lot of fiber stash that really needs attention. I've been going through my yarn looking for things that no longer match with what I'm knitting now and de-stashing it. This gives me a little bit more room for the stuff I'm spinning up :-)
Very pretty girl. Glad you got her going. I am surprised you don't have a multi-shaft loom yet :)
Dear Laritza,
If I could weave as well as you do I would really consider that multi-shaft loom. As it stands,the RH loom I am using is plenty of challenge for me LOL.
Lovely wheel and spindles! Sounds like a fabulous vacation.... :)
That is a lovely wheel. Very pretty. Many people would put that in their living room as decor! The fact that it works is even better.
I'm not the spinning kind, but do like to put things together.
You did well, and got through your 'vacation' just fine.
And what do I read: you have enough laceweight? Maybe Etsy will relieve you off your stuff...
(wink).
Dear misalicefaye,
It was great to finally have a week to myself I must admit. The wheel is very sweet and exceedingly quiet. While my Schacht is nearly as old, it has a quaint charm :-) I do think I have gone spindle-mad LOL!
Dear Carol,
It is very pretty but I know it was well used by the previous owner. I had to clean off a lot of accumulated grease and lanolin off of it before I re-assembled it. I plan to use her on fiber I'm not in a hurry to finish with since she is not as fast as my other wheels.
Dear MoniqueB,
Well I'm glad at lest you can put these things together well! I really hate when there are bits left over that I can't figure out what to do with. It came with a simple Kate as well but I need to make a few alterations on it before I can use it. As for Etsy I'm not sure I could sell the yarn.It would feel weird. I've been giving away a lot of it to others with an interest. Feels better that way :-)
Oh my goodness! So pretty ... Sounds like a fabulous time! I am a novice to spinning and textiles and I just recently got myself a Traditional Ashford from Ebay as well. So excited cant wait to start spinning!! :)
What a gorgeous wheel! You spinners do get cool toys.
I have a Pipy, the Wendy, that I bought back in the 70s. One thing I will warn you about is that the wood can split. My wheel has been banged around a bit and I've had it split on the bobbins, the foot treadle and the flyer arm broke. It is just sort of hanging out now, waiting for me to either tackle repairs or find someone that can repair it.
Having said that, I still think it's one of the best wheels made. It is a very limited wheel but has always been a pleasure to spin on. When I bought mine, I also bought a pound of the wool roving they used to pack the wheel. Beautiful stuff. I think you'll love your wheel as much as I do mine. And thanks for the Ebay info. I might try contacting her to see if it's possible to get a replacement flyer.
Dear Craftyallsorts,
Spinning is very addictive! Welcome to the wonderful world of "Fiber Crack" :-)
Dear Teri
I bought the wheel because it is so pretty and I wanted an opportunity to try to spin on one of these. Though it is quiet and performs well,it's really too slow a wheel for me as the whorl is much larger than what I'd ordinarily spin with. I can't bring myself to alter the existing whorl since this is a wheel I believe someone else would cherish "as is" and they no longer make them. I imagine I will be giving her away to a good home in the near future but she is a grand old girl.
Dear Soo,
Yes, spinners get lots of fun things to play with :-) You might consider coming over to "The Dark Side" Bwa ha ha!
such a pretty litte wheel and spindles! I wandered over to AVFKW yesterday and the very first thing I did was to look at your Estonian lace shawls - they are pure gorgeousness! and like most textiles, the pics I've seen don't do them justice. Row upon row of *perfect* little nupps..... and my friend bought roving in the same color to spin for the Miralda shawl, she had never seen lace before and was completely blown away. I think I see lace lessons in her future :} thanks for the inspiration!
Holy Shizzy Lizzy! I finally have made it over here to see the spinning wheel pre-Jane. That's nuts! You kicked that spinning wheel's a**! Now, it's being lovingly adored by all who enter the shop. :)
p.s. Adrienne cute the rods for the lazy kate.
Dear Judith,
My photography is poor at best so I'm glad to hear that the lace looks better in person :-) I wish your friend luck with the Miralda shawl project and I hope she enjoys both the spinning and knitting with that roving. Though I loved the look of the wheel and how it spun so quietly, it just didn't spin fast enough for my tastes so is now in a better place.
Dear Kristine,
I was a little freaked out when I opened the box up but once I got over the shock it was not so bad to assemble with a little additional communication with the seller about those "left over pieces" LOL. The wheel looks like it was always meant to be at your shop so I think it was Karma that you have it. I thought of altering the wheel to make it spin faster but I honestly couldn't bring myself to do that to a vintage wheel in good condition. It's better off where it is and I'm glad Adrienne could cut thos rods for the lazy kate! I know she can do just about anything :-)
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