As The Yarn Turns

It's a Wrap

At least it's almost a wrap. This year has been a decent year but I'm ready to move on to a new year. I had some good knitting and spinning. I met a lot of people through the blogs. It has been a fun year. We plan to have our usual quiet New Year's Eve. We might go out to eat but otherwise we'll stick close to home.

I promised you a picture of the completed spinning wheel.

It's not as big as I thought it was going to be before I started putting it together. Space is at a premium in our house so that's a good thing. I've been really pleased with the wheel. Rick did a good job picking it out. I spent part of yesterday and a lot of today getting used it and tweaking it. I'm used to spinning on a double drive wheel so that's how I've kept it so far. Plus the ferrets still have a nifty spinning wheel box to play in, although that will be going away soon.

"Anybody in there?"

I started spinning up some "Pot Luck" fiber I bought a while back from Little Barn.

It's a mixture of wool, silk, camel, alpaca, llama, mohair, and other stuff. It's nice stuff, mostly white with some red, grey, and a bit of blue mixed in. The variety of materials makes it almost impossible to spin smooth, not that I spin that evenly anyway. I like the way it looks so far though.

I hope all of you have a Happy New Year.

by Sydney  |

Spinning Wheel Progress

So it's taken about two days to get the spinning wheel together. Yesterday, I checked the parts for any rough spots that needed to be sanded down. I didn't find many. Then I applied some Watco Danish Oil in natural. I thought about staining it first and I also thought about using one of the Danish Oils that included a stain. In the end, I decided I wanted a lighter color. So I applied two or three coats of oil, letting it sit the required amount of time. Then I wiped off the excess and let it sit overnight. I bought a pint and I still have a little bit left. Today, before I put it together, I applied Wood Beams paste wax. Here's what the wood looked like before I applied any oil or wax.

Here's what the wood looked like right before I started putting it together.

I've got it put together. It works and there's no spare parts. That's always a good sign. I did most of it by myself. There were only a couple of times when I got Rick to help when I was putting the wheel on. That's the only place where I felt it was better to have two people. Anyway, it's together now and it spins like a dream. I'll post pictures of it next time when I have better light.

While I was putting the spinning wheel together, Phoebe was checking the Christmas tree for any ornaments she hadn't seen yet.

"Oh, here's a new ornament!"

by Sydney  |

Boxing Day

For Boxing Day, December 26, I have a box. (Well it was Boxing Day when I started this post.)

Yes, that's the box my new Ashford Elizabeth 2 spinning wheel came in. Apparently Rick managed to tell almost everyone about it, except me, and it didn't even get back to it. I'm amazed. Rick is lousy at keeping secrets. I have an old, locally made spinning wheel now. It has done its job well but it isn't very flexible and I'm afraid it will just give out one day. So this was a pleasant surprise. My job this week will be to put a finish on it, put it together, and take it for a test drive.

Otherwise it was a nice quiet Christmas. We spent Christmas with Rick's family in Atlanta. Other than the usual Christmas activities and visiting with family, I was able to spend some time knitting and reading. Everything went well for the most part so it was a good holiday.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

by Sydney  |