spinning wheel, got to go round
A long time ago, in a life now far away, I had a 48″ 4-harness floor loom, an 8-harness table loom, an upright Navajo loom, and a spinning wheel. My wheel was a LeClerc, and that baby and I went everywhere. It wasn’t good for traveling, because of its size, but that didn’t stop me from wedging it into the back seat and hitting the road. I went to a weekly spinning group in Austin. I spun at the Pecan Street Festival, at Aqua Festival, and other places and events around Austin. And I loved it. This isn’t my picture, but here’s what my wheel looked like, to give you a sense of it:
my wheel looked EXACTLY like this
I miss it. I miss spinning, it’s so relaxing and meditative, and you just press that pedal and go…go…go…go…
But no using crying over lost wheels. I wouldn’t have room for it here in NYC, anyway. Instead, I’ve gone back to the beginning for a little drop spindle spinning. I bought a beautiful bunch of Lorna’s Lace wool top, in a multitude of blues, aquas, and purples. Here’s what I have, after a bit of spinning:
my baby.
You can easily tell that I’m out of practice, and haven’t yet found my spindle legs – wait, that sounds strange. Haven’t yet found my spindle rhythm, that’s better. But it’ll be so much fun getting it back. I wonder what I’ll make with this yarn?
My NY people aren’t makers. They look at me with bewilderment. What are you doing? Why are you doing that? Why are you making yarn, is it cheaper or something? Such a huge gulf between makers and non-makers. 
Oh! I almost forgot to show you today’s “stash enhancement” (as I just saw someone euphemistically call it – I love that. I didn’t spend money unnecessarily, I enhanced my stash!): Madelinetosh pastoral, in a colorway she calls terrarium. It’s olive green, and brown, and gold, and little flashes of pale blue. REAL PURTY.
lush, in that madelinetosh pastoral way
i have never spun but am very curious. is a drop spindle a good representation of the experience? i really want to try the wheel, of course, but can only afford to start w/ a spindle. eventually i’d love to be making rustic looking, navajo plied yarn… but it feels a long way til i’d get there. any advice?
right between the fingers of your left and right hand, you’re doing exactly the same thing. i learned on a drop spindle first and then moved to a wheel, and the only real difference was speed. you can just spin so much more, and so much more quickly, with a wheel. but learning on a drop spindle is great, because you can just focus on your hands. it won’t be time wasted if you later move to a wheel. give it a whirl! and thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I love your beautiful blue handspun! The color is so peaceful and the texture is uneven enough to add character but still be perfectly knitable. I wish I were better at spinning. And yes, I’d say your stash had definitely been enhanced – gorgeous stuff.
.-= On her own blog, Anne Campbell just said ..Summer Knitting =-.
the color really is beautiful – and kind of luminous. thanks for the nice comment! it inspires me to keep trying to spin.
Hello I bought a wheel that looks like this. I know its missing a piece and I am so sad I cant find anything online about it. I have used a drop spindle but found this at a great price and thought this is perfect
any help I would be greatful…. Ms.Tommy