New Spinning WheelI obviously have some catching up to do with my blogs! Firstly I need to share with you the news of my new spinning wheel. Before Christmas on 19 December, yes that long ago, I bought an old spinning wheel in pieces and a sad state of repair through a friend at spinning for $50. When I first talked about buying the wheel I had no idea of its condition and was a little disappointed when I first saw it. But I thought that this would be a good opportunity to really get to know the new spinning wheel. Unfortunately, in my eagerness to get underway with the restoration, I neglected to take a before photograph.
The spinning wheel appeared to have spent years in a shed somewhere and had sustained some water damage. The wood was a red brown colour and rough to the touch. The wheel hub was cracked and falling apart. But all the pieces were there and nothing was beyond repair, plus it was a traditional Ashford wheel with turned spokes. Before I had even considered what to do, Russell and Dad had dismantled the whole spinning wheel and started handing me pieces, saying 'well off you go and start sanding'. Dad mended the hub with glue and clamps, cleaning each spoke of any previous glue and fitting everything back together tightly. I sanded and sanded and sanded. I was amazed at how the wood came back to the original pale ash and this spured me on. On the weekend of 23-24 January I painted the pieces with a satin clear finish and Russell reassembled the spinning wheel with new brass fittings and screws (plus some old ones we couldn't replace). I also gave my Ashford warping board a light sand and coated it with the satin clear finish a few weekends later.
As soon as the wheel was finished I launched into trying it out. It was like learning to spin all over again, but I soon got the feel of the new wheel and was flying through spinning some lovely pomegranate coloured merino/silk sliver tops from Ashford I had in my stash. I then also spun some Optum I had bought last year from Nundle Woollen Mill as a special treat. And it was a special treat, the finished yarn was beautiful, soft and fine. I entered both these skeins together with a few of the others I had finished throughout the year into the local show and received two seconds and two firsts out of five skeins. The action of my new wheel is soooo smooth and effortless. And because of all the work I put into restoring it, I feel as though I made it or something. I know I didn't but I had a lot to do with how it looks now.