So in the last post, I mentioned that I sold my wheel. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that wheel! It worked well, and was great to learn on. But at the speed I picked it up I thought maybe I could get a different wheel if I sold the first. (This, btw, would not have caused an issue with my spinning speech except that we had a snow day). I’ve gone without a wheel for nearly 3 weeks now. I wasn’t ready to purchase a new one when I sold the old one. This was great for my knitting, I got a great deal done because I wasn’t spinning. Even Bug was missing the wheel though, she would ask where it was and when I would get it back.

Today my new wheel arrived. It was not exactly assembled when I got it. My biggest frustration was the lack of pictures helping me understand how to put it together. I mean, I am the gal that puts the handle of a brand new vacuum cleaner on backwards (not a fixable mistake) and throws out the “extra” parts. I know my dad fixed that little mistake and I am fairly certain it wasn’t the first or last he fixed!

So I put it really close to the swift, hoping some of Nick’s mad woodworking skills would rub off on me. It seems to have worked because I only needed to take one thing apart again to fix it.

Say Hi to the new member of my family

I swear I feel like I am learning all over again. She spins like a dream, very quiet and smooth. But I am not used to her yet, so I have to remember that some things don’t come quickly, she and I need time to figure each other out. The treadles feel completely different that the Kiwi, the tension is different, I am all out of sorts. I know it will come to me, but tonight I am a bit annoyed. Ready to pull out the drop spindle actually!

So….I decided to give a spinning speech at school. I thought it would be a great instructional speech. Then I sold my wheel. (Don’t panic, it was for a good reason, I’ll get back to that.) So realizing that it would be fairly difficult to give a spinning demonstration without a wheel, I asked Corrie to let me borrow her drop spindle. She kindly did so, and the day of the speech I started teaching myself to use a drop spindle.

I practiced at work on my breaks and became good enough to use it during the speech by that evening. It was a frustrating experience at first, but I soon found that the things I learned while spinning with a wheel applied to the drop spindle as well. It is sorta fun, though not nearly so fast. And I love the versatility of it, I can spin sitting or standing, I can completely imagine me doing this while in line for something. Though I am sure it would get a lot of stares. Not really unusual for me.

I also think this would be a fantastic way to teach the Bug eventually. I will keep it in mind!