Share My Excitement

I ordered a new spinning wheel last week. It's a Suzie Pro by Majacraft--my dream wheel. I hadn't expected it to arrive until later in the week, if that. So I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw the Australia Post van pull up yesterday morning. Out came this box:I didn't have the mental energy to put the wheel together yesterday, but I couldn't resist at least unpacking the parts. Now today I have various tasks to do, including the fringe on the bushfire blanket which has been all but finished for months now. I think I'll intersperse those tasks with the various steps of assembling my wheel. I'm hoping that will get me gently through the day with a smile on my face.

Gears Make Things Go

One of the things I love about spinning in public places like the market, is the way children are fascinated by my spinning wheel. Some want to know where Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger--that's actually a difficult question since there are no sharp points on my wheel. Some want to touch the wool or smell it. Others are fascinated by the mechanics. I can see their eyes darting as I spin, analysing what makes things go.

I find it easy to explain the mechanics of the spinning wheel by comparing it to a bicycle. After all, I have pedals, a chain of sorts and wheels that go around and around. I even have gears! These wooden whorls on my spinning wheel work just like gears on a bike:
If I use the smallest whorl, the spindle goes around very fast when I push the pedals around with my feet. That's great for fine spinning where I want lots of twist. If I use one of the middle whorls, I get a middling sort of a speed. If I put the drive band on the biggest whorl, the spindle goes around slowly. I only get a small amount of twist in my yarn for every turn of the pedals. Just like on my bike, I can keep a nice steady rhythm going with my feet and choose the gear ratio that best suits the territory I'm in. It's all there right in front of me on my wheel. And it makes so much sense.

Meet my Little Gem

Little Gem--I said she was well named! A , double treadle portable spinning wheel from Majacraft in New Zealand:Double treadle means that I'm working equally with both feet when I spin and I can sit nice and squarely in my chair. That's important when I want to spin for hours. And I do spin for hours and hours some days.

By portable, I mean, portable. I once rode my pushbike to the Guild with this wheel in my rear carry basket. Admittedly it wasn't a fantastic trip--the centre of gravity was too high on the bike--and the next day I went out and invested in a set of panniers to replace the bike basket. But definitely portable. It comes apart and folds flat into a handy carry bag. Here it is, packed and ready to go to school with me this morning,
And it's not a toy. I do all my spinning on this wheel. It's nice to have something that take up so little space in my unit and still allows me to do everything I want to do.

We're off to the Guild today, the little Gem and I. We have another full day of the Spinning Certificate today. The forecast is for 44 degree heat with gusty winds and the Guild lives in an old Scout Hall. I'm not expecting a comfortable day, but I am expecting to learn a lot.