The time has rolled around once again for me to make my yearly appearance on this blog.
Usually this involves me discussing how I totally am going to blog regularly this year I really promise.
This year I have no illusions. In all reality, I only post when I either remember I actually have a blog, or have something really cool to share.
Today's post falls into category number 2.
Christmas was very good to me this year.
While I got some gorgeous yarn and a new sewing book pre-ordered, those are standard for my Christmases. This year was SO MUCH BETTER. I got a spinning wheel.
Let me give some backstory.
I have been a knitter since I was 4 off and on. When I really got into knitting in 2003, I found a number of very fabulous knit blogs that I followed and checked with a frequency that would frighten some people.
Many of these bloggers were spinners, and I thought it was neat, but I wasn't sure it'd ever be something I would do.
I bought myself a drop spindle (basic beginner wooden top whorl) in about 2006, and struggled with it.
I just couldn't get the spinning and drafting rhythm down. I'd just be starting a good draft and the darn spindle would lose all it's momentum. So I put it away.
I couldn't get spinning out of my head, and started to dream of owning a wheel. My thought process was that if I could do the spinning with my feet, I could then concentrate on the drafting with my hands.
One year I saw a beautiful traditional spinning wheel in the window of a second hand store for $100, which I thought was a good price, but I had no job, no money, and less time. Every time we drove by I'd check the window though, and was sad when it finally did disappear.
I don't even know if that one was functional.
This past summer I was out with my mother in a small town near me. She wanted to check out an antique store, and they just happened to have a spinning wheel out front, but it was missing the flyer and bobbin and probably some other parts my inexperienced eyes didn't know about.
I asked the owner if he had the parts elsewhere, but he didn't, so I didn't bother inquiring about the price. Though I did mention in passing to my mother that I would love a spinning wheel, y'know, when I won the lottery.
Mom asked for my Christmas list, and I always put things on that I think there's no chance in me getting (because if you put impossible things on a wishlist it makes the almost impossible things look like better options :P). This year included a spinning wheel "Not actually expecting this, but may as well put it here".
I would later find out Mom had already procured my spinning wheel by the time she got my list.
Now that I've gone through all that, let's get to what you really want to see: The Wheel!
This spinning wheel was made in Quebec sometime in the late 1800's or early 1900's.
From my further research I think it may be a CPW or something close. From these pictures, I was told it may be a hybrid. I did measure the wheel and it's 26.5".
The wheel was delivered to my house today, so I got some close up pictures. Any thoughts on if it's a CPW or other tilting tension wheel I fully welcome.
She needs to be cleaned and oiled, both things I need to research before I attempt.
The drive wheel itself is flat with no grooves in the side, and again is 26.5" in diameter.
The footman is slightly bent, which I think contributes to the fact that the wheel prefers to spin counter clockwise. I can get it to spin clockwise, but it fights it at first.
The wheel was painted at some point in its past so any maker's mark is covered. I think I can see some markings under the paint on the bench here, but the light wasn't good enough to catch it in the picture.
The peddle is what originally had me thinking it matched the CPW's I saw pictures of, but now I'm not so sure.
There is some crack damage to the bench. The cracks appear to have had some attempted repairs done before being painted over.
There are a few chips to the wheel, but not much. The main challenge I've found so far with my practice treadling is that the drive band likes to hop out of the left channel and have both portions in the right. Not sure if that's due to the small wobble the wheel has or if I don't have the band set up correctly.
Now I just have to connect with the spinning guilds in the area and learn how to use this beauty.
