spinning

So I've become a mite obsessed about spinning (as it's my newest hobby), so about 3 years ago I used some birthday money from myself, my mom, and step-grandmother, the lovely Farmor, to buy a Kromski Minstrel from the Woolery! I bought it unfinished, then used Danish oil and steel wool to finish it myself.

This one is of the newly finished treadles and the unfinished wheel

And here's the completed wheel.  The finish has gotten a little redder in the intervening 3 years, but I still love it!

Fortunately for me, the Woolery is about an hour away, and stocks all of the other Kromski wheels. So now I'm in the market for another one, and I'm trying to decide between the Symphony and the Polonaise.

Symphony

Polonaise

 
 To document my notes:

Both have matching specs:

• Wheel: diameter 24" 
• Orifice: height 25" - size 3/8" 
• Bobbin size: full 4oz. - 3 included 
•  Ratios: 8, 12, 16 and 20 to 1 
• Bearings on wheel shaft, bobbins and treadle 
• Leather bearings on flyer 
• Both convert between Scotch tension and Double Drive 

The only difference is in the design, and the Symphony is 1 lb lighter than the Polonaise; 15 lbs vs. 16 lbs. I tried out a Symphony at KSFF and loved the faster wheel (as the diameter is larger than my 18" Minstrel) I do have a larger wheel already (a Canadian Production Wheel), but it needs a little shimming / gluing / something, and I'm considering selling it to have something that I am not afraid to breathe on or have the dogs around for fear of breaking it.

So, if you're in the market for an antique wheel (say ca. 1900), let me know!

ABCs of me

I got this a while ago, and since I'm starting this blog over for the third time, maybe I should do this to introduce myself.

A - Age: 32
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: vacuuming
D - Dog’s name: 2: Greta, a lab greyhound mix and Maggie, a "two-tone" lab, both from local humane societies
E - Essential start your day item: kiss my husband good morning
F - Favorite color: yellow
G - Gold or Silver: doesn't matter
H - Height: 5′ 7"
I - Instruments you play: none very well
J - Job title: Librarian
K - Kid(s): none
L - Living arrangements: uhm, in a house? (this reminds me of MASH, the drawing/counting game we played as kids)
M - Mom’s name: adoptive mom, Mary Beth; birth mom, Mary Jo
N - Nicknames: MJ, Jules, J or JJ (lots of people can't pronounce my name, so I have lots)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none for myself but I've sat with patients
P - Pet Peeve: loud people
Q - Quote from a movie: “Get some rest, Pam" - Bourne trilogy
R - Right or left handed: both
S - Siblings: a sister, Inge; two brothers, Randall and Ryan
T - Time you wake up: 5:30 AM
U - Underwear: err, clean
V - Vegetable you dislike: Lima beans and beets
W - Workout style: Hiking, free weights, yoga, occasionally running
X - X-rays you’ve had: back, teeth
Y - Yesterday’s best moment: a treat from my husband
Z - Zoo favorite: I don't like zoos

Clearly I haven't posted anything in a while, but I need some more "space of my own" so here goes, again. I've been thinking lately about how to reduce my stress. Obviously de-cluttering, both physically and psychologically, helps me manage my stress better, but it never really takes care of everything that's stressing me out. So, I continue to ponder my next exercise plan, and spin, and talk things through with my spouse and a couple friends, and get sucked into yet more stressful situations. Maybe I should just stare at this picture some more, and pretend that I'm there.

While I'm at it, here's a picture of our new dog, Maggie:

I've been spinning some gorgeous rambouillet-targhee cross from the Etsy seller, Ranching Tradition's flock from last year's shearing. The fleece looked like this:

and I'm attempting to spin it like Margaret Stove (whose name I always pronounce in my head the way she says it in her lovely New Zealand accent "Maaa-gret Stove") by washing it one lock at a time. I'm not sure that it's going to make the yarn any better than my usual, but we'll see. It's washing up really nicely, though my zoo thinks it's really fun to chase / eat / play with the staples as they dry.