Restoration Work

 I got to help restore a vintage Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel from the 1970’s today.  First we had to get rid of the bad screws.  At some point, someone did not take the time to pick the proper size screws.  Some of the screws were installed in a haphazardly way.  I suspect that someone took apart the wheel and put it in storage for a while and lost the original parts. I was surprised when I took apart the flyer to check and oil the metal rod in the flyer.  The metal rod in the flyer looked brand new, so it obviously had not been used much.  The rest of the spinning wheel was lightly oiled in the right places. 

Once all the screws were replaced it was on to putting a new drive band on.  Getting the tension adjusted, was the hard part for me. Being that I only use either a Lendrum DT, a Louet Victoria or a Hansen miniSpinner Pro.  So there was a bit of getting the configuration of the tension line and drive band in the proper position.  Once that was accomplished I was able to spin a variety of different yarn widths, from lace weight to worsted weight singles. This spinning wheel really wanted to be used and liked. The spinning wheel was in great shape for its age.  Then it was time to pack everything off so the new owner could do the sanding and polishing. This wheel will then be gifted to someone who wants to learn to spin yarn for her crochet work.  I set the spinning wheel off with some roving to get started with.  Also directions on how to make an inexpensive Knitty noddy.  

I know that spinning your own yarn can be much more expensive than buying ready made yarn.  However, I do find it a very relaxing hobby.  I also found it very fun and enjoyable to get the Ashford Traditional Wheel in working order.  

Old School

 I spent the afternoon catching up with plying yarn.  This is some art yarn plyed on my Louet Victoria.  100% wool plyed with Little Flowers by Crystal Palace Yarns.  It will go into a hand woven scarf.  No tears or deleted words involved.  Just relaxing joy.  

A Perfect Solution

 When a bad body day collides with a highly emotional day there is only one thing to do.  Spin art yarn.  Why art yarn? Art yarn does not have any parameters. If the yarn is not perfectly balanced who cares.  The idea is to have fun.  I make bumps. I spin thick and thin. I spun for 2 hours.  Yes my new medicine is helping.  I make my art yarn batts from bits and pieces.  I play with color.  I never know how it will turn out once it is plyed and washed.  Hopefully it will go with some other art yarn to make a fabulous new shawl for me in a smaller size.  I thought that my shawls would still fit after losing a lot of sizes, not so much. So I need new shawls.   

I also figured out why my Lendrum Spinning Wheel was acting up, it literally had a screw lose.  So rather than  get my tool kit for my spinning wheels, I borrowed a pliers and flat head screw driver from John.  It took more time to locate the tools than to fix the issue.   I guess this means that every so often I should check all the screws out.  

I then changed spinning wheels to my Louet Victoria. After cleaning and oiling the flyer I was ready to spin the core for plying the art yarn just because I can get about 10 ounces on the bigger bobbin.  Once the white is spun, I will ply all the art yarn that I spun today.  From right to left. Pale pink, purple, red and a green yellow blend.