spinning wheel

red · Post: # 83989Post **red** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:02 pm

we have a wheel now.
OH is doing most of the spinning.. he is better at it than me.. and I can knit while he spins...

ina · Post: # 83992Post **ina** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:29 pm

Looks good! Did you build that yourself? (It looks almost as if it might have been "flat pack"!)

red · Post: # 83999Post **red** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:08 pm

we did not make it from scratch, but it came in parts - its from Ashford

and the wheel part is MDF - giving it a flat pack look . unlike flat packs though, it came with all the parts, nothing broken and instructions in pictures rather than a 1000 languages.
I know - it would be better if hand crafted from local wood.. by a local person.. but that option was not available to us.

we chose it as being the cheapest from a good name.

marshlander · Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:51 am

How wonderful, red. Do you dye your own wools too?

Wombat · Post: # 84004Post **Wombat** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:50 am

Good one Red!

Spinning is a lot of fun, not that I get much chance to do it these days.

Nev

Berti · Post: # 84013Post **Berti** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:13 am

Hi red ;)

I am really happy to see your enthusiasm and trying to get the word out!
Keep going, it isn't as hard as you think and I bet the moment will come that you will get the knack too.
Spinning is the new meditation :D

Berti

ina · Post: # 84020Post **ina** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:39 am

red wrote: I know - it would be better if hand crafted from local wood.. by a local person.. but that option was not available to us.

That wasn't meant as a criticism - just the opposite: it looks like I might want one like that, too!

Berti · Post: # 84023Post **Berti** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:51 am

oh and a wheel might be a lot of money but it really is a good investment, as it will mostly outlast you :) and good tools make the product ....

berti

red · Post: # 84028Post **red** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:51 am

ina wrote:
red wrote: I know - it would be better if hand crafted from local wood.. by a local person.. but that option was not available to us.
That wasn't meant as a criticism - just the opposite: it looks like I might want one like that, too!

oh i was not taking it as critiscism.. just explaining why we dont have the fairytale item of beauty

we are very happy with this model,... its the 'kiwi' 165 quid. which is a fair bit.. but not as much as the others. himself is turning out fairly good stuff now.

red · Post: # 84029Post **red** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:53 am

marshlander wrote:How wonderful, red. Do you dye your own wools too?

yes we are doing this too! at the moment using synthetic dyes. will experiement with natural dyes another time.

thisis my blog entry on dyeing, if you want to see pictures of our efforts so far. we plan to do some peg looming with this.

QuakerBear · Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:02 pm

Cool, I'd love to give spinning a go.

Berti · Post: # 84102Post **Berti** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:42 pm

well quakerbear, if you cannot get a wheel, you could make yourself a spindle.......it is relatively easy and cheap too.
can be taken anywhere to spin.
be warned, before you know it, you are HOOKED :D

berti

snapdragon · Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:31 pm

QuakerBear wrote:Cool, I'd love to give spinning a go.

I'm considering buying another spindle (cheapest at smallholders shop website) but most of mine were made with a dowel and wooden doorknob or even a plastic lid and a pencil (my 'at work' version)

your wheel looks cool red

I didn't know they came that low priced, the ones I saw seem to be many hundreds

I'm enjoying the spindling part

it most certainly is the new meditation - good for blood pressure ?

red · Post: # 84160Post **red** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:10 pm

I saw in a book how to make your own drop spindle using an old cd and a pencil.... just a thought

we got our 'kiwi' wheel, via the threshing barn, which is also where we got the dyes, nice people to deal with.
they have drop spindles for 7 quid each. dunno how the compares.

Wombat · Post: # 84161Post **Wombat** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:32 am

Using the spindle is good BEFORE you try the spinning wheel. If you go the other way round you see why people invented the spinning wheel awent away from the drop spindle!

Nev