Seabreeze Spinners

Ravelry friends suggested my new wheel might be Tyrolean … (on the very border of Bavaria) Check THIS out.
The photo is described as ” A spinning wheel and bedroom furniture inside the Tyrol House at Tirolergarten in Tiergarten, Schloss Schonbrunn”. The wheel sure looks familiar …

I loaded three photos of another Tyrolean wheel HERE. This wheel was photographed by a Ravelry member who has a friend who reports the wheel was handed down from ancestors living in Tyrol.

A branch of my ancestral tree was from Bavaria so I like to think some how the wheel found it’s way home, if to the flats of Florida from the alpine mountains. It’s a great working wool wheel; fast with a gentle twist!

Topical Twister

These before & after photos document the restoration of a unique German possibly Bavarian antique wool spinning wheel. Recently “won” on eBay auction for $87.01, upon receipt, I scrubbed the entire wheel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and very fine steel wool. I reglued the frame under tension and put rubber “buttons” on one foot of the frame to stablize the wooble. The leather holding the flyer was broken and the remains brittle. I replaced it with a short length of leather belt and a leather shoe string. I then lathered on beeswax and oil. I still need to replace the two pins that hold down the wheel; one was broken and one was missing. Put on a new cotton string belt and took her for a spin. From the orange yarn you can see she spins wonderfully. The treadle is deeply worn from use and it’s fun to speculate as to the spinners who placed their foot on that very spot.

Before and After photos (click on thumbnail to go to larger photo then click on that image for a more detailed look):

Note the copper “eye” guide; a single piece of copper wire twisted to form an “eye” to guide the finished yarn onto the bobbin. Unlike most spinning wheels with their row of hooks, this wheel has a unique winding system. After the bobbin is filled in one area, the “eye” is moved to the next hole in the flyer.

UPDATE: Ravelry friends suggested it might be Tyrolean … (on the very border of Bavaria) Check THIS out.
The photo is described as ” A spinning wheel and bedroom furniture inside the Tyrol House at Tirolergarten in Tiergarten, Schloss Schonbrunn”. The wheel sure looks familiar but I think mine’s prettier!

Tropical Twister

These two skeins were inspired by my recent Jacey Boggs Insubordknit art yarn workshop. While I favor tiddy, small circumference yarn because I actually want to knit with it, I was delighted to experiment with some of the techniques I learned and adapted them on a smaller scale. Both yarns are aproximately bulky weight but no where near the heft of “art yarn” thick and thins which may only have a few wraps per inch. The bright multi wraps 8+ wraps per inch and the green, blue, purple wraps 10+ wraps per inch.

I hung the finished skeins outside in the fresh air to dry after fulling the fiber by hand “washing” in Soak, agitating, and then rinsing in cold water.

Tropical Twister

The Lucet quick grab technique makes the braiding of cord fast and easy, no switching hands, no crochet hooks. Here I braided red embroidery floss to create a cord upon which to suspend my threading hook for my spinning wheel.

The “How To” is better seen than heard, or read. A little clumsy but you’ll get the idea watching the video. The right hand finger wrap is important. The wrap around the little finger creates the tension. Also note that the pointer finger dives under the active cord to capture the loop and draw it over the active cord. Also note that while the loop is snugged up it isn’t tightly snugged down on the the lucet when turned. That bit of slack makes the process easier.
To view video click HERE.

Tropical Twister

To view larger images, click on photo then click on photo again after you are forwarded to the single image page. To return to the blog, back arrow two times.

Just spent the most amazing spinning weekend attending the Jacey Boggs Insubordiknit Art Yarn workshop on Anna Maria Island. A very pregnant Jacey Boggs challenged us by providing introduction to the technical aspects of Art Yarn. The fast paced two day workshop provided exposure to no fewer than a dozen techniques to create sturdy, outrageous yarn. The spinners included a novice with less than two days spinning experience, an eight year old and well seasoned fiber enthusiasts. Jacey’s warm, friendly teaching style engages the seasoned spinner and novice alike making the workshop just plain fun.

I may have been the only one at the workshop that didn’t know Jacey offers a video CD on her web site CLICK HERE and who hadn’t already purchased the CD and attempted the techniques before attending the workshop. While the video/CD is excellent, (of course I had to purchase and have already sneaked a peek), I would encourage the one-on-one experience of the workshop. A simple reminder to slow my treadling made all the difference when I was struggling with cacoons.

My yarns:

Mermaids, slippers, jewely and piles of fiber…

Jacey promises a new workshop for 2011 and her book is schedued for publication fall 2011 … I’ll be watching for both!

Tropical Twister