Dutch Wheel, Irish Tension When the S17 arrived at Skein Shop HQ, I could barely wait to get my hands on it. I love spinning. I love wheel spinning. I love spinning wheels. I love trying new things. What was particularly tantalizing to me was that this wheel is bobbin-led, aka Irish tension. That means that the drive band goes around the bobbin and the brake band goes around the flyer. This is different from Scotch tension (like I use on my Ashford Joy) where the drive band goes around the flyer and the brake band goes around the bobbin, and it is different from double drive (like I use on my Ashford Traveller) where the drive band loops twice...
TL;DR This blog has been silent for far too long. My apologies. I am not going to even try to bring you all up to speed on what I've been making and doing, because frankly it's been so long I hardly remember. Plus there is a serious lack of photos. Which contributes to the not-remembering (note to self - take more pictures). So instead let's talk about what I'm working on right now! I thought I would try to start out the new year by clearing my needles methodically...size by size... That lasted about one week. In the "actively knitting and thinking about" pile are: A pair of pedicure socks that I'm making for a friend's birthday, which was on...
I'm a terrible blogger, ok? Tour de Fleece has been over for weeks. Also I've been knitting. As you've probably noticed, no blog posts...whoops. So let's catch up on the spinning, and we can catch up on the knitting some other day...ok? OK! First up, I told you that I had knit the spindle spun/wheel plyed into a cowl. That is true. I have photographic evidence: Yes there is a stripe. I was not paying attention to the fact that there was a little black mixed in with my grey. Mea culpa. The pattern is the Bridger Cowl (free on Ravelry), which worked up quickly and easily. I'm happy with it, but I think if i were to do it...
Or: The Spinning Continues Well hello, lovelies! You may or may not remember that a little over a month ago, I rekindled my love of spinning. Since it turning fluff into yarn was the obsession du jour, it only made sense for me to join a Tour de Fleece team. What is Tour de Fleece you ask? It's an event that takes place every year concurrent with the Tour de France. The bicyclists spin their wheels, we fiber artists spin ours. I didn't set a specific goal for myself beyond spinning more during the Tour than usual. Since "usual" was only slightly more than none, this is not a particularly lofty goal, but I believe in setting yourself up for...
Spinning Wheel Got to Go Round... Last night I retrieved the wheel from my sister. It's very dusty and dirty, but I can tell it's going to be a real beauty! The first order of business was to assess what parts of the wheel were working well, what parts were not working well, and what parts were not present. I quickly wiped the wheel down, but it's still pretty dirty. I need to get some q-tips to get into some of the crevices. Once I'm satisfied with the cleanliness, I'll wipe it down with wood oil. There appear to be some inlays or painting that I think will be quite lovely. Parts of the drive wheel have a bit of a...
