Trenchwork

this arrived.

(Click for a bigger pic if you want it.) It’s a Majacraft Rose from Tracy and Jean at Woolly Designs.

DH nearly found himself sleeping in the garage as he pretended to have lost the postal notice in one of his many I-have-everything-here-but-the-kitchen-sink pockets!

I thought it would be enough to open the box and set it in the living room where I could see it, but all that did was make trouble of a different sort by creating a kind of distraction. So, when I next needed a break from the computer, we put it together. It took a little while, but was actually fairly easy barring a couple moments of confusion here and there.

And yes, I’ve even tried it out. (How could you possibly wonder if I hadn’t?!? I know, I know, I still have stuff to clear off my desk, and I’d intended to not touch it until I had done so, but . . . Right. How foolish was that idea?)

It’s going to take a little time to get familiar with a new learning curve, but I do think working with spindles has made it easier in a way. The spindles have let me understand what’s supposed to be happening with the fiber so that I’m not learning two new things at once.

I had a bit less than two ounces of Corriedale roving left over from a test spin on an Ashford Traditional, so I used it to figure out speed and tension—or rather, start to figure out speed and tension. It’s definitely going to be “art yarn” (read that as “thick-thin and probably to be felted”), but I have to tell you that I love this wheel. I can start and stop it with the treadles, it takes no extra energy and treadling is very comfortable, it’s nearly silent, it has a good weight and feel to it, the bobbins are huge (and boilable!), and . . . well, if I told you I’ve been doing a jig and that it’s sitting in the middle of the living room floor just so that I can see it, would that tell you anything? (grin)

Once again, I cannot say enough about Woolly Designs. Tracy and Jean are wonderful to deal with, and they provide a level of customer service that’s simply amazing. I have no doubts that if I get stuck or have a problem, I’ll only need to send an SOS and get an answer. Tracy even sent a hard copy of his own instructions for putting the wheel together, and Jean included a sample of churro roving I’d ordered in the package and saved on postage.

And that, friends and neighbors is my excitement for the day, the week, and possibly the month. This is simply too cool; even DH is a bit fascinated (and definitely entertained!).