Wednesday, September 22, 2010

New weaving and Old Spinning Wheel

Remember when Denny came in May and helped me put that warp on the back beam of my loom? (Warp was wound here) I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of threading and also was VERY nervous about threads breaking because they seemed to break so easily while we were winding on. There is a very light twist in the yarn and it is also very hairy.

Well, I had threaded about 300 ends and then Evil Michelle and Suzanne warped another hundred or so. Then the light bulb came on and I asked Chelsea if she would do it. She had it done in about 6 hours. Then I showed her how to thread the reed...that was only a couple of hours and all 850 ends were ready to tie on!. Chelsea is the hero of the week!
And so the weaving of the two shawls begins. This is the fabric I have been wanting to weave since I learned to weave a few years ago. Also, I love twill.
Also, today, Jennifer came in with a wheel that she got at a second hand store...or an antiques store...or something like that. That always makes me nervous. She was lucky!

some string and a coat hanger and the thing was spinning along.
No marks. So we don;t know who made it but I'm sure it is over 100 years old.

And it's Irish tension!. It spins beautifully. If anybody has any ideas of the history of this type of wheel we would love to hear.


And finally! The Spinning Loft was voted the Best Fiber Arts Shop in the Detroit Area!!!!!! I am so proud and thankful. Thank you so much to all of you who voted for us!

4 comments:

Janel Laidman said...

Hi Beth,

That style of wheel with the drivewheel off to the side is called a Swiss spinning wheel. You can see a picture of one here on Marcy's blog http://habetrot.typepad.com/habetrot/2006/10/post.html or here http://www.lahottee.info/E_Gallery.php or here on my friend Gwen's website http://www.mresource.com/Fiber/wheels.html Sorry, I don't know anything about dating them though.

TXDidi said...

Woo-Hoo! Congrats on being the "Best Fiber Shop in the Detroit area. Of course, I think they should have expanded that to the Midwest but hey.

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WonderWhyGal said...

You are more than just the best fiber shop in Detroit...I'm voting for Michigan!

Great photos. One day I hope to visit Peru. Your photos inspire me to make it happen sooner than later.