No, it’s the journey. And the Destination…
I started this, my first Tour de Fleece, not really knowing how to spin on a wheel. I had only had some brief experience with spindle spinning, born out of an interest in possibly spinning some nettle fibres from my garden. My main wheel, the Ashford Traddy (which still doesn’t have a name – how does Agatha sound?), was, unbeknownst to me, not in full working order, which ate a large part of my Stage 1 spinning day!
My only aim was to spin every day, which I managed. I spun a respectable 2807.1m, which I’m happy with. It’s in bits and bobs, so unlikely to become any large project, but I think I might get a couple of small shawls out of it – and my winter socks!
I also acquired 2 more wheels… Introducing Columba Dubh:
It is almost certainly a Shiels Ulster wheel from Co Donegal, probably not made by the current owner, Johnny Shiels, so it’s more than 50 years old. Only a single bobbin with it, though I might drive up to Carndonagh and pick up more from Johnny, and get his opinion. Maybe claim friends and family rates, using the ex’s name! It’s been kept somewhere too warm and is showing signs of joint shrinkage, including on the joints of the wheel itself, and the thick leather supports on the flyer are cracked and brittle. But it does spin and I’ve seen worse operating in production mode. I’ve temporarily set it up as a double-drive machine and will probably keep it that way, and hopefully use it as a dedicated woollen spinner once I get the noggin round that.
And this is Inge:
It is unbelievably dinky, and I went down a massive rabbit hole researching it. Apparently they were called toy wheels or children’s wheels, but there’s absolutely no evidence that they were produced as such. At one point they did become common in the drawing rooms of aristocratic ladies, mainly as decorative items – but hinting at those ladies’ industrious use of their time! The wheel was carved out of a single piece of wood, and the spokes were hammered in from the outside. Similar wheels are produced by religious groups like the Shakers, Mennonites, and Amish, which speaks to an origin on the continental North Sea region: there are painted versions in the Baltic countries (especially Lithuania), Swedish and Danish versions in light gold woods, and Dutch examples with appliqued tulips on the wheel. But this one differs from them on all counts. It’s a dark wood, no painting or applique, and the wheel shows lines that may or may not be joints – so not carved in one piece as others are. However, there are plugs along the circumference where the spokes were inserted.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get Inge back to pristine condition. There are no marks anywhere to indicate a maker, and the flyer is missing. The width of the maidens is big enough to take a modern flyer – possibly the one on my Traddy, which I’m thinking of replacing with a sliding hook version. But if I do that, it’ll be a Frankenwheel, and I really want to be able to talk to people about my research on it, not what I cobbled together to make it work…
But allons-y next year!
thornmaiden.com 