Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Great Wheel Adventure


  I know in my heart that spinning will just take a lot of practice.  (I had so hoped that it would come naturally, but that's not the way life is!)  It would seem that I'm very good at making dread locks, but fine yarn is eluding me.
  But, I will persevere in my quest to produce usable fiber.

  As I told you last week, for my first spinning lesson, Tina had me on the spindle wheel at her house.  She usually uses her great wheel to teach spinning, but the wheel is being worked on by a friend of hers.  Tina sent me this video to watch this week:
  I was lulled into the dreamy quality of walking and spinning on a great wheel....

And, we were off.....I mean, we really set out to find a great wheel.
Yesterday was sunny and our to-do list did not include anything that HAD to be done.

  After several stops, we wondered into a little shop in Clinton, TN, Corner Antiques, which just happens to be one of my favorite places to go.  There was a little spindle wheel in the window, along with a sleeping cat.  Tina actually got up in the window to examine the wheel.  (But, it wasn't a Great Wheel.)
  I saw a scrap of a coverlet lying on a wooden shelf, and noticed that someone had crocheted an edging on it.  That made me a little sad, and I called Tina over to look at what had been done to a great piece of weaving.  Why, oh why, hadn't they just turned up the edges and hemmed it???
  Tina looked at me funny, and said, "Do you see what it is laying on?"
  A GREAT WHEEL!!!   That shelf was a spinning wheel!!!  I had focused in on the coverlet, and didn't see the wheel!!!!!  (It was a "can't see the forest for the tree" moment!)

  Yes, we're missing something:  the WHEEL!  It wouldn't fit in my car!!!  So, we are off to Clinton this morning in Tina's truck to load up the wheel and bring it home.  I'll post a picture later to show you the completed GREAT WHEEL!  The spindle needs some attention, but it's in pretty good shape!
  Oh, and in case you run into Tina, ask her about her "do-dad" that she found!!!

 TA-DA!!!!  Tina test drove the wheel, and she's SPINNING!!!!  What a wonderful adventure!!!!

Happy Weaving and Spinning!
LouAnn


6 comments:

textrix said...

Happy spinning! :-)

Tina J said...

Yes! That is the video that got me looking for a Great Wheel too! I resisted the urge to get that cUte little spindle wheel in the window! Honestly how many wheels do I think I can fit in this house!

Bonnie said...

Good luck spinning. I just can't seem to get the hang of it.

Linda said...

Hurray for you! Corner Antiques is my favorite shop, too! I saw that coverlet a few weeks ago. Very sad!

Linda

Amanda Cutler said...

The official term for that would be "empty field myopia"! I get it all the time and can't find things right in front of my face!

Sharon said...

Love this story and the happy ending for a magnificent wheel. I'd be jealous but I'd have to give up a sofa to make room for it.