Earlier this year, Lou Ann and I made a trip to Nashville to pick up a Great Wheel that was slowly making it's way from Mississippi to New Jersey via the Ravelry Railroad. It is really the most interesting type of of team work you can imagine. It works like this, let's say that I have found a wheel on the other side of the country or in Canada for that matter. The size of this wheel (Great Wheel) or possibly the condition of this wheel (glued together) makes it impossible to ship in normal ways. To the rescue comes the Ravelry Railroad, which I think was started by the Antique Wheels Group on Ravelry, though many of the other groups have benifited as well, the CPW Group the Spindle Wheels Group to name a few. So the call goes out to the group of my delimma! I tell the group where the wheel is and where I am, and let the hive mind go to work.
Many times in a matter of days the wheel is making it's way, from the initial checking out by a local Raveler, and many times pick up and foster for a bit. Then slowly but surely the travel route is mapped out, and Interstate Rest stop or road side meetings are planned and carried out. (If someone has travel plans and has room to transport they let the group know the route they will take, and that they would like to be helpful.) Before you know it the wheel is at it's final destination, and everyone gives a cheer!
My particular area of usefulness is a 3 hour road trip from Knoxville, East to West and North to South, so I was in a great position to help out with this Great Wheel, once it had arrived in Nashville. Winter weather really put a hold on the pick up, but we finally made it back to the Knoxville area, and I set the wheel in the studio to await the next leg in the journey.
I got a message from the gal at the final destination a week ago, she asked me if I had plans to go to a Fiber Festival in Asheville NC this weekend, and if I was, could I bring the wheel! I had already made plans to go, and I quickly responded that I could easily transport the wheel to the next pick up at the festival. We had talked earlier this year about a couple of Great Wheels that I have aquired that need more repair than I am able to do. (I have neither the tools nor the skills to do such things.) She is a talented woodworker, who has lots of experience with these wheels, and she quickly agreed to take my two broken down behemoths too!
You might wonder how in the world I am going to get 3 great wheels in my little Rav4, but it is really easy! These wheels all come apart, with the wheel being the most difficult piece to fit in.
The wheels fit perfectly behind the front seats, and I tie them in several places to keep them steady. The rest slides into the back, with one of the seats needing to be lowered to accommodate the long tables. I have plenty of room, I even looked around to see if there was anything else she might want!
The wheels will be at there final destination somewhere in New Jersey, next week, and we will all be giddy with delight!
You can imagine that taking 3 GWs out of Studio B left quite a bit of space in there, and you would be right! What you don't know is that it prompted a 2 room studio organizational whirlwind!
I cleaned the space that the wheels had been in, and moved all my spinning wheels up there so that they will be well away from the wood stove this winter. I moved the serger and the sewing machine into that room as well. That in turn, opened up some room on the table in the main Studio A across the hall. It will be great to have a space that I can dedicate to wool combing fleeces that I have cleaned, in preparation for spinning, instead of it being crowded around all the machines. It isn't good for the machines to be close to all the debri from the wool, and it isn't good to be cramped when I am using the wool combs either!
I have posted the last few Fridays about the handspun scarves and shawls I am making to sell at our Fall events. I am happy to say that my handspun stash is diminishing at a rapid pace, what that means is that I am going to have to do a lot of spinning this winter to keep up with my wool weaving. The Leclerc rigid heddle loom more than paid for itself during the first show, with the sale of one of my shawls, and a scarf, with that in mind I will press on, honing my wool weaving skills.
After I get this post on, I will be going upstairs to see what kind of fleeces I have left, and what I need to be looking for tomorrow at the Festival, cause I am going to have a lot of room in the car on the return trip!
Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting, and Weaving, Tina
Many times in a matter of days the wheel is making it's way, from the initial checking out by a local Raveler, and many times pick up and foster for a bit. Then slowly but surely the travel route is mapped out, and Interstate Rest stop or road side meetings are planned and carried out. (If someone has travel plans and has room to transport they let the group know the route they will take, and that they would like to be helpful.) Before you know it the wheel is at it's final destination, and everyone gives a cheer!
My particular area of usefulness is a 3 hour road trip from Knoxville, East to West and North to South, so I was in a great position to help out with this Great Wheel, once it had arrived in Nashville. Winter weather really put a hold on the pick up, but we finally made it back to the Knoxville area, and I set the wheel in the studio to await the next leg in the journey.
I got a message from the gal at the final destination a week ago, she asked me if I had plans to go to a Fiber Festival in Asheville NC this weekend, and if I was, could I bring the wheel! I had already made plans to go, and I quickly responded that I could easily transport the wheel to the next pick up at the festival. We had talked earlier this year about a couple of Great Wheels that I have aquired that need more repair than I am able to do. (I have neither the tools nor the skills to do such things.) She is a talented woodworker, who has lots of experience with these wheels, and she quickly agreed to take my two broken down behemoths too!
You might wonder how in the world I am going to get 3 great wheels in my little Rav4, but it is really easy! These wheels all come apart, with the wheel being the most difficult piece to fit in.
The wheels fit perfectly behind the front seats, and I tie them in several places to keep them steady. The rest slides into the back, with one of the seats needing to be lowered to accommodate the long tables. I have plenty of room, I even looked around to see if there was anything else she might want!
The wheels will be at there final destination somewhere in New Jersey, next week, and we will all be giddy with delight!
I cleaned the space that the wheels had been in, and moved all my spinning wheels up there so that they will be well away from the wood stove this winter. I moved the serger and the sewing machine into that room as well. That in turn, opened up some room on the table in the main Studio A across the hall. It will be great to have a space that I can dedicate to wool combing fleeces that I have cleaned, in preparation for spinning, instead of it being crowded around all the machines. It isn't good for the machines to be close to all the debri from the wool, and it isn't good to be cramped when I am using the wool combs either!
I have posted the last few Fridays about the handspun scarves and shawls I am making to sell at our Fall events. I am happy to say that my handspun stash is diminishing at a rapid pace, what that means is that I am going to have to do a lot of spinning this winter to keep up with my wool weaving. The Leclerc rigid heddle loom more than paid for itself during the first show, with the sale of one of my shawls, and a scarf, with that in mind I will press on, honing my wool weaving skills.
After I get this post on, I will be going upstairs to see what kind of fleeces I have left, and what I need to be looking for tomorrow at the Festival, cause I am going to have a lot of room in the car on the return trip!
Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting, and Weaving, Tina
1 comment:
Uh-oh....a weaver/spinner at a Fiber Festival!!!! I bet you come home with some lovely treasure!
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