New Wheel, new roving, SHEEP!

While I was out and about Saterday afternoon, I stopped at Susan's Fiber Shop in Columbus. Someone had mentioned in one of my groups that her new room was lookin very nice. Indeed it is! Her new addition is very homey and welcoming with sheep at the back doors to boot!! I love how it is set up now. There is a place to sit and watch the sheep if you are so inclined too. Most of Susans sheep have dropped thier lambs and this cuttie was sittin right at the back door. It was a wonderful day to travel out there.












And while I was out there, Susan helped to fix that darned clankity that was happenin on my Kiwi. Seems that when I oiled the treedle hindges that the oil seeped into the wood around the the screws and softened the wood so that the action of treddling stripped the wood around the screws! That was causing the hindges to be loose and make noise. She also noted that the metel peice conneting the wheel to the treddle arms may need replaced sometime. Thanks for fixing it!

Susan also told me you should NEVER oil the ball barings in the center! I did not know that and of course the spinning wheel manufactures don't tell you these things so that you end up ruining the wheel and buying a new one. HUMPH! Ashfords manuals are all pictorial so there is no mention of this.

But I did end up buying a second wheel, a Louet s51 DT. I went in intent on getting a s10 ST but it was not as smooth running as the 51, and I am more than ready for an upgrade! The only thing I am not liking about it is the tension is not adjustable other than having to lace the flyer OR buy the $77 hi-speed flyer which I will do eventually. I cannot spin the Yak down an aquantence sent me to spin up for her (Nice lady too. She is just as dorky as I am! She told me if I would spin up the fiber for her I could keep half the yarn I get from it. WOW. But I have ordered yak down for myself so I will probably end up just sending it all back to her when it is all spun and plied.) The flyers hold a lot more than the kiwi which is a plus and it is sooooooo much more quiet when spinning! I brought it home and started spinning on it and the BF was amazed at how much more quiet it was. LOL
Susan is great with layaway. We were able to work out a deal where I could take the wheel home while still paying on it!! Susan, you made my weekend!!! She is one in a million!
(PS I am so loving this autosave feature on Blogger!!!)

In the last picture is what I am spinning on the Louet. It is a merino and silk blend hand painted/dyed roving. There was a lot in the braid I bought and it was cheap!! Twenty bucks for a whole lotta roving! I am loving it too...OOOOo it sparkles and is soooooooo soft! I think I will knit it into the candle-flame stole that is on knitpicks.com (free pattern BTW). I told Susan I am so gonna wanna buy more of this and she said she will be getting more inthe future. I rarely buy handpainted rovings because I can make them on my own, but merino and silk is a nice blend that I cannot do on my own without a drum carder. Of which I will eventually get the same way we arranged to pay for the louet. In this way, I will be able to afford all the spinning equipment I could ever need!!

I bought a few more progressive and hard house music off Beatport.com and now that I am broker than broke (LMAO) I will go spin some more!

Until next time...