Saturday 1 September 2007

In a Spin

Oh! "scuse the pun, lol!!

Latest addition just this minute to the Min household is this little beauty......a good old-fashioned spinning wheel (haven't dusted and cleaned it up yet - shall leave that to Junior..tee hee!!), courtesy of our local freecycle:O) Sorry about the state of the garden.






Junior is going to be soooooo happy when she sees this as it's something she has wanted to get into for ages and links in well as she's just getting into knitting, crochet, sewing and textiles...the whole caboodle. Mind you, she may not get a look in when her Gran gets to see it, though...she of textile mill fame. At least it should keep her and Junior quiet for a while....so I can carry on crocheting a million blankets for the PDSA:O)) And they can keep the wool coming:O)

Now, to find something to spin!! Did you know that you can spin pet hair (and felt it)? Apparently so. Must itch like hell, though!!

Pity you can't use feathers. Gratuitous piccie of Fred and Wilma. Fred is the blue boy and currently munching of his spray of millet seed:O) Should keep him quiet for......oooooooo.....5 mins max.



Junior and I went into a pet shop early last year looking for a cockatiel or small parrot...and came out with these two:O) They looked so bedraggled and miserable in the little space (it was so small that you couldn't call it a cage) that they had. So, now they live in a fifty quid palace and chirrup away. Budgies aren't half noisy little creatures. Mega decibels!!! They also have killer beaks!!..well, our dynamic duo do....so we keep our fingers out of their space:O)

On the hunt now for a nice, friendly sheep:O)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I used Moondance wools (http://www.moondancewools.com/fleece_and_fibre_page_01.htm) ..
I bought a whole 'well skirted' fleece which was really nice for spinning. You can spin them 'in the grease' (unwashed) as they are so well skirted and nicely prepared. Carding is fun! Hopefully your friendly freecycler had a carder for you too, or a pair or carding paddles. Otherwise she sells them at Moondance ... and she is a truly nice person. I think the fleeces are organic too, and the prices are crazy cheap on a whole fleece (a small bin bag size, there abouts) ... and I remember the postage not being prohibitive either.

You are inspiring me to bring my wheel up from the basement!@

Best wishes and HTH*

Minnie said...

Thanks for the info, Sally:O) I was wondering where to look for the fleece.

We can't wait to get spinning and I'd also like to have a go at dyeing wool, too. Shall have to wait for our woad plants to mature a little more first, though. I just love the Braveheart blue.

The wheel (it was stuck in a loft) didn't come with any carding paddles, so that's something I need to get along with the wool. I'm really lucky to have been given the wheel...it's just not one of those everyday items, is it? Can't believe it, especially after our run of bad luck lately.

You must be the first person whom I've inspired in any way. Am well chuffed"O)))

Happy spinning!!