Lucky Day.

Look who joined the household:



Yesterday I saw a craigslist ad for this wheel, listing it at $100. I went out to look at it, thinking it would be fairly broken down but maybe I could poach the flyer for my mom's wheel.

I got there, and the wheel was in shockingly good condition. I bought it on the spot.
With a rigged up driveband, here's the proof of how lucky I got:


What are the chances of that?
I have a lot to learn about spinning on a double-drive wheel, and doubtlessly the wheel will improve with some cleaning, care, and adjustments. But WOW. I have a working wheel.

The man I bought it from knew very little about the wheel. His mother bought it from an antique shop on Cape Cod in the 1950s, but she wasn't a spinner so it sat there looking pretty ever since.

Clearly, though, someone made a good deal of yarn on this wheel at some point.

That's a groove on the flyer from where the spun single passes through the orifice and onto the bobbin. When I first saw it I teared up and was overwhelmed with the feeling of connection and sheer luck.

I hope to learn more about the history of the wheel, since I have no idea how old it is or where it came from. I have a bit of a project in finding bobbins that will work or, more likely, finding someone to make me bobbins that will work.

Having this wheel also allows me to take the careful time necessary to do a good job of restoring my mother's wheel. It's a project worth doing, and now that I have a working wheel I can have the patience to find the best helpers and the best information for getting that wheel back in order.

Now you'll have to excuse me - I have some spinning to do.