Happy Monday :~

Well, it was a long but interesting weekend. I finished plying the spun sample of Mom’s actual shawl fiber on Friday, I wanted to have it ready to show her at her surprise party on Saturday. The sample turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself! Its even smaller than the practice skein I had done from the same fiber, which is great as it is closer to the weight called for in the majority of shawl patterns I’ve seen lately. During the course of spinning this sample, and with a second opinion from M it was decided that my poor little Joy just isn’t up for the task of spinning true lace weight yarns. Using this wheel on the highest whorl is incredibly difficult at best. I actually managed to do some (hopefully temporary) damage to my knee by doing about 1/4 oz of yarn! Based on that it was decided that it would be impossible for me to spin nearly 2 lbs of it on this wheel! Just wasn’t going to happen. Not only that, but the Joy is not the sturdiest or biggest wheel around and given the size of my spinning stash, probably not up to the task at hand.

Therefore, on Friday, my DH ordered my new wheel for me!!!! Yup, that’s right folks, I’m getting a new wheel!!!!! In about a week I’ll be receiving several boxes containing a Jensen Ultimate Production Wheel! We ordered it from The Woolery and they were wonderful, very helpful and patient, even at 6:00 on a Friday night.

I went for the big one, the 30″ wheel, with the finales and the high-speed kit. It should arrive a few days before we leave for our big trip to Italy and I’m hoping to get it finished and assembled before we leave (and maybe even spin and oz or two!) though the real work with it won’t begin until after we get back . . . . I wasn’t going to get the finales, figuring they really are just decorative and wouldn’t it be nice to have a lazy-kate instead? Well, someone online pointed out that the finales add weight, which makes the wheel spin more smoothly . . . And I can always get the kate late, right?

I’m so excited about this wheel, I just can’t even begin to tell you! Don’t get me wrong, I love my Joy, it is perfect for the things I bought it for. Its small, folds up compactly into a case and is very portable. It is a great beginner wheel, doing a nice job on basic weight yarns and I have learned a lot using it. However, I have outgrown it from a learning perspective. I still plan to use it to go to my group on Thursdays and to any other spinning events or gatherings, and for the occasional heavy yarn when I want something done quickly . . . . But my interests now are leaning toward spinning yarn for lace weight shawls, sock yarns and I want to try 3 & 4-ply yarns for doing Aran knits. All of these things require more speed and control than I have with the Joy. The new wheel has nearly twice the drive wheel, ratios from 7.5 - 40 to 1 by using additional whorls (instead of 6, 8, 12.? & 15 on the Joy) and the bobbins are twice the size of those for the Joy!!!! And I hear that even at the higher ratios it remains easy to treadle! I really am looking forward to seeing what I can do with this wheel!

Mom’s party on Saturday went well, she was completely surprised. We had let her think we were doing something for her the following weekend and she had totally bought it! I gave her the sample skein and the dyed fiber with the explanation that once the new wheel is up and running I’ll be able to spin the yarn for her shawl. The knitting of the shawl is her Christmas gift this year, though it will likely not be finished by then. Mom has been a quilter for pretty much my whole life, so even though she doesn’t knit, she does something similar enough that she understands how long these things take and just how much work actually goes into something like this. Its nice to knit for someone who can truly appreciate the time and effort that goes into the finished product.

Speaking of which, my MIL has informed me that she won’t be knitting anymore, after the current round of already promised baby items for friends grandchildren etc. She feels that her knitting just isn’t appreciated by the recipients so she is no longer going to do it. To be totally frank with you, I believe it is not actually her knitting that is off-putting, but her choice of yarns. She is a “Red-Heart Girl” in the truest sense. If it costs double digits to knit an item or it can’t go in both the washer and dryer, she doesn’t want to know about it. My attempts to upgrade her fiber habits were unsuccessful, but at least I can say I tried. I do hope she will continue to work with A on her knitting, as I know it is important to her and since they started together it would be nice if she continues.

In other news:

The broken kitty is doing much better. Its been 2 weeks since her accident, what ever it was, and she is walking much better and can move a bit faster. She still can’t really jump, but can manage to pull herself up onto the couch or bed. It will be a couple more weeks before I will be comfortable letting her back outdoors, I’d like her to be able to really jump and climb in case she needs to be able to get away from something. Luckily, this is the cat that doesn’t mind being in so much, if it were the other she’d have clawed a hole in the back door by now!

The barn is coming along. Saturday the guys were over and did the floor joists. Later this week they will be setting in the insulation and then the floor. The walls may be another week after that . . . . but with a bit of luck the outside will be up an finished before we leave for Italy! This is very excited since it means I’m that much closer to having a Fiber Room of my very own, and I’m going to need it for the new wheel!

The plans for the trip are coming along. Our tickets are booked and so are about 1/2 the hotels. The biggest snag for me has been that the temp who agreed to fill in for me isn’t going to be available afterall. So we are now scrambling to find someone to fill in for the time I’m away; there is no way they can get by without someone for that long, it just wouldn’t work. I have been told that I won’t be doing very much shopping on the trip, since I’m getting a new wheel!, but I guess in the long run I can live with that! I may pick up a pair or 2 of shoes and little bit of yarn if I see something wonderful . . . but I don’t need to go crazy, afterall, I know we will go back again!

Well, back to work, lots to do on this potentially rainy Monday! Have a great day!