I pledged

My first spinning wheel was an Ashford Kiwi 2.0. I chose it primarily because of the double treadle (and I didn't know enough to make a more refined decision). It has two ratios (3.0 has been upgraded to three) and I added a super flyer to it for bulky or "art" yarns. It doesn't get used very much.

That version of the Kiwi was not portable, so I purchased an Ashford Joy 2.0. It has the double treadle, plus four ratios ( I rarely deviate from whatever I am currently using), and is portable... or luggable. Schlepping it around is a bit awkward despite the carrying bag.

This past week, Knitty.com sent out an email about a new e-spinner that is relying on Kickstarter for funding. This one is called the EEW Fold. Not only does the e-spinner fold for easy transport, the bobbins fold as well. And it weighs about two pounds.

Photo borrowed from Kickstarter

After watching the video, I debated with myself over whether a needed a THIRD spinning wheel. Several of my fiber friends have e-spinners and *love* them. An advantage of a motor-driven wheel (with an rpm display) is consistency, plus there are unlimited speeds. Since I would not need to treadle, I would not have to quarter-twist my back when plying, either.

So I pledged. And then I worried that I would need a traveling table to set it on, but the inventor is publishing (for free!) files for 3-D printing a platform that can be attached to a tripod (which I already have).

The Kickstarter goal was $20k and already over $300k has been pledged, so the product looks like a GO. The deadline for pledging is February 5, 2025, if you are interested. They expect to be shipping in May. With over 1300 backers, it may be a while before I get mine.

Crochet: For my UFO-to-FO project this month, I wrapped up the double crochet cowl; separate post to follow.
Knitting: I started and finished a Kittyville hat; separate post to follow. Now besides the ice dyed socks, I'm knitting a "window cat".
Spinning: I emptied two bobbins of some tan yarn; I think one bobbin was three-plied, the other chain-plied (I'll have to comb my blog to figure out exactly what is what).

The other day I saw a woman in the grocery store who was wearing thigh-high leg warmers over her leggings. Is that a new style? Many years ago, I knit leg warmers, but got rid of them because they would not stay up. Over leggings, however....

Thanks to the weather, our recent spinners guild meeting was held virtually, which worked out okay except it was difficult to see the show-and-tell projects. The "theme" was using leftovers, so now I am collecting links to the patterns so they can be shared with everyone, including those who declined to attend (Luddites).

Broken wheel

I was spinning along on my Ashford Joy 2 the other day when it broke. More specifically, the rubber thingy that connects the treadle to its arm broke. I think the part is called a "poly conrod joint". Hopefully, my local spinning shop can fix it for me. I could order the part and try to fix it myself, but my hands don't work as well as they used to - no gripping power.


Knitting: Still plugging away on the Habitation throw. I used to count stitches on just the eyelet rows, but I've been having so much trouble with the decrease rows that I have been counting stitches on every row. Down to 167 stitches per row.
Spinning: See above.
Weaving: I started towel number two, am almost halfway finished with it. I also addressed some finishing work on a wall hanging I created quite some time ago but it's still not done. I unwove the wall hanging I started a couple of weeks ago; it just wasn't working for me. I restarted it, though.

During the summer, Fort Wayne hosts festival after festival in our revitalized downtown. The past two years have been festival-less for the most part, but it looks like things are back to "normal". Since I needed to be downtown anyway today, my SO and I hit up Germanfest, celebrating its fortieth year. We ate brats and potato salad, and watched part of the "wiener dog" races. Even though I am not a big festival-goer, I admit I got a little teary eyed about the seeming normalcy of this kitschy event, even nostalgic about the polka music.

I hope things are feeling at least somewhat normal for you, too.

Joy, joy, said Mrs. Malloy

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was in the market for a portable spinning wheel. I went down to my neighborhood enabler spinning shop and tried out both the Ashford Joy2 and the Kromski Minstrel, both double treadle. I would have been happy with either as far as "feel" goes, but I decided to stick with the Ashford because 1) it seemed simpler to assemble/disassemble, 2) the bobbins from my Kiwi2 fit it so I wouldn't need to buy separate ones, 3) the design is more familiar.

The package includes a carrying case, a threading hook (which has its own hole in the frame), three bobbins, and some sample fiber as well as spinning instructions.

The wheel comes finished and (mostly) assembled. The only thing I had to do was fiddle with the flyer and Scotch tension.

Folded, the wheel takes up very little space. The flyer fits into the middle of it all, nestling into that opening.

Here we are, all ready to go. I did spin the two fiber samples, then plied them together, just to try the wheel out. (I forgot to take photos, though.)

One difference between the Kiwi2 and the Joy2 is the number of ratios. The Kiwi2 has two: 5.57:1 and 7.25:1. The Joy2 has four: 6, 8, 12, 14 to 1. I have never played around with the different ratios, but my understanding is the higher ratios are for finer fibers. At the angora spinning workshop, I had trouble getting enough twist into the fiber; maybe this wheel is the solution.

When I purchased my first wheel, I never imagined I would want to haul it around. Now that I am doing just that and now that I understand more about spinning, if I could have only one wheel, I would go with the Joy2 over the Kiwi2.