Doing a Wheely!

What's this???  Can you guess?  It arrived yesterday and I ran to the gate to hug my UPS man!  He drove it up to the door and unloaded the boxes, and it is everything I'd hoped to find.

It's what I am going to be doing this weekend, starting with a can of Johnson's Carnuba Paste Wax--otherwise known as elbow grease, plus an assortment of oddiments collectively known as hardware, and a few screwdrivers as well.  The individual pieces are silky smooth.

Nonetheless, to  every single piece, a generous protective coating of paste wax must be applied BEFORE assembly.  Along with a buffing 'til it shines! 

Let's just say I don't choose hobbies that make me completely sedentary!  The beeswax candle, beside the wax in the above photo, smells absolutely divine, the aroma is a permanent benefit regardless how old the candle! And once the screws are coated with it, they'll slip in like going through butter.



It's a labor of love being applied to this lovely piece of what is both a decorative piece of folk furniture, and an exquisite tool.  
 
And, perhaps, best of all....you know what???  IT'S NOT MADE IN CHINA!  It's an Ashford, made in New Zealand.  The Ashford Company is a husband and wife team that has been turning out quaint but oh-so-useful pieces for 75 years!  They've made over 600,000 of one design or another.  This one is made from New Zealand Silver Beech, from sustainably grown forests, and the grain and color is simply lovely!

So....what is it?  Of course!  I knew you'd guess!  It's another spinning wheel! (I already have two, so why in the world would I need another one???)  OK.  First let me show you how it will look at the end of the weekend:

MM insisted that I get it. It's called a Country Spinner and my reason for wanting it is that it will spin huge yarns.  I may have mentioned this in another post, but we used to own the house on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, that belonged to Margaret Moss, the lady who originally taught the Cowichan natives to spin wool in the grease (terrific water repellant!) and in patterns, which many recognize and which continue to this day.  The Cowichan Sweaters are still produced in the traditional way up there, and are now found all over the world.   I learned to spin on what was then called an "Indian Spinner."  For whatever reason, I sold that spinner long years ago and have always been sorry I did.  This Ashford spinner goes far beyond that other spinner, though, and it's a lot better.  The orifice through which the yarn passes on the Country Spinner is 7/8" in diameter.  The bobbin is huge, as well, and will hold up to 2.2 pounds of yarn.  The wheel has ball bearings, too, to make for easy-glide spinning.   It will also allow me to do novelty yarns as it allows the passage of beads and feathers!  What fun!  Plus, my dyehouse produce will brighten the interplay between subdued and raucous!  Yessireeeee!  I am LOVIN' IT!   And, BTW, the Ashford Company makes several models of spinning wheels as well as looms.

It's going to be a busy, fun weekend out here JOTOLR!  Between buffing and puffing, I'm gonna be in great shape by the time I get 'er up and running!!

Thank you everyone for stopping by this past week!  It's been a bit crazy here.  This nice weather has kept us both outside and doing tasks we hadn't been able to do when the garden was in full swing.

We've got the weekend of good weather and then the Weather Service is forecasting some showers.  Hope it's all fine in your neck of the woods! 

Happy Friday!

See you Monday!