# Me! My turn!!



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

To wait...

(guess what I am getting)


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

A WHEEL? Really? :clap: :dance: :sing: :rock: :banana02: :nanner: :goodjob: :bouncy: Congratulations! What are you getting?

I hope I'm right!


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

OHHHH yeeeeHaw!!!!
:sing::goodjob::thumb::banana02::hobbyhors:nanner:

What kind? When? Oh, do tell!
:buds::buds:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

You are correct! As you usually are...

(not that it would be hard to guess) 

Okay, it is a locally made castle-style wheel. Looks like this one, except I am getting 
a light oak finish on mine. 

http://dawningdreamsyarns.com/SpinningWheels.aspx

Scroll down to see the Harper Lamb.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

She's Beautiful!! Congrats!


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

THAT is GORGEOUS!!!!
I am sure your excited as all get out!


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## betty modin (May 15, 2002)

WOW! I can't wait to see what you spin up with a wheel like that-you've done so much with your spindles already. 
Congratulations
betty


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Geep! I am super duper excited, of course.
I have to wait though. <sigh>

They have 2 coming up, "in a couple of weeks". 
One will be for me.  

Larry just turned 80. His son says they usually work on them in the morning 
up until it gets hot in the shop, at around noon.

I told him I plan to call and check up on their progress, even driving down to Cedar Gap if I need to. (he just laughed, LOL).
Phylllis is a lefty too, and she offered to teach me how to run this 
contraption. I am going to hold her to it!


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

What a cute little wheel--very like a Shetland "spinney." I love the large treadle--you can put both feet on it if you want.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Congrats,She's a Cutie!


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Those are beautiful wheels! Congratulations on acquiring one (in the future sense  )

okay. so. Want some angora to spin? hmm? I'll send you some as a gift when you're ready for it. just PM me an address.


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## PollySC (Jan 17, 2006)

So pretty! While you're waiting, catch up all your chores and errands because you won't want to do anything but spin for awhile.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Now that looks like a fun wheel to spin on! Congrats, GAM, so excited for you!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

PollySC said:


> So pretty! While you're waiting, catch up all your chores and errands because you won't want to do anything but spin for awhile.


This is absolutely my plan. I am getting 2 pairs of socks finished up too.
I use whatever means I have to trick myself into finishing up projects, and doing certain unpleasant chores.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

LOL, WIHH. Yeah, now Autumn can have Patience one day. Whew.

I haven't test driven it, no. The Harpers are one of the first families we met when we moved here to MO 5 years ago. I remember thinking, "They make spinningwheels? That is cool." And just passing it off (like the non-fiberholic I used to be). 

Little did I know then! (hee hee)

We have maintained contact with these nice people on and off for all this time, usually just visiting when we run into them in town, etc. Last year Phyllis was spinning at a fiber fair and she could tell by the way I was watching her. (you guys know that longing look)...LOL. But I wasn't SURE I needed a wheel yet. Or what kind. Or anything like that.

It was hidden in the back of my mind until recently when I just KNEW I was supposed to get a wheel from them. You know? I am not sure it was a conscious choice either. I have just been sitting with the idea for a bit, and then yesterday I went ahead and called them. I had researched it to death and just about decided to wait until I could get the 'wheel of my dreams' and then the Universe (or however you like to think of it)said to do this instead. :shrug: So here I go.

Hopefully they dont keep me waiting for TOO INTERMINABLE a time. 
They dont live far away, maybe I could go over and "help" them? LOL.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

That's fantastic for you.
I like the looks of that, sort all compact like.

And I like oak stain also, so I'll be watching for those photos when they come.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

WIHH, you mean you cant tell all that stuff from the pics I linked to? 
COME ON!! you are supposed to tell ME!!!

Actually, I am weirdly not too worried about the particulars yet. 
I think I am still in shock.  

I guess I will find out about the ratios the hard way. :gaptooth:


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> wow -does this ever sound like my experience - it was DESTINY!
> 
> Fiberaholics are insidious -they plant that little fiber seed in your subconscious and then -like the infamous "Night Gallery" earwig :teehee: - it burrows its way into your brain!!! :run:
> 
> ...


Heee,heee! Yep! I kind of did the same thing to GAM, sending her fiber samples, you know just enough for her to play with.

And OMG WIHH you are the only person other than me that remembers that episode of "Night Gallery". I can't tell you how many people I have mentioned that too and they all look at me like I'm crazy. I still sleep with my ear covered with my blankets when I sleep. Do you by any chance remember the one about the little African statue that comes to life? Or the one about the doll that drops it's bread and then kills the person who finds it?

Sorry GAM, hijacked your thread.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> (like the non-fiberholic I used to be).


Can you even imagine when that was?????? Once it hits you, it hits hard! :duel:

I'm so happy for you gam! You deserve it - and I can't wait to see what beautiful things you produce!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

farmwannabe said:


> Can you even imagine when that was?????? Once it hits you, it hits hard! :duel:


I know! :stars: LOL. 

This wheel is made out of trees that grew right here in my own neighborhood.
In fact, I was informed that the last time the Harpers were up here, they
drove right by my house on the way to the mill to buy wood for wheels.
It's the same mill we buy our firewood from. 

I am not going to blame any ONE person here for my fiber addiction. 
I would say that EVERYONE who posts here is a *little* bit guilty of enabling me. :grin:

Every one of you are so dear to me.:kiss:
Such sweet sentiments from you all. Thank you!



Marchwind,
What do you think? Am I gunna be able to make yarn on that thing? It seems like it is not the 'most' versatile wheel there is,
but I really live for fine yarns anyhow. I guess I could always do the 'herd expansion' thing later, if I decide I really need to.
Right? (No, wait! dont answer that. LOL.)



WIHH,
I have sore fingertips from doing fiber prep for half the day today. You are right on about THAT!
I am going to NEED to have plenty of wool ready. 
Wash! Dry! Comb! 
Lions and tigers and bears!

Katherine in KY, 
Thanks for mentioning the "spinney" that gives me something to research more while I WAIT>>>>>>I am officially waiting.

Thank goodness for sock knitting.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

GAM I bet you can do anything on that wheel you want to, but mostly because you have proven to all of us that you are capable of doing anything. I haven't read any of the info on the wheel yet, size of drive wheel etc... It is interesting that the orifice looks so huge, might just be the picture. Maybe they can make additional flyers/whorls for you, to your specifications (if you aren't happy with what you can produce). My first thought when I saw the picture is that I really liked the knobs at the top, they remind me of acorns. It's a sweet wheel. I was looking at a map yesterday to see how far away you live from me


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

gone-a-milkin said:


> I guess I could always do the 'herd expansion' thing later, if I decide I really need to.
> Right? (No, wait! dont answer that. LOL.)


:run:ound::hysterical::happy:


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

GAM,go here to see a new/old Shetland spinney that was just auctioned to raise money for the new Bird Observatory on Fair Isle: http://www.fairisle.org.uk/


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

I am SO THRILLED for you. You have been so patient and worked Hard with what you have and made some beautiful yarn. I can't wait for you to get it. I am almost teary eyed.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> ROAD TRIP!!!! ( I hearby invite myself to tag-along!!!)


You bet WIHH, wouldn't we have fun :buds:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh what fun we could have!
Probably run the DH and teen boys right out of the house.
They could go hide in their rooms though... LOL. 

I've got plenty of spare beds and a decent cellarstock, when you get here.


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

:dance: :clap: :banana02:

Yay!!!!!!!!!!! You're getting a wheel!!!!!!!! 
I'm kinda slow on the up take these days.  Can't wait to see what you do with it! Oh boy, cyber hugs just don't seem the same and words are failing me at how thrilled I am for you. 

So when is your due date?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

My due date? 

I have been given the notorious line: "In a couple weeks".
I just called them about it on sunday...when is the soonest I can do a second call back? I dont mind pestering them.  
If they need pestered, they will be getting it from me. 
Heck, I could go over there and sand the thing and put the finish on it myself, if needed.

WIHH, are you telling me I have to CLEAN my HOUSE!!? 
Actually, I was just thinking that I should do that very thing, 
scrub the wood floor and everything. 
(I was kind of hating you a little too...) J/K! 

I think I will wait and be SURPRISED by the wheel's gender!
No ultrasound for me...LOL. 
Although there is a lack of female energy in this household.

Names are kind of the same way. 
I never named my kids til after I met them either.
It seemed impossible to decide w/o looking into their faces. 

I am thinking of some forest/botanical and " Ozarkity" types of names.
People here talk funny, they say their words with the bark still on them.
I am in no rush. My youngest son, I didn't tell anyone his name for almost a week.
(which drove my mother insane.) LOL

How long should I wait to call and pester them?


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

This thread is cracking me up! I'm gonna go right now and spin for a bit, just in your honor, GAM!


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

nonono. Don't need to clean anything! Just build on a new room. Eventually you'll need it for the loom, anyway  Best to start fresh.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

It just saves heart rending scenes when you kick the spouse out of his den/computer room because you need to take it over for the fiber stuff  They get so...prickly when you do that. Just no understanding of what is IMPORTANT! Sewing room. Fiber room. Craft room. Reading room. oh..bedroom and kitchen.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Ann, thanks for backing me up about the cleaning. Or lack of it. I keep things pretty uncluttered, but can let the dust get pretty deep around the edges.

Dont be mad at me, but I live in a huge old farmhouse.
I bet I could fit a really big loom in that one spare upstairs bedroom. 
I could turn the spare downstairs bedroom entirely into fiber storage. I could pack it 
to the ceiling!!

& one day my teenagers will move out. (oh yes they WILL!)
and then I will have 2 more huge rooms. Yay!!

I could harbor a flock of wheels if I wanted to. 

The DH has nothing on me anyway. He has his Man Shack, his polebarn, and 75% of all the closet space.
My wheel is just a small attempt at assuaging his own guilt about his multiple toys, I mean 'tools'. 

Nellie, it warms my heart to think you you at your wheel.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

GAM I speak from experience. I too live in a big old farm house and I have at least one spare room packed to the gills with fleeces, about half of the living room full of fiber stuff and a small chunk of the attic. You WILL need all the room you can get plus some.

As far as names go how about Destiny? It struck me when WIHH said it way back on page one.

GAM I'm like you clutter is more or less cleaned up, floors are vacuumed but dusting?

I think what you should do is to pitch a tent in their yard and sit in their workshop and hover and watch while they work. They might get the message that you wanted your wheel the day you ordered it :hysterical:


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

gone-a-milkin said:


> You are correct! As you usually are...
> 
> (not that it would be hard to guess)
> 
> ...


Whoo!

Frankly, I find it intimidating!

:shocked:

stef


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Stef, you actually like things that are bit intimidating at first.


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

You know, I just have to say, GAM, you are going to LOVE spinning with a wheel. I started out on a drop spindle, too, and was so disgusted with how slow it was, I really didn't spin much. You are spinning so much better yarn than I ever spun. You're going to take to it like a duck to water, or a sheep to grass, or WIHH to knitting, lol.  I'm so excited for you!


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> I keep things pretty uncluttered, but can let the dust get pretty deep around the edges.


Fiber-folk don't just have dust bunnies - we have wool bunnies, alpaca bunnies, silk bunnies, and real angora bunnies! 

I have to laugh when visitors stop for a surprise visit, and there goes a black "dust bunny" tumbling across the room. I just say, "Oh, there goes Isaac - he's the black shetland/BFL you met in the pasture." 

I'm sure they don't understand! :run:

(this thread = :hysterical: )


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

farmwannabe, I was drinking coffee this morning and felt something on my tongue. I pulled it out and it was clearly a single fire-engine red dyed piece of wool, from a project I was working on recently. 

Even my coffee has fiber in it now, apparently. LOL.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> ROAD TRIP!!!! ( I hearby invite myself to tag-along!!!)


Then I hereby stipulate that said ROAD TRIP can take place only if you stop by my place (for a fiber break) then to make room for one more on the trip .... :walk:



> It seems like it is not the 'most' versatile wheel there is, but I really live for fine yarns anyhow.


GAM, Don't worry about this ... every wheel can be as versatile as you want to make it. I have 3 whorls on my Sonota but only use the middle one. I spin everything from cobweb to super chunky-bulky on the same whorl. To me, it's a matter of how slow or quick you draft and treadle. The whorl helps you treadle at a constant speed but change the twist speed. You can do the same by monitoring your treadle speed.



> It just saves heart rending scenes when you kick the spouse out of his den/computer room because you need to take it over for the fiber stuff


I just waited until the oldest 2 moved out so I could have a guest bedroom and a separate fiber room. Now if the youngest would just move out :bored: (okay, okay, I'll let him stay until he finishes his senior year in High School!!! Besides, he loves to cook and doesn't mind cleaning up the kitchen ... he even does his own laundry!) 

But as soon as he has flown the coop, a wall is coming down and two bedrooms will be one fiber room and the current fiber room will become the guest bedroom (and extra fiber storage room!)



> Even my coffee has fiber in it now


This surprises you, why?? :smiley-laughing013:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> ... every wheel can be as versatile as you want to make it. I have 3 whorls on my Sonota but only use the middle one. I spin everything from cobweb to super chunky-bulky on the same whorl. To me, it's a matter of how slow or quick you draft and treadle. The whorl helps you treadle at a constant speed but change the twist speed. You can do the same by monitoring your treadle speed.


Oh Cyndi, thank you! 

This is the kind of stuff I know I am going to have to get a feel for on my own,
but seeing you write it really helps me. :kissy:

More experiments are in order! (a whole lifetimes worth, I am sure)

I am trying not to treat my fiber like it is somehow made of gold. 
I have to get over the idea that I am somehow 'wasting' it.
Does that make sense?

I know there are lotsa sheep out there growing wool all day long,
and truthfully I know that the yarn I am making is just FINE. 
It knits up into stuff and is 'useable'. I had to prove that, first thing. LOL.

I guess my problem is that I read too many fiber blogs,
and ogle the work of experienced spinners.
I want to do what they can do. Really-really! I do want to.
I have held in my hands yarn that was amazing, and handspun. 
I want to do that too.

However, you have to crawl before you can run, right?


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