I dusted Hebbie off last night and oiled him up. I tried spinning some of the darker ShetlandX dyed fleece. I didn’t card it and deliberately didn’t worry about any slubs, as I am aiming for an art yarn rather than a garment yarn – but I did try to keep it as thin a single as I could. The colour is gorgeous.
It has been many months since I put Hebbie to use but I was astounded to find that I could get the wheel turning and keep it so, while still concentrating on what my hands were doing. I still cannot get the wheel turning smoothly – there’s absolutely no run-on with this wheel and it turns exactly as I pedal, so I need to refine my footwork and make my pedalling much smoother. Hebbie feels so much different to Constance – and far harder work. A hard floor would improve matters, giving more resistance to my working foot. Sadly all my hard floors are very slippery and the wheel skates away when I pump the pedal. All the same, a definite win and a great improvement on past efforts. Who knows, I may yet get the hang of this spinning lark.
No spinning today, I think. With the 4 or 5 hours I have put on this week, plus too much computer time yesterday, my arm is complaining bitterly. Today will be an arting day. I have a gone-wrong project on my desk and overnight inspiration is beckoning me to rework it. I plan to get my sewing machine out!