I sewed a tote bag a few weeks ago, hell yeah for using a sewing machine for the first time in 8 years Im in the decrease section of my sockhead hat (i did not make the body of the hat as long as directed, because it was gonna be hugely slouchy and im not a fan) I just found this free pattern for a smol mouse friend and i wanna make it (tumblr post with context; and heres the actual pattern link)
been knitting for a few years now but first time in this thread, so hello! I'm currently working on a cardigan for my partner's mum, who has been an absolute wonder with helping us out after we moved house recently, and her birthday's coming up soon, so I wanted to make her something nice. Spoiler: pics of knitting I think this is probably the most knitting that I've done within a week? I have to keep pausing to rest my hands, but I'm really damn proud of myself. I've still got the sleeves and the collar to do, but next up: Pockets!
it needs a little tlc (restringing, straightening some of the pins) but i got it for 54 SHITTY CANADIAN BUCKS (plus $1 for the nice husband who loaded it into the car for us) if anyone has tips on maintenance or even just starting out i am pre-emptively in ur debt! im excited to compare this to drop spindles
Congratulations! I've very recently been refurbishing a wheel that had probably been serving decorative purposes only for a while, but mine is fairly different from yours in significant ways - I don't know how to take care of a painted finish, for example, and I was able to identify the maker right away and thus get access to some replacement parts pretty easily - if you know or can find out who made this wheel & if they're still in business, I highly recommend it. For my drive band (the string that goes around the big wheel) I've been using sz 3 crochet cotton and it's working fairly well for me! There's apparently a lot of debate on drive band materials, but I wanted something I could source easily while I figured things out.
Thank you!! The couple I bought it from said it had never been used for spinning, but I'll try to see if I can find similar-looking ones to get a clue about the maker. That's also good advice for the drive band! Esp while I tinker around with learning my way around it haha
looks like one of the hooks on the flyer got unbent some, you'll want to bend that back into shape or the thread might jump off it annoyingly while you're spinning.
Thank you! Going to tackle that after I dust it! The wheel itself also seems a little loose—it wobbles side to side, I think I need to get something to keep the screw in place so it actually spins correctly. We’re doing a hardware run for some other Apartment Needs later so if there are any specifics for my new baby I will be adding them to my list. :)
one of aux's parental units also suggested we strip the paint off and restain it, so that's an option we're considering!
I was actually gong to suggest that as well, tho I would advise to see if you can determine the manufacturer and if the paint is original (not likely? I don't know of many wheel makers that painted their wheels but it's possible) and of not strip it back to bare wood then finish it with an oil based finish.
Yarn I spun at my parents' house while petsitting Also, bonus shot of the leftmost pink skein before I set the twist - quite overplied, but it fills my heart with a wild glee: