Welcome to the Start of a Great Adventure

So, last Tuesday, I turned 30. For my 30th birthday my husband, Day, found an antique great wheel for me to learn to spin yarn on.

I had mentioned a desire to learn to spin, and he took the ball and ran with it. I even tried to deter him, having found out about this surprise, saying that I really didn't need another hobby, with ALL of my knitting, and a 1 year old running around. I thought maybe when my son, Ethan was a little older, I'd start trying to learn.

He must have known something I didn't because when I saw the wheel, I was so excited! I really do want to learn to spin, and there is definitely a part of me that really likes the idea of restoring an antique back to working order, choosing the appropriate fiber to learn with, and finally spinning yarn to make something really special.

This is going to be a long process, but I'd like to have a record of the process of restoration, and of learning to spin. In addition to a record of progress and journey, I'd also like the comments of those who know about this sort of thing, to help make this journey as successful as possible.

As you can see in the first picture, the wheel is propped on a stack of books, because one leg was broken in the shipping process. Here is the detail of the broken leg:

I'm thinking that there are two fixes for this: either drilling a hole in both the leg and the "table" of the wheel and using a dowel and wood glue to reattach, or having a woodworker re-make a leg and attach it for me.

Amongst the other fixes for this wheel are a couple of missing nails on the spokes of the wheel, and the spindles head is missing some parts, which I assume will have to either be tracked down or re-made.

At this point, I am going to start with cleaning the wheel and restoring the wood, while I search out solutions for the leg, spokes, and spindle head.


If you have any ideas, suggestions, or other useful bits of information, please leave me a comment.
Meridith