Meanderings of a Mermaid

 I am delighted to introduce the newest wheel in my studio. This is a Spin-well.  Made in Sifton, Manitoba, Canada, the wheels were first made in the 1930s and continued to be made for some years.  There are three original bobbins plus the clamp on lazy kate plus an orifice hook. You can see the metal flyer. I think even this drive band is original. I cleaned up the wheel and bobbins with Murphy's Oil Soap today and the wheel spins very well indeed. The name is apt. The wide treadle is very comfortable and I can work it with either foot or with both. There is a very soft "ka-chunk" as the axle makes a revolution. The original owner was Ruth Pierce of Blessing, Texas. I know that she was a spinner and a weaver. At an estate sale in Fredericksburg, TX  af few years back I purchased a whole lot of the things from her weaving studio. At that time I did not need any more wheels. On that day, a friend of mine, M.S. purchased this wheel. Yesterday ...

The old cistern building is a very solid stone structure with one door and one window opening. It no longer has a tank on top of the roof but we go up there to drink beer and gaze at the Back Forty. I have just used the space to store extra bicycles and camping gear and such. It was time to regain that as useful space. I am converting it to a fibre preparation workshop. I gave it the name Fibernaculum . This week I read a comment on Ravelry where the poster said something about "fibernating". I thought that was an excellent expression and well describes what I do all winter. Fibernate = Hibernate. Then I was thinking about a name for my new workspace. Because the place an animal holes up for hibernation is called a hibernaculum, I am calling my space the Fibernaculum.  So, inside and to the right is the main storage area. Some totes contain fiber dyeing supplies. Other totes contain fleeces or even fibre ready for blending.  On the left side I put togeth...

 First I need to show you what has taken up a lot of my time this winter. I have completely painted the kitchen and installed new flooring. I also covered the counter and island top in a specialty paint product. I also sewed new curtains for the window and the large pantry cupboard. How do you like the hit of pink at the backsplash? It's nice to have the kitchen freshened up and looking pretty.  Here is a cowl project underway. Knitting. It is designed by Yumiko Alexander and is in the book Rustic Modern Knits. The rest of the length is a variety of other textural stitches. The self-striping yarn is what really caught my eye.  And this elegant beauty is a cashmere cowl I am designing as I go. It has glass beads added in periodically. I have to be careful not to apply too many beads or the weight will pull down the cowl fabric. And here I am showing the crocheted join that I devised for a ruana I am making. I am nearly done with the joining and now will b...

   I have not stopped crafting or moving ahead with life, but merely wanted to keep the post with the looms at the top as long as possible. But it is unlike me to not be bragging about something, so here goes. First of all, the holiday season has been here and gone. No snow again! Well it is Texas after all. Santa was spotted giving out gifts to deserving children. There have been no big changes in my life recently. The winter guild is running strong this year and I spend a lot of time preparing notes and examples and patterns for that. We meet every two weeks and in between there are two social knitting clubs I attend weekly. The kitchen is undergoing a remodel right now. I am doing it all myself and so this impacts quite a bit on how much spare time I have left over. I will post some pictures when it is done. The other day a squirrel had got into the woodstove via the chimney. I lowered a thick rope down the chimney to affect an escape route and sure enough, I think...

ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD> I am facilitating the advertising of these spinning and weaving items for a friend. I am not the seller nor do I represent the seller. If you have an interest in these items please contact me and I will connect you to the seller. Any details of the purchase are between you and the seller.  ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD> THANK YOU ****************************************************************************** 1. Oxaback Combination Drawloom – single unit and pattern saver; 160 cm Oxaback  with bench 2 back beams 20 ground shafts Two battens - one with fly shuttle and one without Combination draw with pattern storage system 50 pattern shafts and single unit and pattern storage There are also several temples to send with the loom. Stainless steel reeds - quantity 12 I feel it only right to include the Oxaback  4 meter warping mill and the Oxaback trapeze.  These two items are essential in prep...