An expedition and some Sad News

Today I am setting forth and making a trip to Virginia Farm. I've been hunting around for somewhere relatively close by where I can get spinning wheel accessories (Hannah, my Traveller, came with only two bobbins) and rovings. Virginia Farm, only a half hours drive away does both and I am very pleased with it. I'll have to be careful though. I have a feeling it'll be very difficult to keep a rein on my credit card.

For the past 8 years, I've been privileged to know the grandchildren of a close family friend. I've babysat the eldest child, now 8 and in addition his younger brother for the past three and a half years. I've watched them both grow up, misbehave and be angels in turns.

On Sunday night, the youngest died of drowning, aged three. Before dinner, he asked to go for a swim, and his grandmother said no, wait till after dinner and Sage did not protest. 15 minutes later, she went to get the washing off the line, and noticed something floating near the bottom of the pool. It was her grandson. She dragged him out and began CPR. His lips were still pink when they got him to emergency. However, he died in intensive care.

Teach your children to swim as soon as possible! Take them to a heated pool when they start crawling! Ensure that your pool is not fenced onto the house, but has a separate fence, and make sure it's secure!

No one should have to bury their children because they didn't realise the danger of a backyard pool.

She's here!

I have obtained my spinning wheel! Here is the lovely little darling!


She was brought home a few days later than I had originally planned. I'd organised to pick it up on Tuesday, but on Monday I was informed that my cousin's holiday house in Kandos was in fact going to be empty this week if we'd like to go. And so Sean and I headed up for a few days. This mean that the wheel had to wait till yesterday.

After the first fifteen minutes or so that it took me to figure out how it worked (the previous owner had lost the manual, assembly instructions along with two bobbins and the horizontal pieces of the lazy kate) I've spun a couple of skeins:




Photos of the finished skeins will come later, after they've been washed and dried. They are a tad uneven, but I was expecting that, considering this is the first time I've ever actually used a wheel!

So yeah, I'm very, very pleased with it. I really enjoyed spinning and I'm trying very hard to resist the urge to spin some more...

Oh what the hell! It's not like I haven't got plenty of stash!

Oh, and the mobius scarf that's on the needles in the mobius post? It's been completed, but I managed to leave it behind so the photos of it will have to wait.

I have a spinning wheel!

Well, it's official. I own a spinning wheel. A second hand ashford traveller to be exact. Or at least I will, come 2:15 on Tuesday afternoon when I go to pick it up. This is what will very soon become my precious. She will provide much distraction though...


She's missing a couple of bobbins, and most probably the instructions too, but the bobbins are easy to get and rather cheap to boot. And I have a feeling I'll be able to get the maintainance booklet rather easily.

So yes, very happy indeed!

I will post again when I've taken her for a test drive and I have at least a faint idea of how to use the little darling!