Wheely Excited!

I am wheely, wheely excited! Today I bought the spinning wheel that I loved at spinning class last Saturday. But let's back up here a minute and let me tell you what happened at 5:40 AM today.The phone rang and I had to go downstairs to answer it because Jim had done something to the phone by our bed when our phone service was out. The call was a recorded message saying that Greece schools were closed (because of severe wind chills)!!! Unexpected days off are such a treat-I was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep. Jim and I talked about me getting the spinning wheel at my next class, but I thought if I got it today I could use it today! So here is a photo of my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel.

The wheel is made in New Zealand from New Zealand Sweet Birch wood. I tried 4 different wheels during my 3 spinning classes and this one felt the most comfortable and seemed to "fit" me best. 

I spent 2.5 hours spinning this afternoon and spun 2 bobbins of single ply yarn and then plied the 2 yarns together to make usable yarn. It was so enjoyable and my technique is getting better. I was able to make the adjustments to the wheel as the bobbin filled and seemed to have good control of the wheel speed. I finished spinning my one bag of Romney wool, and still have a small ball of roving from the Corridale sheep. Below is my bobbin full of finished yarn. Finished as far as spinning goes. I still need to "wet" finish it, which means I have to soak the yarn in water and then let it hang dry to set the twist.

After dinner we went to the hospital to see Grandpa, but he had just left the room to go for a CAT scan. We didn't stay because we didn't know how long he would be. We did leave 2 photos of his cats-that should put a smile on his face. We then stopped at Grandma's house and she gave us the Grandpa update. He now has pneumonia but his temperature has been normal all day. He did more walking and even some stair climbing today. So, I think today was a good day.

Jeannie comes tomorrow and Grandma will be glad to have her here. 

Jim spent a great deal of time yesterday replacing the headlight on my Beetle. When it wasn't apparent how to get to the lamp, he went on the internet and discovered that it is a very complicated job. But he was not deterred and using directions he found on the web, he got the job done. That probably saved us about $100 by not having to go to the dealership. Well Done!

Hope all is well.