I have a small collection of spinning wheels. I suppose I should admit that I LOVE yard sales almost as much as I love yarn. That's how I came to acquire my two decorative spinning wheels. I came across this black one a couple years ago and found a home for it in the corner of my living room.
I picked up this next wheel a few days ago. This model happens to also be a planter and it makes me happy to see it perched on my front porch. Can you believe I only paid $5.00 for each of these? Like I said...I love yard sales!
My third spinning wheel is the real deal....only I've never actually used it, so it might as well be a decoration. This spinning wheel is an Ashford Scholar Mark I single treadle model. You see, I attended my first Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year and within one week of spending the day amongst all those sheep, beautiful fiber and many, many spinners, my yarn obsession took on a whole new life and I found myself bidding on eBay for this used wheel.
I bought a book on spinning and read it from cover to cover. When I felt I had read everything I needed to know I got out the fiber and gave it a spin (hehehe). Let's just say those 30 minutes didn't go so well and I haven't touched it since. Yes, I know it takes practice. Yes, I know it takes patience. And yes, I know I shouldn't expect to crank out a beautiful spool of yarn on my first try. But I have high expectations of myself. I did a little searching and have found a local shepherdess who is an experienced spinner and who is willing to teach me the basics. That is my goal for July...set up a learning session so the Ashford makes the transition from expensive decoration to useful tool.
Did you notice that over-sized Ball jar in the picture with the black wheel? It's about half full of "Granny's Daughters". What is a Granny's Daughter? It's the first round of a traditional granny square. I have literally made THOUSANDS of these. No lie. THOUSANDS. The full size afghan requires 836 motifs and nicely covers the top of a double bed. I've been known to reduced the pattern to make a crib/toddler bed afghan that uses 375 squares. Each motif is less than two inches and can be made in under two minutes. I love the portability of this project, it goes everywhere you go! An evening of football/cheer leading practice can yield 30-50 motifs (depending on how much chatting is going on). And it's the perfect way to use up your scrap yarn. Motifs are joined in strips with a main color and each strip is attached as you go, so there's no dreaded "putting it all together" at the end of the project.
Granny's Daughter is a Vanna White pattern from Vanna's Afghan and Crochet Favorites collection and ranks high on my list of all-time favorite projects. I made the afghan you see at the right for myself using jewel or earth toned scraps with an off-white main color. It was entered in my local county fair where it earned a first place ribbon in the large afghan category.
I picked up this next wheel a few days ago. This model happens to also be a planter and it makes me happy to see it perched on my front porch. Can you believe I only paid $5.00 for each of these? Like I said...I love yard sales!
My third spinning wheel is the real deal....only I've never actually used it, so it might as well be a decoration. This spinning wheel is an Ashford Scholar Mark I single treadle model. You see, I attended my first Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year and within one week of spending the day amongst all those sheep, beautiful fiber and many, many spinners, my yarn obsession took on a whole new life and I found myself bidding on eBay for this used wheel.
I bought a book on spinning and read it from cover to cover. When I felt I had read everything I needed to know I got out the fiber and gave it a spin (hehehe). Let's just say those 30 minutes didn't go so well and I haven't touched it since. Yes, I know it takes practice. Yes, I know it takes patience. And yes, I know I shouldn't expect to crank out a beautiful spool of yarn on my first try. But I have high expectations of myself. I did a little searching and have found a local shepherdess who is an experienced spinner and who is willing to teach me the basics. That is my goal for July...set up a learning session so the Ashford makes the transition from expensive decoration to useful tool.
Did you notice that over-sized Ball jar in the picture with the black wheel? It's about half full of "Granny's Daughters". What is a Granny's Daughter? It's the first round of a traditional granny square. I have literally made THOUSANDS of these. No lie. THOUSANDS. The full size afghan requires 836 motifs and nicely covers the top of a double bed. I've been known to reduced the pattern to make a crib/toddler bed afghan that uses 375 squares. Each motif is less than two inches and can be made in under two minutes. I love the portability of this project, it goes everywhere you go! An evening of football/cheer leading practice can yield 30-50 motifs (depending on how much chatting is going on). And it's the perfect way to use up your scrap yarn. Motifs are joined in strips with a main color and each strip is attached as you go, so there's no dreaded "putting it all together" at the end of the project.
Granny's Daughter is a Vanna White pattern from Vanna's Afghan and Crochet Favorites collection and ranks high on my list of all-time favorite projects. I made the afghan you see at the right for myself using jewel or earth toned scraps with an off-white main color. It was entered in my local county fair where it earned a first place ribbon in the large afghan category.
Hi. My name is Mari and I am writing to you from Pakistan. I have been searching for the Granny daughter joining pattern. The book is out of print so I don't know how to get hold of it. Your project is exactly the one i am looking for. Could you help me please?
ReplyDeleteWith best regards
Maria Shaikh
mariashaikh@hotmail.com
Correction. My name is Maria. I do hope I get a reply from you. You can use my hotmail or gmail address...both are current and checked by me almost daily. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMaria