Not a present present post

This is so very late isn't it? A Christmas present post! I never did share did I?

You know that all presents given with love are just so wonderful right?So I really didn't mind that no-one picked up on the heavy, heavy hints I left. Yo know - webpages left open on Knit Pro interchangeable sets, a lovely blanket kit from an online store, yeah, you all did the same ;)

But the gifts I did receive were pretty much there.

This came from Helen:

Available here (or Amazon if you don't mind all the tax stuff!)

The commemorative edition too so lots of colour photos - lovely. Guess what I'm hoping February's project will be......

This came from Emma:

Available here

I was clicking through the John Lewis website and mentioned to Helen that it was cute and wouldn't you know it, there it sat on Christmas morning. Really really planning on using this gift and creating a lovely banner for on the mantel wall.

This came from my man himself:

Hmm, did I ever mention my husband also share my OCD type personality traits. Only his manifests itself in the need to obsessively collect things of a type. So it seems he thinks he needs to buy every spinning wheel he sees. He has no idea what he's buying but does have an ultimately trusting personality, hence this wheel DOES spin wool......! Me,well I've not even had a proper look at it yet. Still longing to get to grips with Wee Peggy upstairs when I can loosen the elastic that connects the littlest girlie to me.

Did you all remember to share your crafty gifts?

-x-

Bits and pieces.

A little spinning practise:

 

 A lot more needed!

Sewing new trousers for Heather:

Why are all little people's trousers made with such a long bottom, large waist and short legs? Ok I know why - nappies of course. Not great if the little person is small and slender and only just fitting into 12-18 month clothes though and doesn't wear a nappy! Guess Heather is going to have to put up with mama made trousers for a long while yet.....

Pretty hair bobble for Sophie:

 Just some scraps stitched to an old hair bobble, but pink and sparkly is Sophie's thing.

Jumping on the Granny stripe bandwagon:

Hoping I can keep up the momentum and actually finish this BIG blanket!

No yarn buying still but that is sooo going to change next week., six more sleeps till Woolfest and the yarn drought is over.......... So who else is going to be there?

-x-

Presents.

I never did show the Christmas gift my dearest John got for me did I?

So how about I show you now:

Yes, he was listening all those times I rambled on about how I would love to learn to spin my own yarn. And just before Christmas he was passing a secondhand shop when he spotted this wheel on top of a sideboard in the street outside. He had no idea what he was looking at but bought it simply because "everything moved" on it! So anyway I put it in my craft corner and had a go at treadling now and then. No idea what I was doing and when I found that there was a snapped part, (the windy part on the horizontal tension knob that kind of goes into the table??) I just decided it wouldn't work and so left it there thinking that one day I would get round to doing something with it.

So in 2 weeks it will be my 40th birthday and knowing how much I wanted a real working wheel John has been browsing Ebay on the lookout for one. Last week we saw a Wee Peggy for sale and after seeking advice online (thanks Dawn) we kept an eye on it. I decided it was too far away but unbeknown to me John had other ideas and so he bid on it and won it. Last Friday he went to collect it but as I was working all weekend I didn't have to chance to look at it properly. 

So today I'm home, Heather napped and the boy's played together for a while. The perfect opportunity to examine my new plaything. I treadled awhile to get the feel of it and then wondered what to do next. I remember reading online that it's a good idea to get the feel of the wheel by plying some already spun yarn so I grabbed a couple of acrylics from my stash and used the wheel to wind them onto bobbins. And then I plied them together. Well I tried anyway. But you know nothing happened! I had a handful of twisted yarn in my hand but it wouldn't go onto the bobbin. So I had another look online and discovered a new phrase "scotch tension". Well that explained the random piece of string with the spring attached. So I threaded the string over the bobbin and attached the spring and had another try. No idea if it was right or not but hey, if you don't give it a go.... So I began spinning again and this time the yarns twisted together and began to take up onto the bobbin. Hurrah!! 

And so this is where we're at now:

See my two separate yarns? And the much nicer yellow/orange yarn below? I'm so very pleased with it, you just wouldn't believe :) So now to find a nice introduction to spinning book (I'm not so much of a visual learner as a literal one) and some fleece and away I go. 

Thanks to my lovely husband and extra thanks to the lovely Dawn for her advice and guidance, although I know I ended up with something other than Dawn recommended but you can blame the husband for that!

Oh just one thing - please ignore the dust over both of them! The first one has been standing in the corner for quite a while and the second carries the previous owners dust, eurghhh, what can I say!!

-x-