Fricke

K,

Apparently you are under the impression that I've been spinning lots and lots of things! Spinning everything I can find! Spinning my own hair when I run out of fiber!

Ummm, no. You pretty much just saw the entire collection of my spinning for the last year. There's just a bit more yarn coming up, but other than that wool, what you just saw whas it.

Yeah, I know. That's a lot less impressive.

However, it is absolutely gorgeous and 68 degrees Fahrenheit outside today with lush green grass and clear blue skies. I feel like I'm in some Lifetime TV special with my perfect weather, perfect grass, and blank, sterile suburban neighborhood. I'm not saying I want a crime rate, but a few random ugly garden gnomes wouldn't hurt.

So you've been asking about my wheel? I love my spinning wheel.


This is a Fricke S-160-ST. I have no idea what the S-160 means, but I know that the "ST" means single treadle. I'm not going to go into the details, you can find that here, but I can tell you why I wanted and got this wheel, and why I love it.

You see that dark wooden stick? That's the handle. I love that. I so need that. And opposite the handle is where you stick the oil. That's pretty sweet, too, because I would definitely lose the oil without it literally stuck to the wheel.

There are 5 different speeds, giving me a really good wide range for my beginning spinner-ness. This treadles and spins really smoothly and easily for me because I'm not treadling at super high speeds to try and spin a thin yarn like I was with a previous wheel that only had lower ratios. (Sorry this is so blurry. You can get a good view of the grass. I know you miss grass down there in Arizona.)

The orifice is a delta orifice. I had no idea what this meant until I opened the box. For me, this means I don't have a hard time pulling the yarn through to spin it, and it works out really well for me. Everything is nicely adjustable to get exactly the tension and speed I want. It's a triangle like the greek letter delta!


In my opinion, it's a beautiful wheel for the price, which is absolutely one of the best out there for an all-over excellent wheel.


Do you recognize the wool? It's the black llama that I got from Syvilla way back when I was making thrummed mittens. Syvilla's always got the good stuff for a fiber junkie like me. I've got to give her a call over commencement weekend when I'm visiting Kris so she can hook me up with some more of her Norwegian goodness.

Tell me about study knitting...I had to put down the needles because I was knitting so much=studying so much. My entire left arm was starting to hurt and go numb. I'm not a doctor, but I'm a medical student, and so far they've taught me that's bad.

Stay tuned for later when I show you the lovely baby things I've spun and knitted, and learn that perhaps if you're blood pressure is running high, that you shouldn't eat that whole bag of salty chips along with a frozen dinner.

A