Fieldtrip and New Friends

The weekend before Thanksgiving Rocky and I took the kids to our Lake Hartwell, SC property to clear the lot some more and prepare for our move in teh spring, as well as to hava a bit of fun. We took the kids swimming. The boys were also helpful on day 2 with some clearing of the lot. They learned that little lizards loose their tail. . . long story anding with a root walled lizard dwelling complete with playground structure, "dinosaur" root excavation, and lots of other adventures. Overall we had a wonderful trip.

I have wanted to visit the Makers of my spinning wheel, as they are about an hour away, the Ford Family of HeavenlyHandspinning. I needed to pick up a set of new bobbins and also have one part of my Fidelis wheel inspected. I called Jan, the owner, to see if I could visit in person while we were there.

Jan is SO SWEET. If you ever purchase from her you will see. She welcomed me and the kids into her home, while Rocky did some major tree cutting and clearing, and we visited for a while. Richard, her lovely and talented husband, looked my Meggie kick spindle and Fidelis over and gave them treatments with hand rubbed beeswax and smoothed out soem arease as well.

They shared tips including what kind of preservative to use for the wood finish and how to get he Meggie to spin for longer. Their daughter Meghan, who the Meggie is named after, was wonderful with entertaining and supervising the boys and even watched Zuri for a bit. The kids all LOVED Meghan.

Not only did the family bless me with such a wondeful visit, but I was able to come home with a NEW DOUBLE TREADLE WHEEL, the Bellus.

Squee!

I am in love!

When I purchased my Fidelis wheel I asked Jan about a double treadle but the Bellus was not finished iwth development and they didn't know when it would be. Just a few weeks later Richard finished it.

I have been happy with my Fidelis and spun nice yarn on it, but he Bellus, being what I originally wanted was calling my name. . . I am so blessed to own one now!

I finished the wood with 3 applications of Howards Feed-N-Wax. The Red Oak wood has darkened and seasoned nicely. I plan to further embelish it with pyrography.

This sweet wheel has a slightly larger footprint than the Fidelis due to the 2nd treadle. It is easier to spin faster and feels more balanced. I often find myself spinning faster than I can draft. And I haven't even tried the fastest ratio. I have achieved my finest yarn yet.

I chose to navajo ply it. The result is a fingering weight three ply.