Saturday, February 16, 2008

In other news... My new HitchHiker!

My HitchHiker arrived! YAY!! *does a dance of joy*

It looks super cool! Everything I could need is attached... The extra different-sized whorls, the orifice hook, the bobbins on the lazy kate, even a little bottle of oil to keep everything lubed up. It's got rubber feet on the bottom so that it won't slip around on the floor (which has always been a problem for me with my full sized Saxony). And I'm really surprised by how light it is and yet how sturdy. It seems to be designed so well! Everything is simply put together, but seems to work seamlessly. There's no extra parts... no fluff or clutter. Everything is compact, has its place and its purpose and is efficient. And yet it's so cute! (How many modern-styled wheels can that be said about? I was so turned off by the look of a lot of the more modern-type wheels because... I don't know. They looked industrial or something.)

So, so cool! I can't wait to try it out!

Now, I just need to find me some roving... *off to do that*

In other news: How cool is this?!?!



I've never seen this sort of thing before... a kick-spindle... Wow!

Addendum: Problems with the HitchHiker... Yeah, is it obvious that my Saxony is a double-drive? This scotch tension thing is complicated. Also, there's a bit of a problem with the flyer hitting the handle. I've sent out the word for help on forums for such things and am waiting for replies... Will keep you posted...

6 comments:

La Duchesse said...

Felicitations and congratulations on your new family member! :P

My little Ashford is a Scotch tension and I found out the hard way that the little knob is something you don't fiddle with unless you want to throw things out of whack. Oopsie. It took a little fiddling to get things back on track; once it was fixed, I NEVER touched that little knob ever again.

RaeS said...

Thanks! :D

Yeah, the scotch tension doesn't come set on this one... So it's a fun little thing I have to figure out. But there'a a bigger problem. The flyer seems to be positioned too close to the handle and when I treadle, it hits the handle. I think I'm going to have to send this one back as defective... According to everyone on the forum there should be at least a quarter of an inch clearance between the flyer arms and the handle, and there is literally like micro-millimeters when the flyer is stationary. When it's actually being propelled, the centrifical force makes it hit the handle with every rotation. Not good.

La Duchesse said...

O.O That sounds pretty painful, actually. I'm so sorry, especially since you were so looking forward to it.

RaeS said...

Yeah, thanks, Ilana. :)

In it's present state, it's unusable for spinning. Since it's the weekend, I'm going to e-mail David at MerlinTree with an explanation and photos to see what he says to do.

Anonymous said...

I thought Scotch was supposed to get rid of tension?

Seriously, thanks for the video. My wife and I (and one friend) have a booth at the Bay Area Ren Fest (At MOSI). We love 'ancient crafts' and such, so the fact that you put effort into showing how they are done is much appreciated.

RaeS said...

LOL! Yeah, it the fancy way of saying "the break mechanism" on a single-drive spinning wheel.

You're very welcome. That's awesome about the booth at the RenFaire! I go every year. Last year, twice! I love it! What do you sell? I'll look out for you when I go.

I think it's important to know how to do things like spin, make soap, sew and cultivate the earth. These skills were a common part of human existence for thousands of years, and now, within a century, they have become very rare indeed. So I share what I can.

I'm going to answer your other comment here as well because I'm sure it would probably be difficult to go searching for that ancient post! (LOL! I've almost removed that post so many times because it's just full of so much ridiculous fluff, but I never have.)

I did have the excellent good fortune to take two of Roy's classes in his last semester of teaching. I took Viking History and Medieval Culture. At that time, I don't think he was teaching the introductory courses anymore, and was only teaching every other semester. He was an amazing teacher and improved my writing as well, though there was a lot that I could have learned from him and I'm sure I didn't. I'm sure his students must number in the many thousands. Every one I've ever talked to who had him, speak about him with a kind of fond awe. He's an amazing person. The last I heard, he and his wife were going to retire to Boone, NC, but I don't know if they've moved yet.

I don't mind if you add me to your blogroll as long as I may do the same. And thank you so much for the compliments on my content. I try! ;D