On the Wheel

It has been a long, long time since I’ve used my spinning wheel.  I am struggling to regain sufficient dorsiflexion in order to walk without a limp, despite doing physical therapy exercises religiously.  We brought the wheel downstairs so I could treadle and at least gain strength, and possibly mobility as well.  (First, the little bit of lavender merino yarn had to come off the bobbin so I could start spinning the KoolAid dyed pinky-orange roving.  I will ply it later.)

George hung out with me and had a snack while I pre-drafted the roving.

Attempting to get the wheel going was tricky.  My ankle is very stiff and the muscles in that leg are weak.  I found the tension had to be let way out in order to keep treadling and draft correctly.  It means I’m dealing with a bit of overspin, but right now the spinning is for the doing and not the finished product.  

The wheel tends to walk across the wood floor when the wheel gets going, so I keep a little rag rug my great-grandmother made underneath to prevent this.  My ankle can hold up for about 20 minutes of spinning, and then it starts to grumble loudly, but after a short break I can return.  The plate and screws and pins don’t bother me, for which I am grateful, and with time the soft tissue will stretch out more and the range of motion will improve.

After a number of sessions, I managed to get a small hank of fingering-weight yarn spun, and started a second.  Not sure yet if I will knit it as singles, or ply it when I get the other half spun up.

Joining Ginny’s Yarn Along today.  More from the garden later this week.