Squirrel Cage Swift

This is a squirrel cage swift.   

It's used to wind skeins of yarn into balls or cakes.  

I didn't think I needed one of these, but this one fell into my hands this weekend.   An older quilter friend had an estate sale this weekend, and this was one of the pieces in the sale.  She had wanted to get into spinning in her craft life.  He daughter said that a friend in Ohio made this for her out of oak.  It is a very solid and substantial piece!  Although she didn't get around to using it, she had it sitting in her living room as a piece of furniture.

I have a bale singles still in skeins  [See the bag of blue and red yarn above.] that I purchased for upcoming coverlet projects.  This squirrel cage swift will make it much easier and quicker to get them onto the bobbins for weaving. Yahoo!  I wonder if I can go directly from the skeins to bobbins?

Thank you, Universe, and Marilyn C.  You knew I needed this!   And now I have something that belonged to you, a thing I will use and cherish!

Here's a video demonstrating how this type of swift works. 

I think this one would need some slight amendments in order to wind a skein onto it, as from a spinning wheel bobbin.  I'd have to add a crank, or turning handle to the upper squirrel cage.  It's do-able. 

Schacht Matchless Spinning Wheel: My "New" Spin Baby

 

Schacht Matchless Spinning Wheel (circa 2001)

I always thought if I needed to replace my Louett S90 Spinning Wheel (circa 1998), that the closest thing available would be a Schacht Matchless.  They are both castle wheels, both elegant in design.  

This week, someone nearby posted a used Schacht Matchless Spinning Wheel on Facebook Marketplace for what I considered a reasonable price for a used wheel of this caliber.   New ones sell for about $1800.  It needed a little little love and attention -- not too much.  Just a good cleaning and oiling, and a minor adjustment to the treadles, and it is back in working order again!

 

On the back is a serial number so you can figure out how old the wheel is.  It's more precise than the serial numbers on the old Singer sewing machines.  The number above tells me that it was made on August 29, 2001 and it was the 6th Matchless spinning wheel of the day. 

I may need to replace the treadle brackets underneath the wheel.  They are a bit worn.  One of the treadles popped off as I was spinning the initial test yarns.  Plastic parts don't last forever.  It's too bad these wheels are not outfitted with speedometers, so you can tell how many miles are on it -- How many miles of yarn spun!

 

I pulled a variety of fibers from my stash to "give it a whirl" and see how she spins.  To my utter delight, she spins like a dream!  I tried various fibers in my stash, and they all come out pretty nice on this wheel!    In the photo is some old wool fleece (some of the first I bought in 1998 from Patty Reedy at Rainbow Fleece Farm -- It sparkles!), and some newer alpaca.  It all looks pretty good!

What I really want to spin on this wheel is fancy art batts, and sparkle yarn.  ;-). The Louett is reserved for plying these days, although I can spin pretty much anything on it.  ;-)  The Schacht-Reeves Wheel (aka the sleeping beauty wheel) seems to be optimized for alpaca.  A few weeks ago, I grabbed some white fiber to continue spinning, and it was coming out so wiry and crinkly -- I felt like I was a brand new spinner again, like I had to start over and learn it all over again.  It was pretty bad yarn--until I realized it was merino, not alpaca.  When I realized the fiber didn't feel so nice and silky as alpaca, and went back to the alpaca, the spinning looked normal again.  It's kind of a touchy / finicky wheel.  Beautiful to look at, though!

I am so pleased with this Matchless!  Also to know that I still know how to spin!  And equipment makes a difference.

The Schacht Matchless has 2 treadles, rather than the 1 treadle I've been used to for the past 26 years on other spinning wheels.  I thought that might be harder to get used to than it has been.  Not a problem!

I asked the seller if she had named this wheel.  She didn't even  an bat an eye at the question.  She said she got it from a woman in Chicago named Ekaterina, so she called it Katya.  It sounds like this lady got old and couldn't do it anymore, and her family didn't know what to do with the wheel.  Lacey, the seller, hasn't been able to give it the love and attention it needs.  Life got in the way, and she had no time for it.  Although she did take the time to outfit it with the bulky flier -- She sent it back to Schacht in Colorado to have it fitted to this particular wheel.  That's cool!  

There are bobbins with yarn spun by both women, plus 2 by me.  Some of it is quite nice!  Some of it I may use to practice chain plying ...  But that will be a separate post!

The seller also outfitted it with the bulky flier and sent it back to the Schacht factory in Boulder, CO, for it to be perfectly fitted to this wheel.  That was an investment!    

 

Last but not least, I also purchased this Vera Bradley backpack used on MarketPlace for only $15.  I will use it to hold the extra bobbins, fiber, manual and other supplies together for this wheel.  It also makes it easy to take-it-on-the-road if I want to take it somewhere else ...

In the photo above, hanging from the mother-of-all is the tiny tool box I made for oil, lube, oriface hooks, and whatever else might be required to keep such a machine in running order.  I will make a separate post on that little project. 

I was watching a number of videos to prepare for owning a Matchless -- Where to oil it, how to use the various tensionning options, etc.  That may be a separate post in and of itself.  I am used to the Irish tension on the Louet, which is easy to manage.  The double drive is a little trickier.  I have not used the Scotch tension.  Each one has it's uses!

 

For now, I'll leave you with a shot of the old fleece from Patty Reedy's Rainbow Fleece Farm.  It's a good looking single!  I love her fleeces because they just sparkle naturally.  They have such a lovely luster.  With the new wheel, I am committed to finally spinning up those old fleeces.

I made the realization that I can use singles as the pattern yarn in coverlets.  So there's no need to ply them, as they can be used without the additional processing.

More to come ...

2-Ply Yarn - Wool and Silk

2-ply Wool and Silk Yarn

The Olympics leaves lots of down time in-between the action, so it's good to have something to do during commercials while you're waiting for those exquisite moments of grace or the agony of defeat--hence, spinning.

Here's that fiber before dizzing and spinning.  Nice stuff!

New Yarn Spun and Plied

I've been working on this fleece literally for years!  But I wanted to finish off these spools so I can start a new batch with the fiber I purchased this past week : Black and Blue Merino

Handwork : Sparkly and Lacey Cowl

I recently finished this crocheted cowl.  The house is cold enough in winter that I need a little extra something around my neck to ward off the drafts.  And I like the bling!

The Yarn :
3 skeins of Yarn Bee Diva Sequins- Maui
I don't think this is available anymore, but I did find a page of alternative sequined yarns.

The pattern is from here.  Very easy.  This is the third one I've made, so far.  You get into a nice meditative state while crocheting this pattern.  

  

2nd Shawl Finished on the Triangle Loom

 

Shawl #2 on the Triangle Loom is complete!

  

Yarn Used : Red Hart Midnight Boutique  Color : Brocade

about 4 balls used (including the edge treatment)

Notes : This yarn had a little more stretch to it than the homespun from January.  I also had no problems with it breaking, and didn't loose my place as easily as with the Homespun.  Very little ripping out to fix skipped strings.  Although, when it was done and off the loom, I did notice a few skipped strings ...  Part of the charm now!

On the loom, it had almost a sheer look to it as the yarn was thinner.  That also meant it shrunk up a bit more than I expected when it came off the loom.    I added an extra row of crochet on the edges to compensate.

More pictures :

From the back.

Rolled collar.

I've had a few questions about the crocheted edge, so I thought I'd answer here : The crocheted edge treatment is very simple.  First I went around pulling one loop through the next to tighten up the edges.  Then, I continued to add yarn by setting a row (Row 1) of 2 single crochets + 2 chain stitches and repeated around the entire shawl.  The next row (Row 2) consisted of  2 double crochets + 2 chain stitches.  The third row was the same as Row 1.  The forth row was the same as Row 2.  The fifth row was the same as Row 1.   The chain stitches are what makes the lacey holes.

I did a similar treatment on my first shawl, but only went around with one set of rows 1, 2 and 3.  It was a chunkier yarn.  More than that was too much.

Draped collar.

Spring has been slow in coming this year, so it's still cool enough to wear it.
What are some of your favorite yarns to use for tri-loom weaving?

Color & Texture Spree : New Yarns for the Stash

  

Red Heart Midnight Boutique Brocade Yarn

Part of the Winter Yarn Spree.   Isn't this gorgeous yarn?  

I love the color changes and the bit of sparkle.  

I'm thinking it will make a nice triangle shawl, and/or a cowell. 

 6 balls for about $30 at Knitting Warehouse

This time of year, I usually have some extra money from Christmas and gift certificates, etc.  If I have extra money, I usually spend it on art supplies. [Go figure ...]   This year is no exception.   I thought about trying to dye up my own version of this Midnight Brocade yarn, then I thought--that's crazy!  It's readily available.  Just buy it.  Save the one-of-a-kind home dying for things I can't otherwise purchase (and there are some of those, too.) 

 

Red Heart Midnight Boutique Yarn : Shadow

About $5 / ball at Knitting Warehouse

The fiber content is acrylic with some wool and a little sparkle.

Yummy Colors!

 

I'm interested to see how this yarn does on the Triangle Loom.  I'm hoping for a sunset pattern [Scroll down to the June Franklin section], but I may have to dye that myself according to the specifics of my loom.  I have the means and the know-how. ;-)  If the color spacing doesn't work for the Tri-Loom, I can always make another crocheted cowell : portable handwork.

Where do you like to buy yarn?

Weathered Progression

I was inspired by people doing erosion bundles. Walking across the parking lot into work one day, I saw this jumble of yarn on the sidewalk. I was still there when I walked out that evening.




The next morning, I decided to pick it up, take it home, and watch it change and weather over time in my own driveway ... This is what it looked like when I brought it home : a sorry looking wretch.














I never expected it to get all fluffy like this.











After this one, I lost track of it :

Fiber : Part 1

Last April, we were in Madison, WI, visiting some of our old haunts. Some friends were going to an Alpaca convention that day. We decided to tag along ...

Before I left Madison, almost 10 years ago, I took spinning lessons at The Weaving Worksop and bought a spinning wheel from Susan's Fiber Shop. I used to spin a lot--it helped unwind after a long day at work using my brain power. Then I had a kid who was a little too interested in the mechanisms of the spinning wheel -- and I discovered quilting!


My Spinning Wheel : A Louet S-90, a wonderful and portable wheel! I understand it's "out-of'-print" now. The yarn on it now is from a roving I bought from Rainbow Fleece Farm in New Glarus, WI. Patty Reedy is a fiber artist who decided the only way to get the fiber she was looking for was to go into raising sheep herself. The wool of her sheep has a wonderful luster--it actually sparkles! Too bad you can't see that in this picture ...

I am still very interested in fibers and spinning and now, needle felting.

One of the vendors had a lovely array of blended and dyed fibers (not necessarily Alpaca). I couldn't resist! Here's what I bought from Huacaya Moon :


Blue Green


Northern Lights


Agate

I'm thinking these will make wonderful northern lights one way or another. I still have to experiment and work out just how I want to accomplish that ...

At the Alpaca Conference, vendors brought spinning wheels and looms, too. I'd love to get a loom, but I don't have the space. They were also selling simple hand looms that could sit on a tabletop. Heck--you could make one yourself.

So what do I do with the yarn that I spin? Nothing yet. I'm not much of a knitter, though I used to crochet. My Gramma Pickles has several knitting machines, though. One day, I'll hand my yarn off to her for transformation into a sweater ...