Wheel 9. Yes it happened again. The Ashford Elizabeth is on its way to a new home and a new spinner. I hope she finds a forever home. I sat there spinning her for the last time and was thinking - maybe I shouldn't. After a little while the leg ache started up again and yeah. New home. Nothing against the Ashford Elizabeth, it's a mixture of my joints and angles.
So I sit down after selling Lizzy and go to all the sites I had her up for sale to take down the ads. So as part of my normal habit I do a quick search on gumtree and something caught my eye. It was a bad ad with just the Ashford logo and the word spinning wheel. So I check, low and behold it is a double drive traveller, albeit single treadle for...... $60. It also included 4 double drive bobbins (the exact bobbins my main wheel uses) and at $15 ish per bobbin so SOLD. A quick message to the owner and a few anxious minutes wait and I spent my Australia Day driving through our beautiful country about an hour away. I wish I could have taken photos of the area (but driving and all dangerous even without the double demerits for the holidays). Beautiful forests and the mountains were almost gone in some areas because of the massive rain clouds. Think scenes from Fern Gully.
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| Close enough! |
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| Old and dusty, but still in good condition and spins |
So Introductions!
Traveller 2! (Name to be decided as I have no idea about names for any of them)
Ashford Traveller, now this one is older than my current one and I have noticed some differences. The Ashford logo has changed from a close up of the drive wheel to a picture of wheel. I also noticed a very slight difference in the spokes on the wheels. One section has one groove in the newer version and 2 in the older ones. The other difference that isn't visual is the whorl screws onto the flyer vs the one twist version they have now (I actually kind alike the screw version because I kept dropping the whorl when changing bobbins). Right now I don't know the ages of the wheels as Ashford only does a timeline of Traditionals. I would say this new acquisition is circa 1985 and my newer one...90's something era.
Comparisons of Wheels.
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| Old wheel spokes |
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| Newer wheel spokes |
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| Old logo on maiden |
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| Newer Logo |
But anonymous spinning blogger you already have too many wheels (pish tosh no such thing), you don't have enough feet or hands for these wheels (fair call), you already have the same type of wheel that doesn't need major parts (true), you don't even like single treadle, you just sold one for that reason so why?!
WELL....I like wheels, but it is more than that. My newer wheel was bought by my sister and is in lovely condition. One of my previous wheels I originally got with the aim of decorating it. For reasons back then (I forget why). I also have been meaning to learn how to stain a wheel and really disassemble and learn about wheels, wood, and wood burn decoration on it. One day I would love to make my newer wheel a darker stain, but too frightened to touch. So the $60 wheel allows me to do what I need on a wheel that takes up a smaller space. I can also eventually put a double treadle on this if so inclined. So this wheel is not so much bought initially for its spinning wheel capacity, but as a project wheel.
So the next step for this wheel after a brief clean I will disassemble and clean up all the big metal bits and prep the wood (sanding I am thinking - see I am learning!) I will even keep an eye out for maybe a second hand double treadle in a terrible state that I can steal the double treadle off.
Have a great day spinning!
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