Category: Craft

Great Wheel Double Nut

On By CarynIn Craft

The Double Nut New England Great Wheel is called a “double nut” because of the two wooden nuts on the wood screw that allows for adjustment of the position of the spindle post.

Photo description: close up photo of the double nut assembly for the spindle post of a New England Great Wheel. The cork in the table is used to protect passers-by from the iron spindle when not in use. I just put it there so I didn’t lose it.

To increase the tension on the drive band that runs on the outside of the wheel, the spindle post can be moved farther away by backing off the left nut, and tightening the right nut. A properly tensioned drive band on a well-aligned wheel will keep the spindle turning without slipping or falling off the wheel.

Photo description: Double Nut New England Great Wheel set outside for a Founder’s Day demonstration. The cotton drive band runs around the wheel on the right then to the spindle post on the left.

All the wood screws on the wheel were in working condition, which is remarkable for 165 year old carvings. I was able to move the spindle post position in my quest to find the right alignment to keep her spinning for longer periods of time.

This post is part of a series about my experience demonstrating spinning on a 1860s Great Wheel in Mansfield Texas.

Spinning on a Great Wheel

On By CarynIn Craft

I had the absolute privilege of spinning on a Great Wheel from the 1860s.

Photo description: double nut New England Great Wheel dated to the 1860s and brought outside to demonstrate spinning for Founder’s Day in Mansfield Texas

The wheel is older than the house she lives in (any item that is 165 years old deserves a pronoun upgrade, in my opinion.) The wheel was used to spin cotton, which was a primary staple in Texas at the time. She was in a private collection for many years, but was placed in the Man House as an honorarium to her former spinner. It is an appropriate placement historically and a valuable display for visitors to see this wonderful piece of human-powered engineering. I was the first to spin on the wheel for ten years, if I have my stories straight, and it was a joy. I did spend an equal amount of time spinning, adjusting the wheel with field-expedient fixes, and talking about the wheel. I took with me Texas Coop cotton sliver and spun two cops of yarn over six hours.

I like to keep these posts relatively short for this blog, so I’m going to spread the deep dive into my spinning experience out over several days!

Sock progress

On By CarynIn Craft

I’m trying a new-to-me sock pattern that dates from the World Wars and was distributed to help with war relief efforts. The spiral pattern creates a stretchy fabric that conforms to the heel without having to stitch a heel. For soldiers this meant a longer wearing sock, since the heel rotates and takes longer to wear out than a designated heel. For my family, my youngest has trouble lining up a heel on her foot, so this is a potentially frustration-saving accommodation. The stitch pattern is easy, but does require paying attention. The body of the sock is a 4×4 rib, but offset one stitch each row, which is what forms the spiral. I’m using Cascade Heritage Prints yarn, which is self striping.

Photo description: spiral socks in progress, knitted as a pair on two 2.5mm cable needles with Cascade Heritage Prints yarn, with a 1×1 rib cuff

My spiral is not forming the tight twist that I have seen in vintage pictures, and I’m hoping that when the socks are finished and blocked, I’ll get the right structure. If this does work for my youngest, I see many, many spiral socks in my future.

Throwback Thursday: library sign

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

In October 2015 I was volunteering at my kids’ elementary school library. They had stacks of old dust covers for books and we had the idea of making a library sign using the colorful printed paper. I selected portions of book covers with coordinating colors and made each letter of the word “library” a different color of the rainbow.

Photo description: large paper based letters spelling “library” and two cartoon owls made of book dust covers and chip board hanging on the wall of the library office
Photo description: closeup of the letter “R” showing how many individual book covers were used for their colors, and outlined with black chip board

I did write on the back of each letter the names of the books that went into making up the color. The owls were made to coordinate with a backdrop of a collection of owls that was already displayed at the library.

Samoyed Fiber Page

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: 12×12 pink card stock with, clockwise, the words “Samoyed Sugar”, single spun and chain plied yarn on paper bobbins, crochet swatch, woven swatch, knit swatch and nålbound swatch, and shed fur

My fiber page for Samoyed dog fiber is what has me thinking hard on my page design. The precut design worked well for a while, but I now think each page needs its own layout and not be forced into sameness. This was my last precut page, so now the adventure begins anew.

Samoyed fur is one of my favorite fibers to spin. I combed all the fur for this spin, but I didn’t wash it until I blocked the swatches. It repels dirt, has almost no odor, and takes twist beautifully. There are guard hairs, but the bothersome ones pull out easily from the finished work without compromising structure.