We are blessed …

I had a lovely chat with the mom of one of Alison’s good friends a few weeks back. She was very interested in fibre, so I answered lots of her questions. Recently she went to an auction, and happened to see some things that looked fibre-y and like she had to take them home. She convinced her husband to bid on a box of stuff (good man that he is, other than “What IS it?”, he complied) … then decided that she would likely never use it and remembered our conversation. She saw me at the high school last week, and invited me over to her van, showed me a lovely Louet drum carder and asked if I would like to purchase it for $50. My only hesitation in accepting her offer was in the time it took me to tell her she could likely get a lot more than that from someone else :-). She also mentioned that there were a couple of other things along with it … some “spools” (aka spindles) and something else.

Today I went to pick up the drum carder, and after paying, she grinned and said “So, do you want to see what comes with it??” and showed me the rest.

Guys, I almost cried … it was a spinning wheel. A Louet S15 .. just a starter low end one, but nonetheless, a real spinning wheel … PLUS the drum carder, PLUS a skein winder. All for $50.

I am blown away. I have wanted a spinning wheel for a couple of years, and there has been “just.no.way”. Not in the world’s economy. I couldn’t have set this up myself. List for the spinning wheel is around $500 new … and even MORE for the carder. This has been completely and utterly a God thing, aided by a timely conversation with a then-stranger and the genuine goodness of a very sweet woman in the County. I am grateful. Check out my happy fibre stuff!

It came complete with ages old Shetland or Icelandic fleece blended on the drum carder; the removal of which will be quite a project! I’m looking forward to getting it all fixed up and working!!!

On a sad note … my friend Bill Stearman lost his ex-partner today. They had parted ways last summer, then in November Gene was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He has gone downhill so quickly, and has spent the last few weeks in hospice in the upstairs apartment at Bill’s farm, along with caring relatives and an ever-changing shift of nurses. It has been a very challenging situation on so many levels. Gene was a gentle, artistic man and we will miss him.