Quebec Wheel Cont.

A bit more about the Quebec Wheel for you today.

I was wrong about what the label said.

There was a second label at one time but it's gone now. I wonder if this label is added considerably after construction or if it something placed there by the maker. It already has that "J8" on it, so this may be an addition. After taking photographs of the label in different light and playing around with different contrast and huge saturation, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot quite make out what it says.

The signature dose show up the clearest. It's written with a fountain pen, a well worn one if I am not gravely mistaken, which is in keeping with the information I have on it. Anyone want to have a guess at what this says?

I have a Kant essay that's been neglected lately, so I had best put the spinning aside for a day or so while I finish it up.

Quebec wheel

I saw an advert in the Guild newsletter for a very adorable, small, and portable wheel known as the peacock for sale at an exceptional price. The problem is that although my Ashford Traditional wheel works marvelously well, it is rather large for taking from one place to another. I thought that perhaps one additional, but considerably smaller wheel would fit nicely in the apartment and would easily satisfy all my spinning needs. It's funny how life doesn't work out according to plan.

Instead, the peacock wheel was sold, but there were some lovely other items available at a 'considerable discount'. I received three items from her, and each one of them will receive a different post as they are all special and delightful in their own way.

First, the Quebec Wheel

Isn't she gorgeous? When I saw this wheel I thought to myself, I simply have to try it out. What do you know, not only was it in working order, it spins exactly like I love to: thin and fast. I knew immediately that this was the wheel for me. Even though I still love my Ashford dearly, I feel that as time goes on, I'll use my Quebec more and more as it really is a perfect match.

I know the ownership pedigree back to the 1940 or 1930s, but I suspect her of being considerably older. One of the previous owners spun exclusively flax and linen on it. It may be that I failed to achieve my aim of buying a smaller, more portable wheel, as you can see from this next photo that my new Quebec wheel is considerably larger than my Ashford.

The Quebec wheel has had a lot of life and it shows. It's a double drive single treadle wheel, but the little details like the addition to the treadle (both the rubber no-slip bits and the extension where the heal sets to make for a more rocking action) and the previous applications of wood filler here and there are all monuments to different owners and different stages of its life so far. The drive wheel shows gaps where the sections are held together. Despite all the rain we get, the air is surprisingly dry around here. It doesn't effect the operation of the wheel in any way that I can discern. Someone has tried in the past to fill in the gaps with wood filler, to no avail.

There is a small bit of paper glued to the wheel, I cannot quite make out what it says, but I think the signature is "S Jensons" and there is a "J8" carved into one end of the wheel. There isn't enough information on the Internet at the moment to do any in depth research, so I'll subscribe to the Spinning Wheel Sleuth. If I enjoy their publication, I'll order some back issues that might prove helpful in learning more.

Even though it works, the wheel still needs a bit of love and attention. For one thing it has been sitting around for months if not years without being used and gathering dust. So I take a gentle cleanser like Murphy's Oil soap (made of natural ingredients specifically designed to GENTLY clean wood) and following the directions on the bottle, take a soft cloth and wipe down all the wooden parts of the wheel.

Then, once that's completely dry, I take a natural oil, in this instance lemon oil as it cleanses even more as it conditions the wood, a different soft cloth, and some gloves and rub in the oil.

This is almost all the wheel really needs. I could of course remove all the additional modifications, but that would be only if I wanted to display it as a work of art. I would much rather leave on the wheel all the additions that previous owners lavished on this wheel as it makes me feel humble and honoured to spin on it.

I am having trouble removing the flyer assembly for cleaning. I want to get the gunk and dust out of there and to give it some fresh lubricant but the maidens are seized up. It also only has one bobbin so I will want to get more in the near future. I'll deal with that later on as it spins delightfully at the moment and I have other toys to play with.

in preparation

To get you in the mood for what I'll talk about over the next few days, have a look at this video. I can't make out what they are saying, but there are some wonderful images of traditional spinning methods and fibre prep.

Seven years are over

I think that my seven years of bad luck might have finally come to an end. On my outing today I received four very special things. Two I bought...

...one I was given...

...and one that was bought for me...

(no photos yet, sorry)

Care to guess what they are?

I'll blog about it tomorrow; but you know, I've had nothing but bad timing and worse luck since January 2000. I shouldn't have broken that mirror, even if it was an accident. Thank goodness these things don't last forever.

poppadoms

Y came around for dinner last night. We had a simple curry and poppadoms.

I think that poppadoms have to be on of my all time most favorite foods ever! Have you ever made poppadoms? It only takes a few minutes to make an entire batch. It's like magic, you have these flat boring discs that you put into hot oil and within two to three seconds they are all curly and ready to eat. They take a fair bit of oil to make, so we don't have them all that often. If I had my way I would have them four or five times a week. They are just that yummy.

Y had a go at translating the Japanese knitting pattern for me. It's funny, she has good Japanese-to-English skills, but knitting patterns have a totally different lexicon. We ended up getting out my Japanese knitting book for help (it has photos). It was a bit of a struggle (especially with my brain fogging up like it has been lately) but I now feel far more confident about making the vest.

Speaking about knitting patterns, isn't this just the cutest pig ever? This book is going on my wish list for the next time one of my friends journeys to Japan. Oh and this book as well. It makes me want to learn Japanese.

Faces of Oxford

We found all sorts of little faces hidden about Oxford. This one in particular caught our eye; it looked as if he was smiling at our sharp eyes and knack at discovering hidden treasure.

More Oxford

Oxford is filled with some of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. It is a shame to see some of the most vulgar shops situated in these masterpieces. Take Lush for example, (have I told you how much I dislike that shop?) they are everywhere, their odour spewing out into the street, triggering a sharp allergy attack. If it was sound or litter that covered the massive area around the shop, then the bylaw enforcement would be all over it. Why not encourage a sent patrol. Shops like Lush not only encourage people to wear scented products of offensive magnitude, but it makes some parts of the street inaccessible to individuals with allergies.

Willows in Oxford

Perhaps it's foolish, but when I think of what I want to do after my education, I realize that I want to be a farmer. It's not the most obvious choice for a philosophy major, and with a pile of student debt, it's a considerably unobtainable. The thing is, there are very few people I enjoy spending time with. First impressions are deceiving; once you get to know me, you realize that I am not a people person - I'm far to honest and out-spoken for that. I'm far better with plants than with people, and even better with yarn. My fingers fly among yarn and needles while my mind spins new patterns for me to create. I love my alone time. I think a big old house in the country with a couple of sheep grazing on the front yard would be just perfect for me.

The mound

The sky in England is considerably different than what we have at home. Our sky is monotonous. Weather moves in from the West and stays for weeks or sometimes months. When summer arrives, it is preceded by two weeks of heavy rain, then it is sunny. It stays sunny for five months. There are very few clouds, and it becomes boring to look out the window. Likewise, winter comes with a bustle of confusion, then it sits. Wet and rain and cold and dark - that's winter here.

England's sky is always in motion. The clouds move to and fro, always busy, always with somewhere else to be. Heavy rain is followed by sunlight in quick succession. It is always enjoyable to me to rest on a hillside, watching the English sky change.

Still In Oxford

At the back of the photo, almost hidden behind the building on the left, is an artificial mound. We passed it each day on our walk from the hostel to the city center. On the last day, we thought of climbing the spiral walkway to the top, but found a toll gate barred the way.

I enjoyed Oxford very much, and I wonder sometimes, what it would be like to study there for a year or two. Perhaps I will apply to take my MA. there, just to see if I could get in.

Posting Box

The Royal Mail never ceases to amaze me. Next day delivery with over 95% accuracy; how incredible is that?

In Oxford

An everyday street in Oxford. It may look usual if you live there, but from a foreigner's eye, it is filled with exotic details.

The Old Tom

After the first pub refused to serve us (not enough staff to man the kitchen or so she said), we had lunch at The Old Tom. It felt just like coming home. The food was the best we had in England, before or since. The staff were friendly and intellectual discussions permeated the air. We returned the next day for lunch roast. The beer was fresh, the staff friendly, and most importantly, the kitchen open.

My companion had finally found minutes to top up her phone. Eager to get in touch with friends in Scotland, she texed her greetings while leaving the pub. She stumbled on the steps in front of a group of people going in. Mild laughter ensued and someone commented that the quality of the beer must be good here. In my usual unthinking way, I blurted out that she wasn't drunk, just texting. Embarrassed but amused, we continued on; my companion didn't stop texting until we were at the end of the block; even when she tripped on a bit of uneven pavement.

Oxford in the setting sun

It was a much longer journey to Oxford than we expected. The sun was well on its way westward, and the air had a bite to it. From the train station, we misunderstood the traffic patterns and ended on the wrong side of the street on the wrong side of the block. Eventually we discovered the hostel. The people were friendly, and we savored our first Internet access since we left home.

At the Beach

Peter's Ice Cream has been at the beach since 1897. Even on a cold, wind swept day, it's open for business.

They say the coastline is washing away. There are towns that have completely succumb to the sea, their runes accessible only at spring tide. One legend has it that you can still hear the bells ringing from the cathedral of one submerged city.

Felixstowe

The high street in Felixstowe, looking back towards the water. It's a great climb up from the beach; the locals use to call it 'bent hill', but I don't know that it has a name any more.

When we returned from our walk.

When we returned from our walk to the beach we found the milk man had been. Two fresh glass bottles awaited us on the front porch. It was a refreshing sight to our tired eyes.

We walked to the beach

As we left on a walk for the beach, we saw the empty milk jug. The white surface of the milk-stand deliciously worn away in places, revealing a vibrant red lacquer. The beach was round stones at the bottom of a steep hill. Family legend tells me that once one could find amber among the stones, washed from Norway's cliffs.

The weather was damp, and the beach cold. Our first full day in England after almost 28 hours journey from our home, it felt good to walk. Tired and jetlaged, it was glorious to be alive.

Suffolk Milk

I was delighted to see there is still milk delivery in England. There is something so delightful having fresh milk delivered to your door in glass bottles. In some ways, England is more like heaven than any where else I've seen.

Trampled

Went out to the park today and found some Canadian geese. I finally hope to revamp my blog to reflect the title. I'm also taking votes on which one of these three photos you think would most capture the spirit of being Trampled by Geese.

Is it number one...


number two...


or number three...


?

Please leave me a comment and let me know. If you don't like any of these, I have over a hundred and twenty left to choose from.

There is of course this one...


... but I'll let you decide.


BTW - if anyone is good with photo shop and would like to play with these pictures to make them in such a way that a book or some knitting is being 'trampled by geese' for me, I would be eternally grateful. I could even send you a skein of mystery yarn from my stash as a reward.