This weekend presented me with the opportunity to both experience great joy and also the opportunity to pass that joy on to others.  Both felt incredibly good.

New Spinning Wheel

At our local flea market, Thaddeus spotted a spinning wheel on the table of one of the regular vendors.  At first glance, it looked to be a really nice spinning wheel.

It was.

The wheel was heavy and sturdy, and looked to be handmade, but I didn’t recognize the manufacturer (Clemes & Clemes).  The vendor came over to explain that the wheel was missing a drive band, so Thaddeus took the opportunity to point out as many flaws as he could find…he’s always good at negotiating.  The vendor told us he was looking to get $50 for the wheel…no, that’s not a typo.

Thaddeus was thinking…”Just what we need…another spinning wheel.”  And I was thinking…”This deal is just too good to pass up.”  Honestly, we were both correct.

A quick google search on my phone showed that a new Clemes & Clemes Modern wheel goes for $775.  Thaddeus offered the vendor $40 and I now own a new spinning wheel.

We got it home, cleaned it up, put on a new drive band, and with very little effort, I was spinning.

While it spins like a dream, the joy doesn’t stop there…I realized I could probably figure out a market rate for this wheel and look for a buyer who would be willing to pay for it, but I also realized that I could pass on the joy.  Which would be more satisfying…the profit or the joy?

Aaron, the guy who teaches beginning spinning at the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat is an avid spinner and owns a number of spinning wheels.  At last year’s retreat, one of the newbie spinners was lucky enough to be gifted a wheel by Aaron, because Aaron knew how much the wheel would be cherished and enjoyed.  Given Aaron’s history, and the fact that I knew he would truly appreciate the deal of the century I got on this wheel, I will be delivering this wheel to him next week.  Turns out that he’s always wanted a Clemes @ Clemes wheel and getting to own one for $50 (yes, I decided I needed to make a little profit) gave him as much joy as finding this wheel was for me.

Current Knitting

I finished one of the most satisfying projects I’ve knitted in long time…the Zanzibar Scarf by Kieran Foley, using Koigu KPPPM in multiple colorways.

I finished weaving in all the end, but I still need to block this scarf, but I will definitely be knitting this project again at one point.