BRINGING IT BACK TO LIFE

Tah Dah!!!

Finally got this wheel working.

I posted about it here, 

and since then my husband has cleaned, oiled and glued it back into working order.

So it was up to me to get it spinning again.

But first I did a bit of research about the origins of this wheel.

I had lots of help from Karen MacEwan 

who heads the  Antique Wheel Forum on ravelry.com,

a wonderful resource for all kinds of fibery information.

The wheel dates back to the 1840's and is Scandinavian in origin,

probably having been brought over to the U.S. from Sweden.  

A lot of these wheels are turning up in the Northern U.S.

 where many of the Scandinavian peoples settled when coming to the New World.

Over this Thanksgiving Holiday,

 I was able to take some time and mess with it.

Karen told me to string my wheel in a figure eight around the double drive band,

and also how to set the tension.

It worked like a charm.

Can't wait to bring it to school and have my students try it out.

HELP NEEDED...

to identify this antique spinning wheel.

I recently acquired this gorgeous old spinning wheel from friends and shop owners up on the mountain.

My husband is going to clean, oil and restore it for me,

and I'm hoping someone out there might be able to tell me something about this wheel and its origin and date.

I love it's weathered blue color and I found these initials "AEG" on it's frame that feel embossed into the wood.

I also found these initials on the side "M.N.D.H." that were hand lettered.

It's patina is so beautiful, I can't wait to see it all oiled up again.

It must be old, 

there are no nails anywhere,

only pounded in dowels for joins.

Although there is a piece of metal that has rusted that turns the wheel.

And look at the join on the wheel below,

it's just so cool.

So I'm really hoping that someone out there might be able to share a little info on this beauty.

Note the old piece of leather that the orifice is slipping thru.

Wonderful!!!!

It was love at first site  :)