A new wheel, a new friend

This blog has been quiet for a little while... Partly (among other things) because I've been too busy spinning to write anything. And the reason for that is that I am the proud new owner of a secondhand Haldane Orkney.

The Orkney is a compact little upright wheel made by the Haldane company in Scotland. Haldane don't make wheels anymore - they stopped in the late 1990s - but their wheels seem to have a good reputation.

Haldane Orkney spinning wheel in my very tiny flat
I like that this wheel has some history behind it - I know that it's belonged to at least two other spinners before me. I can't find any good resources on dating the wheels, but it's possible this wheel is older than I am. Even so, it's in excellent nick - being supplied with 6 bobbins and all the necessary parts. The only thing I had to do to get the wheel spinning was find a bit of elastic for the scotch tension (even that wasn't strictly necessary, as I could have set it up double drive - but I am really enjoying spinning with scotch tension).
Hand dyed top spun from hand carded rolags on my Haldane Orkney
Besides the wheel itself, the seller also included a few bags of fiber and a set of hand cards in the sale. The hand cards are great - I'd only had a mini set of carders before, so it is a bit of a learning curve learning to use the full-size ones. But the rolags I make last for ages!

The two bags of fiber were a bag of raw mystery fleece, and some dyed merino top. I haven't gotten into the fleece yet, but I've gone through the top already between carding practice and wheel practice.
Fingering weight yarn spun on a Haldane upright spinning wheel
My first few bobbins of wheelspun weren't that great, but I'm getting better the more I use it. On the spindle I feel much more in control, while on the wheel I can make yarn, even if I don't know what kind of yarn it will turn out to be. But I'm sure that will come with time and practice...

~Joyuna

3 comments:

  1. I felt the same way when I first started on the wheel. Lovely color to that wood!

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  2. What a beautiful wheel! I hope it gives you many years of yarn-making enjoyment.

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    1. Thanks, I'm sure it will - I'm really liking it so far :)

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