Sunday - Drove up to Solvang, visited Village Spinning and Weaving. Did I buy anything? Hmmm, what do you think??? We drove up to Los Alamos, and attended the Olden Days event. I purchased an old spinning wheel (more later). That night, we walked out of Solvang a bit and saw the Milky Way on a moonless night.
Monday - Up to Sonora, we made it in time to stop off at Columbia State Historic Park. Spouse got some Period Attire for our Old Town volunteer activities.
Tuesday - Most of the day at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, where we got a behind the scenes tour of the roundhouse, turn table, mechanic's shop, and other rail features. On to Murphys and music at Alchemie.
Wednesday - visited Stephenie Gaustad and Alden Amos. Stephenie generously let me try out a Great Wheel. Alden customized a hand spindle for my spouse, who is learning to spin. These two people are so wonderful and kind, I can't thank them enough for hosting us that morning. Then on Indian Grinding Rocks State Park.
Thursday - Hiked Indian Grinding Rocks trails, drove up to El Dorado County, bought apples and winter squash, and met Lexi Boeger at her workshop. What a wonderful and talented artist! We ate dinner at Taste, which is a wonderful restaurant not only because they have a vegetarian menu.
Friday - Hiked Calaveras Big Trees trails, and visited Murphys. Drove to Modesto via Knights Ferry covered bridge and historic buildings. Ate a fabulous Italian meal at our favorite restaurant in Modesto and danced to street music. I love Modesto!
Saturday - Drove home, made it through LA with few traffic problems but hit a big jam up around Camp Pendleton. Took forever to get through San Diego County. Oh, and Caltrans has every rest stop in California closed. So plan ahead.
So...here is photo of the old spinning wheel I bought in Los Alamos.
I cleaned it up and then put some oil finish on it. When I bought it, it was very dirty but all the pieces were there. When we visited Stephenie and Alden, my spouse hauled it out of the car for Alden to look at. He identified it as a c. 1880s Germanic or Swiss wheel. It uses wooden pegs (which Alden made for me) instead of hooks on the flyer. The drive band and tension band are flax, as is the string holding the footman to the treadle.
You can see where her heel and foot rested on the frame and treadle. The legs are sticks. Alden identified the wood as beech. There is some beetle damage to the wood. I have it in quarantine to make sure the beetles are no longer active.
OK, then I spent last week in Palm Springs at a conference. I knitted a bit but was really too busy at the conference to do any serious fiber art. Tomorrow, spinning at National City Rail Depot.
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