Yup, She arrived on Friday Evening, not too long after I posted my Photo Friday entry. Of course that means that the pictures I took Friday and Saturday will be in the post today, though.
So it happened like this. Friday night, we had just sat down to eat dinner, and what should we hear but a knock on the door? So, I went to see who could possibly be at the door, and just as I got there, the UPS man practically THREW this box at the porch.
Well, I knew my wheel was coming, but seriously, this box did not look like it could possibly hold it… the box looked too small. Looking small or not, though, I knew that it must be the wheel, and began praying that UPS had not managed to damage the poor baby.
So, once the box was opened, I immediately assembled my new CPW. Boy was she dirty… I got my hands all grungy just putting her together.
Saturday, We took her out to the yard for a bath, since it was so nice and warm out there. I had planned to start with just the soap and water route. But, after giving her a once over, I realized that while I now could avoid grunge hands from touching her, she was still too dirty to really be happy.
After a soap and water bath, she was still all sad looking... she wants to be shiny so badly...
So, we pulled out the heavy guns… Denatured alcohol. This liquid is not for human consumption, but for wheel consumption. It is a Shellac Thinner, and we are using it to help remove and even out the old shellac finish that is on the wheel.
We haven’t gotten too far yet, but you can see the difference in what we have done from what we haven’t.
The Hubby worked on the wheel, starting with the rim. You can see the difference in color... isn't it pretty?
I worked on the Mother of all and the maidens… which were caked in ucky black looking grease… well, I can’t seem to get that picture to upload right now… I think I need a new wireless router, it keeps kicking off.
Anyway, we did not get too far, since the kids woke up and wanted their dinner. But we DID get progress made, and that is good. And now, any time there is nice warm sunny weather, all I want to be doing is be outside working on the wheel. I am forcing myself to work on other things too, of course… fiber and yarny stuff, family stuff, etc. But it is a struggle… I can’t wait to see the wheel finished.
After her bath is complete, we will be applying a new finish of Boiled Linseed Oil, which is a traditional simple finish for these wheels. And she will shine.
She is also due to get new hooks and a new bobbin in the near future. As soon as I can afford to do it.
And she still needs a name. The hubby thinks her name should be Aurora, for the princess in sleeping beauty, and keeps insisting on it. But I want something that is a little french, and I HATE thinking that he might bully me into using a name from Disney’s movie… which really, has nothing to do with this wheel at all, after all.
So thats it for now. I’m off to see what other productive stuff I can work on this afternoon… and with luck, Beeba 1 will stay in his room for naptime for once, rather than coming down to torture me… but not likely.
