I've finally made more photos of things to go into the shop - needles, to be specific.  

When I'm sewing, I like to use non-ferrous needles for wool fabrics, but strongly prefer iron or steel needles for linen. Usually also for silk, but that may be due to the fact that I can usually get thinner needles in iron than in brass or bronze.

Anyways, these are hand-forged in Germany, and they will finally go into the shop in the next few days! 

EuroWeb has something more coming up: A webinar on traditional wax batik printing! It will take place on September 6, 10 am CET start.  

I'm already looking forward to this - it's always interesting to see traditional textile techniques!

The thing about a medieval-style Great Wheel? It's really Great, as in Large. Looking at images, the wheel appears to be really huge, compared to the spinners. And when one thinks about it, that is sort of understandable - after all, the aim is to get a lot of twist quickly, and there are no gears involved. So the size difference between the wheel and the disc on the spindle (often called whorl, but I find that confusing) has to be as large as possible.

When I built my reconstruction, I was thus looking for a size that would compare to the illustrations we have, and of course with a look at its intended use - demonstrations. Which meant it also had to come apart easily, and the single pieces had to fit into the car. 

Which they do. The wheel itself has its own special spot right under the roof, where it's built to fit perfectly:

The board end in the foreground belongs to the bottom (main) board. The rest is one box with the small pieces (like the wedges, drive band, and spindles) and one pack with legs and the holders for spindle and wheel. 

So now I just have to add the rest of the equipment, and we're ready to roll!

(Ingelheim. Sunday. See me there if you can, and say hello!)

The wheel is set up, and it's been far too long since I've last taken it for a spin - it took me a bit to get it all running smoothly again. Though that is also due to trying the other spindle, which (still) does not work as nicely as the one I usually have.

Why? Well, it would be nice to know... The wheel is always a little wobbly, and depending on how the individual bits are aligned (and they have a tendency to shift a bit during use), the drive band stays on... or not. The "other" spindle has more of a tendency to shift, and there's only one good groove on it, so as soon as the drive band manages to hop out of that groove, it's gone and off completely. 

As there's no grooves or higher sides on the rim of the wheel, the drive band will also tend to slip off if the wheel is not well enough aligned. That can happen if the fixing wedge of the wheel support works itself loose, or if the whole thing is leaning a bit to one side and the wheel wanders on its axle, or if it's put on the wrong way around (though it is theoretically symmetrical, it isn't quite).

So. All those are reasons enough to take it out and give it a little test drive before it appears at a demonstration, but the main reason is actually for me to get some practice in... or I will have a very, very tired right arm very quickly otherwise! 

... I get to try something new. Thanks to an online workshop about traditional Turkish carpet weaving, I now know a lot more than before (though of course it was only covering the basics), and I managed to do a few rows of knots on my tiny practice piece:

It's definitely a fascinating technique, and as with so many textile techniques, the single steps and moves are simple and may look easy, but getting it all just so, and having a good, consistent result will take a lot of experience and practice. I hope I will be able to find some time to weave at least a little bit more, so I can take it off at some time and have a mini-carpet. Probably just large enough for the cat to sit on (though by far not large enough for her to curl up on...)

Today was checkup day - all kinds of tests to see if the bit of extra I had in my skull is still gone completely, and if there's anything affected by the removal. So I got treated to some relaxation again, and to some waiting time, and to chats with lovely healthcare people, and now I'm home again with another disc full of images (yes, there's still a brain residing in there, that area was never touched), and the "all clear" for now. Next check is in one year's time, when I will hopefully hear just the same.

There's checks to see how my cortisone levels are doing before that, but the Much Ado with the more elaborate tests are done for now. Phew! Which means I can now concentrate on getting the things prepped for the next events - which is the museum anniversary in Ingelheim on September 1. The Great Wheel will have an outing there, so it wants to get dusted off, oiled up, and given a test spin before we'll travel to the Rhine...

I will be in Ingelheim to demonstrate spinning in the medieval styles, with both the hand-spindle and the Great Wheel. There will be the opportunity to try medieval-style spindles for the visitors - and a lot of other things to see and try as well, plus free entry into the museum. You can find more info here on the museum page.

So how far did I get on the skirt during the weekend? Here's the progress pic: 

I had about 5 cm of the starting part woven, so weaving in the extra cord for holding the loops was done on site - and all the weaving that follows, and the cording, and the ring-making. The pic makes it very obvious that the cording and ring-making take more time than the weaving, and hence the rather great reserve of un-corded loops. This, by the way, was my workplace: 

I swapped the setup around after that image, so that I was facing the other way - this would have sat me with my back to the main path, and thus to the public. The other way around I had a nice view on the horse showing Bronze Age tack and on the musician explaning (and playing) his instruments, and the fisherman with all his nets and hooks and things. 

And as usual I have no pictures from during the day, as I completely forgot or was too busy explaining and working. I didn't get to have a nice stroll around to take pics of the other stations either, so no images from there. The curse of the soloists!