My Sarah Jane

Hiya from a.,

I have something amazing to show you.  r. and I will soon be leaving Minneapolis, which means that I will be leaving my yarn crew.  I always knew that the FLBs were generous and awesome, but didn't know quite how much so, until this past Sunday when they presented me with a spinning wheel.  Yup a spinning wheel with all the bits and bobs was my going away gift (apparently  no one wanted to make book on me not crying, which was smart, as I did shed a tear or two).  I am now the humble owner of a gorgeous little ladybug.  Here she is:

Isn't she sooooo cute?  I didn't take a photo, but on the other side there is a little ladybug on the wood.  Everyone said I would have to name her (which is true), and I thought it would take awhile to figure out the proper name.  It didn't though.  As I was spinning using every different chair in the house, trying to figure what worked best, my line got away from me, and I just said "Oh, Sarah Jane" and I realized that was her name.  It works well, because a good number of the FLBs are Doctor Who nerds (and while many argue about who the best doctor was, few argue that Sarah Jane wasn't one of, if not the top companion of all time), and I find that the machine has this modern/interesting engineering, while also looking a little slapdash and absurd - sort of like the Tardis.
Here is some fiber that I dyed and have spun a single of, so that you can see what it looks like on the flyer:

Here then is my first yarn that I completed on the wheel, it is not good, but for a first full attempt at yarn it isn't bad ( I was treadling way too fast and have since learned to slow down a bit).  Anyways the yarn is a few ounces of the purple stuff I picked up at Shepherd's Harvest:

Finally, one of the standard tools you need for a spinning wheel is an orifice hook, to catch the lead line to feed the fiber onto - this is the one that came with the wheel:

It is incredibly function, but rather boring, and that simply won't do for a machine as fabulous as Sarah Jane.  So I made myself a new one using guitar string, some beads, a set of pliers and some glue:

With being a softer wire, it isn't quite as practical as the one that came with, but it does work, and I'm willing to sacrifice a little function for a lot more form.

I leave you now with a clip of the first appearance of Sarah Jane Smith: