Jonathan >

As Autumn shows its colours and the winds are from the cold north, our thoughts return to indoor work – of wheels and wools.

As the Hebridean Woolshed‘s Spinning Wheel Engineer in Residence, I love to find the time to feel my way around every piece of equipment, cleaning, adjusting, replacing, oiling. Bearings and bushes. Belts and bands. Cranks and connecting rods. Springs and screws. And of course there’s the wood – above all the wood.

Denise kept spinning full speed ahead, making good the empty pigeon-hole for Uist Landscapes – Atlantic, up the garden in the Hebridean Woolshed‘s garden shop. I got a spare wheel ready, and when she stopped for coffee and cake, I swapped wheels, transferring the work-in-progress bobbins, and adjusting the tensions of drive and brake bands to match those on the wheel I’d taken away.

Returning to work, Denise took great delight in detailing the many deficiencies of my tactical manoeuvres!

And now I must get back to work on my own line of ‘self-coloured’ (wool self-coloured by the sheep themselves!), handspun in marls and variegations.  There’s customers for whom these colours sum up their life-long love of all things woolly.

Jonathan’s spinning wheel.

Renewals to spinning wheel flyer.

Denise spinning Uist Landscapes – Atlantic.

Spinning Wheel car park.

Taking stock, taking care.

Economy cards – surplus to requirements. Sold on ebay.

Economy cards – surplus to requirements. Sold on ebay.

Work in Progress – Uist Landscapes Atlantic.

Coffee & Cake time