The Maiden... she did not split

My neighbor lady, she that plays with wood... she is quite talented... was able to fix the maiden. She evened up the rough bits, drilled a hole in both pieces of the maiden, inserted a hard wood dowel aproximately one inch deep in both pieces added glue and put the puppy back together once again. Today, she sanded off any rough bits and even stained and "antiqued" the surgery site to closely match the original color. If you didn't know before hand that it had needed surgery you would have to search to find the surgery site. Wow! Gotta love a master craftsman/woman.

I noticed Wednesday that the flyer wasn't on the bobbin shaft and also even worse it wasn't in my possession and I became very nervous. I know that would be the hardest part to replace. The woman I purchased from had said that she had a few items that belonged with the wheel, but they were in a can in the back of her shed and would I be able to swing by on Friday to pick them up? "Of Course!" Guess what was on the top of the can... The Flyer. Woo Hoo! I had even taken a photo of the one on my babe so that I could show her what it looked like if it wasn't in the can. The other items... some wool roving (that went in the compost... it didn't look too healthy and I didn't want it in my wool room) A set of older hand carders ( I vacuumed these out really really good with the shop vac) Oiled them up and am going to put them in a large zip lock bag for a bit to make sure that if there are critters that they don't infest my stash. Also inside the can was a shuttle for weaving.

So... Now how to get the flyer back on the bobbin shaft with out breaking anything... nothing wants to come off the shaft. The drive band wheel and the bobbin I would think should slide off the narrow end of the shaft but they won't. Don't know if there is a fancy trick that I am ignorant of or what I don't want to resort to brute force. Still need a footman... (what I was calling the "treadle arm" as I couldn't recall the term) Some of my hubby's friends are bending their brains around the problem. I will be visiting some of the antique shops in the area and seeing if they have any or know where to find one. (otherwise the guys will cobble me together one and knowing them it could be interesting) I am going to measure the space between points A and B at various angles so I will have some idea as to what I am looking for sizewise. Any one out there who has more info please clue me in. :-) Can't wait to get the "Old Lady" spinning once again. Have to name her pretty soon, or she is going to be Old Lady and that so lacks respect. ;-) Also want to go talk to the woman I purchased her from and see if she has any information at all on the previous owner. I know she was using it... as the bobbin came with some wool spun up. (That too went to the compost bin tho... it had been sitting a long while and looked iffy). Can't afford to take chances on infecting my stash... not enough freezer space in this house!

Knitting News!
*Finished up the Lucy bag. It needs a date with the washer for shrinkage. Then delivery to it's recipient.
*Only 30 more rows on the pattern insert on my Nieces RED birthday sweater. Then just a whole lot of seed stitch. That will be much easier than a cable pattern that changes every other row. Can't do the insert pattern unless I can sit in a quiet space.
*My Braids Cardi is out of the bottom of the basket and is now being worked upon once again. Only 4 more decreases at the armpit and then joining. Have to find my notes on the previous sleeves decreases. I am going to try to make this my airplane knitting when I head for Hawaii. (If it isn't finished before then) That way I don't have to pack a jacket for my return. I'll be able to wear my sweater. Which means of course that when I get back to SeaTac it will be 85 degrees at 6:30 am... unlike the blizzard when I returned last time with just a light jacket.

Knit Happy!