The Further Adventures of Bargain Hunting

A little change in plans today.

I got an e-mail from the lady I contacted early this week about an ad I saw on some "craigslist" type list for spinning wheels. It said they had a Louet and a wheel from New Zealand. The phone number was local for me, so I figured what the heck.

I didn't hear back after a day or two, so I called the Weaving Dept. and ordered my Traveler.

Last night I got an e-mail back. Today I made a phone call, made the trip over and made a deal for this:

I also got this:

And this:

For the bargain basement price of $160 cash!!! (Go ahead, look on E-bay and see what they are going for, I'll wait.) Yes, I saved a bunch of my bonus budget I had set aside for a spinning wheel!The woman was a spinner and had inherited a wheel (I'm thinking mine) and a giant weaving loom from a friend of hers. This woman had fallen ill and was unable to work with this anymore, so was getting rid of it. I did get a chance to say "hi" to her and thank her for the wheel. I assured her that it was going to a good home and would be used and loved. I think she was OK with that.

After I picked it up, I drove out to Weaving Dept. and had "the other" Nancy look at it. She was so jealous and impressed that I was able to get a hold of wheel in such great condition for so cheap! She said it was probably at least 80 years old and had most of the original pieces on it. She tightened everything up, showed me where to oil and got it going. It was fun to see her go through it and get it spinning and it did great.

I did feel bad about putting in an order, then canceling it, but they assured me that they will use the traveler. Before I left though, I bought a new single drive flyer and Mother of All with bobbins from them, along with a Niddy Noddy, so I did still spend money with them. Then I went out to buy stain and the other little parts to help keep her together.

I have about $175 left in my "start spinning" budget now, so plenty of funds to buy fiber!! The Weaving Guild show is coming up in November and E-bay is a good friend of mine, so we'll start trolling soon.

The couple is still looking at letting the Louet wheel and the weaving stuff go too. The wheel looks a couple of years old and is priced at $150. They also had a bunch of drop spindles and bobbins that looked antique. If you want to be put in contact with them, please let me know.

I'll be cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap tonight and off to TN tomorrow, so spinning will have to wait a week. It's so worth the wait with the adventure I had today! (In a rental car from work, no less!!)