It’s the season for gifts, right? Even ones for oneself? I’m so grateful that I was able to buy this guilt-free, what with that Christmas bonus from work. I’ve only ever gotten a couple of those, so it was a special treat this year–and well-timed, too, what with Chappy’s vet bills recently.

About that, incidentally? We’re dropping his prednisone dose as of today to one pill a day, with a follow-up blood test in a week or so. Fingers crossed.

Now, about this lovely new gift.

It arrived in pieces, requiring a lot more assembly than my Little Gem did.

The center section gets screwed to the base.

The treadles are screwed on. (Reminding me that we really need a better Phillips head screwdriver.)

The spinning head, the crank assembly, et cetera, et cetera, and eventually you have something that looks like this.

And a box full of styrofoam pieces that make you hope you will never need to try to get this disassembled and put back in the box for any reason whatsoever (grin).

Let’s not forget the signature and number on the bottom, shall we?

The actual wheel is absolutely beautiful. The Rimu wood has such a gorgeous grain to it.

Here’s a slightly blown-out photo of the back of the wheel. I love the way the crank shaft and rods look.

Here’s a spinner’s-eye view.

The bobbins are HUGE. Here’s an Aura bobbin right next to a regular Majacraft plastic bobbin–a bobbin which is already on the large side, as bobbins go, but dwarfed next to the Aura bobbin. They are pretty, too, made of bamboo with fiberglass centers.

In fact, the Aura bobbins are the same size as the jumbo, plying bobbins. The only problem I have right now is that I can’t use the plying bobbin I have with my Aura. Look closely at the Aura bobbin in this photo–see those two little holes? Those fit over the pins on the spinning head, and only bobbins with those holes will work.

I’m hoping, actually, to trade this older wooden plying bobbin with one of newer vintage. All the Maja bobbins made since last Spring have these little holes, and if I want to find someone who has a newer plying bobbin but NOT an Aura who is willing to trade. If you know any such person, please let me know!

Here’s what I’ve spun so far. The wheel … did I tell you I bought it from Copper Moose, who had by far the best price I found … came with two free pounds of BFL, which is a treat because it made me feel free to play to my heart’s content last night. Experimenting with the different settings and such. The Aura is a modified double-drive, you see, so the strength of the pull and the speed of it are controlled by two different drive bands.

I not only tested my old familiar standby of short forward-pull worsted-type drafting, but played with long draw and spinning from the fold, too. I was able to spin as fine as I liked which was reassuring because it was the one thing I worried about, since this is a “slow” wheel. I’m already having fun. As I say, the free fiber is a real bonus because I’m not worrying about “wasting” anything while I play.

Yep. Happy so far! This wheel is a beauty … and, um, it’s calling so … got to go!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning // 1 Comment »