The Ettrick Windwheel

I am the proud owner of an Ettrick Windwheel spinning wheel.

This lovely and simple spinning wheel has been a source of swearing, frustration and temper tantrums. It is my first, and currently my only, spinning wheel. I was fortunate enough to have it sold second hand to me for a very affordable price by my friend's husband's mother who no longer spins wool.
It is a great little wheel - it is compact, folds down so you can take it with you and has very simple mechanics. It spins via a weighted pulley system which is activated with your foot on the treadle. I found it challenging to learn because I've had to get in the rhythm  of trying to tap my foot at the right time on the treadle to keep the weight spinning while drafting out fibres. Often enough I would hit it at the wrong time and the weight would spin backwards and in turn un-spin the yarn which would then fall a part. It was like trying to rub my belly and tap my head at the same time. Hence, the source of swearing, frustration and temper tantrums.

But with persistence, I got there! Its not perfect, but I am doing it! I am drafting out fibres, I am tapping my foot on the treadle at the same time (and occasionally I tap the weight to spin backwards) and I am getting my bobbins filled! Hooray!

Luckily, I had some of the most terrible merino wool that I picked up at a local market for $6 a braid. Great way to practice spinning but only to a point, because it offers you the ability to waste wool while learning the spinning technique but it will only take you so far before the crappy quality wool actually turns into part of the learn-to-spin problem itself. It does come a time when you have to take your learning and practice to the next level with decent wool, but you become hesitant because you don't want to have to sacrifice such a lovely product to mistakes and terrible spinning. I have reconciled that the lovely wool I will spin, and to an extent will mess up, will end up as felt balls for winding yarn off my support spindles and as toys for the cats. So not all is lost.

I was curious about this wheel and where it's from because I had never seen any wheel like this before. It is a style of travel wheel which can be folded down/away for easier transport. The Ettrick Windwheel fold forward as you can see here:

After bit of an online search I've found that this wheel was designed in Australia and still made here, however, the production ownership has changed a few times. It was first created by Geoffrey Fenton in 1977 in Tasmania, then the design changed hands to Hans Kruger but I can't find the date of when, it then eventually ended up in the hands of Ettrick Wheels in Bendigo sometime before 1990 as I understand it and still have the manufacturing license and produce the Windwheel today.
The wheel I have has a patent pending stamp on the back so I speculate that it may be an original Fenton production. It is of great quality considering it is still going strong!

I found this neat, short video on youtube of the treadling motion of the Windwheel, if it provides any help to other Windwheel lovers and sufferers ;)

Does anyone else out there own one of these?

Stay spun!

- Mokosh