Gretchen

And the moment I know a few have been waiting for, the "Gretchen" wheel is officially on the market. Designed specifically for this wheel, the gradual red and wine colorway is by far my favorite finish yet.

Gretchen is a new Merlin Tree RoadBug complete w/ 3 bobbins, orifice hook, on-board oil bottle, attached lazy kate, and 3 direct-drive whorls. She'll ship fully assembled, so you'll just have to take her out of the box, scerw in the flyer and spin, spin, spin!

The idea for the Gretchen wheel actually has origins in a contest held by a Canadian TieDye Wheel owner who held a wheel naming contest on her blog (it's still Hreinn in our catalogs, haha!) Someone suggested "Gretchen" after the song Gretchen am Spinnerade from the lied by Schubert. Being a fan of Goethe's Faust I thought, "Yes, Gretchen totally needs a wheel designed by me just for her." So of course, it's a simple wheel made special through it's beauty. The color is a rich & vibrant red with rising shades of burgundy and wine that draw up from the bottom, symbolizing the darker forces behind the love affair between Gretchen and Faust. The wheel, treadle, flyer, and bobbins are stained a rich reddish-brown.



Here are the RoadBug specs:
WHEEL DIAMETER: 14"
ORIFICE: 3/8", 17-1/8" from the floor at 45 degree angle upward
FLYER: Merlin Tree #2 w/ Hooks (screws off for travel)
BOBBIN CAPACITY: 5-6oz
RATIOS: 7:1, 9:1 & 13:1
WEIGHT: 8.9 lbs
DIMENSIONS: 7"w x 14"l x 16" h (airline carry-on compatible)
WOODS: Baltic Birch ply, ash and cherry
FINAL FINISH: Semi-gloss Polyurethane

PRICE: SOLD

We can stain and finish additional bobbins to match if desired for $12 each. We can also stain/dye to match Jumbo flyer units, niddy-noddies, and stand-alone lazy kates (in both the red oak and the tie-dye finishes.)

Other wheels are available for sale on Etsy. Payment by credit card accepted over the phone or via PayPal.

The Phoenix

It's kind of exciting putting two new custom wheels together in one night! We assembled both "Gretchen" and "The Phoenix" Monday evening amid warm, ridiculously humid temps.
The Phoenix is a new Ashford Traveler complete w/ 4 bobbins, orifice hook, hemp drive band, cotton drive band. She'll ship partially disassembled, but I'm pretty sure it'll be 4 cam bolts and 2 screws and you'll be ready to go.

Her inspiration is a rising phoenix. The main wood components are stained a very dark black/brown to symbolize the ashes, and the treadles and wheels are stained a burgundy, red, orange, and yellow to symbolize the phoenix reborn. There is a braid decoration burnt onto the wheel (front and back) along with the fallen and rising phoenixes on the treadles.

Although the treadles should be able to handle considerable wear before the image is affected, we do recommend stocking feet for this wheel.

Here are the Traveler specs:
WHEEL DIAMETER: 46cm (18")
ORIFICE: 1cm (3/8")
FLYER: Standard w/ Hooks
BOBBIN CAPACITY: 100gm (3-4oz)
RATIOS: 5.5, 10 & 14:1
WEIGHT: 7kg (15lb)
FINAL FINISH: Semi-gloss Polyurethane

PRICE: Private Collection






We can stain and finish additional bobbins to match if. We can also stain/dye to match Jumbo flyer units, niddy-noddies, and stand-alone lazy kates (in both the dark and the tie dye finishes.)