New Life

We live in a throw-away society. In “the old days” things were made to last a lot longer than today, and if the need did arise, a repair job was often cheaper than buying new. If you have not read the picture book “Something from Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman, I urge you to do so—and don’t forget to pay attention to the story told in the border as well.

Almost a year ago a crate arrived at our house from my sister in Denmark. It contained our Grandmother Andersen’s spinning wheel. Despite its worm-eaten state and worn, missing, or broken parts, it was easy for the mind’s eye to see the work that had been done on this wheel in its glory days. It was very much a production wheel, not just a pretty piece of woodwork adorning a corner of the parlour.

My grandparents were married in 1912 and took over the family farm. Whether the spinning wheel was there when my grandmother moved in, I don’t know. Was it her own wheel that she took with her? I don’t know. But it’s a fair guess the wheel is at least 100 years old. And why in the world would I want that piece of broken equipment?

I am not a spinner, but my eldest daughter is. In fact, in another couple of years she can call herself a Master Spinner after six years of study. Jan knows a thing or two about woodworking, and after extensive research he restored the spinning wheel into a functioning tool again. He left the restored pieces in the natural light colour in contrast to the old dark wood. On Christmas Day, for the first time in decades, a foot on the treadle moved the footman up and down which caused the fly wheel to rotate, Vanessa’s hands fed fibre through the flyer, and yarn wound onto the bobbin. Between the two of them, father and daughter had brought new life to the old spinning wheel, and she rewarded them by humming softly and running rapidly. It was like she had been waiting for this moment just as much as we had. My grandmother’s spirit is in the spinning wheel and I saw her in the content little smile on her great-granddaughter’s face as she was creating yarn. This family heirloom is in good hands…