Reflections and a Tabletop Spindle Wheel (Maybe)

The last couple of days have been spent reflecting on life and adjusting my attitude.

Started with the news that a colleague at work who I've known for thirty years has stomach and lung cancer.  What a way to be forced to have some perspective.  Here I've been whining about a cold and sinus issues that have inconvenienced me for a couple of weeks and this person is facing a battle for his life.   So time to convert that energy from whining about my small woes to praying for healing for a good friend.

My second philosophical jolt came yesterday.  I had heard from a friend of a friend about a moving sale in Long Beach that included a loom, spinning wheels, books, and weaving supplies, along with quite a few other special items.  One of the items listed as a spinning wheel caught my eye, so I dropped by on my way to work yesterday morning.

Let me preface this by saying that I love all kinds of tools, especially used tools.   I like to think about the people who had the tool before me and imagine what they did with it - or dreamed of doing with it.  To me, that tool is not just a thing -- it's a dream waiting to be realized.  And I like to think that I honor the previous owners by caring for things that they probably worked hard to afford and treasured.

So I saw this "wheel" not just as a neat conversation piece (although it is), but a treasure to be rescued.  I arrived at the sale, and people were lined up to get in.   When it was my turn, I walked through the house, learning a little about the person who lived here.  She was a collector of things - mustache cups, fine china, music, hand-painted tiles. And textiles.  Lots of handwoven linen, and antique coverlets.   And she had a family.  There was a much-used crib in one room.  I don't know her age or what she looks like, but I like her just for her taste in collecting.

When I got to the room with her beautiful dobby loom and spinning equipment, there it was - the "tabletop spinning wheel."  Certainly vintage, but at this point I'm not sure it's actually a spinning wheel.  But it's beautiful and I know it has to come home with me.  So I pick it up and make my way to the check-out table.  I make a wrong turn and ended up in the room where this lady's clothing and other personal things were being sold.  There are two women rooting through her clothes, gleefully trying things on, and discarding them in piles.   There are also a couple of people combing through a table full of her little tchotchkes and making unkind remarks about them.  Scavengers!  My mind immediately starts replaying the scene in "A Christmas Carol" (the Mr. Magoo version - that should tell you something about my personality) where the plunderers are taking all of Scrooge's things and sing "We're Despicable."   I like to think that I'm not one of the plunderers, but maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Anyway, here is the "wheel" that came home with me yesterday.

With the help of some websurfing and q&a's with people in the Ravelry antique wheel forum, I came to the conclusion that this is either a tabletop spindle wheel or a pirn/bobbin winder.  There are actually two of the squirrel cages like the one pictured close-up in the bottom two photos.  The way it is secured to the spindle with a cotter pin just isn't in keeping with the elegant turnings on the wood or the rest of the hardware.  Plus the spindle is much smaller than the holes in the cages.  It looks like some cork has been inserted in one of the holes to make it fit the spindle.

If you look at the top two pictures, there are a pair of wooden slats with a single hole on each.  These holes are exactly the same size as the holes in the cages.  I suspect that at one time, the cages were attached to the slats with now-missing hardware.  The slats can extend from 13" to 19" hole-to-hole, which would make for a nice horizontal squirrel-cage setup.  Then a bobbin or pirn could be slid onto the spindle and voila!  It was also suggested that the spindle was originally sharpened for spinning, and someone filed off the end to avoid the Sleeping Beauty effect.  Whatever, I think this is a lovely tool and I will be looking for "appropriate" hardware to relocate the squirrel cages.