My Majacraft Rose

Hubby had threatened to wrap each piece of my Christmas present but he settled for just wrapping the box.  It took a whole roll of paper to do it.  Assembly was fairly painless, though I did need help with a few screws.  The treadle hinges got doused in oil before assembly because they were stiff.  My wheel was signed on the base by Owen Poad, with a serial number, and had been packed in June 2008.  I was charmed by one of the bobbins, it had a small piece of spinning on it, proof that my wheel had been tested before it left New Zealand.  The local New Zealand newspaper pages it was packed with also made me smile.

It's beautiful.  The drive band is green, the brake band is green, and the things to attach the treadles to the wheel rods are also green.  It's fitting that I had some dark green merino silk to spin on it.  I'm spinning it quite fine, thinner than I was getting on the Louet S10.  The surprising thing about the Rose is how sensitive the brake band adjustment is.  And it is quiet, gloriously quiet to spin on, just the swish from the brake band.  No squeaks or creaks or knocks or rattles.

I'm using the Delta orifice flyer, which is simple to thread.  The butterfly hook takes a bit of getting used to on the flyer arm.  The wood colour is a warm orange beige, rimu wood.  I love that there's a lot of wood on this wheel, a big chunk for the head, long paddles for the treadles, a solid base, even the rods connecting the treadles to the wheel.  Dad always had a lot of wood in his shed, and the garage, and he let me play with some of the offcuts.

It's a gorgeous wheel, and a pleasure to spin on.  Definitely worth the wait!  Though I did go down to the basement and visit the box a few times between September and Christmas...