Spinning progress

Picked up a big box from the Weaving Department at Myer's House and Hubby helped me turn it into this:

It's an Ashford Kiwi with a clear lacquer finish.  I was sent home from the store with a big ball of white roving and an oil bottle, but I started with the dyed Corriedale pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farm instead, which is a breeze to spin.  No splitting the roving, no pre-drafting, gorgeous colours.  I'd like to learn how to ply it and preserve the colour sections, or just ply it with white singles.  The first skein of this goes to Sehlat when the niddy noddy arrives.  It's uneven, but not massively so.

The rest of the Corriedale is on the back burner for a while because I started knitting a scarf with my Louet-spun Coopworth, and there won't be enough to finish it.  More Coopworth is on the way from Copper Moose, until then, I'm trying the white roving which is easy to spin.  Maybe I'm getting a little better at this.

The Kiwi is different to the Louet, and more complex, but I like it.  It's bigger than I was expecting, and it's taken up residence in the back bedroom for now.  The wheel is made from MDF (medium density fibreboard) and the rest is solid wood.  Putting it together required a screwdriver, Allen key, rubber mallet, hammer, and Leatherman Wave, plus an understanding husband.  I've already found several entirely wrong ways to set up the bobbin, brake band, and drive band.  Spinning is definitely relaxing.