A Do-It-Yourself Job to Make Grandpa Proud

Make-Shift Bobbin and Flyer Support
Originally uploaded by The Stitchin Sheep.

We've often joked that my recently-deceased grandfather was somewhat of a cheap do-it-yourselfer. Function far out-weighed aesthetics in his book. In fact, he was often heard using the phrase,"Just put some duct tape on it."

Well, Grandpa, I wish you were here to see what can be done with electrical tape, because it's not just for electricians. Seriously. Why, just look at how lovely our little bobbin/flyer apparatus turned out (yes, that's what's in the picture, in case you had some trouble identifying it).

The flyer was given to me (thank goodness, because no amount of tape and pvc pipe would have made that one). The rest, though, is all homemade. First, up front, you see a block of wood. My husband cut a little U shape in the top for the flyer to sit in. He attached this to a PVC pipe that slips over an original portion of the wheel. You can see where the black electrical tape came in handy in making sure it stayed in place. This was a desperate measure I was forced into while spinning last night. It'll be properly fixed later.

Then, just at the top of that block of wood, you see the flyer orifice and a black string and some light-colored fabric. That is my make-shift brake. Again, this was a desperate measure thing and will be properly affixed with nails later. For now, it works just fine, though.

Now let's move on to the next photo, where we can see the bobbin a bit better.