Nearing the Edge

So very excited (and sad) to be nearing the finish of "Mo Nighean Donn", my half-hap shawl.

Pattern:  Half Hansel by Gudrun Johnson
Inspiration:  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Yarn:  Serenity Farms Corriedale (our farm yarn)

Delicious Success!

Caramel-Sea Salt Macaron

I owe many thanks to Angela at Parisienne Farmgirl for my newly discovered delicious obsession ~ French Macarons!  Her tutorial is delightful, helpful, fun and inspiring and my first attempts at these delicate treats was a success*.  You would not believe how quickly my family devoured them and were begging for more (I couldn't believe it myself, one minute I had a tray full of cookies, the next only crumbs)!  I must oblige, mustn't I?  

If somehow you've never visited the Parisienne Farmgirl's family farm blog, you really should right now...And if you want to lose yourself in the love of a decadent little treat, take her tutorial on how to make the cookies (its worth it just to watch her adorable children gobbling them up at the end, LOL!)  You can find it at the link above. 

*I will say that my cookies spread a bit and so were a little larger than the bite size I intended.  It was a humid day when I made these and I think I should have whipped the egg whites just a little longer.  Angela has included troubleshooting tips in the video, very helpful.

Outlander ~Listening, Reading, Watching...Knitting

I should have learned by now not to say I'm going to do something by a certain time or date, because it just never seems to happen (like the knitting I wanted to share with you).  But finally, here I am...

Last year, as I mentioned, I discovered knitting podcasts.  There are so many good ones, I could never begin to list them all and there are new ones all the time I enjoy checking out.  There are three or four I follow faithfully, but the one that's at the top of my list is Sarah's FiberTrek video podcast.  Where to begin, its just soooo good!  There's Sarah, the host.  She loves wool.  She loves grey wool (maybe not exclusively but best).  She loves sheep and wool.  She lives in a ruggedly beautiful part of Maine and enjoys a wood fire.  And she's made it her mission in life to take others on this almost spiritual journey of wool and its traditions.  I certainly feel like she's become a friend.  She shares lots of things on her podcasts, but there was one thing she shared last fall that started me on a roller coaster ride of fiction and the renewed love of reading I spoke about in the earlier post.  That fiction was the series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

I loved it!  Fell down the rabbit hole and haven't come out yet ;)  It is not light reading.  It's long; detailed; historic; colorful; funny; loving and heart-wrenching.  A major character, especially in the first book, is the country of Scotland - if you didn't love Scotland previous to reading, you probably will after!  I've enjoyed these books so much.  Although the stories began twenty-five or so years ago, there was a new television series starting up in August (of last year).  This inspired a lot of knitters and yarn companies, so there were Outlander themed colorways for yarn and patterns and knit-a-longs.   Some really neat patterns have come about because of the television show and I've knit a few of those.  Even made mittens of my own design that were inspired by a costume in one of the episodes.  But I've had the most fun seeking out patterns that I already had or already wanted to knit that reminded me of passages from the books.  It's been something like a scavenger hunt!  So while I didn't "knit Outlander" exclusively for the past eight months, it has been a focus.  Those projects are the ones I want to show you now...and dedicate, with much gratitude, to Sarah ;)

Getting ready for some Outlander knitting - books, yarn, pattern, stitch markers, fire in the fireplace...

 
September Simmer Dim pattern by Gudrun Johnson

(You should be able to click on the highlighted title of the projects to see a Ravelry page link with more information about it)  This was the first thing my daughter and I worked on for knit-night with an Outlander theme here at the farm.  It was a nod to a chapter in The Fiery Cross (book five of the series) titled “Summer Dim” in which Jamie (our hero) says to his wife Claire (our heroine) “Ye’ll ken the summer in the Highlands, Sassenach - the summer dim?” She nods and remembers “that the summer dim was the light of the Highland night, late in summer.”  I'd had this pattern in my Ravelry queue and saw it on my friend Lori's blog when she took a trip to the Shetland Islands.  I loved everything about this little shawl and plan to make another, possibly with thicker yarn and bigger needles to get a larger garment.  This one was gifted to a friend. The color is actually deep reds, russets and auburns, maybe a bit of gold.

Gathering Thyme and Black Kirk Cowl pattern by Kalurah Hudson

This pattern was inspired by a cowl worn by Claire in the television series and it's knit on super big needles!  The pattern writer very kindly offered it for free and so I gave it a try.  Very fast, very simple - not flattering to this chubby farm wife at all though, LOL!  I've given both of mine away, but here they are, our October Outlander knitting projects ~

The first (left) was made with bulky, unspun roving but it was very loose and floppy, so I tried tucking it in like a scarf rather than around the neck like a cowl.  Made on the recommended size 50 needles.  For the second one (below), I went down to size 35 needles and held some black Corriedale yarn doubled.  This made for a much better cowl fabric but still made me look like I was wearing a tire around my neck, LOL!

Outlander Cowl by Andee Fagen was our November project and the start of it is pictured at the beginning of this blog post.  I began making it along with a few others while listening to another favorite podcast Disa's Craftwork but I didn't like how it was working with my chosen yarn.  It's a beautiful pattern though, so I hope to start over with it and a different yarn sometime in the future.

Now comes two projects that are still on the needles, in progress, though they were started in December.  First off, a Christmas Eve sock cast-on with the Bakery Bears and Little Bobbins podcasts, these are my Black Selkie Socks , pattern by Alison Janocha.  I'm totally in love with these, even though the pattern doesn't really show in my black yarn.  This is farm yarn, a blend of Corriedale and Alpaca that I had made with my friend Maple at North Star Alpacas.  It's really nice, all natural black and feels so good to knit with.  I considered making this as a mitten pattern, but was needing a new pair of hand knit socks.  I was making great progress, too,  and then must have gotten caught up watching the series because I totally messed up the heel!  Now I need to take that out (not easy with sticky black yarn) and reknit it.  But I will...

The books speak of "selkies" quite often and in reference to Jamie's father, Black Brian.  Its what made me think of these for Outlander knitting.

And then I saw these magnificent mittens!  From The Castle Fraser Throughout The Year The Woodcarving by Aurelie Colas - I knew these had to be an Outlander project!  Bought the pattern, chose my yarn....and could not get gauge, not even close ;(  The mittens would have been the size of oven mitts and its a very detailed pattern, so I didn't feel I could successfully change it to make mittens that would fit me.  I could, however, make a cowl!  So that's the plan for this, a cowl and probably a lined one.  It's in time out right now, though, because it takes a lot of concentration.  My photo doesn't show much, other than some of the colors I'm using for it.

Wedding Plaid Mittens by me

January found me still working on my socks, but also a new pair of mittens, something I made up myself.  I wanted to make a pair of plaid mittens and couldn't find a pattern I liked that didn't include either intarsia or duplicate stitch.  So I just used my basic mitten pattern with afterthought thumbs and added some blocks of color.  I intended to line these, but they're just a bit small.  They'll be gifted to my daughter who has smaller hands than I do.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out, even though I made a couple of mistakes in the colorwork (maybe you can spot where in the photo)  One mitten has garter rows on the cuff, the other a picot hem and I like the picot best.  These are meant to symbolize Jamie's wedding plaid from the first book, and the picot hem is the lace cuff of his borrowed shirt.  Now in the book, Jamie's plaid was "a brilliant crimson and black that blazed among the more sedate green and white".  In the television series they went with blues, browns and a touch of red (you can read more about the costuming and see some stunning photos at this wonderful blog.  Really, you should take a look!)  I made the first pair of mittens in "show colors", but the second pair that I just started are red, black and grey so those are my February project along.

But knitting for myself is something I've set aside for Lent, I'm only working on projects intended for someone else.  I'm working on a blanket for my grandson and gloves for my son-in-law (neither of them Outlander related).  A third pattern, though, is a pair of mittens inspired by A Breath of Snow and Ashes (book six)  

All queued up for April, when Lent is over, are two more shawls.  Outlander Hap - Mo Nighean Donn is another pattern by Gudrun Johnson, based on a traditional Shetland Hap.  I've knit a mini-hap for a gauge swatch, color test and I like it very much.  I'm using natural colored brown Corriedale, along with silver, moorit (auburn) and gold.  Fans of Outlander know that Jamie calls his wife, Claire, "Mo Nighean Donn - my brown haired lass" and tells her that her hair is “dark in the wavy spots with bits of silver on the surface…”  The gold yarn is for her "great, gold eyes"  I'm excited for this one, participating in a knit-a-long with Gudrun's Shetland Trader Hap kal on Ravelry .  I was also going to make this my Hap pattern for KnitBritish wonderful Hap KAL (be sure to check out her podcast, its another of my favorites) that starts in April, but now I'm thinking I'll make my second Simmer Dim for that instead.  I have some handspun I've set aside for that and I like the idea of beginning and ending my Outlander themed knits with the same pattern.  What do you guys think?

I hope you've enjoyed taking a look through my knitting!  These aren't the only things I've knit or crocheted this winter, but the main ones and like I said it's been a lot of fun seeking out patterns to relate to a favorite passage or memory from the books.  I hope if you're a knitter you might check out some of these great patterns on Ravelry or even join in one of the knit-a-longs.  And if you're at all interested in podcasts, the ones I've mentioned are truly joyful as well as many others.  If there are any you follow, please feel free to share!  Edited 3-5 to correct some spelling and grammar

Waiting On The Knitting....

Skype Hat with Lining

Took an unplanned trip to the fiber mill yesterday followed by a 6th Grade Band Concert with my grandson so I only have the knitting and podcast post half done, but I'm working on it now.  Truthfully though, I'd rather be knitting than writing about knitting today, LOL!  I think the new post will be up by this afternoon....

Discovering A Thing Or Two

Like most bloggers, things pop into my head all the time that I'd love to share ~ new ideas; new discoveries; new or old recipes; a favorite garden plant; everyday things around the farm and special things around the farm.  As a knitter, there are tons of things I'd love to share (new pattern, new yarn, new techniques, new ways of doing old techniques...you know how it goes!)  And then I never sit down and actually put the things on paper - actually on screen ;)  You know how it goes.

Well, today since I've got a little time to spend sitting at the desk I thought I would put down some things that have made a difference in my life in the past few months that still are making me smile.  And then I'm going to share those knitting projects that I mentioned to you in my last post.  

Here we go (and these are in no particular order other than how I'm thinking of them!)  First of all, Tubular Cast On in the round for knitting.  How, I ask myself, in all my years of knitting, did I not know about this?!?  Those of you who are knitters, did you already know about the tubular cast on?  It makes such a lovely edge for things like hats, mitten cuffs and sweater cuffs (on those sweaters that I tell myself I'll finish and wear one day!)  There are lots of tutorials on line, both written and video, so if you haven't tried it before do a search and then give a try.  Let me know what you think.

Another joy, this one in the cooking/recipe department.  Skillet Apple Pie.  Made in the cast iron skillet.  I'll probably never make apple pie any other way again!

Darn it!  Now I'm hungry...

Now this next is actually an acquisition, lots of people have them I suppose, but its new to my family and me and it sure has changed our lives.  And that is a van with a Wheelchair Lift in it!  What a blessing it is to me, I can't begin to tell you.  My husbands wheelchair is very heavy and  I guess I'm not getting any younger.  Lifting the manual chair was really putting a strain on me but now we have a lift that works for either the manual chair or the motorized one when he decides to take that.  I'm so very thankful.  LOL, we will not be hauling sheep in this van!

Podcasts!  I've discovered the world of podcasts, more specifically knitting podcasts.  What an absolute delight!!!  Knitting company no matter the time or day, no matter the weather or how far apart we are ~ someone to share the joy of yarn and patterns and gadgets, and in some cases fibers and spinning.  Do you listen to or watch any?  There are so many good ones, but I have a few that I never miss.  I'll share those with you when I share the knitting projects because they really are tied together at this point.

And that leads me to a rediscovery, rather like finding an old friend ~ Reading.   This is in part because one of my favorite podcasters (thank you, Sarah!) simply recommended a book that led me down the path of reading again!  Reading for the simple joy of a story, for the love of characters and settings.  Reading not because I have to, or to learn something, but because someone recommends a book they think I'll like or re-reading a book I loved the first time around (To Kill A Mockingbird, Little Women, Gone With The Wind or Giant.  My Friend Flicka; Thunderhead, Son of Flicka and Green Grass of Wyoming.  Ken Follett's Eye Of The Needle.  The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford and Old Yeller).  Those are books I loved the first two or three or four times I read them...now I'm loving them again, at least I will as long as my eyes hold out!  My goodness my eyes get tired, even with new glasses.  I know, I know there are audio books but I don't care for them.  Put me to sleep every time!  Plus I can't wake up in the  middle of the night, switch on the light and turn the page quietly ;)  One exception is The Bible - I do love listening to Scripture on audio.  Recently my husband and I have been listening to the Gospels during supper.  A nice ritual for us.

So the podcasts and the knitting projects and the reading are all connected for me right now, and you'll see what I mean when you see what I've been knitting.  But looking back over this post, its getting rather long - how about if I make another post with the knitting tomorrow?  Just to keep your eyes from crossing, listening to me ramble on, LOL!  Will you come back to see?  I hope so!  And please, share with me any new or rediscovered things going on in your life!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a final new-old favorite ~ Fresh Basil.  I can't seem to get enough of it, and even have some growing on the windowsill for the winter time.  Basil in chicken salad is absolutely divine!

See you here tomorrow for some knit-sharing!

Step by Step in the Snow

I miss blogging!  I miss reading other people's blogs, especially favorites that I've followed for a long time - I just need to quit thinking about it and get back to it...

We've had a pretty good winter so far, how about you?  It's been much better than last year, in many more ways than one!  I celebrated a birthday last month, quietly, and I enjoy that.   I've been doing a LOT of knitting and even some spinning and I can't wait to share that with you, if anyone is still reading ;)

 

Good Bye To November....

December is coming ~

~~ SALE CANCELLATION ~~

Hmmmph, I was afraid of something like this happening ;(   

Despite our best efforts at preparation, some things are just beyond my control and I'm afraid our Fibers, Feathers and Furnishing Sale has been cancelled or at least postponed for a time.  Items are ready to go, for the most part, but location is not.  I'm so sorry for any inconvenience and hope you'll "stay tuned" for a possible future date!

Who would have thought that we'd still be putting up hay in October?!?  This is where the sale was supposed to be!  Not much room for anything else ;)

And now the baler, waiting for parts and repairs, sitting here as well!  The good news is that the barn is filling up with hay, more than enough to feed the sheep and horse this winter, hurray!  Its just that the sale will have to wait...sigh.


So, no Barn Sale here at Serenity Farms in October.

Fiber, Feathers and Furnishings

That title makes it sound a little bit like I furnish my home with feathers, doesn't it?  Well I don't, but it is beginning to feel like the house is being taken over by fiber!  The Burnham Barn is being taken over by vintage and rustic furniture that we're not using and the Main Barn is being taken over by our special Silver Bantam chickens.  What's a farm girl to do?  How about a little sale to share with her friends!  

~~ A Fun Fall Sale at The Barn of Serenity Farms ~~ 

NEW DATE!!! Friday and Saturday, October 10th and 11th

That's right, a first ever for Serenity Farms ~ a Barn Sale featuring Yarn; Spinning Fibers; Patterns; Books; Notions; Jewelry and Soap Making Supplies and a small but interesting assortment of vintage and rustic furnishing and architectural features.  Quality goods at thrift store prices!

And as long as we're at it, how about offering up some livestock as well, something just perfect for your farmstead, large or small?  We still have just a few of our Corriedale and Corriedale cross sheep for sale and I need to find homes for one or two breeding pairs of our Silver Bantam chickens.  

So why not mark your calender for the first Friday and Saturday in October, October 1Oth and 11th and pay us a visit?  You're sure to find a treasure of some kind and even if you don't you're sure to enjoy the big cozy barn in autumn, well-lit and dry, interesting to look at in its own right.  Enjoy a visit and a cup of coffee or fresh Michigan cider.  I'll have more pictures here on the blog in coming days, so keep checking back ~ feel free to drop a note or call if you have any questions, especially about the livestock.  

Sheep and chickens are ready to go any time, you don't have to wait for the sale if you're interested in any of them but please no early sales on furnishings or crafting supplies.

There will be plenty of spinning fibers to choose from!  Yarn, too...

Wait for us, we're coming too!

These two young Aracauna chickens have been entertaining lately.  They were the ugliest chicks!  Its not a breed I'm all that fond of, but had gotten four of them to put under a broody hen.  A varmint got the hen and two of the siblings, these two survived though traumatized - and even more so after the scary human (me) caught them up and put them in secure quarters!  They've gradually become quite tame and follow me everywhere during the day.  They like to hang out with Christy, the farm cat.

I think I'll call them "Opal" and "Ruby".  Or "Peanut Butter" and "Crackers"....

Lambs and Lilies

Well, the title of my last post was "Lambs and Ewes" and this one will be lambs and lilies, you'll see why in a minute.  Summer has been pretty good to us with cool temperatures, great pasture and hay so far.  The lambs are growing like crazy and the ewes are staying in good flesh, not getting thin from nursing lambs.  I haven't been doing as much spinning or knitting as I'd like and that's mostly because I had an argument with a big barn door a while back (I lost!) that resulted in some pretty bad strain to my back and hip.  I've been on the mend, slowly, but sitting (or driving) are still very difficult and painful...maybe it's the good Lord's way of keeping me on my feet and moving this summer?  I'm so thankful for our wonderful family for helping me out in extra ways over that time...

Now about those lambs, here are a couple of pictures of two personal favorites.  A head shot of a white Corriedale ram lamb that I'm quite taken with.  Might keep him around for a while to see how he grows.  Fleece is very nice and he's a stocky guy.  It doesn't show in this picture so much, but he has good Corriedale characteristics, nice typey ears and head, though I wish his nose was more solidly black:

And then one of the ewe lambs I'm keeping, the daughter of "Image" so a granddaughter of "Violet" :

How's that for a badgerface - teardrops and sugar lips!  I'd been calling her "Lily" and I think that will stick, which leads me to the next part of this post, some of the lilies from my garden that are in bloom right now.  I've been adding more and more of these every year, they're just so amazing.  I've got daylilies, Asiatic lilies, Orientals and Trumpets.  I'll leave you with pictures of a few of them. 

 

I wish you could share the amazing color and fragrance with me as well!  Do you have a flower garden?  What's blooming for you right now?

Lambs and Ewes

What can I say, it's a sheep farm and the lambs are growing so well, I wanted to share a picture or two!
. 

I love this picture of Collette and her ewe lamb, Little Britches.  Collette, more than any other of our ewes, stays very attached to her lambs.  We have two of her adult daughters, and they all stay right together.  Its not unusual to find Collette with her chin rested on one of her daughters.  I made the difficult decision to offer Little Britches for sale and she'll be making her way to another farm this fall, will probably have a new name.  I just hope that having her older girls still in the flock will be a comfort to this mama sheep.  I regretted the decision almost right away, but its done now.  (Sorry they're laying in the barn yard and not out on the fresh green grass or clean straw, lol!  Not as pretty of a picture, but real life)

Ainsley and her boy, he's one of the youngest lambs but he's an eye-catcher, all of her lambs have been.  He was actually a twin, but his sister took on fluid at birth and didn't live, sadly.  I really wanted another ewe from Ainsley.  This ram lamb is going to the same farm as Little Britches. 

Ainsley and Collette are our oldest ewes now and I love them both dearly.  My heart will break the day Ainsley ever passes....she's showing her age quite a bit these days.  I still love her funny little patches over her back and hips and her fleece is as fine as ever, though its now mostly grey rather than coffee bean brown. I may not breed her this fall, though she stayed fit through this rough winter and then had the twins.  But I notice she doesn't jump to her feet as fast as she used to (don't I understand that!) and she stays in the barn more.

One last picture, this one is Ivy, Ainsley's two year old daughter.  She's almost a carbon copy of Ainsley, though she silvered out much quicker ~

She had a handsome ram lamb herself this year, though only a single.  That's okay, he was such a big lamb. 

The Weekend Is Over....

But I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July!

On Into June ~

 I realized its been a bit over a month since I wrote last, but like most of you its because of the busy-ness of the season, so I know you understand.  Everyday I think of things I'd like to write - happenings around the farm and in the flock.  Tales of walks in the woods.  How the hay and pastures and lambs are growing....how the fleece sales were fantastic this year (and did I mention we sold out quickly and completely?!?  No more Serenity Farms Corriedale or Corriedale/Bond raw wool till 2015 and even then the waiting list grows steadily!  Am I proud of that and happy?  You BET I am!)  I've got stories of knitting and spinning and Bible study that I'd love to share.  We've dealt with mind-numbing losses and incredible joys in our family, and then there's just the day to day life on the farm that I'd love to record here for myself and to share with the world (or at least our loyal readers)!

LOL, but the days go by so fast and I get tired early on...no time to sit at the computer and no desire to do so when the spring weather is calling.  Its raining hard here this morning, so I thought I'd take a minute to at least post a few pictures of lambs.  So not many words, they're all still here in my heart, but some lovely lambs to steal your heart or make you smile and hopefully keep checking back to our blog, even when there aren't many new posts....let's start with these two, do you remember Leah and Logan, the first lambs of the season?  Look how they've grown!  Always together, too.  Leah is staying in the flock, Logan will be for sale if he continues to grow so well....

Above "Little Britches", a Corriedale ewe, will probably be for sale

Image's spotted ewe, "Lily"  will probably not be for sale ;)

Neither will "Lynn" (be for sale I mean)


The next two pictures are of Jinger's moorit ram lamb.  He's going to be castrated and may very well stay here as a fleece wether.  He looks rather correct in these pictures, but he's actually very light boned and also has scurs (small horn buds)  He's a single lamb, too.  But it looks like his fleece is going to be pretty amazing, so we'll see if he gets wethered and stays around.  The moorit Corriedale/Bond cross fleeces sold well for us this year.

Now here's another moorit ram lamb, this time one of Jessie's twins.  His moorit sister (that's her lying behind Hannah's white ewe lamb in the third picture) is staying in the flock, but he'll probably remain intact and be available as a breeding ram.  I like him - he's beefy and substantial.  Nice dark red color with flashy white markings, too.  These aren't the best pictures, but these two just don't stay still for very long!

Finally, I'll end with this picture of a newly prepared field, fit and seeded for hay, with oats as the "cover crop".  This mornings rain will help all of that come along, I hope!  Now tell me, what do you have to share?

Playing With Fiber

Since my last post with raw wool for sale, I've been getting questions and emails about what to do with fleece if you don't have all the expensive fiber tools (combs, carders, pickers, etc.) 

Pictured are some washed Corriedale locks, lower right, inexpensive dog combs and finished combed fiber, top, ready to spin!

Good questions!  And one I understand because I didn't always have the equipment I have now.  You know, there are tons of great videos, websites, articles, downloads available out and about by people that know a lot more than I do - do a search for them when you can and you'll learn a lot about processing or prepping fiber for spinning without all the equipment.  My post here isn't really a "how-to" I'm just sharing a few photos sitting on my couch in my living room with a basket full of washed fibers and some really inexpensive tools that can get you started on your fiber prep journey!

First you need nice fiber (see my last post if you're looking for great Corriedale fleece!)  Next, you need to wash that fiber (unless you're planning to spin in the grease)  See my series of posts on Washing Wool, The Way I Do starting here.  So now, you should have some nice clean wool ideally still in the lock formation.  At that point, you could just tease open each end of the lock, fluff it up a bit and spin from the lock.  Or you could flick card (using a flicker or an inexpensive dog brush - the kind with rather stiff wire teeth).  Here's a short, simple video showing the process.

As I've mentioned many times, I really like combing wool for spinning.  Wool combs are expensive, even the small ones.  So why not start with a pair of dog combs from the pet store, farm store or even discount stores!  Not perfect but it works....here are a few pictures of some that I picked up for .99 each in the clearance bin at the farm store:

Load one comb with a thin layer of fiber, not to thickly

In the picture above, I've combed the fiber from one comb to the other two times.  The little pile of fuzz both next to and on the comb is "waste" -short stuff, chaff, throw away.  Next to it is fiber ready to spin

Three little birds nests of combed "sliver"  A delight to spin!

I measured these particular dog combs and the tines are 3.5 and 4 inches wide.  Teeth are 1 inch high and the wooden handles are 3.5 inches long.  They're very comfortable to use.

And what if you don't have a spinning wheel yet?  Here's something I just discovered, thanks to my new fiber friend Jill ~ a support spindle!!!  See it nestled in the basket of fiber, below?

I can't tell you how fun this is for me!  I've never mastered the drop spindle and at this point, don't care to keep trying ;)  I've got three spinning wheels but I'm really enjoying learning the support spindle and have even made some "rustic" yarn on it already!  My point being, spindles (drop or support) are a good way to spin before you're ready to invest in a wheel.