Its all true, the boogie girl is real, and you've found her. She knits, sews, spins, does pottery and writes it all down in this blog.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Barbie
It was mean of me to tease you. A couple of you mentioned it to me. I understand your pain. There is a certain knit-blogger that won't fess up on her sock count. For some reason I'm dying to know. So truly, I understand your pain.
I would like to introduce "Barbie". She's a Babe Production Wheel.
Click it to see it full size
Want a better look at the treadle?
Every time I sit at her all I can think of is the song by Aqua:
I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world.
Life in plastic, it's fantastic!
you can brush my wool, and keep my bobbins full.
Imagination, life is your creation
Come on Barbie, let's go party!
(Ah-ah-ah-yeah)
Of course the Lunachicks also have a Barbie song. Somehow, Bitterness Barbie just doesn't seem to fit a shiney new spinning wheel.
I hope you weren't expecting some expensive fabulous wooden contraption. I must admit I was a little tentative about buying a plastic wheel. But once I looked at all the options I knew Barbie was the gal for me.
Why?
1.She's light and comes apart. I can drag her around with me. I haven't wanted to take out either of my other wheels for fear of getting them scarred and they were cumbersome to boot. I pulled Barbie out of the box and without any instructions I threw her together in 30 seconds and she was ready to go. Seriously she was easy to put together (Bettie took me about an hour). I will be making a bag to put her in so she's easier to drag around (without actually dragging her) and it will help to pad her pieces just to make sure she won't be damaged.
2.I have no qualms about painting and modifying her. She practically begs for me to slap paint all over her. She came all dressed in her sleek little black outfit but she needed a bit more dressing up. Barbie is a diva after all. Maybe I'll buy some rhinestones and glue them all over her.
3.She's cheap and versatile. Barbie is the toy all little girls want. Easily customizable. Comes apart, then you can put her back together. No matter what you do to her, she still loves you. Plus she has a ton of accessories that you can get for her. Blonde Barbie has a mansion and cars. My Barbie has a skein winder and different bobbins. You tell me who has the better Barbie.
4.I'm still wholly in love with Marilyn and Bettie (yes, I'm a tramp) but you should see what Barbie can do. She spins really well but the kicker is her plying. I liked that she has 4 ounce bobbins but I got the other flyer that holds 8 ounce bobbins!! Bettie only takes 2 ounces at a time. Small skeins. This means I'm going to be able to make mondo-giant skeins. I'm just drooling over that. See the difference:
5.Did I mention I get to paint all over her. She really speaks to the "artist" in me. I painted all over my truck that I kept the longest, I have painted leather jackets, painted shoes, the list goes on. I've even painted random spots on walls in the garage and in my shop. I can't help myself. As you see Barbie now, she will have more paint on her eventually. I'm trying to figure out how much of the flyer gets too much wear so I can paint around those areas.
6.Little M can use this. This is the first wheel that she has been able to sit at treadling away for an extended time. She tried the other wheels and Marilyn is almost impossible for her, and Bettie is difficult to keep going. With Barbie, M can go on and on. She has been too. M is totally in love with Barbie. Someday Barbie may be hers. Passing on the art form is what it's all about.
Random Comments