The New Louet Victoria

A few of you have asked, and I finally have some info on the Louet Victoria which is to be released in November.
First, the pictures (from Louet):


Now the specs (also from Louet):
It is approx. 1 and 1/2 feet high when set up, and folds(see pics) to 22'X14"X5.5", weighing just 7.7 pounds(wheel itself)!
It is a double treadle, scotch tension wheel with ratios varying from 1:6 to 1:14. Later on a high speed set for ratio’s higher than 1:20 will be developed. It comes complete with its own carrying bag. This bag can be carried as a hand bag, a shoulder bag or a back pack. It also contains a lazy kate with two extra bobbins. The overall weight is 5.2 kg (11 lbs- I take it they mean this is the wheel plus all bobbins and accessories that ship with it) and cost is expected to be $550.00 to $595.00. Very cool! If you'd like to pre-order, I am taking orders with a non-refund-able $100.00 down payment, or you can pay in full and I'll adjust as needed depending on the final retail price (which, as always for my shop, includes shipping).
I set up my booth today- it looked great by the time we (my 3 year old "helped out") were done with it. I'm sorry I've been such a sporadic blogger...I guess I've been side-tracked by the booth. Now that it is done, I can leisurely add to its inventory and this will hopefully free me up to blog more often.

It's Hot Out There

Temp's are lingering around the 100 degree mark...needless to say I'm staying in these days. I haven't done a lick of hand-knitting since my circular sock knitting machine (CSM) arrived...never thought be able to relate to machine knitters. I'd always believed that hand-knitters and machine-knitters came from 2 different camps, but most of the people using these antique machines are also handkntters, and there are quite a few spinners and weavers in the camp, too.
One difference between them and me is that I've not really made any socks!! The designer in me is having too much fun manipulating shapes on the thing to spend time making the obvious sock!
I made this on Sunday:

I know-it's not a lace shawl, but it was fun to make. Inspired by the lovely Estonian puppets on the cover of the latest Spin-Off issue, I shaped it by making a 2-thumbed mittten with a heel throw in. Just in case you can't tell, it is a gecko.
My goal: to make a shawl on the CSM. I am just kidding of course...or am I

Whew!

Starting in July I'll be selling my wares in a craft mall near my house...so I've been working on my inventory and on my concept of how I'd like to present my things. I'll have a 3 foot by 4 foot space (not much, I know) so I'm hoping to get the most out of it. I'll have spinning fiber, handspun yarn, patterns and kits, etc., plus some smaller hand-knit items.
Sooo....if you are in the San Antonio area, come by and see my stuff at Homestead Handcrafts on Blanco road outside Loop 1604. I'll keep the space at least through the Christmas season. I'm very excited about this venture, and I figure at the very least I'll meet some other crafty people in my area.
My sister and her children visited for a couple of days. We laways end up having lots of fun doing the silliest things. This time we had a HUGE boys -vs- girls stuffed animal fight. We have 5 children between the 2 of us, and 4 of them are in or about to start college, which is what made it really silly. There were bunnies, puppies, a lobster, and other various fluffy guys flying back and forth. In the end there were 2 minor injuries, but it was worth it. (Okay, so now you all know how big of a nerd I am)