A Walking Wheel

Dawn's mysterious wheel, with parts missing, that walked into her life.

The front wheel is the mystery wheel after repair and the back wheel is the one Dawn found in the antique store in March.

Betty and Dawn had a picture taken with the antique wheel in March a few days after Dawn found it in the antique shop.














In 1985 Betty took a spinning lesson at a store in San Jose called the "Walking Wheel"; she has been spinning since.


In 2010 Dawn experienced a wheel walking into her life, a real "Walking Wheel".


Dawn says,


"I had the most interesting surprise on Saturday. Now, as a kid, my common refrain was "Mom, it followed me home, can I keep it?". In those cases though, "it" was generally a mammal, and was always alive. Not the case with this stray! I was leaving my house to go to work at 6 am. As I walked past my car I saw a spinning wheel leaning on the bumper! Now, I'm not exactly a morning person. My eyes saw the wheel, but my brain didn't really register WHAT I was seeing. My brain said "hmmm...spinning wheel, not mine. Must be dreaming".


I hopped in my truck and headed off to work. About four hours later, it clicked. There was a spinning wheel leaning on my car. Spinning wheels don't belong outside on my car. Spinning wheels don't walk by themselves, to lean on my car. Something wasn't right here!


I called my hubby and asked him if he knew anything about the spinning wheel on my car. He sounded pretty surprised as he repeated back to me "Spinning wheel, leaning on the car?". His curiosity piqued, he walked outside and verified that yes, there was a spinning wheel, with most of its parts, leaning on my car. :) I hadn't been dreaming and I hadn't absent-mindedly left one of my wheels outside.


The wheel, missing one leg, two maidens and a flyer, was quite a mystery. Did it run away from an abusive home? Was it dumped by a loving owner who couldn't afford to care for it? It certainly looked like a once-loved critter, inexpertly patched and repaired, but bearing the patina of repeated polishing and use.


It's now sporting two new maidens, an Ashford flyer/bobbin and a leg salvaged from an old chair. A lady at our local wool shop (the Wool Co, Bandon, OR) happened to be working on a wheel and had a spare flyer. She sold it to me for only $25. With some minor adjustments, it fits! The wheel spins very nicely and treadles like a dream."


Dawn then reports,


"A friend, active in the historical society, found the wheel in a burn pile. She knew I'd want to "save" it. She dropped it off Friday night while I was at work.Its owner emigrated from Latvia as a child--maybe that's where it originated."