When I received my paycheck for the two weeks I worked in February, I was torn about what to do with it.  I considered a fiber spree, but fiber seems so fleeting and I really wanted something permanent to remind me of the joy of retiring for good.  After some thought I decided to use part of it to buy a Woolee Winder for my spinning wheel.  I placed the order and prepared for a wait.  According to their website, due to a fire in the workshop they were backlogged on orders.  It could take up to eight weeks to receive my order.  Imagine my delight when, only about a week later, the package arrived on my doorstep today.  Since this replaces the flyer on my wheel and since the bobbins are not interchangeable, I had to quickly finish up some Ashland Bay Merino that was in progress.  That took me a little over an hour and I was ready to install the Woolee Winder.  It was a quite simple process of loosening one maiden, removing the old flyer and snapping in the new one.  I had another 4 oz. of Ashland Bay Merino, so I sat down and started spinning.

In the immortal words of Mei-Mei, "Oh. My. Goodness!"  I don't know if it was the winder or not, but all of a sudden I was spinning singles that were exactly what I dreamed of when I started spinning!  They are fine and even and, if I am not mistaken, when 3 plied will be about a sock weight.  Woo Hoo!!!  I'm a spinner.  Here's a photo of the winder and my first singles:

I love the way it winds the yarn smoothly, with no hills and valleys.  The bobbins are also a little larger and so will hold about 1/3 more yarn.  Here is a comparison shot:

Timing is everything, however, and I will not be able to play with it this weekend.  Tomorrow I'm meeting Abby at a fabric warehouse to help her pick out some fabric for curtains for the girls' room.  She's interested in starting to sew and that will be a great first project for her.  After that I'll go home with her and my sister will pick me up later in the day.  Sunday it's the opera (Falstaff).  On Monday Abby will bring me back home and spend the night here with the girls.  So I won't get to play with my new toy, but I will get some great time with Abby, my sister and the girls, so all is well!