At Last

I think the first Schacht Matchless I ever saw belonged to Laurie.  Or perhaps Cheryl.  It could have been Monica’s but I don’t think so.  I know it wasn’t Kathy’s or Manise’s because they got theirs much later.  In any case, it was at SPA in 2006 and I was immediately taken with the wheel.  I hadn’t seen very many spinning wheels at that point and I seriously fell in love with that wheel.  Of course, I bought my Reeves that weekend but that story is old news.

My point is that I have wanted one of these wheels for nearly 3 years.  Those of you who know me know that I don’t generally wait that long for something I want.  But I have plenty of wheels at home and the idea of bringing in another wheel seemed silly.  It wasn’t about the money, it was about space and time and overload of spinning wheels.  I kept reasoning that if I found a used Schacht then I would sell the Lendrum.  Every time I thought that through, though, I realized that I really didn’t want to part with the Lendrum.  My Lendrum is all set up with a Woolee Winder (a significant investment) and its a truly portable wheel.  I guess what I’m saying is that even though I would occasionally look at eBay for the Matchless and I kept my eye on Craig’s List and Ravelry the opportunity to buy one just never came up.

Last weekend at Rhinebeck I was discussing my yearning for the Matchless with Kathy and Cheryl.  Kathy kept insisting that I should definitely not sell the Lendrum and Cheryl agreed with her.  That’s when it dawned on me that the wheel to sell would be the Kromski Polonaise.  I bought her from Adrian and I honestly never use this wheel.  While she’s great for reeanctments, well, I hardly ever reenact anymore.  And when I do I can certainly use the Canadian Production Wheel.  So, there you have it – multiple wheel problem solved.  The only thing left to do was find a Schacht Matchless.

On Wednesday, just for laughs, I checked eBay.  I was shocked when I found one.  I was even more shocked when I realized the selling location was only 30 minutes from where I live.  And I was completely shocked when I bid $600 and became the high bidder.  Long story short?  I won.

Meet Millie.

As in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

A wheel that was meant to be mine.  A love story that was meant to be.