Cathie, Nice job! Treadling gets easier the more you do it. The stopping and starting can be controlled by the hand-wheel. Just use your right hand to start the hand-wheel in motion and stop by placing your hand on the hand-wheel. After lots of treadling you will find that you will be able to sometimes start and stop with just using your feet. I'm looking forward to seeing your Celtic Solstice project.
Thanks for sharing!