Hey, you guys. Look what I’m making.
It’s yarn. AND, because I tend to let my new obsessions go all crazy, I just spent a little too much time looking at spinning wheels. Conclusion: They’re expensive.
If you have a strong opinion/recommendation, tell me what sort of wheel I need. (Need. Yep. I know. Need is a strong word. I’m sort of lucky to not Need much of anything. How about telling me what sort of wheel I might want?)
(I know that portability is currently at the top of my list of features, only because I saw about four or five people toting their wheels around this weekend, and the women whose wheels were in cases seemed very smiley to me.)
((I’m currently looking at the Kromski Sonata or a Schacht Ladybug, mainly because I know of a local dealer, and buying locally is always a good idea. Any opinions?))
(((Please know that it is going to take at least a year for me to save up for such a purchase, so a hasty decision isn’t an option. Research is key.)))
((((If you are a manufacturer of spinning wheels and you want to send a wheel to me because you have wheels that you like to give away to enthusiastic beginners? I’ll send a huge batch of cake balls to you, and I’ll make sure to mention your wheel by name every single time I throw up a spinning post. Because I love you.))))
Edited to add: If you want to see a brief recap of camp from The Knitmore Girls and Miss Kalendar from Brass Needles, you can follow this link!
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My friend Carol (you’d like her lots) knits-n-spins — I’ll ask her what she thinks.
I have a Kromski Minstrel, and I love it. It doesn’t fold down, but it’s lightweight and I can carry it with little fuss. I’m not really a spin-in-public kind of person, but it works just fine for going away for the weekend. I have a friend who has the Sonata, and while it does fold, she has trouble getting it back to the proper settings. Also, it doesn’t have as many ratio options.
My advice would be to test out as many wheels as you can. The Yarn Barn in Lawrence, KS, carries a ton (I’ll go with you!), and I found out that all the different brands have different pivot points on the treadles, and that definitely affects your legs and ankles.
That Ladybug is so damn cute. If I had all the money in the world, though, I’d get a Majacraft. Those things can do ANYTHING.
At my yarn shop, we recommend to people interested in buying a wheel that they try them out and even take a wheel spinning class (our instructor has wheels that she lets students borrow).
The Ladybug is cute but something about the wheel part being plastic makes me iffy about it.
You sure spin a good yarn. I cannot help you with your purchase, however I encourage you to follow your passion. Good for you.
Welcome home you crazy, yarn spinning, party animal! Don’t prick your finger! (c’mon that one couldn’t be helped) That is awesome that you are totally making clothes and stuff from scratch now!
EBay and Craigslist are your friends here. I have a lovely old castle wheel that is just the right size for a corner of my living room – a friend was downsizing. It was his mothers and it spins like a dream. Remember that you won’t be carrying your wheel around like you do your knitting. You only need to carry it for specific occasions. Happy searching!!
This weekend at the “Youth Expo” at the fairgrounds by our house, I saw yarn spun from dog hair. Also, since Sleeping Beauty, my daughter is TERRIFIED of spinning wheels.