Foreign Objects

Other spinners warned me that once I got my first wheel it would be a slippery slope towards acquiring more wheels after that. I didn't believe them. After all, I'd settled on a Schacht wheel which is one of the most versatile wheels on the market. What else could I want??? Weellll - portability. The Schacht is a bit of a brute. That's what makes it such a work horse. I hadn't factored in that my spinning guild would be so active in terms of displays and spin days. It wasn't long before I started eyeing up the new folding wheels.

I'd spun on a Lendrum for a few months and it is a very nice wheel - no doubt about it. It did fold down a bit but was still substantial to transport (13 lbs). I was quite taken with the Louet Victoria wheel which clocks in at around 7.75 lbs and comes in a nice carrying case. A friend of mine got one for Christmas and I had a chance to spin on it over the holidays. It treadled beautifully and spun nicely but was a bit tinier than I needed. My friend and her family go North camping quite a bit and she wanted something to take back and forth every weekend. I wanted something between the Lendrum and the Louet Victoria. When I saw the specs on the Kromski Sonata, I sensed I was getting close. Weighing around 11.5lbs, the Sonata is made of Birch and Alder (I recall reading somewhere but I'm trying to verify that) and is made by the Kromski family in Poland. Their wheels tend to be more ornate and "old world" but the Sonata had a nice touch of that ornate design without being too gingerbread. It's a true double treadle meaning there are two treadles with two footmen each attached to the wheel crank. It's a reasonably priced wheel and the reviews from people who'd purchased from the first December shipment were glowing. I contacted Wildrose Fibres in Alberta and put my name on the list. I asked Colleen about the Walnut stain which was marketed as an introductory limited edition offering. Since the first shipment sold so quickly, I assumed these were long gone. When Colleen sent me an e mail indicating there was a rumor of more walnut stained Sonatas in the next shipment, I was thrilled. I think of the Schacht as the classic blond American and the Kromski as the dark sultry brunette European. I simply wanted something different from my Schacht for variety. I ordered the bag especially designed to carry these wheels as well. A four day Easter weekend and a two day business trip kept my Sonata and I apart much longer than necessary but last Wednesday I came home and had a chance to see it up close.

Here's the wheel folded up. There is a hole in the wheel and the frame that match up allowing you to place a screw through both holes to anchor the wheel shut. The wheel folds open quickly and easily (19" x 22" folded) and comes with a total of 3 matching bobbins and a lazy kate that folds out from the foot of the frame. There's a bottle of oil too to get everything lubed and good to go.

Here's the wheel set up before its first run. I chose some Lisa Souza Blue Faced Leicester roving in the buttery Jonquil colourway to futz around and get the wheel to a point where I was spinning consistent yarn. I'd planned on a day or two of adjustments before I was happy with the results. I was shocked to discover that with 3 little tweaks, the Sonata was spinning beautiful, consistent yarn. The take up was perfect and the treadling smooth as silk. The wheel is nice a quiet and will be perfect for seminars and demonstrations. It felt solid and stable and I had lots of space on the treadles. I took the wheel apart and packed it in the bag to take it out again this past weekend. Once again, after a brief set up, a couple of adjustments had me on my way. I'm extremely pleased with my choice and this will be a great complement to my Schacht. I do miss my Woolee Winder though but hopefully, they will make one for the Sonata soon.

It's been postulated that spinning's growth in popularity has come from knitters turned spinners. As The Yarn Harlot puts it "Cool! Another way to get yarn." Knitters like knitting largely because it's portable and therefore this explosion in folding/portable wheels is an off-shoot of that expectation.

If you're wavering between a Louet Victoria and a Kromski Sonata I would suggest that the degree of portability you need be your guide. If you're like my friend and travel to a cottage, camp or travel on business a lot - I would recommend the Victoria. It takes up little room and delivers a nice spinning punch pound for pound. If you have a closet or two to store a slightly larger bag and want a wheel that will feel like a full sized wheel but be more portable - the Kromski Sonata is a great solution. Louet = traveling wheel, Kromski = portable wheel.

My Sonata and I have much beautiful yarn to make. I'm looking forward to taking it to my upcoming seminar on how to spin yarn to make socks in May. There's just something extra mysterious about an import.

The Long Law of the Arm

It's taken a long time for me to actually accept that I need to factor my unique body type into the knitting process. Remind me sometime to show you the Kaffe Fassett Rowan Leaves sweater I made that fits like a tunic and has arms that hang to my knees. As I came to knit the top of Poppy, I realized that one wrong move and that horizontal join between the yoke and the bottom section could hang a bit low and cut a very nice swath in "all the wrong places" if you get my drift. I was told by a seamstress about a year ago that I had a very short armhole depth. Good to know! So, I decided to shave about an inch off of the arm hole shaping for Poppy. I simply knit to the height I thought best, and cast off as evenly as possible the remaining stitches in three equal parts for the shoulder steps. I then re-knit the back to match the shaping. Here is Poppy thus far. She's not properly blocked yet, but you get the drift. I quite like to colour progressions in this shade of Silk Garden #224. I quickly realized that I needed to finish the top section before I knit the sleeves. The pattern calls for a final sleeve length of 25+" including sleeve cap. I know that will be much longer than I need. I want the sleeve to hit just where my thumb joins my hand so I figure about 20" will be plenty. To make the sleeve shorter, I'm increasing every 7 rows instead of every 9 as the pattern calls. This should eliminate several inches and then I'll pin the final sleeve in and see how it falls. I'm thoroughly enjoying this project. It's colourful, easy but interesting and is knitting up quite quickly.

I've also been spinning. You may recall a few months ago I bought some Blue Faced Leicester roving from Lisa Souza. This colourway is called Jonquil and is shades of gold, butter with little flecks of blue and sage green. I struggled a bit with the BFL as I found the longer staple need more time to twist and so some of my sections weren't as nicely spun as they could have been. I am very excited however to report that I learned how to Navajo ply (aka chained singles). Learning how to do this was one of my knitting resolutions and a fellow Niagara Spinning Guild member at spin day showed me how. I love this method and am extremely pleased with the results. Lisa refers to it as "Goldilocks" and I can see why. I'm toying with the idea of making the Yarn Harlot's "One Row Hand spun Scarf" out of this. We'll see. I have more of this roving in the same dye lot and will probably spin it up first before I decide.

I'm still plugging away on the Lake Park hat. The lovely "pulled stitch" design doesn't show up well in this shot but I'm extremely pleased with how it's looking! I can't wait to wear it. Knitting with my own hand spun and knitting more small projects. Strike two more resolutions from the list. Maybe the hat will add some excitement to what's starting to feel like a very long winter. They're predicting a snow storm tomorrow. Please let it be enough to stay home with my yarn!

She who dies with the most toys wins

I love the toys that go along with my fibre addiction. Spinning has been especially great because it naturally lends itself to lots of cool extras. As I mentioned in a previous post, the new Louet Victoria spinning wheel caught my eye when it was unveiled in advertising last fall. Clocking in at just over 6 lbs and folding up into a back pack - it's the perfect wheel to grab and go. Lettuce Knit sold their one wheel right out of the box and I didn't have a chance to try it. Apparently, the January shipments are all sold out as well. Then, a miracle happened. A co-worker of mine who spins had mentioned the Victoria to her husband at the end of November. She just mentioned it in passing but this charming fellow hunted it down for her as a Christmas gift. He mentioned to me at the company Christmas party that he'd bought it for her and she was kind enough to invite me over New Year's eve day to give the Victoria a try. This is what the bag looks like. It can be carried like a soft briefcase or as a back pack. It is incredibly light and everything tucks inside nicely.





In spite of its light weight, the Victoria feels quite sturdy. My co-worker's wheel is made from Oak and it's very pretty.

Here is how it looks set up and ready to spin. It's about a 30 second process to get this wheel ready to go - truly portable. I was able to spin on the wheel for about an hour or so. It's Scotch Tension and the treadling is very smooth. I enjoyed it very much and Louet appears to have struck a great balance between portability and engineering. It's very quiet too.









To give you a sense of scale, here's Victoria lined up with my Schacht and my friend's other wheel - a Majacraft Suzie. As you can see, it is quite the petite lady compared to the other wheels. I have my name on the March waiting list but I'll have to check in and see how my Wee Robin is doing first. I see the Victoria as a great option for the various demonstrations that my guild is fond of participating in so, I may be a three wheel spinner!


When I was last at Gemini Fibres, I purchased a McMorran balance (official spinning tool of Greys Anatomy). As I start to produce "knittable" yarn, the next big question is "How the heck much do I have?" This gizmo takes a length of yarn looped over the end of the balance which you snip a bit at a time until the balance is horizontal. The length is measured (in cm for me) and then divided by 10. That number equals the metres per 100g of yarn you have.



I needed a scale (which my husband produced since he has to weigh the hardware that goes in his RC planes) and I found I had 111g of some handspun from a few months ago. My strand once balanced (you can see where I snipped the ends off to get the right length to balance) measured 17cm so my calculations indicated 1.7m per 100g of yarn or around 188m total for my 111g.





Here's a shot of the handspun that I'm getting ready to knit. I'm planning to make the beautiful hat that Marnie from Marnie Talks has designed and very generously posted to her blog. She's indicated 40g should work so I'm confident that I'll have enough. She's just posted a pattern for matching fingerless gloves....hmmm, think I'll have enough?


I did get my Woolee Winder for Christmas so, as soon as I finish my current bobbin - on it goes. I can't wait to try it.


I guess we knitters and spinners are a tacticle bunch with the minds of engineers and hearts of artists. I'm amazed at each new development (and the discovery of old ones that are "new to me").

I'm still a discriminating junkie though - I've no desire to acquire the Knit-light needles.