Fiesta!

So when I started this blog I was going to try to post at least twice a week, if not three times. It’s been a week since I posted last.
Oops.

I went to the Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta and had a blast. I know that it was just a little show, and if I’d been to more fiber festivals it might have seemed lacking. But, as it was my first, it was slightly overwhelming.

I took a class to learn how to needle felt. First, we learned how to needle felt appliqué style:

It was a lot like coloring with very sharp, slightly dangerous crayons.
Then we learned how to make sculptural objects:

 It's a sheep I swear.

Ok so maybe the sheep worked better than the Easter eggs, but I think they are still cute, and they weren't easy. After sticking myself multiple times with the really scary looking needles, I decided it was time to look into spinning wheels.

As anyone who has talked to me recently knows, I’ve wanted a spinning wheel for a while. The main reason I hadn’t bought one, aside from cost, was I felt like I hadn’t tried out enough wheels to make an informed decision. So, I went from vender to vender trying out all their wheels.

The Kromski wheels I tried were the Minstrel, the Sonata and the Symphony. They were lovely wheels, beautiful, well made and they spun like a dream. They just didn’t fit me. The Minstrel and the Sonata both had orifices that were just a little too high, although I suppose I could have used a taller chair. I really liked the Symphony, but it was a traditional style, not the castle style I was looking for. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional look, but it's hard to fit one in a car.

The wheels from Spinolution were very strange. Once I got used to the treadling motion, I really dug the Mach II. The treadles were connected as a seesaw rather than two independent pedals. But as cool as it was, the price that was quoted was a bit much for a first wheel.

I tried out the Spinolution Hopper, but it was just too different for me to get into. Perhaps if I was an expert spinner I’d love it, but the orifice, a hook really, was in between and below my knees. The angle I was drafting at was weird, and the darn thing did not want to spin for me. Having tried out a bunch of other wheels I felt confident it was the wheel and not me. Now, I will say that the Hopper I tried was slightly broken, so that may have been the issue, but there was a weird hesitation that turned me off.

The Spinolution Queen Bee Travel Wheel was very cool. Had that funky side to side action, and folded down fairly flat, and rather small. It just wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

I tried out some Majacraft wheels, the Rose and the Suzie. I’m not a fan of the metal triangle as an orifice, even if it means you don’t need to use an orifice hook. I wasn’t sure where the yarn was supposed to be coming from, and it got all twisted. I won’t fault the wheels on this one; I’m pretty sure with enough experience I could learn to love it, just not yet.

I tried at least 10 different wheels. And then I tried it. The wheel I had to have.
Here's a hint:

 
I know, you aren’t a bit surprised.

I am head over heals in love with my wheel. I’ve had a hard time dragging myself away from it, even in order to gush about how much I love it. Next time I’ll post the “putting it together” pictures, as well as pictures of the yarn I’ve already made on it. I’ll also post pictures of the lovely fiber I got at the Fiesta too.