Last night when I finally made it over to B’s I finally ripped open the boxes to revel in the glory of owning a spinning wheel and to check out all my cool little extras. Behold.

• 1 unassembled wheel with a full set of extra little pieces
• 2 extra drive bands
• 5 bobbins
• 4 oz of roving
• 1 bottle of lube (heh heh. lube.)

A couple hours later after a few wax hand jobs, some vigorous buffing and following the instructions with the utmost of care, I had a completely waxed and assembled spinning wheel thanks to the help of B (Help as in he kept doing most of it and I was a little pissy about it because I wanted to do it. He called it a “conflict over the same interest” as we both like to build things. But honestly, I really did appreciate his help.) I was tired and excited (and no longer full of chik-fil-a) and jumped the gun and tried to start spinning without trying to get to know my wheel. I made a little bit of yarn, but not much. It was kind of like trying to have sex on the first date without any foreplay and then prematurely ejaculating (hypothetically!). Anyway, I need to work on my foreplay.

B even sat down and treadled on the wheel for a bit. He said it was for “research” and because he wanted to test out what he built.? He said he wasn’t going to make any yarn. Personally, I think it’s just a matter of time.

My wheel came in the mail today! I went and picked up at lunch. I almost called in sick once I had it in my hands, but good? sense prevailed and I didn’t. But I can’t WAIT to put it together!!!

YAY!!!!

I bought a wheel. I have researched wheels online since SAFF last year. I have changed my mind at least 17 billion times as to which wheel I wanted, and last Friday, I finally decided on a wheel to get me started. And bought it.

I came across Susan’s Spinning Bunny online shop and found the wheel that embodies everything I’m looking for in a wheel. It’s an upright, it’s reasonably priced, it can travel relatively easily in a car and the accessories are also reasonably priced which means this is a wheel on which I can grow as a spinner. I am thrilled! It hasn’t gotten here yet, but I received confirmation yesterday from Susan that it had shipped out.

What was that? What kind of wheel is it? It’s a Baynes spinning wheel. You can see a picture of the wheel here on the manufacturer’s site.

Here are the specs:

Measurements:

• 16 in. (400mm) diameter wheel
• 31 in. (800mm) from floor to orifice
• 3/8? (10mm) spindle orifice for spinning a large range of fibers from very fine to light bulky.
• 5.5, 7.5, 9 and 11:1 whorl ratios
• Weight Approx. 13 lbs (5.7 kg)
• 17?” x 15″ deep (450mm x 380mm) looking from the top (floor space)

Comes with:

• Four Five 5 ounce bobbins (website special only)
• Double or Single Treadles
• Scotch Tension – Single Drive
• Integral Lazy Kate
• Your choice of flyers — 5.5 & 7.5;1 or 9 & 11:1 (I got the 5.5 & 7.5:1 to start)
• 2 stretchy drive bands, plus one of our sticky bands
• Wooden handled orifice hook
• An extras kit which contains seconds on all hardware pieces –circlip, extra spring, grub screw, etc + a spare set of hooks.
• Clear assembly instructions.
• Excellent operating instructions
• GUARANTEE- all parts, materials and workmanship for 2 years.
• 4 oz. practice roving (This is another offer from Susan’s Spinning Bunny)

Total package price? $350 and free shipping. You just can’t beat that, now can you? There’s not a whole lot of information on the web that I’ve found on Baynes wheels, but what I have found are good reviews.

Also, Susan of Spinning Bunny is so great. She gets an 11 out of 10 for customer service. She e-mailed me to confirm my purchase and let me know how it would be shipped out, about how long it might take to get to me and asked if it was my first wheel. I told her yes and that I’ll be taking a class and she asked me to e-mail her when I get my wheel so she can send me some Baynes specific pointers to give my instructor. She also has a French Angora, so we talked a little about our fluffy bunnies. She e-mailed me Monday to let me know that my wheel had been shipped. How cool is that?

She also sells hand-dyed yarn and fiber/roving, spindles, needles, etc. I’ll definitely be a repeat customer for fiber and spinning wheel accessories.

I can’t wait for my wheel to get here!