all about my wheels

All About My Wheels These are the "tools of the trade" I have acquired over the years.
I first got interested in spinning somewhat by accident. In the late 1970’s we had purchased a ewe sheep as a companion for a rather high strung Arabian Horse I owned. We soon learned that the fleece had to be shorn yearly, but what to do with it? My mother suggested that I learn to spin my own yarn, as I loved to knit at the time. She found a shop that sold Ashford Spinning Wheels, which were not all that expensive, and found someone to show me how to use it. With just one evening lesson to learn the basics, I was hooked! From there things seemed to mushroom. Over the next decade I acquired more sheep, as well as dabbled in the ownership of other fleece bearing animals – Angora Rabbits, and Mohair Goats.		Beginning Spinner- 1978
In 1982, through my ongoing interest in spinning techniques, I met a Custom Spinning Wheel Builder by the name of Betty (Williams) Roberts. I had seen her wheels being used at a spinning seminar I attended, and decided I wanted one of these very fast production wheels. That year I purchased a beautiful solid walnut wheel, with floral inlays. This wheel was so much faster than the Ashford, and I was soon spinning much larger quantities of various weights of yarn.

Background- My first Wheel- Ashford

Foreground- The Walnut Wheel

I find I am no longer using the Walnut Model, and therefore I have sold this one.

I was so taken with the quality and ability of this new wheel, that I had Betty build me a second, somewhat smaller wheel of the same design a year later. This one has my own personal touches – the inlays on this one are sea shells. Betty continued to design better and fast models over the years.

With High Production Wheel- 1983

Background- Double Wheel
Foreground- Walnut Wheel

Doing a Demo with my High
Speed Double Wheel- Recently

In 1989 I purchased a beautiful double wheel model done in Elm, with floral inlays as well as some of my small keepsakes. Since then this has been my wheel of choice for all my spinning, while my shell wheel has been reserved for plying operations.

Spinning Alpaca on my High
Speed Double Wheel- 1998

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