An Unexpected Twist

This lovely thing is an Ashford Kiwi.

I was trying out wheels at Purlescence Yarns because they were having a sale on the Louet Victoria. However, it didn't 'work' for me at all. So, the Purl Girls had me try out several different wheels, and only two of them 'worked' for me.

-->A very large Ashford "Fairy Tale" wheel -- which was HUGE and is what most people imagine when they think spinning wheel. Honestly, this wheel was a dream to spin, and worked the "best" for me overall.

-->The Ashford Kiwi which worked also really well for me, as a double treadle.(with the Schacht Ladybug a close second after that).

I opted for the Kiwi because its footprint is considerably smaller than the Fairy Tale wheel, and cost a LOT LESS than I ever expected a spinning wheel to cost. Plus, it was the best fit for me (I really wanted to love the Schacht Ladybug, but the Kiwi felt so much better!)

So, it came home with me. I sanded it down, stained red (of course), then stenciled in gold paint, which, although a LOT of work (mostly waiting for things to dry), was a *lot* of fun.

The drop spindling really helped me pick things quick on the wheel. And I'm still reaching for my drop spindles a lot more, as they are more portable, but I can seriously see this helping me ply, because plying on the drop spindle can be rather difficult as things get very very heavy.

They say that I should probably pick out a 'name' for it...although honestly, I don't name my drop spindles individually, but I'm debating on Cassandra or Arachne.