Stuff N' Things

There was a request for more details on the wheel. Shame on me for not providing links and stats and stuff! The fiber haze still hasn't completely lifted.

Okay, so it's a Lendrum double-treadle wheel. (Before you go nuts - most of the links on that website aren't working.) They're handmade in Canada by some guy named Lendrum, who assembles them in his garage, basically. (Kind of explains the broken website.) It's solid maple and beautifully well-finished. Even if I didn't know how to use the damn thing, I'd still want it in my living room for show. It came with a tensioned lazy kate, the wheel itself (duh), regular spinning flyer, and four bobbins. I added in a plying flyer (with larger plying bobbin) and a niddy noddy (so I wouldn't go crazy trying to wind off and guesstimate yardage.) I'll probably get a lace flyer before too long.

There's a list of dealers on the Lendrum website, including WEBS and The Woolery, where there's some good info on the wheel. I like it because it's incredibly easy to use, fairly idiot-proof, pretty, and a wheel I can grow with.

If you are interested in this wheel (and I'm serious, it's fabulous) and there's no dealer near you, I really recommend Julie Wilson. She was my spinning instructor, and she sells Lendrums, but she was completely hands-off about selling stuff. She was there to teach us to spin...and if we happened to want a wheel at the end of the day, she'd sell one. There was no pitch or anything. She also offers a lifetime of "tech support" (she even showed me how to spin a few of the unusual fibers I'd picked up) and - better yet - a discount to repeat buyers and her students...which meant that I got a discount when I bought it in addition to the discount on all future purchases. (She's also just a lovely person with a farm and family, and I simply adored her.) It wasn't an issue for me, but I overheard her telling someone that she's very flexible - she can work with you on payments or whatever you might need to get to spinnin'!

Oh, and SanDeE* is so named after a character in L.A. Story, one of my all-time favorite movies, beautifully played by Sarah Jessica Parker. She was a fruit-loop Venice Beach ditz who loved twirling around and smacking her gum. Her trademark quote?

"Can I spin here?"