Spinning Wheels: Mom's Louet and Mom's Ashford

Clara may have been ready to jump in and buy a spinning wheel on the yarn crawl, but I have a lot more testing to do before I buy one. I intend to spin on as many wheels as possible before I choose one, and last weekend I started with two.


I started with Mom's Louet.


I've plied on it before, but this was my first time actually spinning. It was pretty lumpy at first.


I eventually got my rhythm, drafting in very short lengths.


This wheel has a lot of "pull." It made it really hard to get started. Eventually I drafted the roving some more, in addition to taking shorter drafts.


Here's the finished single on the Louet. (It's Corriedale wool.) The leather strap on the bobbin adjusts the tension. Mom has it so loose it doesn't even touch the bobbin, but it's still has a lot of pull. I got used to the high tension, but I could see how being able to adjust to a lower tension could be helpful.


This is Mom's Ashford wheel.


It has a thingy to wrap your roving around when you're not spinning. It's a helpful feature.


The knob underneath the bobbin adjusts the tension on the wheel. It took me a while to get the hang of it. I loosened it at first, and then I had to tighten it as I went along.


(I'm still new, so I really have to focus on what I am doing.)


Here's the Ashford in action. I'm still not sure which one I like best. The Ashford seems to have more flexibility.


Here's the completed single on the spindle.

I don't think I'm any closer to making a decision, but I'll have some decent skills to try at wheels next week at Kid 'n Ewe.