Babe Spinning Wheels

[Roxanne]

I am about to take the plunge into spinning too and I really don't want to shell out over $500 for a wooden wheel so I'm wondering if anyone owns or uses the Babe wheels? They seem like they would be good and at the fraction of the cost, it can at least get me started and when I'm ready to splurge, I can get one of the wooden ones.

 

Any thoughts or feedback on Babe wheels anyone? Thanks for your help!

[HollyM]

I had considered getting a Babe and from what I read they are perfectly adequate as a starter wheel. If the look of it doesn't bother you (I like odd things myself....) it's a good deal. If you'll feel like you are settling, try looking around for a used wheel. See if there are any spinning groups or guilds nearby, there's almost always someone who has a wheel they are supposed to sell. The biggest question is do you want a single or a double tredle? If there is any way you can test drive a wheel, it's a good idea.

 

I ended up not getting the Babe because I got a good deal on a used Ashford Traditional single tredle. Shortly after getting that, I did upgrade to a Lendrum Double Tredle which I adore. Hubby's been grumbling because the deal was I would sell the Ashford when I got the Lendrum...haven't quite gotten around to it

 

Holly

[jacqui]

Ive seen pictures of them in the Spin Off magazine but ive only seen one like that that a man made for his wife here. It appeared to spin smoothly and thats what you want. The only thing i would suggest is if you have a spinning group nearby go along and ask them if you can try their wheels at their meeting and ask lots of questions.Everyone spins differently and looks for different things from their wheels. I bought an old wheel to start with that had a few problems that could have put me off if i hadn't joined the spinners group and had people to fix it and help me. I used that old wheel until i saved enough to buy another wheel an upright one this time it was so light and easy to take in the car. It spun at a faster ratio to the other one and i found it better for Alpaca than wool. Alpaca needs more twist than wool. So the kinds of fibres play a part as well.Now i'm lucky enough to have bought my dream wheel a Marjacraft Suzie, its ideal for the kinds of spinning i do and has a number of different ratios and double treadle which is so smooth. If you aren't in a situation where you can sit down and try wheels then go ahead and buy your Babe and when you can afford to upgrade if you want to go for it. The biggesst thing to remember is you have to sit on a chair that is the correct height to suit you or you will get backache no matter what wheel you use. You enjoy and i'd love to know how you get on ok.

[Roxanne]

Thanks guys...I'll let you know what I decide. I'm not sure whether ST or DT would be best but the guy selling Babes said a DT can be used as a ST too so that may be the best option.

 

I'm looking forward to spinning and my next question will be what kind of roving works best or what kind of raw materials does everyone use? LOL

[HollyM]

As far as ST vs DT, what I didn't like about the ST is there is more of a "dead zone" where momentum has to carry the wheel up and over. It was tricky getting the tredling speed correctly. If I was going fast enough to keep the wheel moving, it was spinning faster then I could draft the fiber (especially as a beginner). If I slowed down even a little bit, it didnt' have enough oomphf to make a full circle and would back-spin on me. Very frustrating. That was me and the wheel I had though...your mileage may vary

 

As far as fiber, start with a simple, long staple roving with a descent amount of crimp. Blue Faced Leicester, Coopworth and Corriedale are very easy to spin. Cheviot is very nice too. I personally found any fiber labled "top" or "colonial" a pain to spin at the beginning. Gorgious stuff, but it's very slippery and can be tricky to draft which gets frustrating.

 

Take a look at the thread about good spinning deals to find vendors we like. I personally have gotten excellent products from High Prairie Fiber (I adore her Wooley Mo) Blue Goose Glen and

Kendig Cottage

 

Holly

[jacqui]

Fiber is a personal thing that you will only decide for yourself if you try a few different ones. The ones Holly mentioned would be easy to start with but don't limit yourself .Alpaca isn't as hard to spin as i was told, i actually took to it quite well as a new spinner. But i did do greasy fleece wool to start with and learned how to skirt and pull a fleece apart and the how to use a flick carder brush and prepare the staples and spin them directly. Rovings are an easy option to start with if you don't want to do all that work. If you go to a spinners group you may be able to buy some prepared fleece that has been put through a Drum Carder and made into Batts they are very easy to spin from as well. My advice is just don't get carried away and buy to much of anything or you'll end up like me with a shed full of fleeces that you'll never live long enough to spin. You enjoy and i look forward to seeing you progress into a dyed in the wool spinner! LOL !

[Roxanne]

Oh gosh you guys, now I'm getting pretty excited!! Such enablers...tee hee! Love it!

 

Just how much yarn do you end up with when you use a pound of roving? That seems like a lot of fluffy stuff to work with!

[xantha]

My advice is just don't get carried away and buy to much of anything or you'll end up like me with a shed full of fleeces that you'll never live long enough to spin.

 

 

Yeah, right! We all stash it!

 

[though I must say that there was a recent survey on the Spin List about how large everyone's stash is... mine is quite small compared to just about everyone! Though DH sure doesn't believe it ("you still have wool in the freezer.")