Fun miniSpinner Accessories!

I still love my miniSpinner and spin on it just about everyday.  I thought I’d tell you about the fun items I got to go with it and what I want to get in the future.

• I ordered two woolee winder bobbins from Akerworks.  They make “Flat-Pack” bobbins which are easily taken apart for storage and transportation.  Seriously, check out their website – they make bobbins for many different kinds of wheels, with even more in development.  The bobbins ends are made by a 3-D printing machine and snap/twist onto the aluminum core.  The ends come in 16 different colors and about 5 different designs.  Customer service was awesome (thanks Adan!).  I hope to buy more in the future (Santa – please take note) and will do a separate review of these after I get some more bobbins.

• miniSpinner users on Ravelry recommended two bags – a Zuca Pro (which is huge but has the benefit of also being a table to set the miniSpinner on) and an eBag Crew Cooler 2.  Since the eBag was only $40, I got it for now.  It’s a tight fit with both flyers and I don’t have a battery in it yet.  We’ll see how it works out.

• Lastly, because the woolee winder bobbins are huge, I needed a different lazy kate.  I went with the miniKate from TravelKate, which fits in the top pocket of the eBag.  It came last week and I’m still spinning singles (4 ounces takes forever when spinning laceweight singles) so I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.  However, again, the customer service was great and it is American made.  I’ll likely do a review of this as well in the future.

Meet the miniSpinner!

Two weeks ago I promised some exciting news.  Well, here it is – I bought a Hansen miniSpinner.  I had looked at them a couple times but never pulled the trigger.  Then the whole back/leg thing started and I decided it was finally the right time.  I big shout-out to Kat who ordered her’s a couple weeks before me and had some valuable input to provide!  Please help me find a name for her by replying to this post – I can’t even come up with ideas!

For those of you that are not familiar with these cool devices, they are electric spinning wheels (aka espinners). The treadling is replaced by a motor and the device itself is about the size of a shoebox.  The best part for me is I can spin in about any position.  You turn the spinner on and off by tapping a small pedal that can be set anywhere.

This will not be a full review as I want to spend time with her first.  But, here’s the quick details:

• I bought mine from HansenCrafts and they make the “miniSpinner”.  They’re based out of Washington and were amazing to deal with.
• I got the cherry miniSpinner (they have a ton of different woods available) with a lace flyer and a woolee winder flyer.  The woolee winder flyer may have been the smartest purchase I made – it is an awesome tool.
• It came with one bobbin for each flyer and I ordered two extra of the the lace bobbins.  The lace bobbins come apart on the ends but so far they’re hard to take apart and put back together – I’m hoping they ease up with time and use.
• I also got some orifice reducers and the maintenance kit, but those aren’t very exciting.
• I want to get a battery for when I’m not at home – maybe Santa will bring one.

I’m not kidding when I say you can spin in about any position.

Thus far I’ve spun several samples (2-ply) and am very pleased.  I want to practice more with the woolee winder flyer to see if I can get to the point of being able to spin laceweight singles on it.  First though I plan to finish up the 4 ounces of merino/bamboo/silk I’m working through.

Again – if you have any ideas of what to name my new spinner – suggestions are welcome!

As a personal side note, I had an MRI done – “large” herniated disc at the L5/S1 (large is what the doc called it).  Physical therapy is not helping so we’re investigating the next option – a steroid shot.